WHY did you choose to work where you did in nursing?

TeenyTinyBabyRN, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

Was it what you expected it to be?

Why do you like it above other areas?

What are the 5 best things about your area?

What are the 5 worst?

DaniannaRN, ASN, BSN · Oct 22, 2011

how long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

it took me about 6 years. i did everything prior to this: oncology, ltc, hospice, private duty, and psych. i now work for an insurance company in nj doing quality control. btw, i love psych and will be looking for a per diem job in the field.

was it what you expected it to be?

i wasn't sure what to expect, i've never done non-clinical nursing before.

why do you like it above other areas?

because i like to eat and pee when i need to. i like to get up and take a break without asking for permission like i'm a child. i like working 8am-4pm mon-fri. i like going home on time. all the issues that go on in hospitals, i don't have to deal with. i don't have patients/families. i could keep going....

what are the 5 best things about your area?

breaks, the hours, no families, i can work from home if i want, i'm respected

what are the 5 worst?

can't really think of anything....the job does get boring sometimes, but that's it.

TeenyTinyBabyRN, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

I knew I wante dto be a NICU nurse since I was a sophmore in high school.

Was it what you expected it to be?

Very different, because I didn't realize how intense things could be. It was even better than I expected. A lot of non-nurses told me I wound't like it, because it wouldn't be exciting enough for me, but now I know that is not true. A level 3 NICU, that is a surgical unit can be very exciting.

Why do you like it above other areas?

I can be exciting, it has a great nurse to patient ratio, easily lifting, I love the babies (never want to do anything else). Messes are on a smaller, "cuter" scale.

What are the 5 best things about your area?

1. Nurse to patient ratio

2. Messes are on a smaller, "cuter" scale

3. The babies of course, who doesn't love babies?

5. It is the best feeling in the world to see a tiny peanut that went through hell, be able to go home fat, happy, and healthy.

What are the 5 worst?

1. Seeing multiple siblings, one after the other, come in from the same drug-adicted mom

2. Watching a child suffer, that you know is not going to survive (and if they do, there will be no quality of life), but the parents refuse a DNR/DC life support

3. Dealing with drug withdrawl on innocent babies

4. Parents that don't want their children who don't belive in birth control

5. Parental denial

FancypantsRN · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

4 years... went the long way around (like a lot of others)

Was it what you expected it to be?

Just about, there is way more abuse of the system than I anticipated.... you don't notice it quite as much on the floors as you do in the ER.

Why do you like it above other areas?

I llke the variety of types of patients and the unpredictability of the flow of the shift.

What are the 5 best things about your area?

wide variety and experiences, fast-paced shifts, teamwork, get to work with kids and adults, and working midshift instead of just 7-7.

What are the 5 worst?

The frequent flyers that I just can't help (for more than a day or so at a time), coding kids, watching someone go through a miscarriage, posted wait times, people that get bent out of shape when they are not in/out the door in 30 minutes.

DutchRN09 · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

I found it when I started where I am now

Was it what you expected it to be?

Mostly. Patient variety and lots of interacting with multidisciplany teams

Why do you like it above other areas?

No weekends, no holidays.

What are the 5 best things about your area?

Co-workers, schedule, mostly healthy patients, have lot of quick turn over in patients, no weekends, no holidays, no call, no third shift

What are the 5 worst?

Some surgeons, some attitudes of co workers, sometimes very stressful (on peds day), sometimes crzy busy and then the next day low census.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

Mine kind of changed- LOL....depended on who was hiring for the shifts I wanted (I worked during 19 years that people were hired if they had a pulse- so job shopping wasn't uncommon, or an issue)

Was it what you expected it to be?

Usually :)

Why do you like it above other areas?

Each one had different things I liked- neuro (floated to neuro ICU), LTC/MDS, head injury rehab, alcohol/drug rehab, adolescent psych, med-surg/ortho, pediatrics (floated to PICU and NICU), staff, charge, and supervisory/administrative...

What are the 5 best things about your area?

neuro- just really interesting; a lot of strange disorders; Neuro ICU- good to see what went on there before we got them on the floor

LTC/MDS= had patient contact, but mostly office, so physically easier

head injury rehab- coma stim unit.... saw some incredible recoveries, but none to baseline

alcohol/drug rehab- people's lives transformed

adolescent psych- kids got out of crazy, if not dangerous homes

med-surg/ortho- a lot of different diagnoses & surgeries (all ages)

pediatrics - the kids who got well (or the frequent fliers that got to be familiar- family trust); NICU- very interesting, but also sad; PICU- some really sick/injured kids got well

staff- patient contact and feeling like I'd accomplished something that shift

charge- being able to see all of the patients and contact with the docs

sup- interaction with all departments

What are the 5 worst?

neuro- the gomers and gorks, the slow viruses, ALS, progressive supranuclear palsy, bad strokes, GSWs (one family denied, w/bullet on CT scan :uhoh3:

LTD/MDS - the STATE :barf1:

head injury rehab--almost all of them were preventable

alcohol/drug rehab--the ones who died after relapsing and not getting back to rehab; the ones who went totally bonkers and had to be hauled off by the sheriff

adolescent psych- the abuse cases (step-dad - or dad, not sure- bit the kid's finger off...cops found it in the ashtray; 12y/o pregnant w/dad's baby - I had to time contractions as the 2nd female nurse in the building- her nurse was making the calls for transfer to a medical hospital)

med-surg/ortho- even though I was the only RN for 27 beds, and 4-5 fresh post ops were 'normal' on 'ortho day', it was a good place- and my co-workers (LVNs and one CNA) were great :)

pediatrics- abuse, ignorance, deformities, deaths..... and a few "cool girls" who were quite annoying :cool:

staff-- not as much patient contact; physically painful.

charge-- ALL emergencies were my problem, having to be everywhere at some time during each shift

supervisor-- the staff that were slacking and didn't fix the problem- having to send them home and drag their happy butts back on Monday (I worked W/E 16s) to talk to the DON and admin- who were VERY supportive of any disciplinary stuff I did.

