what are the best divisions in hospital to work in?

anneuhbanana · Jan 3, 2013

Well there is pretty much everything you can imagine. There is usually at least one med-surg floor, there is one for post-op patients, orthopedics, cardiac, renal, trauma, oncology. The bigger the hospital the more specialized they are, the smaller the hospital the more mixed up the patients will be on floor. Everyone has a different opinion on what floor is the best, you'll just have to find out for yourself!

ShockEmRN, BSN · Jan 5, 2013

Depends on the hospital and what their specialties are but here are a few:

CCU (Critical Care Unit) (aka ICU) - a more complex care is needed for these unstable patient's with life threatening conditions

IMCU (Intermediate Care Unit) - Patient acuity isn't as high as CCU but it is higher than the regular floors

PACU/Recovery Room (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit)- Post operative patients are sent here after surgery for recovery/awaiting an inpatient bed

NICU-(Neonatal ICU) - a critical care area for premature infants as well as sick full term infants

Oncology -A floor where the majority of the patients are cancer patients and may be receiving chemotherapy/radiation

Orthopedics - majority of these orthopedic patients are most likely post-op

Med-Surg - Encounters many different types of patients, typically stable patients.

ER/ED- Emergency room/Emergency Department

OR- Operating Room

Labor/Delivery (L&D) -a unit usually designated as a critical care/surgical unit where women deliver children

Mother/Baby - a floor where new mothers are held along with the nursery

Telemetry -cardiac floor where patients are hooked up to a portable cardiac monitored which is watched 24/7

Rehab- providing care while trying to get the patient to their highest level of functionality

CDU- (Clinical Decision Unit) patients are observed in an outpatient setting where their medical needs are expected to last

There's many more and it really just depends on what interests you the most. I'm a nursing student too and I'm still trying to grasp all these different units. Once you rotate a lot during your clinicals it might help you to figure out where your niche is :)

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 5, 2013

The best division to work in is the one that hires you. In this day and age, that is not a joke. You'll learn something new anywhere.

jtoms · Jan 6, 2013

Thanks Alexandra. Didn't know there's this much in the hospital. Currently I'm volunteering at the medserg and telemetry, actually their combined. What semester are you in?

ShockEmRN, BSN · Jan 7, 2013

I'm about to start my second semester, but I currently work at a hospital as a nurse tech. Not all hospitals have this many units, some only have a few of these sections, these are just some that I'm somewhat familiar with... Still sooooo many more to learn lol. What semester are you in?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2013

Some hospitals have much more than the previous poster described. When I worked in the hospital, it had the following inpatient units:

-Bone Marrow Transplant

-Hematology/Oncology

-Research Floor

-Medical with primarily Endocrine and Adolescent patients

-NICU

-Med/Surg ICU

-Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery

-Cardiac ICU

-Neurology/Neurosurgery

-Medical with primarily GI/Pulmonary

-Medical with complex care patients

-Surgical- Ortho

-Surgical- General Surgery

-Surgical- Transplant

-Surgical- GI

-Medical ICU

-Medical Step-down unit

This was a 400 bed academic medical institution with 17 inpatient units. There were also dozens to hundreds of options in outpatient and obviously an OR, PACU and ER. Other opportunities to work inpatient included a float team and the IV team.

That said, I wouldn't say that any unit is particularly "better" than another across the board. Cardiology may be considered the best unit to work for in one hospital but it could be the unit with the most turnover in the hospital next door.