moving to rehab nursing a career killer?

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I am a relatively new grad working at a very high volume, high acuity L&D. I hate it. Its chronically understaffed and patient care is unsafe. I'm considering moving to a rehabilitation hospital with a very good reputation. It's better hours, better pay, better staffing...is there something I'm missing? Is there a reason to not do rehab nursing, career-wise? I'm not super-ambitious, I've no desire to do level 1 trauma, or anything.

Thanks for any advice!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

No reason at all. I work inpatient rehab and I love it.

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Everyone has their thing that they love :)

Rehab can be very sad and physically hard. But there is great demand, and if you're interested, go for it. I imagine it could be extremely rewarding. Good luck!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I worked in acute rehab for six years and have specialty certification as a rehabilitation nurse (CRRN). Rehab nursing didn't kill my career. Rather, it boosted my career and opened the doors to the cushy job that I currently have.

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I have worked in an acute rehab hospital for the past 3 years & I love it. The demographics are greatly varied & you get to keep most patients for awhile so you really get to know them & their families, which I really love. & it's one of the few places on the hospital that you really get to see your patients improve. Will admit the charting is quite a bit more than you see at a typical med/surg...

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I worked on an impatient rehab unit for about six years, and looking back, I have to say it was probably my favorite area. It definitely was not easy, like probably a lot of other nurses working in the med/surg units thought. As the years went on we saw much more acutely ill patients and started having rapid responses and codes way more often than we should have. Plus, we did a lot more lifting than the other units. That doesn't mean your facility will be like that at all. So, if you're worried about loosing skills, you won't be. You will just be gaining new ones. If you hate your current situation, then I say go for it.

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