Acute Rehab nursing....love it, hate it, accept it?

[emptyboxcars]

I will be starting on an acute floor and would love to hear from those who work in this area. Seems like certain areas tend to be well-loved, often hated, etc. Just curious to hear from you all about whether you love it, hate it, or feel indifferent about it. And can you tell me why you feel the way you do?

Just wanted to ensure this isn't one of those areas people are just dying to get out of because they work you like a dog. Is the workload tolerable or do you find yourself overly stressed? My ratio would be 1:6-8 on nights. I'm not one of those who thrives on craziness. While I can manage a busy environment, I prefer an area that isn't filled with constant urgent activity the entire shift (it stresses me out way too much). I experienced that on med-surg with a 1:4-5 patient ratio. Ideally, I'd like to avoid that.....I really liked ICU/NICU, but as a new grad I can't be picky. Thanks.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I work at a freestanding rehab hospital where the night shift ratio can vary from 1:7 to 1:12. If too many nurses call off and no one can be found to fill the shifts, I'm receiving 10 to 12 patients that evening. When fully staffed, we run 1:7 to 1:9 ratios.

I, too, like a steady pace that is not too busy and not too slow. On most nights it is manageable because the average length of stay is one to three weeks, so you get to see and know the same patients.

[starryeyed7]

Hi everyone. I know this sounds like a strange question but does anyone know how much vomiting happens on an acute rehab floor? I love nursing, but I literally have a phobia about vomit and don't handle it well. I know, i know....maybe i shouldn't have gone into nursing but i love everything else about it! I'm currently in therapy trying to find a way to deal with it better. All I know is that there was a lot of it in med/surge and I'm hoping that with acute rehab w/ a max 2 week stay, i will deal with this a lot less. Experienced rehab nurses please help and give me the info I need and help me figure out if this is a good fit for me. Thank you so much for any help.