Can scientific types go into nursing?

ixchel · Jul 18, 2015

Hey, Tangerine!

I never imagined I would be a science guru but sometime in my 20s, I feel in love with science and evidence based practice. I think that there is a misperception regarding acute and critical care nursing that it is all touchy feely. Sure, that is part of it, but you really need a science brain to get through a shift.

You have to understand pathophysiology in depth as it applies to your specialty. I'm on a critical care floor (step down) in a small hospital and I see literally every specialty, which keeps me on my toes, always. When you have multi-system organ failures, you have to be a biologist, chemist, and pathologist. You have to understand how the labs paint the big picture, and know how the meds might be changing things for better or worse. You have to understand that sometimes you may have to sacrifice one organ for another, and then know how that changes everything. In nursing school or pathophysiology, you see everything one system at a time. In practice? What do you do with a patient whose BNP is 35,000, creatinine is 5.6, they come in with afib RVR and they're retaining a mess of CO2? The MD is ultimately responsible for the patient's clinical outcome, but who do they trust to paint the full picture? They certainly aren't there watching the telemetry, pulse ox, and amber decreased urine output. It's us. We have to be scientists.

Then there are the people. We have to recognize the subtle differences that may signal decline or improvement. You develop an intuition. I'm still so new at this all, but one day, I saw it. I couldn't believed I'd sharpened my instincts, but I had. I saw a difference in my patient, and I acted fast. Had I not done that, she would have had a very different outcome. She'd gone from stable respiratory status to respiratory failure, while still satting 100% on her pulse ox. It's not just the science. It's applying it. It's the fascinating realization that bodies follow such similar processes, and yet, just one subtle difference can make everything for that one patient can change all of the priorities.

The touchy feely.... I think most of us wishes there could be more time for that, but at the end of the day, rarely there is. I make my best effort to get a few minutes to talk with my patients. Usually it's at the time of my assessments, or, if it's a crazy start to my shift, I will after my 10:00 med pass. I'll just ask them, how's your day been? Or, "goodness you've had a rough week, huh?" The conversation may last no longer than 5 minutes, but I'll tell you patients love that a nurse actually sat down and listened to them. It doesn't take much, and really, I hate not actually feeling like I took that time to just *know* them a tiny bit.

I don't know if that helps any. I don't know enough about lab to give a full synopsis.

LV3677 · Jul 18, 2015

Hmmm. As a nurse, you'll definitely be collecting bodily fluids but not testing them. In my [limited] experience, RN's are not typically employed in the lab to test specimens.

I can tell you that I'm not a touchy-feely person and I love nursing. Like you, I feel that I have a scientifically based mindset and like to think I approach most things logically.

I suppose I don't completely understand "more scientifically based". Most of the things nurses do is based on science; anatomy and physiology, pharmacology/pharmakinetics, etc.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2015

You wont be in the lab working when you are an RN. If you want to work in a lab go be a cytotechnologist.

What do you mean "resemble a doctors personality"? I have no idea what you mean by this. "Resembling" and "being" are two different things. If you want be an MD great go to medical school.

There are lab people and there RNs. Would you allow a lab tech to work as an RN a couple days a week? Also they are not going to pay an RN salary to do work that a lab tech making 13 dollars an hour can do instead. If you want to be dual hired and work the lab (making the pay of a lab tech) on your days off then I suppose that can be done.

Young Tangerine · Jul 18, 2015

People often say I have the mindset of a doctor rather than nurse. But thanks for the all of your inputs. I just hope I can fulfill the scientific driven side of me within nursing. I'll probably look into research aswell

ixchel · Jul 18, 2015

People often say I have the mindset of a doctor rather than nurse. But thanks for the all of your inputs. I just hope I can fulfill the scientific driven side of me within nursing. I'll probably look into research aswell

There can definitely be research in your future as a nurse.

