Nurses who work on the stroke unit

Stroke nursing is not necessarily regarded as critical care nursing unless it is transpiring within a neuro ICU or medical ICU type of environment.

For instance, I work at a stroke-certified post-acute rehabilitation hospital. Although half of our patients are there to rehabilitate after having had CVAs, we definitely do not render critical care. However, we provide post-acute stroke nursing.

Do you think it's a good floor to learn from? I'm trying to decide.

Stroke units aren't considered critical care unless it's affiliated with a neuro ICU. The focus of these units is rehabilitation generally.

My hospital is a comprehensive stroke center. We have a brain/stroke floor for non-critical pts and a neuro critical care unit for more critical pts.

Stroke units aren't considered critical care unless it's affiliated with a neuro ICU. The focus of these units is rehabilitation generally.

Do you enjoy rehabilitation nursing?

My hospital is a comprehensive stroke center. We have a brain/stroke floor for non-critical pts and a neuro critical care unit for more critical pts.

Oh okay!!! Thanks for the clarification. I am considering working on the floor for the summer. I'm hoping it'll be a good learning experience.

Do you enjoy rehabilitation nursing?

I'm not a rehab/stroke nurse but I have worked in such units through registry/float nursing. They are hard work. CVA patients as you would know could have minor to major deficit in extremities. This means the patients generally require a lot of PHYSICAL assistance with ADLs.

Some people see rehab nursing as subacute and therefore the work is boring- I've found quite the opposite, new nurse could learn a lot in this environment.

I'm not a rehab/stroke nurse but I have worked in such units through registry/float nursing. They are hard work. CVA patients as you would know could have minor to major deficit in extremities. This means the patients generally require a lot of PHYSICAL assistance with ADLs.

Some people see rehab nursing as subacute and therefore the work is boring- I've found quite the opposite, new nurse could learn a lot in this environment.

Is it hard work due to the high level of PHYSICAL assistance that the patients require? I really don't mind assisting people at all. My uncle had a stroke and when he was in rehab, he had some amazing nurses and he also had some very lazy and uncertain ones. Maybe they were bored :-/

Yes, it is a good floor for learning. You'll learn about the side effects and physical manifestations of various types of CVAs: hemiplegia, cortical blindness, hemianopia, dysphagia, expressive and receptive aphasia, unilateral neglect, flaccidity, muscle strength grading, neurogenic bladder, bowel training, etc.

Oh okay. Thank you for your input. I am really interested in stroke nursing. I hope I can handle it.

"Stroke nursing" is not usually critical care. Someone has a stroke, goes to the ER, then gets admitted to the neuro med/surg floor for eval and observation. After that, they may or may not go to a rehab unit (or hospital). I have worked on both a neuro med/surg unit and a neuro rehab unit. Although my preference is rehab, I would highly suggest working on the neuro med/surg unit for at least a year. You will get a lot more experience which will prepare you for your long term career. You do have to think quickly, though, as you will get patients who start to decline due to having another stroke, and they will need immediate interventions. Also, you will likely get traumatic brain injury patients (mild), and seizure patients and will need to know what to be watching for, as well as what to do if the patient starts to decline.

Go to med/surg if you want to learn more about acute care and more skills and then transfer to rehab when you get more experiences in med/surg