New grad accepted in Inpatient Rehab Unit

[ttreeds]

I was recently offered a position on the Inpatient Rehab unit at a major teaching hospital in my city. I was given a brief description of the job. However, i was wondering if anyone can shed some light on the duties and responsibilities of a nurse specifically in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. What can i expect working on this unit? What would my daily activities be like? What are the plus and minuses of working in an Inpatient rehab unit.

ANY RESPONSES/ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS

[mom2cka]

In my setting (acute rehab within a hospital), I am responsible for passing meds, changing dressings, IV meds, patient care tasks (toileting, turns, transfers, etc, including delegating these to PCAs, and reinforcing education with patient and family), assessments (we do a full head-to-day daily, as needed on the other shifts), documentation to the FIM (you'll hear all about it!!), updating physicians, getting orders, implementing those orders, following through on bowel & bladder programs, working with speech, occupational and physical therapists, updating social workers on patient needs, and lots of education - to patients, to family, to staff... it's fairly fast paced. I started as a new grad on my unit, have been there now for a little over 2 years, and it's a great place to learn assessments, learn to communicate with patients of all types, deal with patient families, have time to learn about warning signs if a patient has a DVT, PE, restroke, etc... it's hard to float to other units sometimes, because things are rather different, however it's all nursing - just in a different sense than someone on a med unit. We do admits / discharges, but not several a day as they may on a busy med floor. Cons - some days you can be wiped out, physically sore, and you have to be careful not to hurt yourself with transfers - some patients can be very heavy due to physical conditions and hard to transfer, so be smart about it and ask for help or use a lift if you think its appropriate. Try to give your meds on time to avoid conflicts with therapists... listen to your patients and their families... and know that many nurses who are in a rehab setting are there because they like it - and will stay there for years. Others move on quickly when they find it's not for them. I hope that helps!

[ttreeds]

Thank you so much for the response!!! It was highly informative

[MauraRN]

I agree with OP. I just started on an acute inpatient rehab unit. You see all kinds of pts; strokes, surgicals, multiple trauma, even had one with major cardiac/respiratory complications secondary to H1N1. Interesting place, tough on the body. I am 52 years old with some aches and pains and I am wiped out by the end of the day. Most of the pts are obese which makes turning repo transfer tough for nursing.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I've never done acute care rehab nursing in a hospital setting, but I have worked on a subacute rehab unit inside a nursing home.

On the subacute rehab unit where I once worked, we dealt with a lot of central lines, IV antibiotics, CPM machines, feeding tubes, suture removal, surgical staple removal, complicated wound care, ostomy appliances, diabetic management, casts, braces, splints, cervical halos, and so forth. Most of my patients had recently underwent surgical procedures such as laminectomies, knee and hip arthroplasties, kyphoplasties, CABGs, hysterectomies, limb amputations, colectomies, thromboembolectomies, and abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs.

The non-surgical (medical) patients were admitted for recovery from CVAs, acute MIs, debility, cancer, fractures, status post pneumonia, deconditioned states, failure to thrive, status post falls, contusions, and generalized weakness.