What do you think they mean by you having a mindset more like a doctor than a nurse? If it's the same people saying that nursing is all touchy feely, I'm not sure I would take their observations as accurate. Are they meaning it in a way that is unflattering to nursing? (I ask to rule that out. Gotta be careful how loudly you say something like that around here. We nurses are actually quite glad we're NOT doctors.) If being a nurse feels like "plan B" to you, then really think this over. You may be unhappy with the choice of becoming one.

Nonyvole, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2015

I was always told that I didn't have the mindset to be a nurse, that I was best served going into business. Then I got a biology degree because I was thinking about going into research. And went into EMS.

Now I'm a nurse. And loving every minute of it.

Or, there is no one "type" or mindset required to be a nurse.

Young Tangerine · Jul 19, 2015

Ironically its nurses who tell me I have more of a doctor mindset. They say I take charge and I always know what I'm doing but Ive seen most nurses with these traits as well. I apologize if my statements offended anyone. I was drawn to nursing because its more hands on and I'm a visual learner, so that works for me. I was under the perception doctors did all the patient care Ive also learned that doctors aren't all they're cracked up to be.

Nonyvole Thankyou. I was starting to think you have to have a certain mindset

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 19, 2015

You may want to consider physician assistant, that is kind of similar to NP.

Annie

ixchel · Jul 19, 2015

Ironically its nurses who tell me I have more of a doctor mindset. They say I take charge and I always know what I'm doing but Ive seen most nurses with these traits as well. I apologize if my statements offended anyone. I was drawn to nursing because its more hands on and I'm a visual learner, so that works for me. I was under the perception doctors did all the patient care Ive also learned that doctors aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Nonyvole Thankyou. I was starting to think you have to have a certain mindset

The best nurses I've worked with fit that description perfectly. :)

In fact, about 30 seconds off my orientation, a guy crashed on my unit. Everyone but nursing staff kept saying he was just having an anxiety attack. One of the nurses saw we were getting nowhere, busted out the "mom voice" and everyone cleared a path to the ICU. The ICU charge nurse, RT, and MD were like deer in the headlights, everyone was arguing the whole way there. The last time I saw the guy, he was being vented and rolled onto an elevator, getting choppered out for an open heart procedure he didn't survive. Obviously you never want to lose a patient, and that's the worst situation to be right in. The nurses were, and at least he had a fighting chance. If his nurse hadn't taken charge and gotten people to listen, he would have died right there in front of us.

Think of it this way - the doctors are the conductors of the orchestra, and we play the instruments. No one part of the team is more important than the other. The doctors know far more than we do regarding patho, meds, etc., but we are the hands on, eyes on, and messengers on the "ground".

Farawyn · Jul 19, 2015

The best nurses I've worked with fit that description perfectly. :)
In fact, about 30 seconds off my orientation, a guy crashed on my unit. Everyone but nursing staff kept saying he was just having an anxiety attack. One of the nurses saw we were getting nowhere, busted out the "mom voice" and everyone cleared a path to the ICU. The ICU charge nurse, RT, and MD were like deer in the headlights, everyone was arguing the whole way there. The last time I saw the guy, he was being vented and rolled onto an elevator, getting choppered out for an open heart procedure he didn't survive. Obviously you never want to lose a patient, and that's the worst situation to be right in. The nurses were, and at least he had a fighting chance. If his nurse hadn't taken charge and gotten people to listen, he would have died right there in front of us.
Think of it this way - the doctors are the conductors of the orchestra, and we play the instruments. No one part of the team is more important than the other. The doctors know far more than we do regarding patho, meds, etc., but we are the hands on, eyes on, and messengers on the "ground".

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Young Tangerine · Jul 19, 2015

Wow ixchel that's incredible. I respect doctors but i'd much rather be the eyes and hands in the situation.

So i guess nurses don't do lab work, maybe in clinical research perhaps. I have alot of different interests "surgery, forensics and many more. I want to be a Nurse Practitioner /Scientist