Peds definately is NOT for me!

[KimRN03]

I had my Peds rotation this weekend and I can definately say that after spending 2 days there I do not aspire to be a Pediatric Nurse! I had a really hard time dealing with my crying 21 mo patient. Everytime I came near her she screamed. It was absolutely nerve racking. The first time I flushed her IV and administered her first IV med my instructor said, "Well that went really well I think." I looked at her as if she were in a different room then me! I thought it was terrible! I did all my procedures well, but I still felt like I wasn't helping the patient at all. Just thought I would share my experience. I still don't know where I want to work when I graduate in 8 months. I seem to have more of an idea where I don't want to work then any interest. I'm getting discouraged. Thanks for letting me vent.

[Disablednurse]

I loved working in the peds unit. However, there were several chronic patients that came to the unit that were not expected to live long lives. After two died and I was lucky enough to be off when they did, I asked for a transfer off the peds unit. I did not want to be there when a child died. I love kids so much and had young neices and nephews, that I just could not deal with it.

[peaceful2100, BSN, RN]

It will happen. We will find places where we thought we wanted to be is not where we really want to be afterall and then we will find the opposite to where places where we thought we would NEVER go we end up going and thriving very well in those areas.

I thought I wanted to do pediatrics or OB. However, I discovered early during my capstone that OB is NOT for me so I switch to MED-Surg and people can think I am crazy all they want but I actually love my senior capstone in Med-surg. I am Learning so much there in such a short amount of time. I also happened to love my Med-surg clinicals while we where doing clinicals there. I never thought I would like geriatrics but after doing my management clinical around the geriatric population and many of the patients on the med-surg unit that I am on and taking care of are of geriatric age I discovered that I like working with that age because they need good care at a time in their life where they should leave with dignity, respect, love and wonderful care not the opposite. My personal belief is if babies come into the world like that with dignity, respect, love and wonderful care why not leave the world the exact same way. I have been doing a lot of thinking and I have thought of working in med-surg for a couple of years and then going back to school to become a geriatric nurse practitioner working in a clinic once I go to grad school and become certified as a GNP. There is a really great future for GNPs but really only for those who have a heart in it.

Just 8 months ago I thought I knew and then I started thinking about I am not so sure I can do that but now it is starting to come together more and more and I will be graduating next month. Give it a little more time.