Neuro--tell me why you do/don't like it!!

Specialties Neuro

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Help! I'm graduating in June, have just been offered a job in Neuro, and am really interested, but also scared! I'd love some input from people in the field, pros, cons, etc...

Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.
Hey Elk,

I haven't been on allnurses for awhile because i've been extremely busy between family, work, and school. However, your response to my post from several months ago just landed in my email box, and i felt I should respond. I did not mean to imply all young nurses were callous. I'm sorry, i know it did sound that way. The thing is, when i started nursing people went in to it because it was a calling. Today there are a lot more reasons to enter the profession. That's not to say many that enter today don't have a calling. There are a lot however, who lack compassion, adn from what i can see are only in it for the paycheck or flexibility, or whatever reason. I agree that neuro takes a special kind of person. After having children, seeing the devastation that happens to these kids breaks my heart. It is troubling for me to see nurses, young or old, roll thier eyes, sigh heavily, and complain when they have to help someone in such a vulnerable needy situation. If you haven't run across this yet, then you're lucky. Your unit is probably wonderful. I also wanted to add, that I still have a great deal of compassion after 20 years in the profession, and you were generalizing about older nurses just as i did about younger nurses. I am so thrilled to be back to MS ICU. Kudos the caring nurses who can to the job of neuro ICU!

True, however, I didnt say that I thought all older nurses were less compassionate, I said that I had met quite a few burnt out older nurses. Im not generalizing, just responding to what I thought was an unfair generalazation. I dont think age has much to do with the lack of compassion, I just wanted to make the point that older nurses can lack compassion just as much as younger nurses. It disgusts me to see nurses young or old who say things like "well he deserves it, what did he think was going to happen if he kept smoking...etc" or "he/she is so needy, they are a pain"....young, old, doesnt matter, those types of nurses need to take a step back and reevaluate their behavior. Sometimes I feel like we, as new grads get labeled unfairly..ive heard so many times...new grads are reckless, they lack compassion, they dont know what they are doing, they are only in it for the money, immature, yada yada....Some new grads, yes, all? No. I just hate being clumped in with all those generalizations. Im sure you were speaking your mind related to your personal experiences and I dont doubt that you have seen many younger nurses that lack compassion just as I have seen many older nurses that lack compassion, but doesnt mean that age factors into that. Im glad you are able to keep that degree of compassion after 20 years, good for you:0) Too bad not everyone is like that, caring is such a big part of nursing. Oh and BTW I went into nursing bc I felt like it was a calling...not for the paycheck, all though it is nice.:lol2:

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Specializes in Orthopaedics, ITU and Critical Care Outr.

People go into nursing for the pay? Where do you lot work??!!

It's the worst paid professional job in England. Significantly lower than teachers, police, firefighters....

Not to mention the govt has decided we no longer need nurses :uhoh3: so people are losing their jobs for the first time in 15 years of short-staffing.

Maybe I'm in the right job, just in the wrong place !

Starting my new role in NICU in January - very exciting!

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

I know several English nurses that work in my hosp. There is a program that brings foreign nurses to the US. She says nursing in the US is quite diff. than in England. She says the pay here is much better and she has more opportunities.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Cardiothoracics, VADs.

My hospital went from having three ICUs (cardiac, neuro, general) to having 2 - combined surgical (cardiac/trauma) and medical (everything else). My specialty is cardiac, and I hated the traumas. I don't know anyone who LOVES both - you're either a head or a heart person in my experience!

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Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

The hospital I work at has 3 ICUs, CVICU, SICU, and CCU. The SICU and CCU get a combo of general things, but the SICU gets all the neuro and truama patients.

I work in the SICU and I really enjoy it most days. Like others have said, there is nothing better than being able to follow a patient from when they are admitted and so bad that you figure they will never survive to when they finally come out of their coma and eventually make a full recovery. It is the greatest feeling in the world to know that you played a role in their recovery.

What I don't like is that not all of your patients will make it, their families are very trying, and NEURO BREATH!!! lol

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Road trips.

