What's your favorite area of nursing and why?

Nurses General Nursing

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That's all I wanted to know!

TheCommuter -- what's it's like working in psych nursing? Are you as involved with the patients as you would be working bedside nursing?

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These are two areas of nursing that sound very interesting to me. I LOVE babies. I think I would love doing labor and delivery. Hope I get to try these areas when I am in nursing school. Can't wait to get into nursing school in the Fall 08! Hope, hope, hope!!!!

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Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.

Field of Hospice.

I cannot put into words the feelings I experience while being with some one at their end of life. Enabling them to have the death that they choose. What an honor to be invited into someone's home at this time in their life and work through this process with them and their families.

This is truly where I belong and after 30 years of nursing experience I am here to stay :)

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Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

ICU I like the critical thinking, the one on one. the adrenaline rush, procedures, just everything.

I also like informatics thats what i do now.

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My favorite area is...the break room.

Seriously, I enjoy being a hemodialysis charge nurse. I am often the only nurse in a facility, and must be able to think critically, independantly, and rely soley on my own skills and judgment.

Nurses generally work w/ a group of several techs. When you have a good crew, the comraderie, laughing, joking, and teamwork makes a hard job more bearable.

Pts all react differently to dialysis, and many are pretty unstable with multiple co-morbidites.

Lots and lots of ongoing pt teaching is essential. Nurses, soc workers and dietitians work together (in a good facility) to improve pt care and compliance.

Assessment skills and ability to think and act proactively, rather than reactively, are very important. Pts on dialysis can crash hard and fast- I am constantly reassessing, reprioritizing and making adjustments to tx.

The pace is fast and furious.

There are rarely any docs around, and rarely any ancillary services available.

In a good facility, there is a lot of autonomy for the charge nurse.

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My favorite area is...the break room.

Seriously, I enjoy being a hemodialysis charge nurse. I am often the only nurse in a facility, and must be able to think critically, independantly, and rely soley on my own skills and judgment.

Pts all react differently to dialysis, and many are pretty unstable with multiple co-morbidites.

Assessment skills and ability to think and act proactively instead of reactively are very important. Pts on dialysis can crash hard and fast- I am constantly reassessing, reprioritizing and making adjustments to tx.

The pace is fast and furious.

There are rarely any docs around, and rarely any ancillary services available.

In a good facility, there is a lot of autonomy for the charge nurse.

The breakroom! Wow, your job sounds very demanding and one requiring a lot of years of experience and skill, which I can see you have both. I can't even imagine doing something like that yet -- I am still trying to come to grips with my commitment to going to nursing school in the Fall 08 (provided i get accepted!). Were there ever any times when you first went to nursing school or became a nurse that you were wondering if you made the right choice? Here I am with all these questions and I haven't even started yet; but I really think medicine is fascinating and I am a loving, caring and compassionate person. I think I will make a good nurse. It's the hard schooling that terrifies me! ha! Although I am doing good right now in my pre-reqs.

But the thought of not having anyone around me to ask questions like you and be so totally in charge of other's lives is a little scary to me! ::uhoh3:

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The breakroom! Wow, your job sounds very demanding and one requiring a lot of years of experience and skill, which I can see you have both. I can't even imagine doing something like that yet -- I am still trying to come to grips with my commitment to going to nursing school in the Fall 08 (provided i get accepted!). Were there ever any times when you first went to nursing school or became a nurse that you were wondering if you made the right choice? Here I am with all these questions and I haven't even started yet; but I really think medicine is fascinating and I am a loving, caring and compassionate person. I think I will make a good nurse. It's the hard schooling that terrifies me! ha! Although I am doing good right now in my pre-reqs.

But the thought of not having anyone around me to ask questions like you and be so totally in charge of other's lives is a little scary to me! ::uhoh3:

Yes, when I first started dialysis, I was scared to death. Most everyone is when they first go into it. There is a lot of machinery, and technical equipment involved- also, a lot of blood. If you don't know what you are doing, you can easily hurt a pt badly, or even kill them. Some people hate it and quit pretty quick. Others really like it, find they have a knack for it and stick around.

I've been doing it for five years. I mostly did hospice before I went into dialysis.

When I was in med surg, I hated it. That was a time when I wished I had not gone into nursing.

In addition to knowlege, critical thinking skills, and that stuff, I've learned that to be a good nurse and last in nursing, you must be a teamplayer, assertive, stand up for yourself (and your pts!) and have good delegation skills

I was scared as hell when I first had to be the only nurses in a facility, but it comes naturally to me, now. Especially if I'm working with a good crew, then it's all good.

Thanks for your interest.

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ICU I like the critical thinking, the one on one. the adrenaline rush, procedures, just everything.

I also like informatics thats what i do now.

ALL OF YOU SOUND so dedicated and smart! I am sure the nursing profession is so much better off because of nurses like you! I am glad I found this website to converse with experienced nurses and ask questions. Thank you to all of you for being so willing to share your experiences and advice.

I am excited about going into nursing and hope, hope, hope, I get accepted into Fall 08 program. This is a second career choice for me and a late one at that! I wish I would have started pursuing my nursing career in my early 20's or even 30's but God has a reason for everything I think. It just wasn't my time to pursue a new career choice back then. Kudos to all of you! ;)

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nurse2b2010,

I did not get my RN until I was 31. I was an LPN for many years, and a CNA prior to that.

You will read a lot of complaining and whining from the seasoned nurses here, so don't let it get you down when you read really negative posts. I know that quite a few of those posts come from me, lol.

Another thing I feel is essential to lasting in nursing is having a place to VENT about everything. That's what we do here.

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ICU I like the critical thinking, the one on one. the adrenaline rush, procedures, just everything.

I also like informatics thats what i do now.

ALL OF YOU SOUND so dedicated and smart! I am sure the nursing profession is so much better off because of nurses like you! I am glad I found this website to converse with experienced nurses and ask questions. Thank you to all of you for being so willing to share your experiences and advice.

I am excited about going into nursing and hope, hope, hope, I get accepted into Fall 08 program. This is a second career choice for me and a late one at that! I wish I would have started pursuing my nursing career in my early 20's or even 30's but God has a reason for everything I think. It just wasn't my time to pursue a new career choice back then. Kudos to all of you! ;)

If this gets posted twice, I'm sorry -- got distracted when my husband came in from the barn and I started making breakfast! :uhoh3:

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