[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nurses of Arfcom (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/7/2012 7:31:28 AM EDT
|
I'm a senior about to select my top choices for capstone and am interested in wound care and OR nursing. However, I have only had brief introductions to both areas throughout clinicals and classes. What should I know about the two specialties to narrow down my choice?!
Thank you! |
|
In the OR you have to deal with whatever mood the Surgeon is in that day....all day.
Wound care is cool...messy and stinky at times, but cool. Look into Hyperbaric medicine for wound care as well. I might got back to HBO therapy when I need my next change of venue. |
|
Have you ever seen, or more importantly smelled a cavitating decubitus ulcer in person? More importantly, could you bring yourself to stick your arm into one up to the forearm to pack it full of gauze? I'm talking a huge, cavernous black hole that smells like literal death where a coccyx used to be, that is weeping a fluid that only God knows what it is. And you have to stick your hand into that warm squishy stinking mother to fill it with gauze. Now imagine what the gauze you take out if it looks and smells like. Wound care nurses work easy hours and make good money, but they do some of the worst work imaginable. Much respect for the wound care nurses. I'd probably hate the OR too since you're just standing in one spot all day. My feet and back would fucking complain big time.
|
|
Quoted:
I wouldn't suggest OR nursing for a new grad unless they were already an OR tech or something that gave them prior surgical experience. Many basic nursing skills are just not utilized in that setting. I agree with this wholeheartedly. First of all, most hospitals won't even accept a new RN into the OR training program. Secondly, if you were to jump straight into the OR, you would seriously diminish your opportunity to refine your basic nursing skills. Trust me, you don't know 3/4 of what you need to know to be an effective RN when you graduate nursing school. You learn A LOT on the floor in real life. I would suggest getting a basic med-surg job out of school. Stay there a year or two. Having that experience will not only help you hone your skills, but it will also give you more time to really consider what you want to specialize in. It also looks great on your resume. Congrats and best of luck to you! |
|
Quoted:
Have you ever seen, or more importantly smelled a cavitating decubitus ulcer in person? More importantly, could you bring yourself to stick your arm into one up to the forearm to pack it full of gauze? I'm talking a huge, cavernous black hole that smells like literal death where a coccyx used to be, that is weeping a fluid that only God knows what it is. And you have to stick your hand into that warm squishy stinking mother to fill it with gauze. Now imagine what the gauze you take out if it looks and smells like. [div] Cool ain't it? 
Some folks can't hang, some can. Give it a whirl. Much better than the OR. Edit: Your Capstone should be an area you really want to work in. It's a great time to make connections and impress the right people. I also second the idea of getting you fundamentals down before specializing. Makes you much more marketable in the future. |
|
Quoted:
Have you ever seen, or more importantly smelled a cavitating decubitus ulcer in person? More importantly, could you bring yourself to stick your arm into one up to the forearm to pack it full of gauze? I'm talking a huge, cavernous black hole that smells like literal death where a coccyx used to be, that is weeping a fluid that only God knows what it is. And you have to stick your hand into that warm squishy stinking mother to fill it with gauze. Now imagine what the gauze you take out if it looks and smells like. Wound care nurses work easy hours and make good money, but they do some of the worst work imaginable. Much respect for the wound care nurses. I'd probably hate the OR too since you're just standing in one spot all day. My feet and back would fucking complain big time. I worked wound care for a short while. I didn't mind it. With that said, your description is spot-on. Odors don't bother me, though. Everyone is different. I knew one RN who couldn't even handle the smell of vomit. She ended up getting her MSN so she could work an office job and avoid odors all together. 
|
|
not a nurse. OR, you get to deal with aholes like me.   There is very little nursing going on in the OR. Just charting by exception and being a gopher. Not a job right out of school to solidify what you have learned or need to learn. Wound care is a gravy train that is gonna derail in the next few years. Most wound care is Medicare and we know the shape the .gov is in financially. Add the Medicare 'never occur' events (bed sores are one) and their refusal to pay for that care (as 'punishment') is going to continue to hurt wound care reimbursement in general. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. IMO, every new grad needs to spend a year on a med-surg floor and learn how to be a nurse. Because you sure didn't learn it in nursing school. ICU nurses first, and ER nurses second, tend to have their sh-t squared away better than most. IME, ER nurses tend to have more baggage and drama than ICU nurses. YMMV. Good luck. |
|
My wife toyed with the idea of going into wound care full-time, she did it for a while.
