You Know You're An Operating Room Nurse If...
86Operating Room nursing is a very special calling. Not everyone is cut out for it and most will not put up with it. However, there is much fun to be had if you make it through the first year! OR nursing requires stamina and thinking on your feet. Whether you are circulating or scrubbing there never seems to be time to sit. It is the ever moving, ever changing calling of the few, the proud, and the crazy. (Note: You understand if you are an OR nurse!)
We live in a world of ever-changing technology...ever-changing technique..ever-changing surgeon preferences. Change is the only constant. If you can't live with change on a minute to minute basis, don't even come here!
And you have to like to work. The longest I have ever worked consecutively is 26 hours. It was a busy day and night! We are the makers and the shakers. As far as I can tell, even truck drivers may not work so long. However, when you start in an OR, you will find out that you are miraculous. Suddenly, you will have powers not endowed on the normal mortal!
Extraordinary stamina, the ability to be in two places at the same time and more will be expected of you. The ordinary calls of nature such as bathroom breaks, lunch and a drink of water will be below you. (At least that is what your surgeons will believe.) You will become the super-nurse, the OR nurse!
How do you know if you are an OR nurse? Here are a few ways to tell:
You Know You Are An OR Nurse When:
- You have seen so many “privates” you would no longer recognize a "major".
- All the things people don’t like about you make you really good at your job.
- You go to work in your “pajamas“in the middle of the night, and don't change when there is a stat section.
- You don't think it is strange when people say, "I've never seen you with hair before."
- You are yelled at if you make someone wait 30 seconds, and this is commonplace.
- You talk about pus while you eat.
- You yell "Code Brown" to get the surgeon out of the room.
- You will eat anything in the lounge, even Jalapeno pretzals.
- You “tie up” your doctors and everyone thinks it is OK.
- People tell you, “I’ve never seen you in clothes before” when you are shopping at WalMart.
- You sleep when you can, you eat when you can, and sometimes it’s just easier to put in a foley!
- When you are out with your friends you can anticipate who needs a drink 10 minutes before they ask.
- You also know who will be early, who will be late and who will be on time...and you plan accordingly.
- You only pay attention to the conversation when they say, "I need", "I might", "I think"...only to find out you already have it.
- Your anticipation skills are so good, people swear you are a mind reader.
- 5 people can be yelling at you at the same time and you do not get flustered...or upset.
- You can get someone to trust you with their lives in five minutes or less.
- You are so aware of your personal space, your friends swear you have eyes in the back of your head.
You too can be super-human, more than all that you can be...otherwise known as an OR (operating room) nurse. There are never enough of the good ones, so you will always have a job. If you would like to escape from the uncertainty of the economy today, become an OR nurse. It is one job you will either love or hate!
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I for one love you people. All nurses, male and female. But as I truck driver I drove as much as 43 hours straight with few breaks. There is a way to cheat on log books. I also workd as many hours on bulldozers in the Oil Field to keep y'all warm in the winter. But a Nurse is so special and I have had many take the best of care of me. Maybe you can tell us if the thumb thing or the foot thing is true about men? hmmm? Very nice read k@ri, btw my daughter-in-law is an emergency room nurse.
Oooo, I forgot to congratulate you on your hubber score. 100 Woo-Hoo!
Nurses are special human beings, you guys have to be special to be in a field that requires courage, quick thinking and yes stamina, and above all where lives depend on you.
Congrats on your 100 hubber score!
And I thought being in the E.R itself was frustrated enough?! You must have soooo much patience to put up with all this.
I never worked in the OR but have been called up to draw blood STAT. I find just working in the medical field, you develop a different sense of humor! Great hub!
Teresa, It's the kind of work you either love or don't do. We are a different people, and put up with things that normal people would not! LOL! I must say I love it!
ralwus, bad, bad you! I know you are not allowed to work that long...but I am! I can work as long as I like in most states. (Kind of scary isn't it) I love you too, and all of my patients! I don't know what it is about people in need, but I think that is part of my personal problem! LOL ralwus, if you ever find your nurses are not caring enough, call me. I will come and tell them what for! (That is if your daughter ever needs any back up...as an ER nurse, I doubt it.) It may be true about big hands....but every person is different. I have seen some majors with small hands :D One of the best things in life is that everyone is different!
Whoo-Hoo, Thanks for letting me know!
VioletSun, You have to be a "little" crazy to work in OR. Yes, we give more than many, but it is very rewarding! Nurses are mostly co-dependents. We love to make others happy! Thanks for the congrats!
May, My patience has grown over the years, but I used to be known as the nurse with no patients. (patients, patience rhymes you see! :D) Everything comes with time, depending on what you want to work on...I worked (and still do) on patience for many years! LOL, I don't know if I will ever really learn it, but I fake it well now!
Betylckes, A sense of humor is mandatory! You know what I mean...so often it is laugh or cry. You can only cry so much, so you laugh...maybe inappropriately, but you laugh!
