Ortho/neuro or Rehab?

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.

Hi all. I have been a nurse for a year on an ortho/neuro floor. I got 3 weeks of floor orientation as a new grad. I am still struggling with time management in a major way. I feel like I am drowning 3/4 of the time and stressed out. I leave work every evening 2-3 hrs late and still feel like I have not given my patients the care they should have. I don't take lunches or breaks but usually manage to eat a bite here and there.

I was told by some nurses on my unit that rehab would be a little less stressful and not as crazy. I somehow have a hard time believing that. I know rehab patients are quite heavy and when I said this to the aforementioned nurses I was told the CNAs would do all of the lifting, etc. I for one, Know this is not a realistic picture as the CNAs can not possibly do everything. The nurses that have said this to me have not worked rehab at my facility. When I leave late from my shift I sometimes see the rehab nurses working late also as the rehab unit is on the same floor as mine. I also spoke to a rehab nurse last night who happeneed to float over to my unit. This lady has been a nurse for 42 years and she says it can still be quite busy.

Can anyone tell me from their experience if rehab is less stressful tahn other other units in the hospital?

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Honestly I think all the units in the hospital are busy...it is bunch of bull when one says that other units are easier,less busy etc...like sometimes I hear people saying that med-surg is easier than cardiac floor,what??:uhoh3: Medical surgical is a general floor and if you handle med-surg you can handle just any unit...I'm very surprised they gave you only 3 weeks of orientation (isnt this unsafe???) They should give you at least 12 weeks...anyway I would stick out it out on your floor.

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.
Honestly I think all the units in the hospital are busy...it is bunch of bull when one says that other units are easier,less busy etc...like sometimes I hear people saying that med-surg is easier than cardiac floor,what??:uhoh3: Medical surgical is a general floor and if you handle med-surg you can handle just any unit...I'm very surprised they gave you only 3 weeks of orientation (isnt this unsafe???) They should give you at least 12 weeks...anyway I would stick out it out on your floor.

Thank you for your reply. That is my feeling too. All nurses work under stressful conditions in the hospital.

I graduated in 2008 and worked for 5 months in a LTC facility basically passing meds to 20 some odd residents. No real skills learned there. My boss considered this experience and was probably looking for a cheap way out. New grad jobs in the hospital are hard to come by so I grabbed this position when I was offered it.

I truly believe that the 3 weeks of orientation time was a way to make my boss look good budget wise. I also believe the 3 weeks of orientation I received is also a big part of the reason I am still struggling.

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Thank you for your reply. That is my feeling too. All nurses work under stressful conditions in the hospital.

I graduated in 2008 and worked for 5 months in a LTC facility basically passing meds to 20 some odd residents. No real skills learned there. My boss considered this experience and was probably looking for a cheap way out. New grad jobs in the hospital are hard to come by so I grabbed this position when I was offered it.

I truly believe that the 3 weeks of orientation time was a way to make my boss look good budget wise. I also believe the 3 weeks of orientation I received is also a big part of the reason I am still struggling.

I work on a cardiac floor..I'm starting my 5 week of orientation (which suppose to be like 6-8 weeks depending on how it goes) and honestly I'm not ready to go on my own..I think I will ask for 12 weeks. It really makes me upset that floor managers expect new grads to learn how to perform a safe nursing care only after 8 weeks of orientation..I trully believe that all new grads should get a minimum of 3 or 4 months orientation (although I really like the idea of one year preceptorship) I mean realistically you wont be able to see all there is to see within a 4,6,8 weeks of training,and then the hospital administration is surprised on how many new nurses leave the bedside nursing within their first year of career,seriosly who can blame them(even I after 4 weeks sometimes think about leaving!)It looks like you didnt get the right training from the beggining.

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Specializes in Rehabilitation, Home Care, LTC.

Ortho/Neuro I am surprised that this is one unit. I have worked in neuro before and I know that unit can be very difficult as well as ortho. I work on rehab and do not believe the hype that all the CNA's do all the work cause that is not always true. Yes the CNA's are able to perform certain activities on their own but for the most part these patients can require up to 2-3person assists.

With rehab I know I get a mixture of knee and hip replacements but you also get pt's who have been deconditioned due to long hospital stays and decreased movement. Then you have stroke pt's who require rehab so they can learn to function as best as possible with their new disability.

Rehab is not as easy and relaxed as one may think, I still leave my shift sometimes feeling that I did not provide the proper care I should for my pt's. Then the documentation for the pts is different from other units, being more descriptive and detailed.

So if Ortho/Neuro is something that you like, then I would suggest that you stick it out. Time management gets better over time, just try to come up with a system/order and it should get easier.

Good Luck

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