Ortho is the best...

[rnvol18]

I was wondering if this was true for all of you out there...

At my hospital if you can work on the ortho floor, you can work anywhere Is this true of all of you guys???

[kewlnurse]

Having spent waaaay to much time on ortho, I'm here to tell ya, not even remotly close to being true.

[3651bht]

I do hemodialysis full time and ortho on the side.. Actually, only nurse in hemo WITHOUT a "bad back" cuz I know how to transfer...LOL

[mjamesRN]

Our Ortho unit is a Med-Surg dumping ground (MVAs, joint replacements and freak accidents aren't daily occurences), so we get hit, and we get hit hard with all types. Level 1 traumas mostly go to ICU first, but we get them as soon as they need an empty bed down there. Accident victims require lots of tender care with PTSD. Pain management for one patient can take half of your shift. DVTs are a constant threat for long bone fractures. Traction is NO picnic. Preop AND postop elderly are very trying. Ortho is hard, and when I get staff-shared I'm amazed at how the nurses complain about their work load as I breeze through a shift actually being able to breathe. No, I couldn't work ICU from my ortho expereince, nor L & D, and even telemetry makes me a little nervous, but after working ortho, I can handle 12 patients on any med-surg floor, hands down.