Life as a burn nurse..

[Dempather, RN]

Hi guys - I'd just like to send out my respects to you and your line of work. I think that often, people consider this one of the tougher specialties of nursing and shy away from it. I have never helped a patient that was severely burned, but the stories I've heard when it comes to caring for these patients are truly amazing.. and exhausting (so it seems..). I can't imagine the amount of emotional and physiological support that needs to be added in the plan of care. So again, I think what you do is great... because I don't think I could ever do it. I feel like this isn't a normal specialty that people just "try out" because it's so extreme. Did any of you ever swear never to go into this profession and have a change of heart? Or did you always know this was what you were going to do?

[Burn_Nurse_in_Ga]

I worked in the ICU at Brooke Army Medical Center for years and alot of my friends wanted me to transfer, I never did and fell into this position after moving to Ga. Wish I would have went a long time ago, It is my calling.

[Gennaver, MSN]

... Did any of you ever swear never to go into this profession and have a change of heart? Or did you always know this was what you were going to do?

Hello,

I am very new, (pre NCLEX). As a former EMT/Fire-Fighter, (the grandaughter of a FF who lost his sister to a Fire) I always thought that it would be far too painful to work with burns.

However, suddenly, (oh, after nearly 20 years of wanting to be a Nurse) I have done and about face.

I'm soon to be stationed at Brook Army medical Center and they specialize in burn treatment.

Currently I do not know what my unit would be but, I know that I would now jump at the chance to work with burn patients. I guess when you really think that you couldn't or wouldn't do something for so long and then fully reconsider it and change your mind then you are fully willing to devote to it. Maybe its because you've worked out any issues of doubt that could nag at you during the inevitable tough times.

After working in hospice and oncology I left it and thought I'd never go back but, I also changed my mind and when I went back it was very meaningful to me, I would also work oncology too. I am not a nurse yet and those experiences were as a tech assistant.

Gen

[mint_julep7]

i fell into burn nursing because i enjoy wound care. if it drains and seems to have a personality of its own bring it to me.... but burn nursing is even more interesting than being an ET nurse, (to me anyway...) because you can have an ER on your burn unit, and it invoves a myriad of body systems... you are always on your toes, and every patient reacts different to such a severe accident.

[Annabelle57]

I went into nursing school dead set on doing maternity/L&D nursing... and then I did a clinical rotation on a burn/trauma step-down unit and fell in love with it. I'm now working there as a brand-new RN, and I wouldn't go anywhere else. I cried during the first few debridements I ever had to do, but now I know that my patients need as much compassion, quality care, and good pain meds as I can give them! It's what keeps me coming back each shift.

[dontknowanewid]

I left burn nursing because we had a new manager who was ignorant not only about all aspects of nursing but had no desire to learn from her seasoned staff. Prior to leaving I had been in Burn nursing for 2 years and I loved it. I miss burns every day I work and am waiting until this manager leaves (shouldn't be long now) to go back to it. I will take a huge pay cut to be back in burn nursing -- it is where I belong. I wish I had gone into it immediately instead of working several years as tele first. Burns nursing is the most intense care one can give and is so labor intensive but ultimately, is the only position where I felt I truly made a difference in someone's life -- more than ER, more than CVICU. Its a area that people love or hate and there really is no in between. Those who hate it though, have the greatest respect for those of us who love it.