Rehab vs Traditional Hosp. Would you do it again?

[HopefulCRNA2B, BSN, RN]

Hello all,

I recently graduated and have accepted an RN position at a new rehab hospital opening in my area in October. They deal with brain and spinal cord injuries, amputees, etc. I'm excited because it's a new facility and the starting pay is right in line with what the established hospital systems are paying the new nurses. One thing that I'm concerned about is apparently I could be caring for up to 10 patients. The way the CNO explained it to me is that the patients are doing 3+ hours of rehab (so they wouldn't be there all at the same time) and aren't on numerous drips like you might have in the traditional hospital.

Well, almost three months later, the floor I did my practicum on is finally expressing interest. That floor is within the system that I thought I wanted to work for but I didn't find the nurses to be the friendliest which made me actually happy that my practicum was over. It wasn't even the majority mind you, but I had never had those experiences through the entire program until I ended up on this particular floor. The good thing about this floor is that they only care for 3 pateints (4th on rotation) however it's total care.

FYI: I would love to be an OR, Women's Health, or ER nurse.

So my question: For you rehab nurses, assuming rehab wasn't your first choice out of nursing school, would you go into rehab nursing again? I have the choice between the rehab hospital and a spot as a CVPCU nurse.

I know many factors play a part in making a decision but I'd love to hear your thoughts ...

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

It's different strokes for different folks.

Personally, I dislike high acuity, which is why I continue to stick around in rehab. I have a blase personality. I dislike making life and death decisions. I don't want to be told by some hospitalist to drop what I'm doing to go start on a stat order.

In rehab, the pace is predictable and I'm able to have a few hours worth of downtime during the shift. By the way, I am not into total care. If I had the choice between 3 to 4 total care patients and 10 patients with one tech, I'd pick the 10 patients with one tech in a heartbeat.

However, it seems as if acute care is where your interests lie, so I would go to the acute care hospital if I had the same interests as you. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I LOVE LOVE LOVED being a Rehab nurse-I'm actual returning to it, it's within a big health system, and transitioning to all short-term, and they have high acuity pts, so, for me, it's the best of both worlds in a Rehab Hospital; there is potential to cross train into acute care, so that's a good thing in my case.

Rehab is a specialty like no other; you get to see a TON of sick pts; you still have to give meds, drips, manage complex wounds, and still manage pts that are truly sick; I think it is a great base for learning and honing a nursing practice.

If you are not to keen on that floor you have been precepting on, that should give you pause on whether you want to take that position-but ultimately, it would have to be a choice that you have to make.