n
Speak out
New graduates’ dilemma: how to qualify for OR position with no experience As a new graduate interested in the operating room, I was faced with a problem. How was I to qualify for a position in surgery when many hospitals refuse to hire an inexperienced nurse? I could see the increasing demand and need for qualified operating room nurses, and yet experience was a requirement. If the new graduate was lucky enough to find an operating room supervisor and staff willing to spend their time and energy teaching new graduates, she had a chance to follow her interest. Through my seven months of operating room experience at Daniel Freeman Hospital where I was employed as a new graduate, I recognized the need for including operating room experience in the nursing education curriculum as well as the need for postgraduate courses in operating room nursing and on-the-job training programs. The student should be exposed to operating room nursing as well as other specialties to build a foundation of basic nursing education and a total picture of health care. It also would Diane Ebata, RN, is an OR staff nurse at Daniel Freeman Hospital, Inglewood, Calif. She received an associate degree from Harbor College, Wilmington, Calif.
&
provide our hospitals with more operating room nurses. Unfortunately, the amount of time allotted for operating roomi experience in the nursing school curriculum has been reduced or eliminated. Many nursing educators believe OR experience isn’t worthwhile. I discussed this with two recent graduates whose total operating room experience was two to three days. One said, “There is too much happening around you; it’s too new of an experience to get a true picture when your own anxieties are involved. We definitely needed more surgical experience.” “Student nurses should have no less than six weeks surgical experience, including the recovery room,” the other concurred. A new graduate is expected to have a basic background of nursing education. She should be able to function competently and be knowledgeable on behalf of the patient. But she needs time to grow, to develop her skills, to become more efficient in nursing and her specialty. The new graduate needs support, assistance, and cooperation from her coworkers. The new graduate is faced with many anxieties and frustrations. She must adapt to a job situation with peer comparison and competition. Learning to cope with the physicians and the tension within the OR can be difficult. This is why a good role model is necessary. A new graduate needs someone who is willing to teach and willing to provide answers to many of her questions. The role model must be a person who can constructively criticize
AORN Journal, November 1976, V o l 2 4 , No 5
859
and objectively evaluate the new graduate in her performance and progress. I was fortunate enough to have attended a two-year nursing school at Harbor College, Wilmington, Calif, which included 63 hours of operating room experience. This gave me insight on the total care of the surgical patient. l was better able to empathize, support, care, and communicate with patients pre, intra, and postoperatively. This experience reinforced the importance of asepsis; the need for physical preparation to prevent trauma, infection, and complications; and the need for psychological preparation to reduce patients’ stress and anxiety. Scrubbing and circulating not only gave me a realistic visual and mental review of the human anatomy and physiology but also gave me an opportunity to be part of a surgical team. Being supported by the physicians and nurses built my confidence, and I felt rewarded having actually participated in the surgical intervention of the patient. At that time I decided operating room nursing was what I wanted. New advances in medicine, surgery, and techniques; caring for a patient on a one-toone basis; and many more reasons supported my decision. Immediately following my graduation from nursing school, I learned that Harbor College planned on offering, at Harbor General Hospital, a postgraduate course in operating room nursing consisting of 120 hours of intense study and practical learning experience. The course was divided into classroom lectures and actual participation in the operating room. A few nurses eventually dropped out realizing that the operating room wasn’t their field of choice. I felt this course was beneficial because it gave me a taste of the operating room without actually being committed to a permanent job. There was no longer the tension of nursing school and studying for and passing the state board exam. I could now concentrate on operating room nursing as my specialty. In my opinion, the course objectives were met, and I was satisfied. Unfortunately, this course was not offered again. On completing the course, three new graduates were hired into operating rooms of local hospitals. I was employed at Daniel
860
Freeman Hospital where Mary Nolan, RN, had initiated a six-month extensive on-thejob training program for registered nurses and new graduates interested in the operating room. This structured program began approximately two years ago with a series of lectures on the most important aspects of operating room nursing. Guidelines and objectives were formed by a special committee and realistic goals set. The nurses began double scrubbing and double circulating gradually accepting more responsibility. Each nurse rotated through most services, plastic, ENT, ortho, gyn, general, chest, cardiovascular, and neuro, gaining a general overall picture of different surgical procedures and responsibilities. Staff nurses assigned to teach and give support to each new staff member provided excellent role models. There was much peer support, harmony, and cooperation among the staff providing excellent learning conditions. Training on the 3 to 11 and 11 to 7 shifts and in the recovery room gave nurses an idea of functioning during emergency procedures and the preparation of scheduled cases (packs, instruments), and time to become oriented to the physical setup of the unit. To be given time to learn a new job makes a difference in how well new graduates perform. By the end of six months, they were expected to be a functional part of the operating room staff. It is important to remember that each new staff member whether an experienced floor nurse or a new graduate, needs to be considered as an individual-a person with different learning capabilities, experience, educational background, and expectations. Training on-the-job without any set program may be overwhelming for a new graduate. Our profession has a responsibility to educate and train qualified nursing personnel for all nursing specialties. We need to support these programs. Please give new graduates a chance.
