First timer - Burn Unit

gwenith, you bring up a good question about using some of the newer products on Steven- Johnson cases? I'm not quite sure many of them would be appropriate but now I'm intrigued. I'll try to find some research to see if that has been done yet. If I find anything I'll post it.

Having worked 2 Travel Burn ICU assignments found out a bit along the way. Burn units accept many other types of pts. most needing wound care- depends on the Unit, if sterile or clean. We had several Forstbite pts. and Ped/Adult Burn Smoke Inhalation pts. Lots of those pts seem horrible at first and later look quite normal. Burn pts come in as normal healthy people and do quite well, not having a background of illnessess. The unit is much easier than ICU- those folks have a very ill background. Diprovan, vents and all the drips work well during the immediate recovery period. Plus, Burn Units have the best Nurses, ever, Sheila

All I can say is, you guys are better human beings than I.......there's no way I could work in a burn unit and deal with the kinds of things you do every day without going off the deep end. Give me the little old dementia patients and the new moms and the chronically ill any day....

God bless all of you who do this work!

Glad your job is going well red.

renerian

Yes please keep us posted we don't get enough action on the burns forum. I personally would love to keep up to date even though I no longer work there,

Glad to here things are going well. I'm graduating in may and looking at starting on the burn unit. It's nice to know your a new graduate and loving it.

Here is some advice:

Stay hydrated and think pain management.

Welcome to the world of Burns!!

Hi all, I passed NCLEX & have just done my first two weeks in Burn ICU. Still trying to figure out whether I love it or hate it. My stomach seems to be ok ~ I've seen a few 90% burns, escharotomies, had patients die, all of that... but I had an experience the other day where I had to cause pain that really shook me up. I mean, here is this woman who has just finished telling me about her flower garden, & then I have to make her cry & beg me to stop. I wanted to give her more pain meds, but apparently she's very sensitive to morphine & they wanted to keep her at a level she could "tolerate". I suppose she tolerated it, afterwards she was fine... but it was very painful for both of us. I hated having to do that. If I could do it over perhaps I'd use some non-pharm methods, like visualization? I don't know. I'm trying to find a way to reconcile having to cause pain. Anyone out there have suggestions?

Just think that what you do now will shorten the pain later.

...and we can't take away all the pain now.