Home care RN looking for new job options that aren't bedside

Nurses General Nursing

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I am an RN with my BSN. I have worked in the LTC setting, acute hospital setting and now I do home-care. I have only been a nurse for a year and some months. I know that is not a lot of experience but I know for a fact I do not like bedside nursing. As for my home care job, I case manage 9 patients and work M-F, I do evenings visits. I recently went full-time and have come to realize what it really was like. I used to do Per diem ( you don't case-manage as much, usually none) and I think I want to go back, that's if I can find something else I'll be happy full-time in. My patients are mostly psych. I fill and pick up meds, contacts MD's, set up appointments and do a lot of other things. I find myself getting up early to make phones calls most mornings because i do work evenings and have to wait till next morning, unless it's an emergency. I find other nurses texting me during my "mornings off" and it just ruins my day usually. Patients are constantly in and out of hospital. I don't mind the paperwork part but the job gets stressful. The stress level is different from a hospital setting, almost worse because I'm always home with it. I stress when I don't get calls back from Md office, I stress when it has been days and I have not received my refill rx I requested and the patient is running out. The hours are good and pay is great but I'm starting to hate the idea that work comes home with me. I mean it is great that I do most of my work from home and only take 2-3 hrs a day to actually see all my patients. But I just can't stand the fact that I sleep with work on my mind all the time. I want a job where I can leave my work at work and come home and not have to worry about my patients. What other options are out there? I can't see myself being an educator or instructor, and definitely cannot do bedside again ( hated those 8-12 hr shifts)!

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With only one year in already more than one setting your options are somewhat limited I think.

If you do not want to do bedside there are case management job in insurance companies, hospitals, and doctor's offices - but those often require some more extensive work history and at least a BSN, some even ask for a MSN for those positions now.

There are also positions that are different from bedside but still have some patient contact like clinics (coumadin clinic for example), doctor offices).

If you like technology you can look into dialysis (but acute dialysis has on call).

I get the dilemma of Home Care CM as I was a CM in home hospice/palliative care. If you do not like CM but do not find another job perhaps look into a different position or company with per diem, weekend baylor, per visit ...

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I was thinking of procedural nursing. You get to work in departments like interventional radiology, endoscopy and monitor patients, give conscious sedation and other nursing duties. Once the patient is recovered and moved out, your duties are done. Work is at work, home is home.

Here is the catch. To get some of the more desirable nursing jobs, you need certain kinds of skills that bedside nursing gives. ICU skills are needed for procedural nursing.

It seems really early in your nursing career to close off so many options. If you can go back to bedside nursing, you can use it as a stepping stone to something else.

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How many texts do you receive on your mornings that can't be ignored until your workday starts?

Nine patients is 1/2 a load to me, I'm wondering where all of the crucial texts demanding immediate attention are coming from.

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Specializes in Pharmaceutical Research, Operating Room.

I only had a year and four months of acute care experience before moving into pharmaceutical research. I work in an office, 8 hours a day, and never take work home with me. After a year of service, I will be able to work from home at least some of the time and set my own hours. The pay is substantially more than it was in the hospital, even with my OR differential. My work is very interesting to me, and I do have phone contact with patients and other healthcare professionals all day long. It is nursing, but a much different type of nursing than the traditional bedside type jobs. I encourage you to look into these types of career opportunities, which I'm sure will depend on the area of the country you live in. I live in a healthcare and pharmaceutical saturated area, so getting this job here was relatively "easy" compared to other, more rural areas of the country. Good luck to you! :up:

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Thanks! What type of work does pharmaceutical research entail? What is your role?

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Specializes in Pharmaceutical Research, Operating Room.

I just send you a PM :up:

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Turn your phone off when you are not on the clock. Do like some nurses do by leaving a message on your greeting to "call the office". You have to set the limits no matter what area that you work in.

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From what I observe, dialysis (acute) isn't that bad. Sure there is call, but they never seem stressed. All of the patient's problems are not there's unless it has to do with the dialysis machine. If anything it's boring but the money is good.

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From what I observe, dialysis (acute) isn't that bad. Sure there is call, but they never seem stressed. All of the patient's problems are not there's unless it has to do with the dialysis machine. If anything it's boring but the money is good.

What requirements are needed for becoming a dialysis nurse? I have my BSN.

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Turn your phone off when you are not on the clock. Do like some nurses do by leaving a message on your greeting to "call the office". You have to set the limits no matter what area that you work in.

I do that sometimes, but for me, as a person, when a problem arises I have to address it right away. It always ends of being one problem after another. But that's nursing right !

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How many texts do you receive on your mornings that can't be ignored until your workday starts?

Nine patients is 1/2 a load to me, I'm wondering where all of the crucial texts demanding immediate attention are coming from.

I think it's just the person I am, I have to address the situation immediately. I don't like to keep things waiting. If there's a concern or problem, I need to do something because I don't like to add onto my checklist of to-do's

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