Hi all,

I know there are a lot of threads (and rightfully so) where people are counting the cost of what it means to switch from the RN role to the NP role. This is another one of those threads, but I'm wondering if you could be very specific in describing some things about your away-from-work life: are you exhausted at the end of the day, or do you come home and cook a meal and enjoy family time or time with friends/neighbors? Are you able to engage in community activities -- perhaps be involved in some sort of civic organization or such? Do you have time to take care of yourself with exercise and rest, or do you feel like you are constantly 'on the go' with work stuff? Do you have hobbies? Do you feel like you have time to explore other interests in life deeply?

Many RNs work 12 hour shifts, and while there are weekends and holidays involved with that, it generally remains a pretty darn flexible full-time schedule. While work as an NP is far less physically taxing, than as a bedside RN, most NPs I've talked with have talked about the mental exhaustion that comes with the job.

I don't usually feel mentally exhausted. That may come from working in a specialty where I treat a fairly narrow range of conditions, so I don't have to be all things to all patients. I was physically and mentally exhausted at my first job, when I worked in primary care and was constantly pushed to see more patients and deal with physical, social, and psychological issues with very limited resources. I work 4 days a week, an occasional Saturday moonlighting at another job, do some volunteer work, and could exercise more if I could get my rear in gear. I cook dinner most nights and still have time to relax with a book. A job with a 5 day work week would be a deal breaker for me.

I feel less tired now working 5 days a week than when I worked 2 12's /week RN (I now work .9 and leave at noon 2 days a week).

As an NP I have more flexibility in time off. I literally asked for all the "golden days' off when I was first hired and was shocked when they were all approved. I have those days off again this year as well. There are a few days I have had to work when I would rather not...but for the most part my job has been amazingly flexible. As a nurse I could never take vacation time when I wanted, I had to make complicated trades. Also I am allowed to call in sick without guilt.... that is huge. The biggest perk is just the relaxed work environment and respect. I have a voice in my schedule and how situations are handled. I rarely feel mentally exhausted. I work for a big organization with tons of support. I rarely have to do the behind the scenes work, we have people that fill out forms, do pre auths, and follow up with all normal labs (we do handle all abnormals) I wouldn't want to go back .

That sounds like a prettt ideal situation to me.

Since I still work excessive hours, including weekends and holidays, my free time is similar but I also enjoy staying busy and making money. For me being a NP is way more stressful mentally and includes the feeling of responsibility that is present 24/7. I love it but again I also loved being a floor RN. There are times when I really miss the camaraderie of hanging out with my RN peers as we worked together to control the inevitable **** storms.

For fun I manage to have enough time to participate in frequent happy hours with peers, lunches with girlfriends, a few weekend getaways, 1 week long vacation and 3-4 running races a year. I also enjoy traveling to MD conferences. Lol, I feel like I'm writing up my online dating site dossier.

These are great, ya'll. Keep em coming! I, too, LOVE bedside nursing. I am pretty sure I could stay in it and be happy. That said, there is no guarantee that I will be able to work at my currently fabulous place of work. I'm not sure I'll be hanging around this neck of the woods long-term and really would like to make a return to the South. Bedside nursing is not the same in the South as it is here. BTDT. Even APN is restricted in most places in the South, but hopefully that will change eventually. But mostly, I want to know I will have time for LIFE outside of work. I'm interested and committed to healthy living, keeping my home and garden, various ministries, friends/community ... and of course FAMILY. I know a lot of people say they are not mentally challenged as bedside nurses, but as an critical care nurse, I can't say the same. I feel like there's always more for me to learn. I don't see APN as an end-all or the pinnacle of achievement, but it's always been something I felt like I would grow into ... it has always been ahead of me - even years ago, even before it was cool and everyone was doing it (a fact which quite honestly turns me off a bit on it -- but that's a different subject).

I still work the 12 hour shifts as an NP and it does allow me the flexibility to have free time to moonlight, plan short trips, enjoy days off where i can just drive to somewhere nice locally for a day or two. I have done some volunteer work, have membership in a few cultural attractions in the area (museums, etc) that I visit regularly. There are a few hiking spots where I live and I wish I took advantage of them more regularly but it's not because I have no free time to do so--it's really laziness, I think.

I don't have to bring work home and I finish my notes before I leave for the shift. Occasionally, I will have a patient I think about a lot on my days off wondering how they're doing and you fight the urge to call the unit and check in but that's the extent of my "mental exhaustion". While at work, I do use a lot of brain cells figuring things out in terms of diagnostics and patient management at a higher level than as an ICU nurse.

I just want to clarify that I have NO doubt an acute care NP working in an ICU has to think at a higher level on the job than the ICU bedside nurse. The two roles are completely different. I only meant that for me, just even being a plain ol' bedside ICU nurse challenges me mentally. :) I know that if I pull the trigger on my FNP program, that I will continue to be challenged and stretched further.