What field of Nursing will you work in??? & best/worst place to work?

Nurses General Nursing

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For nursing students: Once you become a Nurse, which field of nursing would you want to work in??

For nurses: What do you feel is the best and worst place to work in as a nurse... and why?

I'll start it off... When I pass the boards and become a nurse I'd like to work in the I.C.U., Peds, O.R. and maybe E.R.

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Easy choice for me: ER - been doing it 10 years and still lovin' it! However, I'm graduating with a CNS (clinical nurse specialist) in May and am unsure where I'll end up. Did I say I love the ER??

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i am a ltc'er; hands down. i have worked home health (2 of my patients died, though.) i guess everything depends on the "higher ups"; to be honest, not everyone meshes. guess i got lucky, because i have been at my facility for nearly 7 years. they saw me go from an lpn to getting my rn-bsn. they know when i am joking, and when i am mad. i have seen many patients come and go, alive and dead. have often been at the bedside while someone passes on. yes, it can be a trip at times, but do i wanna change? naaaah. not right now.

suebird :p

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Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.

Hello All!

Geez, worked med/surg floor two weeks after graduation from diploma nursing program (St. Clare's Hospital NYC) then once I passed my boards went to critical care. Worked trauma, oncology. Been a critical care nurse for over 30 years and if I had to do it all over again, I would. {And I probably would spend more attention to my nutrition classes}

The only thing I would change - if I could go back in time - would be to join the Army Nurse Corps earlier in my professional life.

Ready. Caring. Proud

athena

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Specializes in icu.

I graduate in May and have accepted a position in ICU. Critical care has been my passion all the way through school. I am thrilled that I have been given the opportunity to jump right into ICU.

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Oncology/BMT transplant. Been there 5 years and absolutely love it.

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Well, I can see I am in the minority here but...worse place...Peds...I can't take the heartache of beautiful dying children, suffering children. Not fair. Second worse place...any place you have to administer Go Lightly..:lol2: we know that Go Lightly is only named that to convince the patient it is okay to take it...then ;) watch out because you do anything but Go Lightly..and frankly I don't like cleaning some of those messes. Don't get me wrong I've done my share...was a CNA for 15years, a med tech for 5 of those an LPN for 10 yrs and an RN for 7.

The best place...right where I am now. Assistant Director of a 150 bed LTC facility. Every day is new and challenging. I love to recruit and hire. I love to teach and be a resource to others and problem solve. I love boosting morale and keeping the "team" feeling amongst our staff. I love to get to know my patients. Many rehab and go home and many live out the remainder of their lives there. I see them as not much different than most acute care patients. I get them 3 days post op or post medical. Many being discharged too early become acute and are sent back. This takes good assessment skills to recognize. We have no Physician on staff 24/7 so one must rely on good nursing assessment skills...therefore the nurse must be in tuned to assessment of all body systems. She has no rapid response team that can run in and take over in an emergency. She is it. She sees it through from the first chest pains to the interventions and arranging the transport to ED for eval and treat. She arranges Hospice based on assessment of need. She comforts and consoles family. She directs and leads her team of med techs and CNA's. She calls the DR with concerns,recognizes when Consultants need to be requested, orders the meds, does the treatments, documents, meets with Social services, attends care plan meetings, inservices and stays abreast of new developments. She wears many hats. Yet the LTC nurse does it with a smile on her face day after day after day because this is the life...it does not change...it does not get easier....it is rewarding...to see hope in the eyes of a patient who thinks they will never walk again when they do....to see faith in those eyes when they believe that eventually they will walk out the front door as they get closer on each walk with the Therapist every day...to see victory on that same face when you review their discharge meds with them on their last day at rehab.....to see peace on the distraught face of the patient whose fears dying and you have talked about it with him because others seem to skirt the issue and he has received some sense of relief from you. To thank the Veteran for ensuring your freedom that you may choose your career and work where you choose. I feel proud to serve each and every one of these people. I find LTC a VERY rewarding career.

Thank you for allowing me to share that with you.

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Well, I can see I am in the minority here but...worse place...Peds...I can't take the heartache of beautiful dying children, suffering children. Not fair. Second worse place...any place you have to administer Go Lightly..:lol2: we know that Go Lightly is only named that to convince the patient it is okay to take it...then ;) watch out because you do anything but Go Lightly..and frankly I don't like cleaning some of those messes. Don't get me wrong I've done my share...was a CNA for 15years, a med tech for 5 of those an LPN for 10 yrs and an RN for 7.

