An opinion please?

BBnurse34 · Jul 18, 2002

Thankfully some nurses love geriatrics. You can't judge the profession on one rotation with cranky, stressed out nurses.

There are lots of opportunities in nursing. I learned early that I have a weak stomach and can't handle vomit, fecies, mucus, infectious fluids of an adult. I thought nurses was going to be impossible, untill I started working with newborns. Everyone has their place in nursing. Don't give up until you find yours

adrienurse, LPN · Jul 19, 2002

Please give yourself more time before giving up. Geriatrics is not for everyone and it certainly is not a reflection of nursing in general. The beauty of nursing is the different areas that can be as different as night and day. You may just find your niche in bedside care.

adrienurse, LPN · Jul 19, 2002

P.S. I really hated geriatrics too when I was a student. I didn't consider it to be "real nursing". Now I am a gerontological nurse. Go figure!

2rntish · Jul 23, 2002

I agree with the others. There are SO MANY other areas to explore. You mentioned teaching. Why not complete nursing school, get some real world experience and teach nursing?

cloudydrms · Jul 23, 2002

Originally posted by BBnurse34
....... I learned early that I have a weak stomach and can't handle vomit, fecies, mucus, infectious fluids of an adult. I thought nurses was going to be impossible, untill I started working with newborns. Everyone has their place in nursing. Don't give up until you find yours

I haven't started clinicals yet. I'm finishing up my last two prereqs this fall and then will start in January. But, now that I'm getting closer to the actual event, I'm starting to panic. I don't really have a weak stomach, but it ain't made of iron either. Now I worry that I won't be able to handle the bombardment of smells, etc. once I get in the hospital? BB, how did you make it through clinicals with a weak stomach?

Praying that I'll be able to keep my stomach from turning. I really want to be a nurse!

Cindy

Love-A-Nurse · Jul 23, 2002

originally posted by lisa32
hi, i am a nursing student who has just finished the geriatrics rotation and is going into the m/s, peds and ob/gyn rotation in the fall. my concern is this....i started having serious doubts about nursing after geriatrics. my instructors say that we get a lot more challenging as we go along but i am not certain at all that i want to do bedside nursing at all now. the hours and all the stressed out nurses who are treated badly and can't give the patient care they want to. has anyone gone and gotten their rn and then went to work for a pharmaceutical company or an hmo, something like that? i got really burned out on geriatrics and am not sure i'll be able to take all the physical exertion and emotional demands of nursing. i would like to get into teachingand education, just don't see much opportunity in the hospital. some advice, please?

, lisa, not everyone like geriatrics for one reason or another. give yourself and the other clinicals experiences a chance before you make a decision. simply because you graduate from nursing school and obtain your license, does not mean you have to work in the field or do bedside nursing. some places hire people simply becaue they have a degree.

all the best to you and as always, keep the faith! :)

Love-A-Nurse · Jul 23, 2002

originally posted by cloudydrms

i haven't started clinicals yet. i'm finishing up my last two prereqs this fall and then will start in january. but, now that i'm getting closer to the actual event, i'm starting to panic. i don't really have a weak stomach, but it ain't made of iron either. now i worry that i won't be able to handle the bombardment of smells, etc. once i get in the hospital? bb, how did you make it through clinicals with a weak stomach?

praying that i'll be able to keep my stomach from turning. i really want to be a nurse!
cindy

cindy,

! i think it is safe to say that all in this profession has a "weakness" or something that "freaks" them out. for me, it is mucous, expectorating...yuck!

Lisa32 · Jul 24, 2002

Thanks, guys! I feel better...was feeling very guilty because I didn't like Geri....actually looking forward to Maternity and Peds.

RenayCCRN · Jul 28, 2002

I am a sympathy pucker, so I work in ICU where I get to put in an NG tube before the pucking ever starts. There is a place for everyone.

Surgery very little vomit but very limited patient interaction

Cardiac rehab or lab stress tests, echos, ect.. very little vomit no blood

dialysis can have an odur inpatient anyways

Also I found that children vomiting is not the same as adults don't know why.

Some know their place right off, other have to test quiet a few waters before they find their home.

Trust me if you want to be a nurse you will find your home because it is out there.

Tiiki · Jul 28, 2002

Everyone doing clinicals has their favs and their not so favs. For me my stressor was OR. I would do just about ANYTHING to get out of an OR. The instructor knew this too! Each am she'd annouce the surgeries in the corresponding OR's. You'd sign up for the one's you were interested in. I never signed up for anything. Those left over got to work Post-Op. I LOVED that! I did get thrown into a few surgeries. Grinned and barely bared it. :) Loved Labour/Delivery, found Paeds really difficult as I always related it to my kids at home. I'm now an ER nurse. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Good luck! Don't let one bad experience ruin the whole show!

:)

JO-ANNE

joenp · Jul 29, 2002

do not give up, nursing is not just working in geriatrics. There are so many options out there, you just need to finish and begin to explore the options. You can go into related fields, like pharmaceutical reps., working as a nurse investigator for attorney's offices, working as a nurse in an insurance company, etc. Bedside nursing is not the only option. But, I would recommend you get your BSN, in order to be more marketable to other employers. joenp