Sunshine382

I have currently been in the PICU for the past 2 years and am ready for a positive change- better hours and better environment. I fear that since our PACU is mostly adult patients who will be having many procedures I am not familiar with and on meds/ gtts I don't know, that I will not enjoy it. I really have no idea as to what to expect and am about to change my mind about the job. Can any of you please offer some advise?? Thankyou, Confused

Thank you both for the useful replies. Being the only nurse and so independant, do you feel that you hold greater liability than in the hospital?

To all you OHN's out there, I am kindly asking for your input. I am in a very difficult position right now trying to decide whether or not to leave critical care nursing for an OHN job at a wonderful company. It would be a completly different career path for me as I've only been a nurse for only a couple years. What do you love and hate about your job????

I have a panel interview in a couple days for an occupational health nurse job, but have no occupational health experience. This is a wonderful job opportunity and I believe I would enjoy it. It would be a huge change from PICU nursing. I have no idea what to expect for this interview or how to prepare. It's been a couple years since I've had an interview. Can anyone please give me some tips to ease my anxiety? Do you think I should research or study up on occupational hazards/dangers and how to respond as an OHN..... or will this interview pry be like any other ordinary interview?? I just don't know what to expect!

Thank you very much for your response! You did a thorough job of explaining OHN. It really made me think when you mentioned not having to worry about making mistakes and harming a client (as is oftentimes seen in the hospital setting). This just might be the job for me. Now, I have 2 major concerns: 1) Am I competent to do this job without any OH experience?? I suppose you have to start somewhere though... but I have been working with PEDS. Is the job easily learned? (it's ok, be honest) 2) I feel that once I cross over into OHN, there's no turning back to floor nursing b/c I will quickly grow rusty on my skills as a floor nurse. It might just be a leap of faith I'll have to take..... You have been so helpful. Thank you!!

I'm trying to gain a better understanding of the responsibilities and daily duties of an OHN?? I've currently been working in a PICU for nearly the past 2 years (yeah, I know, big change) but I am ready for a change. I recently ran into a contact who is hiring for an OHN position and encouraged me to apply. I have been reading some of the threads to gain more perspective on OHN but still have many questions. Is there lots of paperwork?? Is it mostly a deskjob?? What's the stress level? What's a typical day entail?? Is it more enjoyable than floor nursing? Any honest answers and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

I work in the PICU and would rate my job satisfaction as mediocre. There are great days and horrible days. But I feel that alot of my job disatisfaction roots from lack of support and unity from our team of nurses and doctors. Working with children is generally very enjoyable for me, although there are many sad cases. I do not have any children, but I often wonder how my emotions and feelings might be different if I did. Try to think back to what made you unhappy when you worked there previously and how much those things matter to you now. I will admit that after going on a couple week vacation, I really started to miss work which I never thought I'd say.

Good point, very true...it depends on who you are. The opthalmic job sounds interesting......what were your job responsibilities??? I will have to do some thinking, soul-searching, and researching...... Thank you.

I'm new to nursing and have been thinking alot about all of the various and numerous career options in nursing. In your opinion, what is the best nursing job and why? On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate the stress level of that job. (I'm in pursuit of a job with minimal stress, if that is even existent). Also, what has been your worst nursing job??