Going straight to theatres once I qualify?

I will be qualifying soon but I haven't done a placement on theatres yet although I have requested it for my management. Some people say going straight to theatres is a bad idea because you need to build on skills from the ward first. However I know the ward is not the type of environment I want to work in and I know the set of skills acquired in theatres is different to the wards so could I just go ahead to the theatres?

Also when is the best time to start applying? Thanks

I've seen from your post in the males in nursing thread that you're a third year, I presume you're at the start of the year. Now is a good time to start looking, even if it's just to keep an eye on what jobs are about, though, come the new year it's worthwhile to start applying.

I would suggest, if you have no theatre experience to get some first. Even if it's just a couple of shifts popping in to see what people do (most places are happy to do this if you ask the right people), so you can see if you think it's an environment you'd like to work in. I worked in theatres for a while, I do sometimes regret not having had ward experience when I qualified as I think it would have helped with things such as time management and learning some clinical skills, but I'm doing fine career wise.

A lot of theatre departments recruit NQ nurses, jobs often come out at traditional preceptor times of year to catch people as they finish university and there's a lot of scope to have a good career in the right department.