Interesting experiences to give an understatement. I know a couple of retired ER nurses, and they have some stories. The stress can be near deadly for all of you who do the hard work.
I know I have been in a few situations when I really appreciated the focus of the ERNs-- of course, very few of us 'customers' know what happens in the OR-- I'm sure it takes on an added dimension when the patient or loved one is not consiously present.
God bless you all.
Rochelle, Yes, the stress can be deadly, but the rewards are great! I have seen many miracles in my life, but that is probably due to where I work! Yes, we are "special' people, but we are actually only human. I truly believe that all people are special in some way! :D
Kari, Let's here it for nurses everywhere ! I will be forwarding your hub to my ER nurse sister. I think she will identify. Thank God for what you do !
That was SO much fun to read, k@ri! Excuse me, I meant superk@ri!
Just one wee thing: "You talk about pus while you eat." I do that, too, but not many of the others. Guess I don't qualify for OR nurseship :-P
When do you get time to write? :)
Funny but oh so true I guess.
R Burow, Yaaahhhh for nurses! Tell your sister thanks for me...I don't think I would like working ER, it takes a lot of patience! And they always do the best job getting my patients ready. :D
Elena, I kind of like that "superk@ri", LOL! If you can talk about pus when you eat, you at least qualify for honorary nurseship!
Feline Prophet, LOL...it is my outlet now, and not one I am willing to give up. Where there is a will, there is a way!
ethel, True and funny! Just not everyone's funny. :D
"the few, the brave, the crazy"---I love it! But you forgot " the super-intelligent, the quick thinking, the compassionate"!---all of which fit you to a "T"!
This was a great read, thank you! Have you seen that new Showtime series "Nurse Jackie"? Your hub reminded me of that or vice versa. ER nurses are awesome, without you guys it would be way to scary to go there. When I ended up there for heart attack symptoms last May the doctors were dicks, the nurses were awesome. Could've just been a bad day I guess. :)
badcompany, ALL people are special! Thank you so much for your comment! :D
mamakaren, You are too kind! I love you!
pgrundy, I haven't seen the series yet. My kids hate watching any medical show with me, because (of course) I point out all that is wrong! LOL! You remind me of why I am a nurse and not a doctor...doctors cure diseases, nurses cure people! Thank You!!
It takes a very special person to deal with all that blood and guts; the pain and fear of the patients; the anxiety and grief of their loved ones. God Bless You for it. I couldn't do it. We need those who can. Great Hub, too!
James, Thanks! I don't think of it as special or something to deal with, I love being in the OR! :D
k@ri - how utterly fab that you're a nurse. No experience of it personally but my sister is one. Previously worked in gynae - but said she's seen 'far too many bushes' so opted for ICU nursing. Enjoyed that until she started a family and has now become a Health visitor - more related to the office hours. She does miss hands on nursing and would still be internal but for her boys.
She did a stint on OR and loved it. I'm not sure why she ended up in ICU. Anyway - from what she tells me about nursing it's not a job for the sensitive among us, as you've pointed out.
frogdropping, That is the same reason, I tend to not like gyn surgery much! LOL, OR is not for everyone, and some people don't want to put up with the ego's, even if they love it.
I loved this! It's funny, I can become instantly popular in any social setting if I retell some of my sister's nursing/hospital/OR stories! HA! You nurses definitely are a special breed. And some of those Doctors?! I don't know how she does it. Great Hub.
AM Gwynn, I'm glad you got a laugh. I know all about "those" Doctors! LOL!
This job must be very self-selecting. Only the best of the best... lol
Sounds like you're getting a lot out of it. :)
Thanks Haunty, I've gotten much out of it over the years. Confidence, agility, and the ability to think on my feet. It's very demanding, but extremely rewarding. :D
I see you love your job as an (OR)nurse just as much as I love my job as a (ER) nurse never a dull moment. What I enjoy the most is when patients have watched so much TV , ER etc. they believe they know more then the doctors and the nurses. O.K. so if you know what is wrong what are you doing in here? But I have to give them credit they certainly try. I love people so that is what counts, great hub k@ri. :)
My addiction to Nursing is far worse then HP! lolololo
AE, Good to see you! LOL, you are so right, too many shows, too little reality. I love people also, I think it is a prereq to being a nurse. Glad to hear you love it as much as me! :D
So glad to come across someone here with the same profession who enjoys writing and nursing as much as I do...
so, you've tried the nurse/writer. why don't you try nurse/professor/writer? You've got so much to share.
=)
Reyna Urduja, Glad to meet you! Thanks, but I'm not sure I'm ready for professor... :D
Teresa McGurk 2 years ago
That was funny and scary -- you guys work so hard. Thanks for all you do! I guess it's the kind of work that will either drive you nuts or be really fulfilling. Bet you're great at it!