The best place...right where I am now. Assistant Director of a 150 bed LTC facility. Every day is new and challenging. I love to recruit and hire. I love to teach and be a resource to others and problem solve. I love boosting morale and keeping the "team" feeling amongst our staff. I love to get to know my patients. Many rehab and go home and many live out the remainder of their lives there. I see them as not much different than most acute care patients. I get them 3 days post op or post medical. Many being discharged too early become acute and are sent back. This takes good assessment skills to recognize. We have no Physician on staff 24/7 so one must rely on good nursing assessment skills...therefore the nurse must be in tuned to assessment of all body systems. She has no rapid response team that can run in and take over in an emergency. She is it. She sees it through from the first chest pains to the interventions and arranging the transport to ED for eval and treat. She arranges Hospice based on assessment of need. She comforts and consoles family. She directs and leads her team of med techs and CNA's. She calls the DR with concerns,recognizes when Consultants need to be requested, orders the meds, does the treatments, documents, meets with Social services, attends care plan meetings, inservices and stays abreast of new developments. She wears many hats. Yet the LTC nurse does it with a smile on her face day after day after day because this is the life...it does not change...it does not get easier....it is rewarding...to see hope in the eyes of a patient who thinks they will never walk again when they do....to see faith in those eyes when they believe that eventually they will walk out the front door as they get closer on each walk with the Therapist every day...to see victory on that same face when you review their discharge meds with them on their last day at rehab.....to see peace on the distraught face of the patient whose fears dying and you have talked about it with him because others seem to skirt the issue and he has received some sense of relief from you. To thank the Veteran for ensuring your freedom that you may choose your career and work where you choose. I feel proud to serve each and every one of these people. I find LTC a VERY rewarding career.

Thank you for allowing me to share that with you.

I could NOT have said it better... I love working in LTC. Of course there are the heartbreaking moments, but isn't that true everywhere? I could never work in OB/Peds. Or a med-surg floor. I love being the night shift supervisor in my 165-bed LTC and rehab facility. I love my residents, and love having the same faces all the time, and having the ability to make a real impact on their lives. I love seeing them smile. I love sitting with them and hearing their stories about living through the Depression, or hearing about the Titanic, or fighting in WWII. I love the autonomy that goes with my position. It's true that geriatrics is not for everybody- but it is definately for me.

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How exciting to read your post! I have been an ICU RN for a year and just accepted a job as a Hemodialysis RN at a major hospital in Maryland. I am really looking forward to the change!

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Well let me think..................OH HEMODIALYSIS

Reasons to be a hemodialysis nurse (chronic)

#1 You don't work Sundays.

#2 You don't work nights unless you want to and there is a noc program

#3 You don't work Christmas, T-day, or New Year's Day.

#4 You can be an expert

#5 You only have to deal with one doc. You get to know his ways.

#6 You are the eyes and ears for that doc. He trusts you and respects you.

#7 You can manage a group of patient.

#8 Excessive bonding with your patients. Wait that might be a con.

#9 Relatively new field. Lot's of opp.

#10 Growing patient population. You'll probably never get called off.

#11 Most of the big companies offer FIVE weeks vacation the FIRST YEAR.

#12 If I were younger I'd be an NP in this field.

Dialysis gets in your blood.

Because we work 6 days a week you can get a good schedule.Some of them are Thurs Fri Sat on. Off Sun then Mon, Tues, Wed on (all twelves) and then you have of THRUS FRI SAT SUN MON TUES AND WED.

7 days off every other week.. :biggringi

How exciting to read your post! I have been an ICU RN for a year and just accepted a position as a Hemodialysis RN at a major hospital in Maryland.

I am really looking forward to the change!

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I think I will be happy if I work with geriatrics(as a nurse). Since I've been a CNA for 3 years I think that will help me a lot.:p

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I'd have to say geriatrics and end of life care. I've been doing homecare for the last 10 years. I love working with the elderly. There are some really cool pilot programs going on right now for small (10-12 bed) lont term care homes to show how they can be more cost effective, and maintain a higher standard of care. I'd love to work in a small facility. One thing I do not want to give up, but fear I will have to, is the wonderful relationships I get to develop with my patients in the homecare setting as an aid.

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I haven't seen anyone say this field, Endo Nursing. I am an Endo Nurse in a GI suite that is hospital based. We do approx 80% outpatient procedures and the rest inpatients. I love it!!!! I wouldn't trade my job for anything. (OK maybe a multi-million dollar winning lottery ticket) I have looked at other nursing jobs in our area and they just can't compete with the perks. I work M-F 6am to 2:30p. I am home in the afternoon for my kiddos. I take call every other week, but our call is wimpy. We maybe get called in once a week and usually know ahead of time that we will be doing a scheduled call case on Saturday at 0800. There aren't any other jobs in our area that allow me the flexibility to work full time and still be available for all my kids functions. I can't remember the last time I missed a soccer game or dance recital because of work. I think this field of nursing goes unnoticed in most places. You don't see many job openings for GI Nurses because once you get the position, you keep it. You get to work one on one with the physicians, do sedation for procedures, and generally get to meet and help great people. I just can't think of a better place.

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