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Hi. What's the difference between MED/SURG, ER and OPERATING ROOM nuses? Or should I say how is it different working in those areas? I'm interested in all three (but more towards ER) and I would love to hear about each of them before I decide to gain experience.
Also, if I become either NP or a CNS who specializes in surgery, would it require a lot of bedside nursing?
Thank you!
yes :chuckle this board has been VERY helpfuli heard that nurses first practice their injection skills on dolls. is this true? was your first human injection a patient?
No, mine was a fellow student. Lucky girl she was! HA
We practiced most everything on each other. Starting IVs, injections, venipuncture, bed baths, the works. That part of school wasn't fun.
A person I worked with years ago did an ER rotation where she had a drug abuser patient. She had to draw blood on the guy and she kept trying and just couldn't find a vein. Finally he offered to help. :chuckle I don't believe she took him up on that offer but she did admit to letting him show her a better place to look for a vein.
The procedure-type things seem like a huge deal when you're in school, but that's nowhere near the essence of nursing. A monkey can be trained to insert a catheter, I'm sure. It's important, but it's the rationale behind sterile technique and what you know about the patient based on their output, amount, appearance of the urine that makes up the nursing part of this example.
I would encourage you to worry a lot less about whether or not you're going to have to give injections (you will.) First you'll have to learn anatomy so you know what your instructor is talking about when she wants you to avoid the sciatic nerve. And you'll have to take pharmacology so you know what you're shooting into the patient, not to mention classes that will talk about the disease process you're treating with the injection.
My point is, chill out :). Everything will happen in the order it's supposed to as you progress through school. Each school is going to be a little different. I never went near an ER in school. I had one day observing a surgery (which consisted of the nurse advising me that I should not touch anything blue (sterile stuff) and if I should happen to pass out, I should endeavor to avoid falling into her table of blue stuff. Lots of schools use nursing homes for clinical sites. Probably you'll have a certain amount of choice in location (depending on whether you're in a rural area or a place that has access to more facilities.) None of us knows what your exact experience will be like, so enjoy it for what it is, study hard, pass your boards, and then get into the REAL learning :). Trust me, once you're out of school, you'll be amazed at the stuff you'll be worried about that isn't even on your radar right now.
imastudent
34 Posts
yes :chuckle this board has been VERY helpful
i heard that nurses first practice their injection skills on dolls. is this true? was your first human injection a patient?