Endo nursing for me?

[Ash1021]

Hello all I'm new to this.

I wanted some opinions from other fellow nurses.

I am thinking of making. Big change but need advice. I currently work in a pediatric burn center/icu. I have worked there for 3 years. I previously worked in a level 1 trauma pediatric Ed. I'm having a dilemmA. I'm thinking about making the switch to adult endo clinic.

Reasons why?

Short staffed and constantly working 14 hours because no time to chart until the end. The moral of my current hospital is down since it was bought by a new company. We have lost five nurses in the past 6 months. I have a baby and working holidays weekends and long hours seem to be interfering with that and I'm constantly stressed about work. Always getting calls on my days off and feeling guilty for not being very flexible to work on my off days and nights.

I'm nervous to switch to adults bc I have never worked with that population. Nervous bc I know nothing about endo. Will I be bored bc the work is repetitive and always doing same thing... Will I be wasting my nursing brain and icu skills? Are the people and new hospital going to make or read this huge change? What are typical days of endo nursing? Will being with adults be terrible compared to not being with my kiddos on the pediatric floor?

Ideally the endo clinic I would work 3 10hr shifts no weekend no holiday no call- scheduled days so very consistent. With same or more pay that I currently am at. I am constantly stressed about the work load and the critcalness of my pt I currently care for and really think I need something less stressful (like always worrying I'm going to forget something and my to will have detrimental effects)

Pease endo nurses or anyone who has made the switch from peds to adults let me know your thoughts!!! Thanks!

[brownbook]

I did not make a switch from critical peds patients to endo, but I have worked a variety of different acute care jobs. I left ICU nursing to become the night administrative nurse (supervisor.) After several years as supervisor I though of getting into endo nursing (for better hours) and was panicked about how much knowledge and skills I ? thought ? had forgotten. I was scared at first but the basics of endo nursing are not too difficult to master.

Every area of nursing has its own specialties, different drugs, different procedures, etc. If you go from your current job to endo you will lose a lot of knowledge and skills, but you will gain different knowledge and skills.

I like endo nursing, I don't find it boring, every patient is different, there is a lot to learn about the GI system. We think we understand and know everything about the GI system, but new research finds maybe we don't. Especially for patients whose vague GI symptoms don't respond to anything we do. Irritable bowel syndrome just means.....(as one GI Dr. said) "we really don't know what is wrong!"

There are always new equipment and treatments to learn about. If you keep an open mind you can learn a lot of new and interesting things and may never know it all about endo nursing.

Honestly I think if in a few years of endo you want to switch back to acute care peds nursing you could make the transition back.