I miss it :nurse: :crying2:

richardgleaton · Oct 22, 2011

Nursing is the great thing..I like this profession..Here you can interact with the patient and their family...Its feel glad to do that..You can get various types of experience here in this filed..

KateRN1 · Oct 22, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

Home health. I've been in and out of HH for about 20 years. Been full time in it for the last three.

Was it what you expected it to be?

Yes and no. Rules and regulations change a lot, which can get frustrating. The patient care is the same, though.

Why do you like it above other areas?

Individual one-on-one time with patients, the ability to make a difference in patients' lives.

What are the 5 best things about your area?

1. The hours are good, no night shift.

2. One-on-one patient care, no one screaming for help when all they want is a ginger ale.

3. Flexible hours

4. Pay is good

5. I can't think of another thing that is separate from patient care and flexible hours, LOL

What are the 5 worst?

1. Paperwork, by far

2. The mileage on the car

3. I'm in management now, so I'd have to say unwillingness of others to do the right thing

4. The changes in rules and regulations that cut our funding every year

5. The inability of others to recognize the constraints of #4

demylenated, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2011

What are the 5 worst?
1. Seeing multiple siblings, one after the other, come in from the same drug-adicted mom
2. Watching a child suffer, that you know is not going to survive (and if they do, there will be no quality of life), but the parents refuse a DNR/DC life support
3. Dealing with drug withdrawl on innocent babies
4. Parents that don't want their children who don't belive in birth control
5. Parental denial

Right there is why I could NEVER ever, ever, ever work ob/peds/NICU like I [thought I] wanted to.

demylenated, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2011

What are the 5 worst?
adolescent psych- the abuse cases (step-dad - or dad, not sure- bit the kid's finger off...cops found it in the ashtray; 12y/o pregnant w/dad's baby - I had to time contractions as the 2nd female nurse in the building- her nurse was making the calls for transfer to a medical hospital)

The abuse - isn't it horrible?? Parents that prostitute their children... UNBELIEVABLE how often that happens... the crazy parents (and foster parents that aren't any better).

I took care of a boy: 9. His foster mom cut off the tip of his member, because his previous foster father sexually molested him. He was in the foster care system because his bio parents threw him out of the car on the highway. Poor kid ended up in a psych ward... He'll never have a normal life because 3 families who were supposed to love him and protect him screwed up his life.

You just can't make this stuff up. :crying2:

SweetheartRN · Oct 24, 2011

How long did it take you to find you niche in nursing?

I'm still looking but I know I really like peds clinic nursing.

Was it what you expected it to be?

It was better than I expected.

Why do you like it above other areas?

Well I've done LTC and am currently doing Med Surg and realize I made a mistake in leaving clinic nursing because I can't stand Med Surg. Med Surg for me has the negatives from LTC and ED nursing rolled into one. You have the potential to have the patient for 2-3 days in a row (similar to LTC) but coupled with constant changes/new orders in the patients care and status (similar to ED or urgent care) without having the positivies from each specialty involved such as LTC having similar daily routine every day, and ED being able to check off the tasks, and move to the next patient within a couple of hours. Med Surge just sucks for me. Clinic nursing is the closest I can get to outpatient nursing such as Urgent Care right now, which I think would be my absolute niche.

What are the 5 best things about your area?

1. I can pee when I need to and not worry about being fussed out by a patient b/c I was in the bathroom for 21/2 minutes instead of taking that time to get their prn q hour morphine or their ginger ale.

2. I can take a FULL HOUR for a lunch break. We have no patients scheduled during lunch. This means I can eat my lunch at a decent pace or go run an errand if I need to, take a minute to call a friend or family member, or meet someone for lunch, etc. etc. etc. Basically be treated like a human being instead of a pack mule.

3. The pace is exactly like I like it. Its a steady pace but in a controlled setting/enviroment. I can basically expect what my day will be like with the occasional surprise or patient going sour.

4. My work is autonomous but we also do team nursing. I love being able to share the workload, and it builds great teamwork. Its not MY patient or YOUR patient. We help each other out. I LOVE IT!!

5. I love babies and kids. I love seeing them grow as they come back for their future check ups and that something I told or/taught the parent made a big difference.

6. I don't have to supervise CNA/PCT's. I do my own vitals and don't have to figure out if something got done or not.

7. I still practice alot of my skills. I do venipunctures, I&O caths, etc. I do alot of patient teaching, which I love, newborn care, asthma teaching, etc...

8. No excessive charting. Never stay late to chart. Ever. No hourly rounding, no administration breathing down my neck.

9. Get to leave on TIME 95% of the time and I get off at 5. I'm part time so it doesn't mean I have to work 8-5 M-F either. No weekends :) And I can pick up extra time if I want.

What are the 5 worst?

1. The pay isn't as good as hospital ofcourse. With so many other perks would you expect it to be though? No shift diffs, no holiday pay.

2. Having changing rules as far as seeing patients when they are late. Patients can come in 30 mins to an hour late and we will still see them.

3. Our clinic rotates alot of residents and they take a long time with office visits because they are new and slow.

4. Flu season.