Surviving Theatres as a New Grad

By Cam Brown

I am writing this book for all of you postgraduate students and new nurses thinking of a career in the operating theatre.

The aim of this book is to allow you get a glimpse of what you will see upon entering the operating theatres, as there is no other place like it. I love working in theatres, but I am under no delusion thinking it’s easy because I know how difficult some new graduates/students find it when they first commence. This book is written to help you gain insight and learn skills that will assist you to continue in and obtain a fulfilling career in theatres. Working in theatres is definitely not for the fainthearted, so these skills are essential for survival.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Jan 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781984504999

Cam Brown

I am a registered nurse ho has been working in Theatres for the past 15 years. My area of speciality was Anaesethetics where I loved the cause and effect of the medications given and the honour the patients gave to us allowing us to take their lives in our hands. I am very passionate about recruiting and retaining new grads and new staff members to join the theatre team.

Book preview

COPYRIGHT © 2019 BY CAM BROWN.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER:          2019900182

                  ISBN:                  HARDCOVER             978-1-9845-0501-9

                                              SOFTCOVER               978-1-9845-0500-2

                                              EBOOK                        978-1-9845-0499-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/11/2019

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

788397

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

About the Author

I would like to thank my husband, Lyndon, and my family for their support; Bev, Gail, and Lesley for their friendship; Jody, Michelle, and Anne for their professional input; Tony for the action shots, Geoffrey for being Geoffrey; Bev and Nancy for pushing me; Stacey for taking me on a retreat and the advice on the book; Bronwyn, Pam, Emma, and Nikki for the remote location shots; and my colleagues over the years whom I have learnt so much from.

Prologue

I am writing this book for all you postgraduate students and new nurses thinking of a career in the operating theatre. There is no formal referencing included, but everything inclusive can be researched if desired. All photos used are done so with the written consent of those included.

The aim of this book is to allow you to get a glimpse of what you will see upon entering the operating theatre as there is no other place like it. I love working in theatres, but I am under no delusion how difficult some new graduates/students find it when they first commence. This book is written to help you gain insight and learn the skills which will assist you to continue in and obtain a fulfilling career in theatres. Working in theatres is definitely not for the faint-hearted, so these skills are essential for survival.

So you want to be a theatre nurse. Well done, but you have to really want it.

Within theatres, you must always remember that you will be working/dealing with some of the most intelligent/experienced people within their field. This being the case, you can see that within these closed units, there is a multitude of strong and difficult personalities to work around and/or with. Each of these people believes that their practice is correct and to be adhered to at all costs. We will look at these personalities and what to expect. It is not always Rosie. You need to be prepared for some of the people/things you