Nurseforkiddos

Thanks so much for the post!! I'm pretty used to the MRCP population, we had a generous population of them where I came from too. I love traumas, although they always break my hearts, especially when they're victims of violence like that little guy you're talking about . I also love kidney transplants. I took care of waaay too many bowel transplants at Georgetown! Mostly I'm hoping to see a mix of acuities and take care of those really sick kids again. That's what I love about PICU! My biggest question is how the unit works. Are the nurses generally satisfied with their work? Is the medical team collaborative with nursing? Do nurses feel supported? Are people nice (I mean, once they get to know you )? Is staffing reasonable? The unit I came from was really great and I'm totally spoiled!! Anything you can find out would be great!

Hey everyone! I am considering taking a staff position at Children's National in the PICU. I'm an experienced PICU nurse and I've been traveling for a while. I really want to go back to DC, but I don't know where to work. I worked in Georgetown's PICU and have no desire to go back there. I'm wondering what Children's PICU is like? How's the staff? What's the usual pt population? Do/Did you enjoy working there? Any comments would be appreciated!

When I first started working, I found this to be one of the most important nursing skills I had to learn. What has worked well for me is this: I made a rule for myself that I'm allowed to cry and worry and be upset on the car ride home. But once I get out of the car, I have to put it aside. This has really helped me. Often times when you're on shift, you don't have time to really think about or process what's going on with your pts, but you need to do this. It's part of being human. But you also have to limit yourself because it can drive you crazy. I recommend choosing an allotted amount of time that you can spend after work reflecting, but then make sure you stop yourself from thinking about it the rest of the time.