Her big problem with it was that, depending on your employer, your decisions may be second-guessed by penny pinchers without medical training. Her second biggest problem was ostomies. When she was doing the job, a lot of patients were either new ostomy patients or poorly managed ostomies. Apparently they're a mite whiffy. ETA- tunneling infections, tissue necrosis, the smell of rot and death? Didn't touch my Missus. Poop bags though. Over the line. I don't claim to understand her all the time, but I love her just the same. Sometimes I just love her out back with a hose before I'll allow our love in the house. 
|
|
Quoted:
My wife toyed with the idea of going into wound care full-time, she did it for a while. Her big problem with it was that, depending on your employer, your decisions may be second-guessed by penny pinchers without medical training. Her second biggest problem was ostomies. When she was doing the job, a lot of patients were either new ostomy patients or poorly managed ostomies. Apparently they're a mite whiffy. All of our hospitals in this area view ostomy care as a separate speciality and have dedicated ostomy nurses. |
|
Unless you are a First Assist, RNFA, in the OR you will be NOTHING BUT a "Go-For"...
Wound care is a skill that you can use in real life, if the SHTF. Wound care is one of my favorite things to do because it requires a ton of training to get it "Right". There are many different types of wounds to care for as a "Wound Care Nurse" and those skills are very valuable to have. There is nothing like debriding a stage 4 wound that you see heal after you have worked your ass off to "Fix".. Wound care ALL THE WAY! |
|
Thank you for all the replies, the insights have been helpful. I am leaning toward wound care, as smells, sights, textures, etc. don't tend to bother me and I haven't had enough exposure to OR to know what to expect.
I realize after graduation I will most likely be hired on a general med-surg floor. I've already had two med-surg rotations so I want to use this capstone experience to explore an area I won't otherwise have the opportunity to. |
|
I must add that Wound Care nursing is most certainly a specialty where OR Nursing or Circulating can be done by just about
anyone..With minimal training.. I have known several "WC" nurses who went to so much training that they were recruited to work in Burn Units/Recovery and ended up making a great wage and career out of it.. Most hospitals will also pay for the schools or clinics that keep "WC" nurses up to date on their care.. Trust me, Wound care is an awesome place to learn awesome skills and we all know that "SKILLS" are where it is in Nursing.. |
|
Quoted:
I must add that Wound Care nursing is most certainly a specialty where OR Nursing or Circulating can be done by just about anyone..With minimal training.. I have known several "WC" nurses who went to so much training that they were recruited to work in Burn Units/Recovery and ended up making a great wage and career out of it.. Most hospitals will also pay for the schools or clinics that keep "WC" nurses up to date on their care.. Trust me, Wound care is an awesome place to learn awesome skills and we all know that "SKILLS" are where it is in Nursing.. That's great advice, thank you! I've always found the burn unit interesting too, but the scope of what we're exposed to in school seems so calculated and narrow in retrospect. WC might be a good avenue into that area. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I must add that Wound Care nursing is most certainly a specialty where OR Nursing or Circulating can be done by just about anyone..With minimal training.. I have known several "WC" nurses who went to so much training that they were recruited to work in Burn Units/Recovery and ended up making a great wage and career out of it.. Most hospitals will also pay for the schools or clinics that keep "WC" nurses up to date on their care.. Trust me, Wound care is an awesome place to learn awesome skills and we all know that "SKILLS" are where it is in Nursing.. That's great advice, thank you! I've always found the burn unit interesting too, but the scope of what we're exposed to in school seems so calculated and narrow in retrospect. WC might be a good avenue into that area. I guess I got lucky. We did rotations on nearly every single unit in the hospital, including SICU, MICU, NICU, PACU, orthopedic trauma, etc etc. The only area we never "worked" in school that I would have loved to experience was the ER. |
