Day in the life of
Orthopedic/ Trauma Nurse – Shantay Carter, BSN, RN
I am an Orthopedic/ Trauma Nurse.
My typical night looks like this: Busy. I work the night shift from 7pm – 7am. We get a lot of admissions on nights. My night consists of having 6-8 patients to care for. Whether it’s patients coming back from surgery, or coming up from the ER.
For the post-op patients, I’m responsible for taking their vitals, assessing them and their incision site, monitoring them throughout the night, monitoring intake & output, administering their ordered meds, and managing their pain. For the ER admissions, we have to take their vital signs, assess them, check their skin to make sure there are no signs of skin breakdown, and assess the patient’s cognitive status. If the ER admission is going to surgery in the morning, we have to prep them from the night before. I have to educate the patient about their diagnoses, surgery, or their recovery process.
Pros
- Helping patients during their recovery process
- The hours allow you to still get stuff done before you have to go to work
- The ability to educate & empower your patients to be informed about their health
- Having the ability to use our voices to create change for our patients & our community
- Being a patient’s advocate
- My night shift crew rocks. We help each other and we are like family
- The nursing profession offers a wide variety of job opportunities. Examples; work in Critical Care areas, become a Nurse Educator, leadership positions, research, become a Nurse Practitioner, obtain your Doctorate in Nursing, etc. The opportunities are endless.
- Having a genuine love for the profession, and understanding that you will be a part of something bigger than yourself
Cons
- Night shift is busy
- Time away from your family
- The physical demands on your body
- The mental stress & lack of sleep
- Inappropriate behavior from patients and families
- Long hours
“They may not remember what you did or said, but they always remember how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
This quote sums up nursing.