New Burn Nurse Here - HELP!

Hey,

I too went into the Burn ICU right out of school though I was a Paramedic 6 years before that. Getting over it....don't think it's so much that as it just becomes familiar. When you take care of these patients and experience the different levels of burn care it just becomes familiar. Don't try to memorize all the topicals and resuscitation fluids and different meds all at once, you'll drive yourself insane.

You should have preceptor, at least I hope so. Hopefully, he/she will take different kinds of patients during your orientation so you can become fully familiar with burn care. This is what I do when I precept a new burn nurse. I start off small, new burn but small TBSA, no vent or numerous drips. Take them around during dressing changes to see the different stages of burn care. As the new nurse gets comfortable with the type of care we take harder and harder patients until we have a patient on a vent, 15-20 drips, CVVH, a huge dressing, crazy family, the works.

Seriously though, relax, review your notes and orientation material you'll be fine....oh and the smell, I don't even notice it anymore (2.5 years in), the sights, some are worse than others, if they bother enough just talk to someone about it, like an experienced nurse on your unit. For whatever reason the sight of major trauma has never bothered me, except for kids.

Good Luck and welcome to the brotherhood!!!!

I'm a new nurse myself, and I've just been hired to work in a Burn ICU. Unfortunately, my nursing program only spent 1/3 of one class day on burns/shock/trauma. So, needless to say, I'm a bit scared. I haven't started yet, but it's coming up soon.

I'll definitely be coming back to this forum a lot.

Don't be scared. You will go through several weeks of orientation and preceptorship before you are on your own. Our new nurses have 12-16 weeks with their preceptor. As for the specifics of caring for a burn patient that will all be part of your orientation. Before our new nurses hit the unit they have classes on burn resusitation to include all phases of burn care from admission to discharge. the topical burn treatments,
electrolyte replacement, mechanical ventilation, positioning, sterile technique, etc.

Just pay attention, ask questions and be ready to work hard. Burn nursing can be very rewarding but hot and hard work.

Good Luck!!!

I'm hoping I feel the same way, with it getting a little bit better each day. What burn center do you work in, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm working at the Burn ICU at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

I'll be starting in the BICU at Cornell in 2 weeks. I can't wait.

I just have to get through this pharmacology test tomorrow. I hate these things.