New grad considering Rehab

pepperann35 · Jun 16, 2007

The hospital I work at is starting a Rehab unit and I have been offered a job there. Any advice? After I take my boards next month, I might get 1 month experience on med/surg floor and then be transfered to Rehab. Any comment or ideas are appreciated :)

I worked on a rehab floor in Indiana before we moved here to Florida. I loved it! We mostly had recent hip or knee replacement patients. Slower pace than med-surg, if that's a plus for you!

buddhababy2monster · Jun 17, 2007

I'm a new grad starting in rehab (neuro) next month. I'm hoping for a good experience, I've been told I'll see EVERYTHING because anyone can have a stroke or head injury. Wish me luck!

RedWeasel, RN · Jun 18, 2007

I love it. I work in rehab Spinal Cord Injuries, Strokes and Traumatic Brain Injuries and amps--love it very challenging. Other nurses first floating there think it is a cushy place to work (for the first 5 minutes then they hit the ground running right out of report). Unlike their usual 4 pts we have 6-7, they get initiated quickly-they leave saying I thought it'd be easy here-but this is like boot camp!!! The brain injuries are very challenging-and the SCIs can be very needy. I dont mean that in the way it sounds-just that they are still getting used to not having freedom and having to ask for things-so once you are in the room they want everything just so before you leave, we understand but when you have a whole team like that it is physically and mentally draining, (I wont even get into 3-4 bowel programs a night!). Then certain pp expect please and thank yous. Dont. They dont WANT to have to ask you to retuck that blanket around their shoulders a 3rd time-they have to-they shouldn't have to thank you. Then there are the TBIs who will just NOT sleep just SO agitated-ambien has opposite effects on them. You will have to walk them around the halls for hours. Trying to keep them from getting frustrated etc. But then as time goes on you see them get better and better and like I always say, "Rehab does amazing things." (notice i didnt say miraculous-sometimes get those too tho)

advalRN · Jun 28, 2007

Rehab is great!! If you are ready for it. Sometimes the bowel programs could be discouraging. I love rehab despite that you see your patients change.

1studentnurse · Jul 8, 2007

I'm a new grad and I decided to start in rehab because it's such a great combo of things. First, med-surg skills are used everyday. We may not see immediate post-op people, but they usually are under 2 wks post-op from their surgeries. We also use our psych and gero skills a lot.

I work in a major midwestern rehab hospital. We are known throughout the midwest--not quite the Rehab Institute of Chicago, but we're up there. We have almost 100 beds in two separate locations (80 in our main location and 20 in our satellite). We also have outpatient locations throughout our area.

I did my last clinical here and it was definitely a change of pace. We do different things on days, evenings and nights, but we work to get people out of the hospital and home or to SNF or other facilities. It's definitely not the revolving door I saw on a med-surg unit just one floor about my unit. We also have 4, 8 or 12 hour shifts, which was not an option in other areas of med-surg where I interviewed.

This unit is a general rehab and spinal cord unit. We get just about anyone who has joint replacement, amputations, pts needing endurance training after a serious illness (cancer, MI, etc.) and of course, people suffering from spinal cord injuries. One patient in particular, a spinal cord patient, was the reason why I decided to do rehab. I saw what a difference nursing made in his progress in the six weeks I worked there and decided rehab was for me.

What's it all about? In our unit, my preceptor summed it up the other day, "it's all about bowel, bladder and skin" with our patients, whether they be joint replacement or spinal cord injury. If you have problems with any or all of these, you're going to have problems doing therapy and succeeding at it.

Good luck to you. I hope you get a chance at rehab. It's hard work, but a lot of fun.

RedWeasel, RN · Aug 11, 2007

I'm a new grad and I decided to start in rehab because it's such a great combo of things. First, med-surg skills are used everyday. We may not see immediate post-op people, but they usually are under 2 wks post-op from their surgeries. We also use our psych and gero skills a lot.
I work in a major midwestern rehab hospital. We are known throughout the midwest--not quite the Rehab Institute of Chicago, but we're up there. We have almost 100 beds in two separate locations (80 in our main location and 20 in our satellite). We also have outpatient locations throughout our area.
I did my last clinical here and it was definitely a change of pace. We do different things on days, evenings and nights, but we work to get people out of the hospital and home or to SNF or other facilities. It's definitely not the revolving door I saw on a med-surg unit just one floor about my unit. We also have 4, 8 or 12 hour shifts, which was not an option in other areas of med-surg where I interviewed.
This unit is a general rehab and spinal cord unit. We get just about anyone who has joint replacement, amputations, pts needing endurance training after a serious illness (cancer, MI, etc.) and of course, people suffering from spinal cord injuries. One patient in particular, a spinal cord patient, was the reason why I decided to do rehab. I saw what a difference nursing made in his progress in the six weeks I worked there and decided rehab was for me.
What's it all about? In our unit, my preceptor summed it up the other day, "it's all about bowel, bladder and skin" with our patients, whether they be joint replacement or spinal cord injury. If you have problems with any or all of these, you're going to have problems doing therapy and succeeding at it.
Good luck to you. I hope you get a chance at rehab. It's hard work, but a lot of fun.

we are in the midwest too on the river---our motto too is bowel bladder and skin.....maybe we bump elbows haha....but anyway rehab is challenging but it does amazing things---people start talking, then say sentences....then there are those who go from lethargic to agitated to focusing on what you say---very rewarding

zuzi · Aug 14, 2007

If you like acute care and love adrenaline in your blood, is the time to take it easy, looooool

Critical thinking a lot used. Cases varieties, extensive.

Must to be organized! Mind cool and heart warm to love to be beetwen people and to care about them each second of your day work! To love to keep hands In your hands, and touch legs, bellies, backs for assesments, to go at your home and to ask your self if till tommorow will be any change in their condition, and next day to asses again. To talk with relatives and be nurse and pastor counselor in the same time. To know to hug and to know to be ferm. To know to take decision by your self and to asume them! To know to say no!

Is an amazing place and it will make you burnt like soule and heart and thinking with your own mind, almost all the time at what you want to do! Is nursing all in all!

If you want that go girl for it! Zuzi tell you is a good choice if is fetting with your personality style!