|
Quoted:
I wouldn't suggest OR nursing for a new grad unless they were already an OR tech or something that gave them prior surgical experience. Many basic nursing skills are just not utilized in that setting. couldnt agree more. As an OR nurse without any experience you'll be sitting in CMS cleaning and sterilizing for about a year before youget to scrub for another while eventually geting to circulate. Medsurg and ER is a good - get used to nursing job. I started medsurg > ICU /ER >psych > endoscopy > surgery > clinic management > now hospital admin. |
|
Quoted:
In the OR you have to deal with whatever mood the Surgeon is in that day....all day. Wound care is cool...messy and stinky at times, but cool. Look into Hyperbaric medicine for wound care as well. I might got back to HBO therapy when I need my next change of venue. Oh.... The Joys of Both. I cover at the Wound Care Center (I'm a Pod. and one of the partners is the director). If you're stuck in the HBO room....you get bored shitless...and spend lots of money on line. If you're doing the wound care stuff...it stinks...really, really stinks. Necrotic/Infected tissue stink. And...I do surgery. The RNs (and Scrub Techs and CRNAs) like working with me (us...the guys in the practice)...we're pretty even tempered, joke around a bit and don't yell. But the Nurses aren't afraid to bitch about Dr So and So who's in a bad mood, took 4 hours to do a 30 minute case, etc.... So... There's definitely bad stuff at either end... AFARR |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
My wife toyed with the idea of going into wound care full-time, she did it for a while. Her big problem with it was that, depending on your employer, your decisions may be second-guessed by penny pinchers without medical training. Her second biggest problem was ostomies. When she was doing the job, a lot of patients were either new ostomy patients or poorly managed ostomies. Apparently they're a mite whiffy. All of our hospitals in this area view ostomy care as a separate speciality and have dedicated ostomy nurses. Here too...and they come at a premium because it's a hard-to-fill position...which means MORE pay. We only have about a handful between all the facilities (6). It's an elite "clique". |
|
I'd like to recommend ICU, that's where I started 11 months ago and I learned more than I could have ever hoped to. I think ICU offers the new nurse the same skill opportunities and time management lessons; but you et more experience with really sick patients and learn how to manage them.
FWIW I'm taking a medsurg position next week to be closer to my fiance AND get a decent working schedule. I will pursue an ER or ICU job at that hospital when a position opens though. |
|
Quoted:
I'd like to recommend ICU, that's where I started 11 months ago and I learned more than I could have ever hoped to. I think ICU offers the new nurse the same skill opportunities and time management lessons; but you et more experience with really sick patients and learn how to manage them. FWIW I'm taking a medsurg position next week to be closer to my fiance AND get a decent working schedule. I will pursue an ER or ICU job at that hospital when a position opens though. Hospitals here won't even consider a new graduate nurse for the ICU. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'd like to recommend ICU, that's where I started 11 months ago and I learned more than I could have ever hoped to. I think ICU offers the new nurse the same skill opportunities and time management lessons; but you et more experience with really sick patients and learn how to manage them. FWIW I'm taking a medsurg position next week to be closer to my fiance AND get a decent working schedule. I will pursue an ER or ICU job at that hospital when a position opens though. Hospitals here won't even consider a new graduate nurse for the ICU. That's too bad, and not the case in MS. However, they pay a whooping $19.00 an hour
I enjoyed the experiences I got in the ICU 90% of the time, and I learned 100% of the time. At my unit the orientation process is nearly 4 months long....Easy to lose money on new nurses when they decide to leave. |
|
Wound care? Yuck. That was the most boring part of nursing school and most disgusting. OR isn't even that rancid.
