My experience floating to different units

Neuro/medical

This unit had patients with problems that required further care than the neurosurgical setting. There were more sick patients with more medications and health problems. This unit also had the seizure/epilepsy unit where patients are monitored for seizures in order for proper treatment. I loved this unit because I love neurology and it was a great place to learn a lot of new skills. Medical differs from surgery, so it's hard to transition. Medical patients are more sick and are in the hospital longer. Surgical patients have a surgery and may stay 1-3 days then leave. I really liked this unit because I got to see the medical side of it all.

Neuro-Rehabilitation

This unit housed people that require months of therapy after a damaging incident. Many of these patients were stroke or trauma patients. These patients worked many hours a day with in-hospital physical and occupational therapists. They re-learn how to walk and move independently on their own. I had an experience with a quadriplegic patient about my age. He had gotten in a motor vehicle accident and severed his spinal cord. It was an amazing day working with him because I learned so much and I got to work with such an amazing young man. He was so strong and positive despite all he has been through.

PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)

This unit is for children that need more intensive and skilled care than just a general pediatric medical floor. These children are very sick. Many of these children are on respiratory ventilators because they are not able to breathe on their own. The ICU atmosphere is very intense. The child I was assigned to was intubated, meaning he was sedated so that the ventilator could take over his breathing. This was very hard to watch because I couldn't interact with the patient and it was more depressing. I learned a lot about this type of nursing care, but I don't think I want to pursue a career in this field.

ISCN (Intermediate Special Care Nursery)

This unit had newborns that were not sick enough to receive care for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but were still in need of further observation. As a nurse in this unit, we fed, dressed, washed, and burped the babies while receiving treatment for any problems they face during birth. This was probably one of my favorite moments at the Mayo Clinic. I love babies. I had such a good time holding their little bodies. We had a baby that was just 4lbs and he was so small and adorable. I got to feed and burp him and I've never been so happy in my whole life. I definitely see myself in this type of nursing one day.

Pediatric Surgery

I had the opportunity to watch several surgeries on children ranging from age 2 to age 17. I was able to observe tonsils being removed and ear tubes being placed. This type of nursing dealt more with documenting medications given and what happened during surgery. I didn't really like scrub nursing just because again, the patient is most likely sleeping and sedated. I couldn't interact with the children and I didn't do much but hold the kids down as they were waking up. It was interesting to watch these surgeries, but I don't think I want to be a surgical nurse.

RCU (Respiratory Care Unit)

This unit housed patients with severe respiratory problems. These patients were still able to do things on their own, but still required special amounts of nursing care. Many of these patients were just in the hospital awaiting new lungs for transplant services. We had a patient that had been there 222 days and still waiting for lungs. He had 7 past opportunities of receiving lungs, but none of them were a good match. I got to talk with him about his experience and it was good to know that the Mayo Clinic was taking such good care of him.