What are the pros and cons of working in the OPERATING ROOM?

I am a Cardiac Nurse wanting a change. Is that a good idea?

I would prefer Health Care Professionals who have REAL knowledge to answer pls. Thank you.

I am a retired RN that worked in the ER and then in Endoscopy. If you transfer to the OR you will have a very close working relationship with the surgeons. After working in the ER I enjoy that working relationship. So you need to decide if you would like to be that close to the Drs.
Being on call is a blessing and a curse. The money is really nice, but being up for all the hours is a problem. You should check to see if the nurses are scheduled to work the day after they are on call because if they are you could have to work day shift take call all evening and night and report to work for the next day. Not a problem if you don't have to work all night, but very tiring if you do.
The folks that work in the OR are usually like a family because it is a closed area. And just like a family some of the personalities can be really annoying. There is "no where to go".
If you transfer there is a lot to learn, but it is interesting and a chance to increase your knowledge. Watching procedures is very interesting.
If it is time for a change this might be a good fit for you. OR has the intensity of the CCU, without the patient complaining. It is a big change for a lot of people because the patient is asleep for most of the time you are with them. So if you enjoy talking with your patients this may not be for you. Usually RN's in the OR are the circulators and are responsible for positioning the patient and hooking up some of the equipment before anesthesia gets started so you would have this short period of interaction. It's not for every nurse.
Good luck to you

One good thing is you could save lives, and bad thing is you could loose a patient. So does the good out weight the bad?

pro's: alot of fast paced interesting work that changes day to day
Cons:, you may be on call which would suck alot cuase you don't really have schedule