AORN Journal, November 1976, Vol24, No 5
Diane Ebata, RN
Speak out
New graduates’ dilemma: how to qualify for OR position with no experience As a new graduate interested in the operating room, I was faced with a problem. How was I to qualify for a position in surgery when many hospitals refuse to hire an inexperienced nurse? I could see the increasing demand and need for qualified operating room nurses, and yet experience was a requirement. If the new graduate was lucky enough to find an operating room supervisor and staff willing to spend their time and energy teaching new graduates, she had a chance to follow her interest. Through my seven months of operating room experience at Daniel Freeman Hospital where I was employed as a new graduate, I recognized the need for including operating room experience in the nursing education curriculum as well as the need for postgraduate courses in operating room nursing and on-the-job training programs. The student should be exposed to operating room nursing as well as other specialties to build a foundation of basic nursing education and a total picture of health care. It also would Diane Ebata, RN, is an OR staff nurse at Daniel Freeman Hospital, Inglewood, Calif. She received an associate degree from Harbor College, Wilmington, Calif.
&
provide our hospitals with more operating room nurses. Unfortunately, the amount of time allotted for operating roomi experience in the nursing school curriculum has been reduced or eliminated. Many nursing educators believe OR experience isn’t worthwhile. I discussed this with two recent graduates whose total operating room experience was two to three days. One said, “There is too much happening around you; it’s too new of an experience to get a true picture when your own anxieties are involved. We definitely needed more surgical experience.” “Student nurses should have no less than six weeks surgical experience, including the recovery room,” the other concurred. A new graduate is expected to have a basic background of nursing education. She should be able to function competently and be knowledgeable on behalf of the patient. But she needs time to grow, to develop her skills, to become more efficient in nursing and her specialty. The new graduate needs support, assistance, and cooperation from her coworkers. The new graduate is faced with many anxieties and frustrations. She must adapt to a job situation with peer comparison and competition. Learning to cope with the physicians and the tension within the OR can be difficult. This is why a good role model is necessary. A new graduate needs someone who is willing to teach and willing to provide answers to many of her questions. The role model must be a person who can constructively criticize
AORN Journal, November 1976, V o l 2 4 , No 5
859
and objectively evaluate the new graduate in her performance and progress. I was fortunate enough to have attended a two-year nursing school at Harbor College, Wilmington, Calif, which included 63 hours of operating room experience. This gave me insight on the total care of the surgical patient. l was better able to empathize, support, care, and communicate with patients pre, intra, and postoperatively. This experience reinforced the importance of asepsis; the need for physical preparation to prevent trauma, infection, and complications; and the need for psychological preparation to reduce patients’ stress and anxiety. Scrubbing and circulating not only gave me a realistic visual and mental review of the human anatomy and physiology but also gave me an opportunity to be part of a surgical team. Being supported by the physicians and nurses built my confidence, and I felt rewarded having actually participated in the surgical intervention of the patient. At that time I decided operating room nursing was what I wanted. New advances in medicine, surgery, and techniques; caring for a patient on a one-toone basis; and many more reasons supported my decision. Immediately following my graduation from nursing school, I learned that Harbor College planned on offering, at Harbor General Hospital, a postgraduate course in operating room nursing consisting of 120 hours of intense study and practical learning experience. The course was divided into classroom lectures and actual participation in the operating room. A few nurses eventually dropped out realizing that the operating room wasn’t their field of choice. I felt this course was beneficial because it gave me a taste of the operating room without actually being committed to a permanent job. There was no longer the tension of nursing school and studying for and passing the state board exam. I could now concentrate on operating room nursing as my specialty. In my opinion, the course objectives were met, and I was satisfied. Unfortunately, this course was not offered again. On completing the course, three new graduates were hired into operating rooms of local hospitals. I was employed at Daniel
860
Freeman Hospital where Mary Nolan, RN, had initiated a six-month extensive on-thejob training program for registered nurses and new graduates interested in the operating room. This structured program began approximately two years ago with a series of lectures on the most important aspects of operating room nursing. Guidelines and objectives were formed by a special committee and realistic goals set. The nurses began double scrubbing and double circulating gradually accepting more responsibility. Each nurse rotated through most services, plastic, ENT, ortho, gyn, general, chest, cardiovascular, and neuro, gaining a general overall picture of different surgical procedures and responsibilities. Staff nurses assigned to teach and give support to each new staff member provided excellent role models. There was much peer support, harmony, and cooperation among the staff providing excellent learning conditions. Training on the 3 to 11 and 11 to 7 shifts and in the recovery room gave nurses an idea of functioning during emergency procedures and the preparation of scheduled cases (packs, instruments), and time to become oriented to the physical setup of the unit. To be given time to learn a new job makes a difference in how well new graduates perform. By the end of six months, they were expected to be a functional part of the operating room staff. It is important to remember that each new staff member whether an experienced floor nurse or a new graduate, needs to be considered as an individual-a person with different learning capabilities, experience, educational background, and expectations. Training on-the-job without any set program may be overwhelming for a new graduate. Our profession has a responsibility to educate and train qualified nursing personnel for all nursing specialties. We need to support these programs. Please give new graduates a chance.
AORN Journal, November 1976, Vol24, No 5
Diane Ebata, RN
