Utmost respect for Burn Unit Nurses.

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I am in my last semester of nursing school. Last week's clinical was in the Burn Unit. I was able to help with taking off dressings, hydrptherapy, and redressing. Some of these patients were on vents, had 12 or more IV drips running, in induced comas, and they would still respond to the painful debridement. It just broke my heart to hear the screams of some of the patients and these nurses were constantly pushing pain meds. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do this daily and not let it get to you. Once again I have the utmost respect for these nurses and the kind of emotional toll they must go through.

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Specializes in Telemetry & PCU.

i want to second that motion!

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Ditto, especially with my first career having been as a firefighter... you gotta love burn unit nurses.

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:redbeatheI'm just 17 and still in highschool, But i already know i want take care of burn victims. It doesnt gross me out or anything at all. I know not many people can take that kind of gore, But i know i can. I think of it more as a calling. Burns dosnt gross me out, more of it just interests me. Actually, just gross things about the human body interests me. And i love taking care of people, so i had the idea of treating nasty burns while i know i'm helping somebody in major need. I know i sound crazy, But being able to look at stool samples for worms or something takes a slightly crazy person lol. I totally want to do that. I love learning about parasites. I just really want to be a nurse to take care of really sick people. Burns and parasites are my favorite thing to learn about. I would love to care for somebody with both!

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Completely agree with you. These nurses work long and hard and their job is one where you see much pain and horrific injuries that would be hard for even the strongest willed of us all to ignore, not letting these injuries get to you would be such a hard thing to achieve. You see their pain, you see their injuries, you feel their pain yourself, it is hard to bare i think and those nurses who treat these people, who reassure these patients and comfort them and their families, deserve nothing but the utmost respect for what they do. I know that I couldn't handle it myself. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do the job right.

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as a burn nurse i want to thank you guys. many people including some other icu nurses do not understand what being a burn nurse truly encompasses. if u are not compassionate and caring, this nursing specialty is not for you. there is no feeling that can describe seeing a 50%

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Smurphie123 sick with it because burn care is rewarding. We see amazing things everyday. I have worked in so many areas of nursing and no area has ever gave me the job satisfaction that the burn unit does! :)

~ A truly proud burn unit CNA

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Wow. I have to second and third everything everyone has said. It truly does take a special person to do what you all do and thank goodness for you. Any of us could be on the receiving end of care in a burn unit so I'm so thankful that there are such caring people out there. Thank you.

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Specializes in psych, geriatrics.

I am in awe of anyone who can, and does, work on a burn unit:yeah:

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I am a burn nurse and honestly can not imagine doing anything else now. I love the one on one time that I get with my patients when I am doing their dressing changes.

I think people think that it is harder than it is but if you are a compassionate person who can emphasize with these patients then it makes your job easy.

i will say that there is a lot of psych that goes along with being a burn nurse (aka suicide attempts, domestic violence, ect) that may actually be the hardest part.

Thank you for thanking us for doing what we honestly love:)

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Specializes in Wound care.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above comments! My father was a patient in the Burn Unit a few years ago. I was constantly there to visit and get updated on his condition. The staff treated him and the family with respect. They were also very accommodating to our religion practices as we tried everything to help my father recover from his wounds. He was finally discharged from there about a year after his accident. Now that I am a nurse, I often thought about applying there, but I'm not sure if I could even come close to the compassion, respect, and commitment that those nurses showed my family.

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Specializes in psych, geriatrics.

Personally, I can do compassion. Respect. Professionalism. No problem. But burns? No way - kudos to those that can, and do it so well. That's one thing I love about nursing - there are just so many niches and so much diversity.

That brings to mind how much I appreciate night nurses, and med-surg nurses, and SNF nurses, by the way. The list goes on and on - Kudos to everyone!

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