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Sarah
Student
Providence, Rhode Island
4
Questions
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What is the most interesting type of nurse?
What type of nurse is always on their toes? Alway think of new stuff to do to keep the patient healthy and happy. #doctor #nurse #health
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3 answers
Nick Collins, MS, RN, CNS
Critical Care & Cardiogenomic Clinical Nurse Specialist | UCSF Faculty
13
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San Francisco, California
Updated
Nick’s Answer
Hi, great question. First, I'm not sure if you mean physically or intellectually challenging "on their toes" - so I'll attempt to answer both. This is a pretty broad question too - so you might get a few different perspectives and that's okay!
For individuals looking to work "on their feet" pretty much any nurse working in a range of healthcare facilities meet that criteria. From outpatient doctors offices, nursing homes, to acute care hospitals. The higher acuity facilities (read: busier and sicker patients) the more you are most likely be be busier and being kept on your toes. It's hard work but very rewarding.
As far as the intellectual challenging goes, I'd say that of all the Nursing specialities, criticalcare and emergency usually require the most "thinking" because you'll need to have a broad understanding of physiology pharmacology and disease-management This is not to meant to assume that other nursing specialities are not essential, just that there different.
Best of luck for the future. Hopefully I answered your question. But feel free to let me know if I missed the mark.
For individuals looking to work "on their feet" pretty much any nurse working in a range of healthcare facilities meet that criteria. From outpatient doctors offices, nursing homes, to acute care hospitals. The higher acuity facilities (read: busier and sicker patients) the more you are most likely be be busier and being kept on your toes. It's hard work but very rewarding.
As far as the intellectual challenging goes, I'd say that of all the Nursing specialities, criticalcare and emergency usually require the most "thinking" because you'll need to have a broad understanding of physiology pharmacology and disease-management This is not to meant to assume that other nursing specialities are not essential, just that there different.
Best of luck for the future. Hopefully I answered your question. But feel free to let me know if I missed the mark.
Hi Nick! Thank you so much for the amazing answer you gave Sarah above! I had a few follow up questions I wanted to ask out of my own curiosity:
1. As a nurse at an AMAZING facility at UCSF, do you have any personal experiences you can share with respect to "interesting" challenges or people you've had the chance to help in the past?
2. What are some next steps that one might take if he/she/they decided they wanted to be a nurse?
Thank you so much in advance!
-David
David Ohta
COACH
Nick Collins, MS, RN, CNS
Critical Care & Cardiogenomic Clinical Nurse Specialist | UCSF Faculty
13
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Nick’s Answer
Hi, David! Thanks so much for the feedback. Sorry for commenting here - but I had a lot to say and the site wouldn't let me post all my thoughts ;) To answer your questions:
1) I think one of the most significant challenges centers around communication, truly listening to patients and developing a professional image. Professionalism, listening and communicating with patients is a learned skill. Also, I believe that patients and families will teach you more about yourself, clinical care and professionalism than ANY instructor, mentor or co-worker.
Here's my story: it was my first job out of nursing school - which comes with its particular challenges because I was a new nurse on TOP of being new to the critical care specialty - a double dose of a learning curve.
I was in the room of a patient, who was super pleasant, on the mend, and had many family members present. All of the sudden, the patient's heart monitor showed a substantial increase - and had a decreased blood pressure - which is not uncommon in these situations. As for the patient, the individual reported some dizziness but was essentially fine. Handling crises are part of the job, and well, I didn't handle it too well! I uttered an explicative, ran out of the room to get medications and help. - much to the family's dismay. In the end, we gave some medication to control the heart rate, and the patient was fine.
After things settled down, a family member approached me and who informed me that he was a commercial pilot for many years. In his career, he had logged many hours and dealt with various crises in the air. We discussed my reaction, and towards the end of the conversation, he told me, "you know what kills people faster than anything? Panic. And you looked panicked and made us all terrified - we were more afraid of your reaction than what was going on."
I still remember this conversation even after fifteen years as an RN, and it rings true today. Controlling your emotions is a hard part of the job - especially when there is a human life involved. Eventually, you'll be able to do it and take these circumstances in stride.
2) As for next steps - I'd highly suggest shadowing a nurse at your local hospital. Being a volunteer at a hospital is a great way to get a little peek into the industry. You'll do pretty mundane stuff - but you'll get to interact with the hospital staff, and I'd use that time to see if you can shadow a nurse for a shift (most nurses work 12-hour shifts, but some still work an eight-hour day). If you're interested, I'd highly recommend you interview and get hired as a NursingAssistant ; this will help you TREMENDOUSLY in your transition in nursingschool . The other thing I'd say is to check out some nurse experiences online - I like a blog called freshrn.com; an excellent ICU RN writes it with a focus on nurses who have just recently graduated. Also, a book I love that gives a unique perspective is called "training wheels for nurses" - its an older book - but I feel still is timeless - gives a unique perspective from experiencednurses and newnurses alike.
1) I think one of the most significant challenges centers around communication, truly listening to patients and developing a professional image. Professionalism, listening and communicating with patients is a learned skill. Also, I believe that patients and families will teach you more about yourself, clinical care and professionalism than ANY instructor, mentor or co-worker.
Here's my story: it was my first job out of nursing school - which comes with its particular challenges because I was a new nurse on TOP of being new to the critical care specialty - a double dose of a learning curve.
I was in the room of a patient, who was super pleasant, on the mend, and had many family members present. All of the sudden, the patient's heart monitor showed a substantial increase - and had a decreased blood pressure - which is not uncommon in these situations. As for the patient, the individual reported some dizziness but was essentially fine. Handling crises are part of the job, and well, I didn't handle it too well! I uttered an explicative, ran out of the room to get medications and help. - much to the family's dismay. In the end, we gave some medication to control the heart rate, and the patient was fine.
After things settled down, a family member approached me and who informed me that he was a commercial pilot for many years. In his career, he had logged many hours and dealt with various crises in the air. We discussed my reaction, and towards the end of the conversation, he told me, "you know what kills people faster than anything? Panic. And you looked panicked and made us all terrified - we were more afraid of your reaction than what was going on."
I still remember this conversation even after fifteen years as an RN, and it rings true today. Controlling your emotions is a hard part of the job - especially when there is a human life involved. Eventually, you'll be able to do it and take these circumstances in stride.
2) As for next steps - I'd highly suggest shadowing a nurse at your local hospital. Being a volunteer at a hospital is a great way to get a little peek into the industry. You'll do pretty mundane stuff - but you'll get to interact with the hospital staff, and I'd use that time to see if you can shadow a nurse for a shift (most nurses work 12-hour shifts, but some still work an eight-hour day). If you're interested, I'd highly recommend you interview and get hired as a NursingAssistant ; this will help you TREMENDOUSLY in your transition in nursingschool . The other thing I'd say is to check out some nurse experiences online - I like a blog called freshrn.com; an excellent ICU RN writes it with a focus on nurses who have just recently graduated. Also, a book I love that gives a unique perspective is called "training wheels for nurses" - its an older book - but I feel still is timeless - gives a unique perspective from experiencednurses and newnurses alike.
Erin Herd Marmolejos
Senior Manager, Global Service & Support
19
Answers
Updated
Erin’s Answer
Hum. ER nurse and Psych nurse.