The best nursing job ever!!

StrwbryblndRN · Oct 6, 2009

I won't say my job is the best ever but I like it. What I like is the shift, 7p-7a. My pay is the weekend plus differential.

What I love is my pt's. Luckily our job would not exist without them so there are plenty of them.

The elderly/confused is my favorite type of pt. They are so great. They never cease to amaze me.

I can even appreciate the ornery ones who will stop at nothing to make you miserable.

That's me in nutshell.

PS The facility is typical hospital. Not the worst not the best. However since I work nights/weekends I do not mingle much with management or deal with red tape issues.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2009

The best job I've ever had was as an independent RN consultant for three Adult Day Care companies.

ilovechadkrause · Oct 7, 2009

There are many jobs I've enjoyed.

1) Continuing care in private assisted living facility. Worked there for 3 years, straight days (although I picked up the odd evening and night shift). We only had 6-9 patients living in facility. With such a small ratio of people, I was able to get to know my clients very well. I became quite close to them and their families.

2) Doctors Office - was awesome! Great experience for those wanting to get into nursing. Working there made me more confident in approaching doctors, unafraid to introduce myself, ask questions, and become colleagues.

3) Surgery Unit - Post op care, usually a 4:1 nurse patient ratio. Days and evenings, 8 hour shifts. Was an incredibly ORGANIZED unit (which I LOVED), very straight forward care, a wide variety of nursing interventions used. There was something new to do every day. I absolutely loved surgery. I will probably go back there someday.

nickola · Oct 7, 2009

7p-7a in a busy ER- the staff was great to work with, the docs were great, very fast-paced & the variety was awesome!! I learned SO MUCH in my 6 yrs there!!

Imafloat, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2009

I am still in my first nursing job, as a NICU nurse. I love the babies and their families. I love that everything I do at work matters. I love that my population is vulnerable. I am detail oriented so NICU nursing is a perfect match. I have issues with poop and other body fluids, but when they come out of a baby, they aren't so bad (most of the time). I love the NICU because some of our families are there for a long time and we are able to develop relationships at work with them. I realize that people think NICU nursing is sad because it is sick babies. We all know there will always be a need for NICU's, there will be sick babies if I work there or not. I am glad that I am there to help parents through this dark time in their life. What an honor to make a parent smile during the most stressful and difficult time in their lives. I love that the families feel a connection with us and bring the kids back to see us for years and send us pictures every Christmas. It's incredibly rewarding to see the progress the kids make year after year.

Right now I'm not loving the hospital side of my job, we have been on a hiring freeze for a year, even though we have lost many staff nurses none have been hired to replace them. With H1N1 our hospital is busy and we are stretched too thin. I don't like being rushed and stressed all day, what if I mess something up? I know that this is a part of nursing. When I get really stressed, I go pick up a warm snuggly baby and rock them for a minute until everything feels a little better.

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2009

I loved working the NICU, and wouldn't mind being back there, except for the high stress levels of the Level 3. The hardest part for me was bonding with the parents and if their babies died, it would break my heart.

I moved onto Recovery Room where the patients are IN and OUT. I fix their issues whatever they are PONV, pain, etc., and then they LEAVE. I also like the fact that we are on call only for the holidays and work one weekend every 5 weeks (call). It's a great place to be in.

LOVE that aspect.

MiaLyse, APRN · Oct 7, 2009

The best job I've ever had was as an independent RN consultant for three Adult Day Care companies.

My experience in this field is positive also, very nice atmosphere/people to work with.

hallcrest · Oct 7, 2009

Thanks WeeBaby. I am a 1st year BSN student and have been spending alot of time considering where I'll land - or where I would like to land - when I graduate. My mind wanders often to the CRNA track...but the truth is, and I was just sharing this with my wife, that I was drawn to nursing originally because it would allow me to really exercise the care-taker role that is so natural to me and a part of my personality that tends to try and come out in whatever setting I find myself in.

I have spent a little time shadowing a CRNA, and I do understand that they do have some degree of relationship with patients and their families. But it is not the same degree of ongoing relationship capacity that is found in the NICU, for instance, where you have the patient and their family for a longer period to provide holistic care to. Although it's not quite 'the buzz' in the same way that being a CRNA is, I am getting back to my roots and remembering why I started this whole thing in the first place. And folks like you help me remember that.

Peace!

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Oct 7, 2009

Thanks WeeBaby. I am a 1st year BSN student and have been spending alot of time considering where I'll land - or where I would like to land - when I graduate. My mind wanders often to the CRNA track...but the truth is, and I was just sharing this with my wife, that I was drawn to nursing originally because it would allow me to really exercise the care-taker role that is so natural to me and a part of my personality that tends to try and come out in whatever setting I find myself in.
I have spent a little time shadowing a CRNA, and I do understand that they do have some degree of relationship with patients and their families. But it is not the same degree of ongoing relationship capacity that is found in the NICU, for instance, where you have the patient and their family for a longer period to provide holistic care to. Although it's not quite 'the buzz' in the same way that being a CRNA is, I am getting back to my roots and remembering why I started this whole thing in the first place. And folks like you help me remember that.
Peace!

The buzz you haven't gotten from NICU is taking care of a super sick baby--as an NNP. You can't compare as you really don't have that background.

Don't prejudge what you don't know.

nursepotter05, RN · Oct 7, 2009

I did pediatric emergency @ Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. I loved it there. I quit last year because i had to drive over an hour to get there and i had a new baby. went to hospital closer to home, not doing pediatrics. I miss it terribly.

mamamerlee, LPN · Oct 7, 2009

I worked NICU as my first job out of nursing school 35 years ago. We were super high-tech for the times, but when I see how far things are advanced, I am blown away.

I loved that job, left because of hospital politics.

Worked in acute dialysis for quite a while, and really enjoyed it. There is something very special in the situation - the patient, the machine and the nurse are one entity during the treatment. I especially enjoyed the ICU cases when my experience and confidence were maxed, and what I was doing was life-saving. Received a lot of positive feedback for managing smooth, effective treatments.

But most of all - home health nursing. The relationships developed with the patients and familes is incredible. Stretching your brain to give/teach the best way to care for patients in their own home. Teaching, teaching, teaching all the time. Helping patients find their way back to the healthiest they can be, whether it's wound care or CHF. Home care is not for the faint of heart! But no nursing jobs are, are they?

My least favorite - straight medicine unit in a community hospital long before DRGs and such, when the patients had to pried out of bed to get them home.