Somebody Burn Me I Must Be Dreaming!

[mrcleanscrubs, BSN, RN]

Greetings Everyone!

It brings me such great joy to announce that I have recently accepted a position at a Level One Trauma Center on a Trauma and Burn Surgical Step Down Unit.

I am calling on all Trauma, Burn, and Medical Surgical Nurses to inform us on the kind of patients they receive.

What kind of trauma patients are you presented with most frequently?

What are some of the most helpful tips you have for a new Trauma and Burn Surgical Nurse?

What brought you into Trauma and Burn Nursing?

What are some of the hardest things to deal with as a Trauma and Burn Nurse? (In any and all respects)*

If there was one thing that you could say would be most important for me to know, what would it be?

If you could only give me one piece of advice, what would your greatest piece be?

I am ecstatic about starting my career in Nursing; I have been waiting for this moment ever since I was five years old!

Thank You All!

Your Friend,

MrCleanScrubs

[ICU-BSN]

Congratulations and welcome to trauma!

I work in a Burn Trauma ICU. My unit sees a lot of motor vehicle crashes (MVC), motorcycle crashes (MCC), gun shots (GSW). We also see traumatic falls, drownings, crush injuries, suicide attempts (usually GSW or hangings), domestic violence... We also take burns. Basically if you can imagine it possibly causing major harm, we see it.

Trauma pts/families can be very difficult to deal with, especially the GSWs.

You will do a LOT of wound care, which can be time consuming.

Hardest things, we see a lot of injuries that are not recoverable. Generally it's completely unexpected for families. Donating brain dead teenagers, watching little kids come tell their parent goodbye for the final time, pts that have been severely abused and will never function normally again...it can be utterly heartbreaking in the unit.

But, sometimes we get pts that we don't think will survive let alone return to anything approaching normal functioning...then a few months later they walk back in that unit to say thank you...extremely rewarding and a great reminder of why we are there doing what we do.

Best of luck to you and feel free to ask me any questions!

[mrcleanscrubs, BSN, RN]

Hi ICU-BSN, BSN, RN!

Wow, thank you so much for your extensive response!

You really opened my eyes to the various possibilities that I may come to encounter in my soon so be work experience!

I will definitely take you up on asking questions should I have any- I am sure I will have plenty to ask! haha!

Thank you again!

-MrCleanScrubs