I am a new nurse - graduated in April and spent my first 2 months as a nurse on a busy level III NICU. I thought that's where I'd stay until last Saturday when there were back to back traumatic deaths of 24 week sisters. I was not their nurse, but since I was on orientation they had me do all of the post mortem care one one of the sisters. I also had their last remaining sister as my patient that day and the parents were a mess and the whole thing was just heartbreaking. It broke me. It was the second baby in 2 months that I'd done post mortem care on - I came home filled with anxiety and spent the next several days doing some soul searching and I've realized that the NICU is not the place for me. I've seen adults die and that's hard, but I've dealt with that. This....was a whole other level of traumatic for me and while I am in awe and amazed at those who can work with these tiny kiddos, I don't think I'm one of them.
The NICU experience has been disappointing because objectively it was a great job.....management was great and so were coworkers. I was lucky, or at least others would tell me I was. But I was a nervous wreck at all times and I'm still seeing that sweet baby girl's face that I dressed in a pink polka dot onsie for her last picture with dad. UGH....See, I can't. My hospital system is being AMAZING about it and has offered to transfer me to one of the following units. The good news is I love being a nurse. I just have to find my right fit. I have interviews and shadowing tomorrow and Monday. I need some advice from those who've worked these types of units as to the types of questions I should ask or issues to be on the lookout for:
Ortho/Trauma/Stroke unit - I am an older new nurse (47) and I've read that Ortho/trauma is the hardest on your body. Can anyone confirm that? What would be a normal nurse/pt ratio be? This unit probably appeals to me the most only because of the varying degrees and types of injuries, but I also have to be realistic about my age.
In Patient Rehab - I know nothing about this unit. I'm worried it might be boring, but that's based on nothing. I have no idea what inpatient rehab nurses do.
Behavioral Health - This is the unit they WANT me on because I have extensive background with mental health education and suicide prevention advocacy and education. I have no idea what psych nurses do....is it 'nurse' stuff, or more therapy and group work? The unit is 37 beds with 6 medical beds.
Any advice would be helpful. The next position I accept I'm staying at for a year or more (come hell or high water!) so I want to make the best informed decision as possible.
I work on cardiac/ stroke unit, and our hospital has an ortho only unit, so the combination of ortho and stroke is odd to me.
It may depend on how many units your hospital has. Stroke/Neuro patients can have a lot of physical deficits, and combining that with ortho can have staff better trained to dealing with patients and new ADL problems. Can also have the PT/OT nearby because of their higher patient load. Also may depend on where neurosurgery goes, since both ortho and nsgy would be dealing with post-surgical wound care, etc.
Don't do it if you don't want to, but it is not a dead end.
As an inpatient psych nurse I gave meds, did a lot of education, used restraints when necessary, ran a group, and on the child and adolescent psych unit I communicated with parents daily.
It opened up some doors for me to a community position that is mon to fri 8 to 4 no weekends, nights or holidays and I always get my lunch.
But psych is really only for nurses who enjoy the population. If you burned out of psych in your previous job, then just don't.
Give the unit a look see before you commit.
Also great advice. I'm shadowing on the behavioral health unit today and I will keep an open mind. I guess the reason I thought it was a dead end is because every time I tell anyone I'm considering behavioral health they tell me that I'll never be able to get out of it if I decide in a few years that I'm burned out from it. Other nurses don't seem to hold behavioral health in high esteem...not that that matters to me - but it does confuse me as I consider it to be a vital part of health care. I have a passion for that population which is why I was doing mental health and suicide prevention education for years prior to nursing school. I'm just not sure if the position would be the best one for my future goals of eventually working daylight shift. The night shifts about kill me....maybe I just need to get used to them...
I’m not sure why they are pushing those three units but if I were you I would take a moment to consider what kind of area you are interested in.
Have a look at the job openings at your facility and see if there is anything open that you are interested in then talk to your manager / HR about where you would like to work.
Best of luck. PS I’m not saying there is anything wrong with those units. I’m just pointing out you mention wanting to stay at least a year in your next position and make no mention of any interest in these units. It’s important to choose an area that you are actually interested in as opposed to just choosing a way out of your current unit.
I’m not sure why they are pushing those three units but if I were you I would take a moment to consider what kind of area you are interested in.
Have a look at the job openings at your facility and see if there is anything open that you are interested in then talk to your manager / HR about where you would like to work.
Best of luck. PS I’m not saying there is anything wrong with those units. I’m just saying that as you mention wanting to stay at least a year in your next position it’s important to choose somewhere that you are actually interested in.
I started with my manager and HR department. Since I am still a new grad there are only so many units available to take new grads. I was given 4 options to interview/shadow and out of those four I chose to shadow at inpatient rehab, ortho/trauma/stroke and behavioral health. I did not choose the fourth option which was general med surg. Considering I'm transferring after only 2 months into my contract and the hospital I'm transferring to (in the same health system) is going to buy my contract, I'm not complaining!
My behavioral heath interview was amazing. Right up my alley and the unit felt like a perfect fit. No nights, which is amazing for me. But beyond that I felt like it would be a great unit to really connect with people. I have a passion for mental health and have worked extensively in it, although not as a nurse. I'm going to take the behavioral health job!
Thank you all for your advice - I considered each and every point made!
CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN
1,017 Posts
It may depend on how many units your hospital has. Stroke/Neuro patients can have a lot of physical deficits, and combining that with ortho can have staff better trained to dealing with patients and new ADL problems. Can also have the PT/OT nearby because of their higher patient load. Also may depend on where neurosurgery goes, since both ortho and nsgy would be dealing with post-surgical wound care, etc.