What field of nursing would you NEVER consider working?

[nurse2be in ny]

Peds-I can't stand to cause anyone pain by anything I'm doing to them (don't know how I'll handle this in clinicals), but it's twice as bad with kids.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

My problem i'd have with peds would be the parents. Completely understandable on why they are the way they are in that situation, but still, not something i could handle. Bad enough when we had an appy on the med-surg floor i work on with a 43 year old pt. and his mom is like "oh my baby!!!" over and over. Sheesh.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Meanwhile, i did a couple of days in OR and loved evey second of it. :)

[grouchy]

Whoa! Lots of ways to answer this question!

My biggest phobic/irrational fear is of seeing people who have suffered extensive burns over large parts of their body. I don't think I could ever work in a burn unit.

I find myself torn between a desire to try the ER someday, and the thought that I would be an idiot to do so. On the one hand, I like the idea of working with people from all age groups ( as a med/surg and ICU nurse, I've mainly worked with the elderly ), I like the idea of doing something that draws on all of my skills, including psych. Of course, I'm a sucker for the whole lifesaving/excitement thing. I like the idea of working with more autonomy. I think the camaraderie, the personalities - you know, crusty, veteran ER nurses with sick senses of humor, cops, EMTs, would be fun. But, I've read the ER nurse's posts here, I've sat in ER's with loved ones and watched the craziness, and I just cannot imagine working under the kinds of conditions they do - including the heavy patient loads, and the fact that they have very high rates of being assaulted, and of being sued. I have a great deal of respect for them. (And, of course, they get to see burn and MVA victims, too.)

It's funny what you think you'll like versus what you actually do. Doesn't surgery sound exciting? Well, based on my extremely limited experience as a student nurse, my conclusion was that, unless you are the surgeon, it's not! At least, not for me.

On the other hand, I once took a job as a psych tech out of sheer desperation, after a horrendous job that I've described in another post. I actually enjoyed that job, for the most part, and I miss alot of my patients. But, it was also a horrible job in some ways. I worked on an unlocked ward, designed for pts with diagnoses like depression who weren't deemed to be a harm to themselves or others. Of course, due to cost-cutting, they started dumping inappropriate pts there; pt's admitted for suicide attempts but deemed to have a low risk of suicidality, pts who cut themselves, who were routinely smuggling in razor blades, and cutting themselves right there on the ward, pts who were still floridly psychotic. I was convinced that when the inevitable serious injury and resulting lawsuit happened, the administration would protect themselves and hang the staff out to dry. I would not do psych again, unless I could work in a much safer environment.

[kastas, BSN, RN]

"I like the idea of working with people from all age groups"......

The above post made me laugh. I am an L&D nurse. Just this week I had a 50 y/o prime and a 14 y/o prime. Thought you could get your fun this way. HeeHee

I agree with the post about not working with burns. I remember seeing a movie in nursing school about children in the hospital after they suffered severe burns. I cried through the whole movie and had nightmares forever.

[zudy]

Pediatric onocology. I am just too wimpy.

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

Never say never.

I once said I could never do burn, but I did. I didn't love it, but I liked the complexities of it and the team approach.

The prospect of doing home health doesn't thrill me( hate to go in strangers homes), neither does geriatrics((turning shceduals! )or oncology(reverse isolation). But if it boiled down to it I could do it. If you close a door you may be denying yourself an oppurtunity of a lifetime.

[itsme]

I could not do a managing type position, I am a nurse to be around people, not paperwork, I do enough of that allready!! Also I could not handle emotionally a peds unit, sick kids or dying kids breaks my heart and I would just lose it. I love kids, but I would feel to helpless around the sick ones!! I dont know if I have the guts to work in a trauma center, I would love to though, but those nurses are just way to smart and tough, I would be lost in an instant!!! Heck, I would probably go into a panic and they would have to save me!!! But to all the nurses in these positions, I admire you all so much for having what it takes! Thank goodness there is such a variety of feilds for a nurse to go in to!! I will keep my spot in geriatrics until I become one!! ( or retire when I am 50)!!

[greeneggsnham]

Definitely OR. Standing in one place too long. The blood and guts didn't bother me, but rather the arrogance from the surgeons and the way some staff members treated one another. I loved being in on cases, viewing the human body literally, but OR was a very hostile environment for me.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Paperwork nursing and anything political where you have to go to meeting and such. blech.

I love when I get to go to cesarean deliveries as the baby nurse but I HATE THE BLUE CAPS and masks (I can't breath). So, OR is out on a regular basis. I know, vain.

I'm with some of you who say "never say never" though.

steph

[kimtab]

Don't think I could ever do hospice.

Kim

[sanakruz, ADN]

A Pediatric burn unit on Christmas eve.