Why work in perioperative nursing? Baby boomers and generation Xers tell all

AORN Journal,  Oct, 2007  by Julia A. Thompson

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Another young respondent with three years of experience described her exposure to perioperative nursing by saying,

   I had worked in an operating room previously for two years at a
   smaller hospital as an anesthesia tech and a nursing assistant, and
   I just knew that was where I wanted to work, in the operating room,
   so I looked for an internship. I knew I didn't want to do floor
   nursing.

Finally, one younger respondent with 15 years of experience, whose mother had been an OR nurse, stated, "I always knew what operating room nurses did. From the time I was small, I was always washing my hands."

ATTRACTIVE ATTRIBUTES. The attributes of OR nursing considered attractive by participants and that were raised spontaneously by both groups of nurses included the technical aspects, excitement, convenient hours, and portability of an OR nursing career. The technical aspects were widely held to be a key positive attribute of OR nursing and included working with the latest surgical instrumentation and equipment, pursuing one's interest in the anatomy of the human body, and being able to see disease processes firsthand. The challenge of working with technology was mentioned by a number of the respondents. As scientific and medical research advances, so does the use of new technologies in the OR, such as lasers, robotics, computers, video equipment, and microscopes. Operating room nurses must adapt to using the new systems and become familiar with the driving forces behind the technology and understand how it will affect their daily work. When describing her first OR nursing experience, a young nurse with three years of experience stated, "I liked the technical aspect of it, and I could actually see what was going on instead of just giving medications, changing bed sheets, and stuff like that."

Operating room nursing also was seen to have the advantage of being exciting--for example, by allowing participation in complex cases such as craniotomies and emergency procedures. One young male nurse said,

   I guess the technical, along with the medicine,
   and the disease process, and the "f" words,
   the yelling, and seeing a guy cut open, or the
   adrenaline of a stat case, you know, seemed
   really inviting.

The OR environment, and particularly day surgery, was appreciated for having more "normal" hours than other types of nursing. Two respondents, one veteran nurse with 22 years of experience and one younger nurse with 10 years of experience, described their "need for a day job."

An additional attractive attribute of OR nursing identified by the respondents was portability, meaning that those with OR nursing skills will always have the ability to travel within the United States as well as worldwide, and work will always be available for them. A younger nurse explained, "I knew I wanted to be in a profession where I could go anywhere in the country and get a job and not have a problem." An entrenched workforce nurse said, "You can work basically anywhere in the world, and it is regular pay; and it is physical, so you don't have to worry about so much exercise after work."