What about Neuro ICU...

[love-d-OR]

Hi,

I graduate in June of this year with my BSN. I have been working as a student nurse/nurse assistant in a teaching hospital that I plan to work at after graduation. My initial goal was to work in CTICU or MICU, however I have just found out that the two units are no longer accepting new grads becasue they have enough for the summer. Neuro ICU is still hiring new grads. I like the staff members and the manager, however I am a little scared of the unit.

Im not terrified of the work cause I know as a new grad its inevitable to feel challenged, however I dont know that I can deal with the emotional part of the job. I know nursing is emotionally draining but...

In MICU, most of the patients are older and their families have had time to process the possible loss of the family member. In CTICU, the surgeries are also scheduled and patients usually leave in a better condition (no long term disability usually.). But in neuro ICU, you have the 28 year old paralised patient, the 55 year old stroke patient and the like. These are all sudden things usually, and people dont have time to absorb the problem. Family members get very emotional (rightfully), and sometimes keep hope on the impossible.

Maybe I have a wrong view of neuro ICU, but I feel like it might be more emotionally draining than Neonatal or PICU. Are my wrong? How do you all deal with family and patients with sudden disability? What about neuro do you love? Please fill me in... My interview is on the 4th of Feb!

PS: I dont hate neuro, I just dont know how I would be able to deal with family members. Thank you

[Christie RN2006]

Neuro is my favorite! Yes, it can be physically and emotionally draining, but it is also very rewarding. To see a your neuro patient go from "should be dead" to being able to walk out of the hospital is one of the most rewarding things there is. In neuro you will have to provide a lot of support and teaching to both the patient and their family. Neuro patients are fun, rewarding and frustrating. There are a lot of laughs and tears in a Neuro ICU. If neuro is something that interests you at all, then go for it!

[love-d-OR]

bump!

[jellybeanmead]

Hi fellow nurses!! I was a new grad when I entered the Neuro ICU and it..........It was different. There are the emotional draining times. I mean, nursing can be draining as a whole. But, as stated before, it is very different and rewarding. It will give you great skills and you will become a teacher and a better healthcare provider. I have opportunity to work on a new unit which our department built a little over a year ago. We have rooms attached to the patient's room and 2 family members can stay overnight. It is state of the art. The unit was built this way because as you know, neuro patients normally stay in the hospital for a while. Now, it can get emotionally draining when you have a patient that comes in with almost all of his brain stroked and he is near brain death. But, every unit has its downfalls. Just think about it. Give it a try and if you dont like it, then try something else. Thats what I love about nursing, you can always try something else!! Good luck....:balloons:

[valkyria, BSN, RN]

Hello,

I was one of those people that should be dead. I actually was twice but it was not my time. Now I am a nurse doing research for TBI at a level 1. I am working with neuro ICU nurses and I realize all over again how blessed I was to have special ones. 20 years later, I can still remember the name of my Neuro ICU nurse. Can you think of a more wonderful mark to leave on someone's life and in a persons' heart? I was hit by a tractor-trailer while I was in a car sitting still. The truck was going 65 miles an hour loaded with concrete blocks. I spent 9 days in hell, (in a coma), and months recovering, learning how to walk, talk and learn the basics(brushing my teeth, eatting, writing my name), over again.

Isn't that why we all went into nursing? But to make a difference in someone's life and take care of them?

That is where my name comes from, Valkyria is the viking goddess who guards the doorway to heaven and guards heros of battle as they cross over. As nurses, we are all heroes, or we try to be:redbeathe

[TX_ICU_RN]

Hello,

I was one of those people that should be dead. I actually was twice but it was not my time. Now I am a nurse doing research for TBI at a level 1. I am working with neuro ICU nurses and I realize all over again how blessed I was to have special ones. 20 years later, I can still remember the name of my Neuro ICU nurse. Can you think of a more wonderful mark to leave on someone's life and in a persons' heart? I was hit by a tractor-trailer while I was in a car sitting still. The truck was going 65 miles an hour loaded with concrete blocks. I spent 9 days in hell, (in a coma), and months recovering, learning how to walk, talk and learn the basics(brushing my teeth, eatting, writing my name), over again.

Isn't that why we all went into nursing? But to make a difference in someone's life and take care of them?

That is where my name comes from, Valkyria is the viking goddess who guards the doorway to heaven and guards heros of battle as they cross over. As nurses, we are all heroes, or we try to be:redbeathe

First of all, I think you are amazing to have worked so hard to get to where you are today! It is because of people like you that I am in nursing today. Yes (especially in the ICUs), we see the worst of the worst and there are a lot of patients will bad outcomes...there are also those who have successfully recovered and we helped change their life forever.

[valkyria, BSN, RN]

can i ask a question? are nurses supposed to run a code? i am taking an acls class with only mds and i will have to run a code to pass my test. this is not what i had to do the first time i took this class. it is not that i feel that i cannot do it. it is, i feel it is a "scope of practice" thing. somebody have an answer? end game maybe?