pros and cons of PEDS vs ADULTS

[penny77]

hi everyone,

Ok.. my question, short and sweet is : What is the major differences (pros and cons) between working as an OR nurse in a pediatric OR vs Adult OR?

And if you have the time and interest to read personal details then you can find them below

I have interests in working in the OR, i've spent a summer as an extern and enjoyed the experience. I was recently offered a position in the OR that I externed, but have not yet accepted.. I have a good possibility of being offered a job at much larger hospital (which is technically comprised of 5 hospitals).. I met with the recruiter of the 5 main hospitals and my interview went well, and my references were checked. I now have to proceed to the next step which is to interview with the specific nurse manager of the floor that I want to work on. Following my first interview the nurse recruiter shared her opinion with me that I may be better suited for the OR in their pediatric hospital because I am soft-spoken and mentioned that I was very stressed out in my first job as a new grad (6 months on an adult ortho floor). She told me that there are some very "assertive" (aka rude) surgeons and the environment in the hospital I was interested in is more stressful since they receive most of the traumas in my city. I have never really given thought to pediatric nursing.. but am wondering if there is a big difference when it comes to OR nursing? I'm hesitant to accept the job because OR nursing is such a different environment, and to add a population that I only barely touched upon during one clinical rotation? I have to make this decision by tomorrow! yikes.

if anyone can lend me their input, i'd appreciate it!

[HURN, BSN, RN]

I battle with doing adult focused nursing vs. peds sometimes. I see that nurse recruiter pointed out a good characteristic in you that would go well with the peds population. I like that she was honest with you about the type of environment you'd be facing in the adult OR. In a situation like this, it'd be good to do a self-evaluation and hypothetically place your self in realistic situations to see how would you manage. Could you see yourself working with rude obnoxious surgeons especially in emergent/trauma situations? I mean I'm sure you'd face that in both peds and adults, but really could you? Good luck on whatever you decide.

[firstyearstudent]

One of the things that bothers me, personally, about doing anything in peds is that the parents are making the decision for the child. What if it is not cut and dry that the child should have the surgery and the child does not want it. These ethical issues are much more rare when dealing with adults who can usually decide for themselves, for better or worse, if they want a procedure.

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

This is just a person opinion, but for me, I would have a very hard time working with kids for emotional reasons. I find it is easier to distance myself emotionally from adults and would have a harder time seeing bad outcomes in children. That, and dealing with crazy parents just isn't my cup of tea

More power to all the peds nurses out there!!!!