What would make you say "I could never do that"

Nurses General Nursing

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When I used to tell people that I worked in the NICU, their faces would light up because they thought I sat around and held babies all day.

Now that I'm back in the PICU, when I tell people what I do, I get these horrified looks and people(nurses too) will say "I could never do that!". Whats even better is when they say it's because they like kids too much!:eek:

So my question to my fellow nurses is ..... what could you never do?

I'll start.... I have a great admiration for Burn nurses! I admit that I do not know much about burn care because it has always been a fear of mine, but I have always thought you have to have a very special talent for this area!

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Burn nursing.

Level 1 trauma center ER (way too fast paced for me. I wouldn't mind being a "fly on the wall" there though).

Labor and Delivery.

NICU.

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Then these are areas that I'm interested in or have worked in that most people say "I could never do that!"

Pediatrics

Pediatric Oncology

Psychiatry

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I couldn't work in the burn unit. I spent one day on the burn unit in nursing school and the smell, the screams of agony when you have to wash/debride the burns (even though the patients were on versed/pain meds) really bothered me. That is also when I was introduced to the rectal tube/bag, no thanks.

Thank goodness there is somewhere for everyone in nursing.

I'll stay in the NICU thank you very much. I love babies, I'm there to help them. Besides, the poops are smaller, the pukes are smaller, the loogies are smaller, and I won't take my back out moving a patient. I LOL'ed the other day at work, I was lifting an 8 month old chronic who weighs 14 lbs and I was like OMG, you are sooo heavy, I'm going to take my back out!

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Specializes in NICU.

A friend of mine is a surgical RN for an ocular surgeon. Yeah - eyeballs out on the table.....no thank you.

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Specializes in Making the Pt laugh..

It might sound strange coming from a nurse, I can't handle sick people, I can handle surgical or emergency but sick people just get my goat.

Also kids, with my tribe (of kids)I would empathise too much, and want to hurt some of the parents. (Bad childhood memories, I am big enough to stand up for myself and others now.)

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I'm still a student, but this changes almost daily for me. I don't really know that there is anything I would not ever try. That being said, I am not sure if my mental health would be the same after awhile if I worked in peds, and I'm not sure I could keep from getting myself fired from L&D.

Right now, I work in respiratory therapy in a hospital with a children's hospital/high risk ob ward/nicu/picu and I have a really hard time holding it together when I hear of a bad outcome (and we have quite a few because we get the worst of the worst), even just hearing second hand. I love children, love love LOVE children and babies. I am one of those who may have thought (although never said) I love them too much to work with them. Not that others DONT love them because they work there, but I don't think I could separate my heart enough to do my job well. I've often thought of becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner so that I could spend more time with well babies and families, in some sort of outpatient/family doctor scenario to get the best of both worlds.

All that being said, I hope that I have the opportunity to experience a large variety of different types of units and work experiences before I get to the point of settling on a masters degree, because I want to touch and see and help in every single situation. Maybe just for one day :) but I atleast want to try.

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Specializes in MDS RNAC, LTC, Psych, LTAC.

OB/GYN.... I could not do...

I started out in Cardiac Stepdown, then Skilled Nursing, Cardiac again, Psych , Children's Psych which was too painful, LTC and now Psych again. I have mostly worked where there were jobs as I have moved alot over the last few years. Sometimes I think I ought to try traveling but I would miss my grandbaby.. :redbeathe

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Drug Addiction units where people are there just to get out of jail. You have patients in there that are really trying - mixed with those that are really lying. It's the last ones that simply monopolize the program with their "reformation", tears and embellished stories that just make you want to find the nearest barf bag. These type of actors wouldn't know the meaning of "get real" if it was written on the front of a mack truck grill as it hit them.:eek:

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Specializes in Transgender Medicine.

Pediatric psych. When I was in school, I had one rotation through there. After listening to my eight year old patient tell the doc that he felt worthless and wished he would die, I knew I'd never be able to handle that. Also, he told the doc of how his momma's boyfriend had fondled and beat him. I don't think I'd be able to restrain myself from tearing into that A-hole when I saw him. I understand that kids can make stuff like that up, but this boy had the marks to prove his statements. *Shiver* Never ever ever

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prisoners, burns, peds and med-surg, in that order. God bless those nurses who work in those areas. Not really excited about labor/delivery or postpartum either.

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

I could NEVER EVER work respiratory therapy...all those secretions...I used to gag when I had patients that I just had to use the Yankeur on! LOL I also could never work in an eye clinic.

Give me the violent, the combative, the paranoid, and delusional LOL...the more out of control and violent somebody is, the happier I am!:rckn:

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Specializes in LTC.

Drug Addicts and Neuro.

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When I used to tell people that I worked in the NICU, their faces would light up because they thought I sat around and held babies all day.

Now that I'm back in the PICU, when I tell people what I do, I get these horrified looks and people(nurses too) will say "I could never do that!". Whats even better is when they say it's because they like kids too much!:eek:

So my question to my fellow nurses is ..... what could you never do?

I'll start.... I have a great admiration for Burn nurses! I admit that I do not know much about burn care because it has always been a fear of mine, but I have always thought you have to have a very special talent for this area!

I could not work in psych because I would be afraid that someone would go postal on me, and I could not work in L/D because I would want to strangle the mother who does not want to hold her baby, and does not want to breastfeed because she thinks that it is gross. I probably could do burn, but when I was 15 I was in a medical explorer's group and we visited a burn unit, and I will never forget the smell. UGGGHHHH Rhonda

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