[sowie]

Hey everyone,
So I'm a relatively new nurse (worked for 2 years on an inpatient peds rehab unit) and i'm trying to decide which of these units to work at. I am looking for more experience, to learn a new area and possibly try to figure out what area I want to study for graduate school. Can anyone give their input? Thanks!

[RedSoxRN]

I worked on a floor that did both. I would STRONGLY recommend neurosurgery over epilepsy. Epileptic patients have a complex psychosocial aspect to their care, and often times make for extremely difficult patients to manage. I hate to stereotype, but very rarely did I care for an epilepsy patient who was cooperative with their treatment plan. Neurosurgery is an exteremely interesting and challenging area to work in, and I feel that their care is very well managed, at least where I work. You will also see a more diverse patient population, and you will be managing more acute clinical/post-op issues. To be honest, it was the epilepsy patients that caused me to leave the floor - I loved neurosurgery!

[grannynurse FNP student]

Originally Posted by RedSoxRN

I worked on a floor that did both. I would STRONGLY recommend neurosurgery over epilepsy. Epileptic patients have a complex psychosocial aspect to their care, and often times make for extremely difficult patients to manage. I hate to stereotype, but very rarely did I care for an epilepsy patient who was cooperative with their treatment plan. Neurosurgery is an exteremely interesting and challenging area to work in, and I feel that their care is very well managed, at least where I work. You will also see a more diverse patient population, and you will be managing more acute clinical/post-op issues. To be honest, it was the epilepsy patients that caused me to leave the floor - I loved neurosurgery!

Regardless of the type of floor, there will always be problem with patients. It depend on what type of path you are looking for. I worked ICUs, ER, psych, transplant, as well as med-surg. I usually worked a period of two or three years in each. I got to learn new things and had to deal with all types of patients. Neurosurg is a good area to explore. So is a general surgical unit. I enjoyed my ER and ICU experiences the most. The work and patients were challenging. Good luck on whatever area you chose.

Grannynurse

[sowie]

Thanks for the replies...Just wanted to give you an update that I chose to work on the Neurosurgical Floor at Mount Sinai in Manhattan and so far I absolutely love it!