Published May 9, 2016
2 members have participated
dreamerachiever, BSN, RN
75 Posts
I'm a certified nursing assistant, and I'm looking to gain some experience in the field before starting nursing school in the fall. What unit do you think would give my the most experience: Burn Unit or Mother Baby. The burn unit participates in and inpatient and outpatient care, and consists of and adult and pediatric unit. The Mother Baby is a postpartum unit in which mother and baby reside after birth. I really do love babies, but I know in order to become a good nurse, I need to be well rounded. Thanks in advance
Nursing24/7, LVN
240 Posts
As someone who is currently a CNA who has had shifts in ICU, Med/Surg, & Maternity the Burn unit would be my vote. I think you'll learn more in the burn unit, be challenged, see & learn more. In the postpartum baby unit the work is very "safe" but very repetitive & routine.
Thanks for the reply!
SummitRN, BSN, RN
2 Articles; 1,567 Posts
Burn if you have it in you. Unless you know you want to be LD
Also want to add that if you can work on a subacute facility or unit, med/surg or step down unit in a hospital, those would be the best choices for optimal exposure. As those 3 units are where I learned & saw/was exposed to the most.
cdsavannah59, CNA
244 Posts
I agree. I work in the mother/baby unit as the only PCT on shift. It is very repetitive and routine. Same every day, Vitals on both mom and baby, 25 doors to knock on to get vitals= 125 sets a vitals a day since nurse is first to do baby vitals. Seems to take forever to get all the vitals done and we are required to do vitals every four hours, or three times a shift So many things slow you down when you enter patients room. Vitals on both patients while mom is breastfeeding can take longer then others who have already fed baby. Baby's being fussy, mom on cell phone, getting supplies they ask for, putting ice in cups, time passes quickly and before you know it it took 2-21/2 hours just to do vitals which seems like a endless routine. When done with vitals, giving babies their first bath in patient room is time consuming and before you know it its vitals time again. I usually put in 6-8 miles per shift on my health app because of all the patient rooms we have. I think I would rather have 10-12 rooms with in another unit that is less repetitive but harder work.