3 answers
Alicia
Student
Long Beach, California
1
Question
Updated
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Nurse hospital
how is it going working in this hospital?
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3 answers
Char R.
Registered Nurse
67
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Char’s Answer
Hi Alicia,
I worked in a hospital for a while. The hospital is a busy environment. As a nurse working in a hospital, you will take care of patients who are very sick and will need many tests and treatments. You'll have to make sure that each of your patients gets these tests and treatments on time.
You'll have to know how to interact with not only patients, but family members and other medical professionals (doctors, physical therapists, technicians, assistants, secretaries, and more). There will be many medical professionals taking care of your patient so you'll have to be comfortable working in a team.
Hospital work is unpredictable. Emergencies happen often. Patients sometimes get sicker before they get better. You'll have to learn how to stay calm in stressful situations. There will be days you feel overwhelmed, but there's always help around if it's too much.
The best thing is that you'll take care of people when they are most vulnerable and in urgent need of your help. Working as a hospital nurse can be challenging, but it's definitely rewarding when you see your patients get better.
I worked in a hospital for a while. The hospital is a busy environment. As a nurse working in a hospital, you will take care of patients who are very sick and will need many tests and treatments. You'll have to make sure that each of your patients gets these tests and treatments on time.
You'll have to know how to interact with not only patients, but family members and other medical professionals (doctors, physical therapists, technicians, assistants, secretaries, and more). There will be many medical professionals taking care of your patient so you'll have to be comfortable working in a team.
Hospital work is unpredictable. Emergencies happen often. Patients sometimes get sicker before they get better. You'll have to learn how to stay calm in stressful situations. There will be days you feel overwhelmed, but there's always help around if it's too much.
The best thing is that you'll take care of people when they are most vulnerable and in urgent need of your help. Working as a hospital nurse can be challenging, but it's definitely rewarding when you see your patients get better.
Sue Iffrig
Clinic setting
20
Answers
Saint Peters, Missouri
Updated
Sue’s Answer
Hospital nursing roles varies based on departments. You are typically assigned to care for a group of patients on you amount of time you work. It could be 8 hours 10 hours or 12 hours per shift. It could days, weekends or nights or evenings, again depending on your department. Some departments you get a report from the leaving nurse about the group you are assigned, but ER you may wait until a patient comes in through the front door. Typically you care for all the needs of your assigned patients, some of those you are assigned to have very complex needs and others don’t. You also need to remember you are a part of the team, if your work is light, please make an effort to assist your team mates. My goal was always that the team left at the end of their shift together. I worked in the PACU, NICU, ICU. Telemetry. Manager. We are all in this together.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Lorraine Romero
FNP-C
43
Answers
Modesto, California
Updated
Lorraine’s Answer
Alicia,
I have previously worked in a hospital and I can tell you that depending on what department you are in, the flow of the operation will vary. As a night shift staff nurse, I worked 8-hour shifts in a float pool. As a float pool nurse, I worked in different departments according to the units' needs. There were advantages and disadvantages to this position. I liked trying out the different departments and deciding which was right for me. I might work in pediatrics one night and medical and surgical the next. The disadvantage was that I would start my day at one unit and then be moved to another. As well as adapting to each unit, floating often meant having different patients each day.
I began my workday by being assigned to the unit. After that, I got reports on all my patients from the nurse. Following this, I would review all scheduled lab tests, medications, and procedures for each patient. It was also necessary to assess each patient at the beginning of each shift. As an example, check the patient for pain or other issues, listen to their heart/breathing, etc. At the end of the shift, I would give the nurse covering the next shift a report about each patient.
As a final note, depending on the number of patients you receive during the day, your workday might be very busy. Spending long hours on your feet and keeping up with charts might be part of your job. When working in a hospital, good skills are time management, communication, efficiency, and compassion.
I have previously worked in a hospital and I can tell you that depending on what department you are in, the flow of the operation will vary. As a night shift staff nurse, I worked 8-hour shifts in a float pool. As a float pool nurse, I worked in different departments according to the units' needs. There were advantages and disadvantages to this position. I liked trying out the different departments and deciding which was right for me. I might work in pediatrics one night and medical and surgical the next. The disadvantage was that I would start my day at one unit and then be moved to another. As well as adapting to each unit, floating often meant having different patients each day.
I began my workday by being assigned to the unit. After that, I got reports on all my patients from the nurse. Following this, I would review all scheduled lab tests, medications, and procedures for each patient. It was also necessary to assess each patient at the beginning of each shift. As an example, check the patient for pain or other issues, listen to their heart/breathing, etc. At the end of the shift, I would give the nurse covering the next shift a report about each patient.
As a final note, depending on the number of patients you receive during the day, your workday might be very busy. Spending long hours on your feet and keeping up with charts might be part of your job. When working in a hospital, good skills are time management, communication, efficiency, and compassion.