Which specialty to choose?

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If you were offered an RN position in all of the following units, which would you choose, and why?

1. ER/ Trauma RN

2. OR RN

3. ICU RN

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Specializes in ICU.

OR RN. I am ICU and have picked up hours in the ER.

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OR RN. I am ICU and have picked up hours in the ER.

Why would you choose OR?

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Specializes in ICU.
Why would you choose OR?

Because OR nurses have an easier time finding a job either perm or travel. If you ever travel you will be paid, given max stipends, given the royal treatment for strike work etc. Just get yourself some CVOR along with general OR and you are set. I am currently experienced unemployed RN when 100+ applications in.

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Specializes in ICU.

Plus you avoid family dynamics, hall buddies not wanting to help, being tripled in the ICU, constant favoritism assignments, I can go on and on.

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None of the above.....why do you ask?

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None of the above.....why do you ask?

I am very interested in these 3 specialties. What specialty do you recommend?

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Specializes in ICU.
I am very interested in these 3 specialties. What specialty do you recommend?

What made you pick these three specialities?

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None. But if I had to choose ICU

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

None of the above, I would chose PACU! I worked ICU a bit and I worked floors and ED/Trauma. The above poster who pointed out the cons of the other two specialties is correct! The other specialties are an ongoing bag of stress. Plus, to top it off, you are not able to move around or up in your career as easily. OR/PACU/PRE-OP are always looking for nurses and managers despite being less stressful. My guess is that not many RNs go into that specialty??!?!??! By the way, PACU is better then OR in terms of working conditions. So.. PACU is my vote!

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Specializes in Long term care.

None. But I started out in Surgical ICU and I didn't like it. My friend does ER and has a love/hate relationship with it. ER burns you out but it's always something new. OR does not appeal to me at all. Its too damn cold and I would hate standing in the same spot for hours.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

I love ICU, most days.

My OR experience is limited to one day during school... Circulating might not be bad, but I couldn't stand scrubbing. Literally, couldn't stand :laugh: My feet were killing me after about half an hour of standing in one place. Plus, they don't exactly work in shifts, no? I like finishing when my shift is over -- not wait until the work is over. Again I could be wrong about that.

Quite often "ED/trauma" is more like "ED/ran-out-of-meds," or "ED/GI virus" or "ED/I-don't-have-insurance-but-ED-treats-me-anyway." And then there's the issue of the waiting room filling up, while pts are waiting for a bed upstairs.

In the ICU (or in mine, anyway) most days I do care for trauma patients, or else some other variety of critically ill. Most days I am done on time or close to it. Because our pts ARE so critical, we're forced to prioritize actual nursing/medical care over ridiculous luxury hotel expectations (imagine that!) ;)

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