Do all nurses want to work in a hospital?

[luvmykids0810]

I'm asking because I'm a PCA now in the PCU of my hospital and I'm always the only tech with over 20 patients every night. And I'm thinking maybe getting my bsn and working in a hospital isn't for me. I have always thought and wanted to work in a hospital. But the nurses here get angry because it takes me 2 hours to do the whole floors vitals. And god forbid a patient needs changing or a bed alarm goes off. It puts me further behind.

So my question is would it be a waste to get my bsn and not work at a hospital? And does every nurse want to work in a hospital?

[jla1972]

Nursing is my second career. I am 40 years old, just finished nursing school and will take the NCLEX in the next month or so. During clinicals, I really disliked Med/Surg for various reasons and the traditional hospital setting just did not appeal to me. I am drawn to outpatient care and possibly occupational health where I can have more of an opportunity for client teaching. About 10% of my classmates have no desire to work in a hospital, others see hospitals as a "stepping stone", not a final career goal. One of the reasons I chose nursing is because of the vast opportunities and variety of work the field offers! Will a BSN be wasted outside of the hospital? No, you will use not only what you have learned but how you learned it, the methods of learning you will develop in school will serve you well in other areas of life. Good luck!

[NurseCard, ADN]

Noooooo.... I hate hospital work, unless it's a psychiatric hospital.

Otherwise, I stay the heck away from hospital work. Can't stand

the overall atmosphere, can't hardly stand dealing with doctors. I

mostly work LTC and psych, and I still have to call doctors and talk

to doctors, but not nearly to the degree that I had to deal with them

when I worked in Med-Surge.

[ausrnurse]

Thank God not every nurse wants to work in a hospital, imagine how terrible the world would be! No preventative health care, no community health programs, school health, sexual health, chronic disease management, immunisation clinics, wound clinics, etc etc etc. The belief that nursing outside of med/surg/critical care is not "real nursing" is really disappointing! Med/surg nurses would have at least double the amount of patients if there weren't nurses outside of the hospital working to keep people out of hospital!

[Marshall1]

This is an old topic/thread but I echo what others have said - no, not all nurses want to work in a hospital setting. I did for many years and for the most part enjoyed it. I have reached a point now that I can either return to a hospital setting or move into a lower management position outside of the hospital setting..yes, the M-F 8 hr plus drive will be an adjustment but it will also be something new, consistent and put all my skills to use. I do miss some things about the hospital but honestly, not enough to work 12 hr (which is really more like 13-15 hr) shifts and deal w/all that goes on. Maybe someday I will return but not now. There are other jobs - even for new nurses - outside of the hospital - you just have to keep looking/applying.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

Not positive on this but aren't nursing jobs actually moving "out"of the hospital setting? With more emphasis on preventative care - such as home health?