Float
I started an 8 hour shift in triage quite literally playing on the computer, triaging STD's and watching WBL sleep at the desk. The coordinator called and said that pedes was getting hammered and could I go help them out a little? (when I flew we had some sick kids) So sure.... I'm up for a challenge. Pedes nurses, especially pedes ER and ICU are very protective of their patients. They don't want just any adult nurse to come take care of them. Even though I have known some of these girls for a while, they were hesitant to let me do more than grunt work.
I'm not one to sit on my butt, even in that situation. I jumped in right away. Grunt work, whatever. The charge quickly saw that I was there to work and that I had worked with kids before. They then started having me starting IV's, medicating kids, discharging.... you name it. I was even taking a patient or 2 of my own after a while. They were so grateful to have the (competent) help. I told them that I have been trying to officially cross-train over there but have been getting the push-back from administration. They wrote down my name and I have a feeling I might have a part-time job offer by the time this week is out.
Do I want to be a dedicated pedes nurse? No. But since I work so much overtime it can help prevent adult ED burnout and provide a new opportunity to learn something. Plus, from a flight standpoint it will look really good if I have Adult ER, Adult ICU, Pedes ER and flight experience. I'm just sayin'......
I'm not one to sit on my butt, even in that situation. I jumped in right away. Grunt work, whatever. The charge quickly saw that I was there to work and that I had worked with kids before. They then started having me starting IV's, medicating kids, discharging.... you name it. I was even taking a patient or 2 of my own after a while. They were so grateful to have the (competent) help. I told them that I have been trying to officially cross-train over there but have been getting the push-back from administration. They wrote down my name and I have a feeling I might have a part-time job offer by the time this week is out.
Do I want to be a dedicated pedes nurse? No. But since I work so much overtime it can help prevent adult ED burnout and provide a new opportunity to learn something. Plus, from a flight standpoint it will look really good if I have Adult ER, Adult ICU, Pedes ER and flight experience. I'm just sayin'......
posted by jeepgirl at 16:57
5 Comments:
Good luck, I hope the peds thing goes well.
Hi,
I am a first year (second semester) nursing student, and I love your blog. I'm extremely interested in eventually working in critical care. You are obviously really competent and comfortable in critical care as well as a lot of other areas, and I wondered if you would have any advice for someone like me. What can I do at this stage of the game to ready myself for critical care areas? I've got good study habits, good grades, good clinical reviews, etc., but I still struggle a lot with my confidence and have a hard time believing that I will be out there one day ready to do it all on my own. I do work as a tech at a hospital right now, and I try to be proactive about new experiences and observations.
I would appreciate any wisdom or insight you would have about new grad competency, critical care, confidence, how not to &$#% it up, etc. I'd be happy to provide more details if that would be helpful. I totally understand if you're busy, just thought I'd try. Thanks!
Give me a little bit to think on it and I will post something. I LOVE students. Especially ones who are anxious to learn and are interested in the critical care/ER environment (we need all the help we can get!). Will get back to you soon!
I avoided peds like the plague my first 10 yrs as an RN. I've been doing it now for 4.5 yrs and can't imagine going back to adults. Granted, there are some heart wrenching stories (would it be a HIPPA violation if I told some on my blog?), but it's sooo gratifying to be there for them and their parents.
I can see that you are very competent with your job. I hope that you will continue doing it, and posting in your blog does help to inspire our nurses.
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