But yeah, right now, you're gonna have to do some non-specialty stuff unless you get in good with someone. I met a guy who was able jump into the OR with an ADN and no experience, but his mother works as an NP at the hospital and has some pull I guess. |
|
Quoted:
Have you ever seen, or more importantly smelled a cavitating decubitus ulcer in person? More importantly, could you bring yourself to stick your arm into one up to the forearm to pack it full of gauze? I'm talking a huge, cavernous black hole that smells like literal death where a coccyx used to be, that is weeping a fluid that only God knows what it is. And you have to stick your hand into that warm squishy stinking mother to fill it with gauze. Now imagine what the gauze you take out if it looks and smells like. Wound care nurses work easy hours and make good money, but they do some of the worst work imaginable. Much respect for the wound care nurses. I'd probably hate the OR too since you're just standing in one spot all day. My feet and back would fucking complain big time. I just google imaged "decubitus ulcer". Now Im hungry. 
|
|
Be careful and make sure you get into a school with an excellent intern program with a hospital that will hire it's interns after you pass your boards. Otherwise say hello to home health care. Don't get me wrong home health care pays very well but for most people it is mind numbingly boring and the family will think of you as there personal bitch who runs errands and cleans for them.
My wife just went through this. She Has a BSN from a very respected nursing school in Ohio and played hell getting into a hospital after graduation. She took a home health gig, besides the afore mentioned problems there is a stigma for working outside a hospital for a long period of time and Hospitals are even less likely to hire you. She eventually was able to get into a community hospital, now with 1 year of nursing under her belt in a hospital she can get a job anywhere any time... |
|
Quoted:
Be careful and make sure you get into a school with an excellent intern program with a hospital that will hire it's interns after you pass your boards. Otherwise say hello to home health care. Don't get me wrong home health care pays very well but for most people it is mind numbingly boring and the family will think of you as there personal bitch who runs errands and cleans for them. My wife just went through this. She Has a BSN from a very respected nursing school in Ohio and played hell getting into a hospital after graduation. She took a home health gig, besides the afore mentioned problems there is a stigma for working outside a hospital for a long period of time and Hospitals are even less likely to hire you. She eventually was able to get into a community hospital, now with 1 year of nursing under her belt in a hospital she can get a job anywhere any time... Definitely gives me something to think about. I don't anticipate getting a job around my school, however, as the area is saturated with nursing school. I will most likely have to relocate elsewhere. Not to mention, there will be a class graduating just 3 months before I do. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Be careful and make sure you get into a school with an excellent intern program with a hospital that will hire it's interns after you pass your boards. Otherwise say hello to home health care. Don't get me wrong home health care pays very well but for most people it is mind numbingly boring and the family will think of you as there personal bitch who runs errands and cleans for them. My wife just went through this. She Has a BSN from a very respected nursing school in Ohio and played hell getting into a hospital after graduation. She took a home health gig, besides the afore mentioned problems there is a stigma for working outside a hospital for a long period of time and Hospitals are even less likely to hire you. She eventually was able to get into a community hospital, now with 1 year of nursing under her belt in a hospital she can get a job anywhere any time... Definitely gives me something to think about. I don't anticipate getting a job around my school, however, as the area is saturated with nursing school. I will most likely have to relocate elsewhere. Not to mention, there will be a class graduating just 3 months before I do. That is the crappy part of nursing, it can be hard to get a job initially, especially in areas that have many nursing schools. Pay is also depressed in those areas, move if you can afford to. Then once you have a year or two of experience you can get a job no problem. |
