Tell Me About Your Job

ChryssyD · May 1, 2017

Oh gee wow...where to start?! I've done lots of stuff, so I'll give you my two cents:

General Peds: Awesome if you love kids and teaching, really annoying if you can't stand noise, mess, or calming the wild anxieties of neurotic parents. Lots of wonderful things about peds--generally good staffing ratios (which are, in fact, necessary, and not always sufficient), a wide range of ages and conditions to deal with (infants to teenagers is as about as different as it gets--sometimes likened to completely different planets, which they're not, but I get the idea), and, best of all, cultivating the so-called pediatric personality (Peter-Pan-ish, not overly-serious, sometimes a little goofy) is a natural stress-beater and will keep you young. Kids are amazing people and you can learn so much from them. Biggest down-side: You see some sad, sad stuff. Like drive-you-to-drink sad.

Peds ICU: My main love. Really sick kids are really rewarding. They are also really sick, and some of them are going to die no matter what you do. Some of them are so sick and/or damaged they are better off dead; and I say that as one who spent the bulk of her PICU days working with long-term, chronic kids--birth defects and major conditions or injuries (cardiac, respiratory, neuro, trauma, or burns) that kept kids in and out (mostly in, with my kids) of the hospital their entire young lives; I loved my kids, and I got good at managing the challenges of their care--which is why I loved it so. Of course, it's hard work; in PICU you will give 110% every single day and love it. Even with the really acute traumas and illnesses, the high of occasionally sending a miraculous victory home usually balances out the incredible low of the lost battle you desperately wanted to win; sometimes it doesn't. You see sad stuff in Peds; you can see positively soul-crushing stuff in PICU. It can get to you, and that's when you have to get out. It's why I left. Enough is enough--leave me a LITTLE faith in people, please.

Interim period, in which I tried a pediatric walk-in clinic: fun, kind of ER-ish, very fast-paced and busy. Not really acute enough to challenge me, and too sporadic to satisfy my love of managing care at least fairly long-term. At least in your average community ER you get frequent-fliers--walk-in clinic was like ER-/Doctor's Office-Lite. Not for me, but I can see how some people would really like the deal-with-the-not-too-serious-problem-and-send-'em-home-happy environment. If you're inclined toward ER but don't think you can handle the really stressful trauma/code-type stuff, this is probably a good place to be.

From there I went to hospice, which was oddly wonderful. The staffing was great, the multi-disciplinary holistic approach was great, the ability to manage pain adequately was great, being there for people and their families when they really needed a kind, sympathetic, knowledgeable guide was great...it just wasn't for me long-term. I only lasted about a year. I feel bad about saying it, because I strongly believe in death-with-dignity and the importance of easing someone's transition to whatever comes next (for them and their families), but I'm so much about LIFE--I guess I just feel more drawn toward helping people live rather than helping them die. But if end-of-life care interests you at all, I have to say hospice was a truly wonderful and amazing experience for me.

Home care: No. Just...no. I mean, the kid was sick and needy and everything--three more like him and we could have had a deal, but just one kid? Oh my god, I thought I would lose my mind. It works for some people, though--LOTS of teaching, talking, hand-holding, emotional support...if you're a low-key type and don't have to be busy every single minute, and you really get into family teaching and support, home care is OK. Not for me, though.

Adult sub-acute: I thought I worked my buns off in PICU! This matched it, for sure. The main difference was, when we lost patients, I could console myself with the knowledge that they had at least lived their lives. It wasn't so devastating. And I liked having few enough patients to know absolutely everything about them and have plenty of time to spend with them, but not so few I was bored, or so many that I was overwhelmed (usually, although that can happen). Moving from kids to big people was a little rough, of course, but probably not as hard as vice versa. I liked the challenge of a lower-level ICU with the time to experience med-surg, rehab, long-term geriatric care, and more than a little psych in the process. Overall, hard work, but a nice medium between ICU and long-term care.

Corrections, adult male facility, medium-high security: Not bad, actually, because you never knew what was going to happen. You wear a lot of hats as a prison nurse--doctor's office nurse, ER nurse, OR nurse, med-surg nurse, EMT, local drug-store pharmacist, educator (about anything and everything even remotely related to the human body), therapist, drill sergeant, and den mother. You have to be able to handle everything from ingrown toenails to intracranial bleeds, scabies to suicide. It's sometimes slow but never boring. I liked it a lot. It does take a bit of a thick skin, and a sense of humor never hurts; integrity is a must--inmates NEVER forget a half-truth told or a promise not kept--and you have to be prepared for disappointment. They aren't the most motivated population, strictly speaking, when it comes to health in particular or the future in general. Not for newbies, as a rule, but for more experienced nurses it can be surprisingly challenging and even rewarding.

Geriatric psychiatry: I'm home! I may actually get that long-delayed ARNP...this is my area! All the challenges of chronic illness, health promotion, patient and family teaching/emotional support, and the added bonus of elderly streakers, shriekers, scrappers, sexaholics, and just plain loony-tunes! I think I died and went to heaven...where has this been my entire life? Seriously, though, it can be a little sad--Alzheimer's is no joke, and psychosis isn't remotely funny when it's happening to you. However, I actually feel up to the challenge, maybe because I've been through all the above. Maybe I've been through all of the above just to bring me here. Who knows? I usually think it's best not to ask why--just go with the flow and make the most of where you're at. I think that's actually the best advice I can give to a new nurse: all of life is a learning experience, after all. If where you start isn't where you want to be, take what you can from the experience and move on. Learn and grow. Life is a journey and there's so very much to see. Take the time to see it. You don't have to find the perfect job. If you keep your mind and options open, I believe, eventually the perfect job will find you.

Best of luck to you in all you do!

Isakolistic · May 2, 2017

I currently work in Med/surg, and I love it! I started out as a new grad in a LTC/STR facility that I had been a CNA at for a few years. I liked it there, but I knew that I eventually wanted to get into hospital nursing, and I had heard from so many people that the med/surg floor was a great way to start out. My goals when I was a new grad included probably going back to school to be an NP or CRNA, but first I needed some hospital experience. So, I finally got a job in one, and turns out I really enjoy the work! The unit that I work in is in a small community hospital, so we get just about everything, including tele patients and fresh post-surgicals of all kinds. Yes, it's difficult, and yeah, maybe I don't get to do as much specialty stuff as I would like, but I love that I can care for surgical patients one day then reverse roles and care for a CHF pt or CVA pt the next night. While I still think I'll probably head back to school for something at some point, I really love where I'm at and I am definitely in no rush to change it up!