Becoming A Registered Nurse as a Certified Surgical Technologist

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I’ll be honest, when I first decided I wanted to get into healthcare I did NOT want to be a nurse. All I could picture in my head was someone working in a nursing home or on a med-surg floor. While there is NOTHING wrong with working at either one of those locations, it wasn’t for me. In one of my previous posts, I discussed how I ended up in the surgical technology program but also how I ended up in a nursing program a few years down the road.

After working for a few years as a surgical tech, I decided I wanted ‘more’. I can’t tell you what ‘more’ is necessarily, but I felt that I wasn’t using my full potential. After considering other options, I ended up deciding on nursing. I worked with a few nurses and CRNAs who started out as a surgical tech, and they always spoke about how beneficial it was to have that knowledge. They were not wrong.

Nursing School as a Certified Surgical Technologist

The knowledge I gained from the surgical tech program and working as a surgical tech helped me tremendously during nursing school. I went through nursing school with another surgical tech that I work with, which was an amazing experience to have someone with a similar background to go through the program with. I honestly believe that my experience in surgery helped me with every single class, except pharmacology! It helped a little in pharmacology, but very minimally. I feel that my ability to critically think about many things during nursing school, including testing, was elevated due to my experience in surgery.

Through nursing school, I tried to keep an open mind about other areas to consider a career once I completed nursing school. I enjoyed psych clinical rotation, but I didn’t feel it was a place I wanted to be at long-term. I enjoyed the OB rotation, but again, I didn’t think I would be happy long-term. I strongly considered pediatrics as I really enjoyed my rotation at the children’s hospital, but I couldn’t bear the thought of chronically ill children. I was pregnant during my pediatric rotation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the associated hormones altered my ability to mentally process some of the patient’s stories.

All the other clinical rotations were just ‘okay’. There was nothing that really hit me like, “wow, this is where I want to work”. I decided to accept a position as a nurse in a department that I knew I was passionate about, surgery.

Transitioning to a Circulator from Surgical Technologist

Honestly, I feel this was the smoothest transition ever. I had been focusing on the nurse’s role in surgery through nursing school with a microscope. I was taking mental notes on what to do but also what not do to. I jumped in more to things I could help the circulator with. I asked questions about why things are done, etc. I learned as much as I could prior to actually stepping into the role.

Doing all of this make the transition seamless. The only thing I recall that was a true learning curve was the charting. Learning what to chart, where to chart it, where to find pertinent information, etc. Luckily at that point the hospital was still utilizing EPIC and it did not take long for me to catch on.

I believe that I am a better circulator because of the years I spent as a surgical tech. I am able to anticipate things that are needed at the field and be ready. I unconsciously hear when the doctor asks the surgical tech for something and sometimes, I’ve already got it in my hand ready to open before the surgical tech gets to ask me for it. I try my best to always ensure the surg tech I’m working with is ‘catered to’. Having a nurse that is attentive and focuses on the hands-on portion first makes the day so much better for everyone. I’m able to help troubleshoot things on the field if the surgical tech is new and needs help. I sometimes can recognize things they did not know they were missing which helps everyone in the long run, especially the patient.

Perks of Becoming a Nurse after Surgical Tech

There are a few perks that being a nurse gets you. Obviously, you’ll get a pay increase. I might ruffle some feathers with this, but the surgical tech deserves just as much, if not more pay. A surgical tech is trained specifically for surgery, nurses are lucky if they get one day in the operating room. A day spent with a (not so great) surgical tech is significantly worse than a day with a (not so great) nurse. The surgical tech is who keeps the case flowing. Ask any surgeon, if they could pick an experienced surgical tech or an experienced nurse every single one of them would pick the experienced tech. Hands down.

There are days that I still get to scrub, which I love. It helps me keep up my scrubbing skills and it’s a nice break from charting. Still having the skills to scrub makes me a more versatile employee. I can give a lunch break to anyone. If you work in healthcare, especially the OR, you know that can be a struggle most days.

I am one of two RNs in our department that can both scrub and circulate, it is a real benefit to be able to do both. The knowledge and experience I gained as a surgical tech has helped me become a more confident circulating nurse. I am a nurse now, but I am also still a surgical tech. I am very organized and I like to think that is because of the OCD being a surgical tech can trigger, I have some of the neatest nurse set ups!

Nurses typically have more growth opportunities. Do I agree with that? No. But until the healthcare system recognizes that their job cannot be done by anyone off the street with no formal education, that’s how it is. Nurses are able to join many committees within the organization where they work aside from a unit-based council. Projects often require a participant to be a nurse. There are many things that you can participate in as a nurse, but you wouldn’t be given the same opportunity as a surgical tech. A clinical ladder use to be a thing only nurses were eligible for, but there are organizations who are starting to introduce ladders for the surgical techs- which is awesome! If you’re a surgical tech considering returning to school to become an RN, do it! If you have any questions about my journey- please reach out!