| Been an OR Circulator for 11+ years. I was hired out of nursing school straight into my position due to nursing shortage back then. Worked a bit in other areas and have NO interest in changing. OR nursing is more a technical job with very little charting where I work. But then, I work in a small town and do much more than my fair share at times. The Med-Surg nurses here mostly sit on their asses and chart and bullshit all day. I get along very well with the surgeons and even have gone shooting with them. I never get to sit around like some posters have remarked. It is not the job for everybody. I have seen many nurses who just can not hack it, especially the adrenaline junkies. If you can not multi-task and be highly organized, don't consider it. Perhaps in the big cities it may just be a go-fer job, but not where I work. For example in just one day I worked several GI cases (EGD's, colonoscopies), a ventral hernia repair, a mass removal, two lap cholecystectomies, and an inguinal hernia. I like my job. YMMV. |
|
Quoted:
Been an OR Circulator for 11+ years. I was hired out of nursing school straight into my position due to nursing shortage back then. Worked a bit in other areas and have NO interest in changing. OR nursing is more a technical job with very little charting where I work. But then, I work in a small town and do much more than my fair share at times. The Med-Surg nurses here mostly sit on their asses and chart and bullshit all day. I get along very well with the surgeons and even have gone shooting with them. I never get to sit around like some posters have remarked. It is not the job for everybody. I have seen many nurses who just can not hack it, especially the adrenaline junkies. If you can not multi-task and be highly organized, don't consider it. Perhaps in the big cities it may just be a go-fer job, but not where I work. For example in just one day I worked several GI cases (EGD's, colonoscopies), a ventral hernia repair, a mass removal, two lap cholecystectomies, and an inguinal hernia. I like my job. YMMV. I love the OR, however, I love it for other reasons. Having said that, when I worked in the OR, a lot of RNs had plenty of downtime to relax in the break room and read. This was a high class busy hospital where Mayo Clinic surgeons used to operate too. I'm not trying to demean the job at all. I think the less charting and certain differences is a plus, but my experiences are complete opposite of yours. I've yet to see many med-surg nurses just sit around and not work. If they appear to be sitting on their ass charting all day it's because the amount of paperwork if certifiably insane. You can't even care for patients properly because every damn move you make must be charted. Then all the other requirements for keeping up with hospital policy and continuing education. It's horse shit. You go to the right hospital with a decent census and you are non-stop passing meds, checking wounds, assessing, charting, calling people. Med-surg sucks ass. Usually nurses who sit around and BS are just so jaded, they have no business working in medicine. They do the minimum and have the experience to keep ahead of the flow, sometimes. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'd like to recommend ICU, that's where I started 11 months ago and I learned more than I could have ever hoped to. I think ICU offers the new nurse the same skill opportunities and time management lessons; but you et more experience with really sick patients and learn how to manage them. FWIW I'm taking a medsurg position next week to be closer to my fiance AND get a decent working schedule. I will pursue an ER or ICU job at that hospital when a position opens though. Hospitals here won't even consider a new graduate nurse for the ICU. That's too bad, and not the case in MS. However, they pay a whooping $19.00 an hour
I enjoyed the experiences I got in the ICU 90% of the time, and I learned 100% of the time. At my unit the orientation process is nearly 4 months long....Easy to lose money on new nurses when they decide to leave. The ICU I work at started taking new grads a couple of years ago. I would say its been a 50/50 success rate. The ones that can't hack it move onto the floors, but the ones that shine have turned into some of the best RNs I've ever worked with. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Been an OR Circulator for 11+ years. I was hired out of nursing school straight into my position due to nursing shortage back then. Worked a bit in other areas and have NO interest in changing. OR nursing is more a technical job with very little charting where I work. But then, I work in a small town and do much more than my fair share at times. The Med-Surg nurses here mostly sit on their asses and chart and bullshit all day. I get along very well with the surgeons and even have gone shooting with them. I never get to sit around like some posters have remarked. It is not the job for everybody. I have seen many nurses who just can not hack it, especially the adrenaline junkies. If you can not multi-task and be highly organized, don't consider it. Perhaps in the