I can tell you have worked in NICU!! I giggled when I read that

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Specializes in Orthopaedics, ITU and Critical Care Outr.

Well, I've worked in NICU for 6 months now, and I'm loving it. The skills you need, the families you meet (funnily enough, I really enjoy that part), watching patients recover from seemingly impossible states, even road trips are still exciting at the moment! It is really sad, of course. But there is sadness in all areas of nursing. Perhaps it makes you appreciate the positives more.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, I had no idea really what the job would be like. I know I definitely need to learn much much more about the brain and neurology, but it's good to have motivation to keep learning. I'm also loving the teamwork - I've never worked with such a big team - it's a 13bedded unit (including HDU) and around 100 nurses!

To those thinking about it - go on, take the plunge. After all, if you're not enjoying it after 6 months to a year, move on - you'll have

gained some incredible skills and much transferable knowledge.

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I work in SICU, but have floated to Neuro, and get a few neurosurgical boarders in our unit.

I avoid neuro patients when possible.

ICP drains scare me, and I have yet to really figure out all the zeroing, and turning stopcocks.

The tragedy factor is high- as high or higher than Burn center patients.

An agitated patient wears me out. The trauma docs are more liberal with letting us use sedation than the neuro docs.

The signs of a patient "going bad" are more subtle.

There is little room for error with the brain

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Specializes in Neurosurgical/Pediatric ICU.

I have worked in a Neuro/Pediatric ICU for a year now and I must say that I love it. My hospital has 4 ICUs : MICU, NPICU, SICU and CSCU. Although I don't mind being pulled to the other units, they just don't feel like home. I love the traumas! Nothing is more fun to me than a basal skull fracture patient who likes to get naked (and spending the day telling them to stop playing with that!!)..lol.. or intubating a frontal lobe contusion patient who is going buck wild.. Another post said it right, most people are suited to either hearts or heads.. You definitely have to have a good sense of humor (or a slightly twisted one..lol..) to survive neuro.. oh, and being really quick with restraints helps, too! It is challenging and can be difficult, but if you have a good team behind you, it can be an awesome experience!

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry, neuro,research.

I agree with you. I wonder where the heart of nursing has gone, let alone the heart. I see things like you talked about often and it hurts me because I have been the TBI/coma patient on a vent and now I am a nurse doing research on TBI. I worked in the unit for a few years but it was too hard for me to see the "professional" nurses worry about who is calling on their personnal phone more than that patient on the bell again! I precepted a few nurses while there and before I told them my story and showed a picture of the car I was in, I told them the old standard, "What if that were you or your mom or your son in that bed, what would you want for them?" Never think that could not be you, it could and for some, for me,it is.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Well, that all depends on the unit/facility. I started as a new grad and dove into neuro...per the suggestion of the senior cardiac RN's (" you can learn hearts anytime, but it's hard to go back and learn neuro after you get settled in any other ICU").

It was good for me because I had the opportunity to learn, and it was fast paced. If you're planning on going to one of those units where they keep a CVA for 6 weeks, run away! Neuro is just awesome, it's so complex and interesting...but you will be bored if you are not putting in ventrics, having fresh crani's, and throwing mannitol at head trauma's.

My fav neuro envionment is at a trauma 1 facility..and no residents! Ask the nurses! If the surgeons are cool about teaching you things, and you are able to see a variety of cases, go for it! If you can't handle AMS and repositioning every 5 minutes, then you might want to reconsider,lol. Good luck!

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WOW! I am interviewing for a neuro unit in a couple of days and have been looking up info as I am a new grad. This post is awesome!! I had never thought about going into Neuro honestly, but the recruiter thought it would be a good fit for me. The more I have thought about it and looked up info the more excited and interested I become!!

I am not totally unfamiliar as my brother died of a neck injury and my father had a hangman's fracture and a frontal lobe injury. I remember being in the ICU with my father and how amazing the nurses were, all but 1 was willing to explain everything to me as they went and it really helped me cope.

Maybe this is my calling, maybe I can be that nurse that makes a difference in some small way.

Thank you all so much for this great information!!

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