which is harder.. to be a pedi nurse or geriatric?

[BabyRN23]

which is mentally draining?

[AnonRNC]

Both.

NURSING is hard, regardless of the population you serve.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

which is mentally draining?

Both of them are, but in one of them the parents are much harder to deal with.

Hopefully any career you choose will be mentally draining because you put your best effort into it. The key is finding something you enjoy doing, then do that.

[eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN]

They are different and both have ups and downs. All types of nursing will. In both situations you will likely deal with family members who you won't like. You'll have patients who get on your nerves. Shadow both if you can to get a better taste.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Well, this is potentially a hot button thread.

I agree both are draining. I've never worked in peds, but I can only imagine that having the parents constantly hovering about would be nerve wracking.

One thing I will say, as a LTC nurse, is that I get annoyed at how we live in a society that so clearly values children way way way more than the elderly. Tell someone you're a pediatric nurse? They say "Oh, how special. You must have a special heart and are so blessed" Tell someone you're a geriatric nurse? They say "ew.... gross"

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I do not relate to infants and young children very well, and I'm not accustomed to being around kids, so peds would be horribly draining to me. In addition, the parents often act more childish than the children.

Geriatrics is a piece of cake for me because I am used to being around older patient populations.

[RNperdiem, RN]

It is easier to find a job in geriatrics since the older person is the bread-and-butter of most healthcare. The jobs for pediatrics are much fewer.

There was even trouble in nurisng school finding pediatric clinical sites that could handle the number of students needing a peds clinical rotation.

[itsmejuli]

The only way you're going to know is to work with each population.

[Kaci82]

which is mentally draining?

I cannot comment on geriatrics since I've never worked with that population. However, I give the utmost respect to nurses who do. It has many challenges and setbacks that people don't consider.

I've worked peds my whole career (8 yrs). I now work in peds onc. I love it, however, it is very draining. Some people are surprised that children die. Also, you're not just dealing with the child, you are offering support to their parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. You are dealing with people who have been dealt the worst of the worst. It is not something to consider lightly.

[Kunzieo]

I've worked both, and I submit that they are equally mentally draining. With both populations- the most draining part is dealing with the families. With peds you've got mom, dad, grandma, etc hovering around and questioning your every move. With geris you've got daughter, son, spouse, and longtime friend hovering around and questioning your every move.

Both are special populations with their own unique needs. To me, it's equally rewarding to help heal a child, or help ease a geri's pain or improve their quality of life.

The clear advantage to peds- less physically draining! Their bodies are usually smaller :)

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Apples and oranges. Each (any!) speciality has its upsides and downsides...what comes easily to one may be very challenging to another. What emotionally/mentally drains one person, another may thrive on.

IMO, the best way to answer your question is to try both and decide for yourself.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

They are both draining but in different ways.

I worked in adult care- primarily geriatrics- for one summer in nursing school. Every night I'd go home hoping I'd die by the time I was 65 because I would see people who came to us in horrible shape from nursing homes, who didn't know who they were, where they were and didn't ever have anyone to come visit them. 3 old ladies in particular always stick in my mind... 2 of them I was assigned to sit with, the 3rd I was trying to help get ready to go home. The first 2 were so severely confused that they were almost in restraints. One believed that we were trying to poison her with meds and that the applesauce the nurses were giving her was stolen from a baby. She also believed that the hospital was stealing the letters that her family was sending her (sadly there were no such letters and no contact from her family). The 2nd woman asked me to buy her a copy of the newspaper because she wanted to read her own obituary- didn't I know that she died last night but then she came back to life and it was too late to stop the presses? She was also very busy and needed to go to a hair appointment at 11am because she was starring in a play at 2pm. At least she thought she had good things to get to. The final woman was preparing to be discharged (diagnosed with a UTI) but I could not convince her to put her shoes on. She thought she was being held hostage... she was convinced that she had gone to a concert in the city the night before and that she wandered through a tunnel and ended up here by mistake. She believed that her house was just the other way through the tunnel.

I have worked in pediatrics for my entire professional nursing career. It is emotionally draining- children do die in pediatrics and some parents put their kids through basically medical torture because they won't believe that their child isn't going to beat the odds- but I wouldn't ever trade it to be an adult nurse.