big cities it may just be a go-fer job, but not where I work. For example in just one day I worked several GI cases (EGD's, colonoscopies), a ventral hernia repair, a mass removal, two lap cholecystectomies, and an inguinal hernia. I like my job. YMMV. I love the OR, however, I love it for other reasons. Having said that, when I worked in the OR, a lot of RNs had plenty of downtime to relax in the break room and read. This was a high class busy hospital where Mayo Clinic surgeons used to operate too. I'm not trying to demean the job at all. I think the less charting and certain differences is a plus, but my experiences are complete opposite of yours. I've yet to see many med-surg nurses just sit around and not work. If they appear to be sitting on their ass charting all day it's because the amount of paperwork if certifiably insane. You can't even care for patients properly because every damn move you make must be charted. Then all the other requirements for keeping up with hospital policy and continuing education. It's horse shit. You go to the right hospital with a decent census and you are non-stop passing meds, checking wounds, assessing, charting, calling people. Med-surg sucks ass. Usually nurses who sit around and BS are just so jaded, they have no business working in medicine. They do the minimum and have the experience to keep ahead of the flow, sometimes. We rarely have downtime. For awhile I would be on my feet for 8-10 hours straight without sitting down once (and my back is paying for it now). And yes, I have seen med-surg nurses sitting around doing nothing many times. A lot of times it was rent-a-nurses that were there just to pick up a few hours and to hell with doing the job. I watched many times as old timers used the nurses aides and students to do their work so they could sit and talk shit about their latest boyfriends. It seem like they would only start working close to shift change and try and put most of the work on the incoming nurses. Yes, med-surg sucks. |
|
I'm graduating in May and doing my practicum now on a cardiac step down/telemetry unit. Set yourself up for the field you want to work in. I've worked as a telemetry tech, doing my practicum on a telemetry unit, and spent as much time in the ICU/PICU for my clinicals as possible. From what I've seen nurses with a few years of ICU experience can write their own ticket around here. Telemetry->ICU->Do what you want. I'm planning on doing a CRNA program in a couple of years.
|
|
Quoted:
Hospitals here won't even consider a new graduate nurse for the ICU. I went right to the ICCU, and my wife went to the NICU. It's hard to do, but it happens. Really depends on how much you know your stuff, and what kind of contacts you make your last semester of school. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I'd like to recommend ICU, that's where I started 11 months ago and I learned more than I could have ever hoped to. I think ICU offers the new nurse the same skill opportunities and time management lessons; but you et more experience with really sick patients and learn how to manage them. FWIW I'm taking a medsurg position next week to be closer to my fiance AND get a decent working schedule. I will pursue an ER or ICU job at that hospital when a position opens though. Hospitals here won't even consider a new graduate nurse for the ICU. That's too bad, and not the case in MS. However, they pay a whooping $19.00 an hour
I enjoyed the experiences I got in the ICU 90% of the time, and I learned 100% of the time. At my unit the orientation process is nearly 4 months long....Easy to lose money on new nurses when they decide to leave. The ICU I work at started taking new grads a couple of years ago. I would say its been a 50/50 success rate. The ones that can't hack it move onto the floors, but the ones that shine have turned into some of the best RNs I've ever worked with. I do plan on doing icu again, Im moving to get married. I liked the work, not my particular unit. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
The ICU I work at started taking new grads a couple of years ago. I would say its been a 50/50 success rate. The ones that can't hack it move onto the floors, but the ones that shine have turned into some of the best RNs I've ever worked with. I do plan on doing icu again, Im moving to get married. I liked the work, not my particular unit. Sorry, didn't mean to imply that you couldn't hack it. I was just talking about the new grads that have worked on my unit. Fortunately for us most of the ones that move on do it on their own, after realizing they are in over their head. I'll bet after they get some experience with time management and all, they will also be damn good Nurses. |
|
I graduated in December of '07. Most of my class had their pick of where they wanted to work. Several took positions in ICU's, ER's and OR's.
