What to expect: Even with all the challenges that a staff nurse may feel in working with clients who often have to deal with excruciating pain and bodily disfigurement, staff nurses on a burn unit still earn a median salary well below the median overall salary. As a specialized work site, additional understanding and assessment in specific areas will be needed. While working more closely with other professions than in some areas of nursing, assessment skills and independent thinking are still crucial. Prior experience in acute care is part of the preparation.
Challenges you may face: Being patient when you know you have an hour of work and only half an hour to complete it requires a lot of skill and lots of care and compassion. Work colleagues who share neither your compassionate spirit nor the respect and honor you want to offer your geriatric clients for whom they once were, if not the person they are now, may also stress you.