Orthopedics

Scrubs4JB · Mar 4, 2008

Thanks, core0. I have pretty much tossed out that idea of becoming a RNFA and that is one of the reasons. The majority of our patients are Medicare patients. Also, I feel like I can get better results out of advancing my career to possibly ACNP. I'm still trying to learn more about this field and the different possibilities with this career. These life decisions can be tough to make! lol

Emmjay · Mar 5, 2008

I spose this may also be anti nurse.......but you might want to consider becoming a physical therapist. They work one on one with patients and they have so much autonomy. They aren't hitched up and bound to MD's.

PT job satisfaction ratings are soooo much higher than nurses. The stress

is much less.......just a thought!!!!!

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Mar 6, 2008

I am a junior in nursing school and I'm more than halfway done. I love nursing, and i still do, however after 3 years of physical therapy and 2 ACL surgeries, I have just discovered that I have a huge interest in orthopedics. Physical Therapy interests me, orthopedic surgieries interest me, fractures and muscle and ligament injuries fascinate me as well. Is there any type of advanced practice degree, most nursing practioner but even clinical specialist, that would allow me to work in a sort of sports medicine field or assessing/diagnosing/treating orthopedic injuries? Before I finish out this degree I want to have an idea of where I'm going with this, and I'm realizing that my interest in orthopedics is something I can't ignore.

I don't mean to hijack the post and sway anyone's desire to work in Orthopedics but there are other fields in medicine that deal with the musculoskeletal system. My first job as an NP was in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation or Physiatry. I worked with a group of physicians in this specialty and there were 5 non-physician providers who were also part of the group at the time (a combination of PA's and NP's). There are many musculoskeletal and neurologic problems that do not necessarily require surgery and are actually treated with modalities that Physiatrists do. These physicians work closely with PT and OT as well. One can argue, however, that some of the nerve blocks and joint injections physiatrists do overlap with neurosurgeons' and orthopods' roles.

The role I had with the group was more in-patient management because we were the physiatrist group that staffed an acute rehab hospital with multiple subspecialty offerings such as rehabilitating patients with brain injury, stroke, spinal cord injury, and the usual musculoskeletal disorders. However, there were opportunities to do clinic. I just didn't spend enough time with the group to explore it. The field of Physical Medicine and Rehab is actually dubbed as the "quality of life" specialty not only because the lifestyle for those in the specialty is generally good but the specialty itself helps patients improve to meet their full potential in physical function. It is a "happy" specialty with usually "happy" outcomes.

I had a great schedule while in the group (Mon-Fri, banker's hours) but my critical care background kept pulling me back to it so I made the change to my current critical care NP role. As I was leaving the job, one of attendings told me, "remember you are now leaving for a high-stress field and you are sacrificing a good lifestyle"...I think he's right.