Only the ones who felt a calling towards med-surg or couldn't find a job elsewhere picked it. A year and a half later (approx.) there was a hiring *freeze* and very few jobs to pick from. Floors were still hiring if someone quit or was fired but only if they had the census to back the need for another position. Lots of different details figured into it based on the local and national economy, but some of the grads after me waited 6-12 months to find any nursing job in the area. I don't know what it is like where I started I moved to Texas. But to answer the OP's original question? Where you decide to work isn't half as important as who. If your manager sucks, so will work. Things to consider: Does the hospital have good policies? Are the policies enforced in a fair manner? When you visit the unit/floor are there IV pumps beeping, call lights going off and nurses at the station charting while the patients are ignored or nurses running from room to room because the patient load is unrealistic? A bad place probably won't be that obvious to see but the flags will be there if you look for them. Good luck. 
|
|
Quoted:
Been an OR Circulator for 11+ years. I was hired out of nursing school straight into my position due to nursing shortage back then. Worked a bit in other areas and have NO interest in changing. OR nursing is more a technical job with very little charting where I work. But then, I work in a small town and do much more than my fair share at times. The Med-Surg nurses here mostly sit on their asses and chart and bullshit all day. I get along very well with the surgeons and even have gone shooting with them. I never get to sit around like some posters have remarked. It is not the job for everybody. I have seen many nurses who just can not hack it, especially the adrenaline junkies. If you can not multi-task and be highly organized, don't consider it. Perhaps in the big cities it may just be a go-fer job, but not where I work. For example in just one day I worked several GI cases (EGD's, colonoscopies), a ventral hernia repair, a mass removal, two lap cholecystectomies, and an inguinal hernia. I like my job. YMMV. A-fucking men! 100% spot on! I went into the OR the day after i graduated as a GN. Worked there for 10 years. Changed jobs and went to work for a Hospice company as a QA RN. Never worked the floor and never will. The equivalent of being a ditch digger or block carrier on a construction site. The only people who think you "need to work the floor to hone your skills" are people too stupid or lazy to get one of the better positions. |
|
Quoted:
I graduated in December of '07. Most of my class had their pick of where they wanted to work. Several took positions in ICU's, ER's and OR's. Only the ones who felt a calling towards med-surg or couldn't find a job elsewhere picked it. A year and a half later (approx.) there was a hiring *freeze* and very few jobs to pick from. Floors were still hiring if someone quit or was fired but only if they had the census to back the need for another position. Lots of different details figured into it based on the local and national economy, but some of the grads after me waited 6-12 months to find any nursing job in the area. I don't know what it is like where I started I moved to Texas. But to answer the OP's original question? Where you decide to work isn't half as important as who. If your manager sucks, so will work. Things to consider: Does the hospital have good policies? Are the policies enforced in a fair manner? When you visit the unit/floor are there IV pumps beeping, call lights going off and nurses at the station charting while the patients are ignored or nurses running from room to room because the patient load is unrealistic? A bad place probably won't be that obvious to see but the flags will be there if you look for them. Good luck.
These are all good points to keep in mind, thank you. |
|
Quoted:
The only people who think you "need to work the floor to hone your skills" are people too stupid or lazy to get one of the better positions. Bullshit. Anyone can learn to be a circulation RN in the OR. Not a lot a critical think skills applied there huh? The people that gain experience in the "ditch digger" RN positions are the ones that become excellent RNs in the ICU, NICU, ER and other critical areas. They are the ones I want taking care of me and my family if the need arises. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
The only people who think you "need to work the floor to hone your skills" are people too stupid or lazy to get one of the better positions. Bullshit. Anyone can learn to be a circulation RN in the OR. Not a lot a critical think skills applied there huh? The people that gain experience in the "ditch digger" RN positions are the ones that become excellent RNs in the ICU, NICU, ER and other critical areas. They are the ones I want taking care of me and my family if the need arises. . NO , not everyone can learn to be a good circulator. I have met many so called "hotshot" RN's that were stupider than shit. Hell at this very moment I got a PA training with me that can barely keep up. We have chewed up many of egotistical RN's and sent them packing to other departments. Critical thinking applies to ALL areas to be a good nurse. Don't go generalizing my job if don't know what the hell I do. |