[maire]

Ok, this is a bit of a rant, and I'm not sure how many rehab nurses actually read this forum (the thread count appears to be a little low), but here goes...

First, a little background...
When I first became a nurse, I did what I guess you could call my "stint in med-surg." This is what I was told I should do fresh out of school, to get the meat and potatoes of nursing under my belt. My first job was working on a pedi/adult med-surg floor. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it, with all the bubbling enthusiasm of a new grad and the belief that "Finally, I am doing what I was meant to do."
Then, a job opportunity opened on the rehab unit of my hospital. I was working part-time on the pedi floor and was looking to increase my hours (hubby and I were house-hunting at the time and I needed a little boost in the paycheck department), and this rehab position offered that.
I checked it out, talked to a bunch of the nurses who worked on that floor, and decided to switch jobs. It seemed like a fun floor, with great camaraderie among the staff, a fabulously supportive DON, and patients that eventually (for the most part) "got better and went home."
After working there for almost 2 years, I can honestly say that I love it. Not only do I adore the folks I work with, but more importantly it's such a rewarding feeling to admit someone who can barely do for him/herself and watch that soul go home a week or two or whatever later with greatly increased strength and mobility and often a new outlook on life. My unit census runs the gamut from fresh ortho post-ops to cardiac "OMG I thought I was a dead man" s/p MIs; those not sick enough to need acute care, but not quite well enough to go home.

Now, here's the rant part.
I was speaking with one of my husband's relatives not too terribly long ago who, when she found out I was an RN, asked me "what sort of nursing" I did. When I said I worked on a rehab floor, she seemed to lose interest and dismissed me with a "Oh, so you just give out pain pills."

Um.

I was more than a little offended by that. After running several scathing retorts through my head in the nanoseconds after she uttered that, I finally settled on a stiff, "Well no, I do considerably more than just 'give out pain pills.'"

Any of you ever get this??? Is that the general view of rehab nurses? That we just pass out pills and pillows?? Granted, I no longer face the constant hustle and bustle and chaos I once did as a med-surg RN, but still. What the heck??

[TheCommuter]

Originally Posted by maire

Is that the general view of rehab nurses? That we just pass out pills and pillows??

My work days on the rehab unit would have been significantly less stressful if all I did was pass out pain meds and fluff pillows. I did a heck of a lot more than that!

[sleepyjane]

My nurse manager once in a meeting with all the RNs told us the other staff (therapy department mostly) think all we do is give pain medication. I would like them to walk in my shoes for a day and when they go home bone tired and emotionally spent, they might want to reconsider. I honestly don't think that anyone except us nurses (and sometimes patients) really have any concept of how hard we work.

[Wise Woman RN]

I have been asked by other nurses lots of really silly questions.. Do you do assessments?? Do you check blood pressures?? Do you check blood sugars??
Do you do IV meds?? Seriously, they have no clue what a hard job we have, albeit very rewarding.

[zena231]

I've found that many of my nursing friends who work in other areas have no clue exactly what we do. I've heard many people say before that we are like a glamourized nursing home. Obviously, that isnt correct. What I usually do is explain to others what kinds of things we do, the variety of skills we have to master, as well as the varied patient population we care for. I think we have to be our own advocates and respect ourselves and each other.

[suanna]

Your friend does seem to have an unrealistic view of your job but I don't know if is that different from how little most people know anout the duties of any nurse in any area of speciality. Even within our own ranks there is a lot of misunderstanding about what the job entails.

[Diary/Dairy]

Non-Nurses have no clue what we do in nursing.

And I did feel like a licensed narcotic administrator when I worked on the trauma med-surg floor!

[withasmilelpn]

Wow, if she said that to me right now, she would get an earful! I am very frustrated with the public perception of nursing care. (A few months ago even I probably would've been lower key...)

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

I am sitting for my CRRN later this year...maybe you should show a copy of the "Core Curriculum" to this person, and see what they think of A&P, neuro anatomy, CVA's, TBI's, and SCI's......and all the rest. It's so easy, even a caveman could do it!!

BTW---I work in Home Care. Our agency focuses on rehab in the home setting, regardless of what disease process the pt is adapting to.