I think I'm done with hospital nursing... what to do in this situation??

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been a pediatric RN on a hospital floor for 9 months. I love what I do. Unfortunately, I don't love the corporation I work for, or the 14 hour days without lunch that I end up working. Even though there are usually only 3 workdays to my week, it truly isn't worth it... working Christmas and Thanksgiving is NOT WORTH losing my sanity!

I have lost my health since working on the floor... I seem to get sick ALL the time, despite universal precautions, and other precautions depending on what my patient has. Lately, I've been having problems with Syncope, tachycardia, Palpitations, and we can't seem to find a cause (although I've been told many times by many doctors that it is probably related to stress).

Anyway, my mom works for a large orthopedic practice in my area, and they happened to have an opening. I've jumped through all the interviewing hoops, and they have a physician that they feel is the "first in line" to get a nurse, although there are several more (one of these physicians is a pediatric spine doctor that I have worked with on my floor and knows who I am, and I like him... he's is a great doctor). I interviewed with this doctor recently, and didn't get a good vibe from him. He has had several nurses in his few years of working, and I also got the feeling that he was weary about me as well (having only worked 9 months in one place), and he stated that he wants a nurse to be committed to him and his practice, etc which I completely understand, but basically asked me how can he be sure that I won't want to go back to peds (a worry of mine as well!), or to the hospital. He also told me that part of my responsibility would be to email with his wife to let her know if he was on schedule, etc to prepare for lunches together. He repeatedly told me how good his previous nurse was, and how big of shoes I will have to fill. Overall, he is a very nice guy, and I was told by several other people that he is a great doctor, very nice, etc.

Today, I hear from my mom that the peds doctor's (who is also looking for a nurse, but is NOT first priority compared to this doctor) team would LOVE to have me, coming from his nurse practitioner.

Although the peds practice is MUCH more high strung and can be (From what I've heard) extremely stressful, I truly believe that pediatrics is my calling. The nurse practitioner is going to talk to the doctor tomorrow, but I am afraid that in the mean time I MAY be offered a job. I was told by the nurse educators (both of them) that I interviewed with from the company that they think I need to be in peds, because of the spark I have when I talk about it.

Sorry about the novel, and I'm really almost done but...

what do I do? Should I send an email NOW saying that I'm really interested in peds, and while I liked this other doctor I would really like to look into that?

OR Should I wait and see if they make a job offer? They have already said that if doctor #1 doesn't choose me as his primary nurse, that they have several other positions available that we could talk about. If they do make a job offer, what do I say?

I didn't have a good feeling after the interview with doctor #1 this A.M. as he seemed very nervous to have a nurse that has only been at one job 9 months, but I am still worried about "what if."

Any advice or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated from anyone who has been in a similar situation or who has some wisdom regarding this.

Sorry again about the long-winded email!

:redpinkhe

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There is no way that I would work for a doctor who expected me to e-mail his wife or prepare his lunches! It is completely your decision, but if you have a bad feeling about it, that is not a good thing. I would wait until you get the job offer to say anything. You may find out that the salary is great and would offset the things that you dislike about the position.

It sounds like you really want to be in peds, so I think that is where you should focus.

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Be absolutely truthful to YOURSELF! If you want peds, stick with peds! Switching may not make you happy, and could be more detrimental to your mental/spiritual health as well as physical!!!!

Don't kid your own self talking yourself into something you do not want to commit to in this case. The MD is asking for a commitment so this will be part of the agreement...if you can't or feel you will not want to...best to leave it be.

Always be true to you and your own goals!

I would also be very leary of this MD that feels your profession includes personal secretary work! What else does this disillusioned MD feel is your 'job'... That would send red flags flying in my head!

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Thanks for the responses so far.

In response to healthyRN, he doesn't expect me to prepare his lunch... sorry I didn't say it clearly. He wants me to email his wife so she can prepare for their lunches together. Either way, though... kinda sounds weird to me.

Thanks again for the responses...

I just heard from my mom that the lady in charge (who will decide to hire me or not for either of those physicians) passed it on to the peds team (via the nurse practitioner) that she thinks I need to be in peds as well.

Apparently, the head physician (the one I know) is completely against having an RN (probably due to money things), although there are 2 other physicians, a NP and a new physician coming next month that do. Well shall see! There is a big meeting tonight with that team, so it's supposed to be brought up.

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Sounds to me like an MD that has no respect and or realistic view of what a nurse is and what we do...or that the value of a good nurse is worth the expense from many angels including fiscally and liablity!

I would so stay away from them!!!!!!! I work with a few of those types in my hospital that think we are just cute little gals playing with having a 'career' (don't even want to know what he thinks of male nurses!) and are good for secretarial work or making their coffee! Yeah, I give them a wide birth and just state facts quickly and throughly...expect them to look at me like I am an idiot or 'cutsie'...and go back to my patient and make sure they aren't suffereing for their MD's attitudes!

In fact, it is now in my contract that there are two MD's I will not take patients from because of this due to 'interpersonal conflicts of ethics and patient safety issues r/t lack of proper communication".

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Personally I have reservations about working for someone that your mom works for. If things get bad for one of you, the effects could ripple to the other one and it could get uncomfortable if not ugly. Particularly when you are fed up with things after only 9 months at this job. Sorry to say but "old" nurses seem to be able to have put up with the crap of nursing a lot longer than newer nurses. I know you are just looking for something better but believe me, as long as you stay in nursing, the grass isn't greener - the manure just smells a little different. There is no guarantee you will be able to put up with the crap of a busy doc office and it would be a shame if things turned out badly for both you and your mom.

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Go for whgat you want. And someone who can't "keep" a nurse, or secretary, or employees, period, isn't a good risk.

Red flags are waving all over the place.

Go for the peds doctor.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
There is no way that I would work for a doctor who expected me to e-mail his wife or prepare his lunches! It is completely your decision, but if you have a bad feeling about it, that is not a good thing. I would wait until you get the job offer to say anything. You may find out that the salary is great and would offset the things that you dislike about the position.

It sounds like you really want to be in peds, so I think that is where you should focus.

Amen to this! E-mailing his wife and letting her know if he is on schedule is a deal-killer as far as I'm concerned and it says a lot about how he views you as a professional or rather I should say not. It's also probably just the tip of the iceberg. This is a big red flag!!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

It sounds like he is looking for a personal assistant -- not a professional nurse. If you want to be a personal assistant for a living, the go for it. But if you want a career as a professional nurse, hold out for something better to come along.

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Thanks for all these new replies. As far as working in the same company as my mother, this could be a concern- fortunately, this is a LARGE company (small corporation) with over 200 physicians, and several thousand employees. It's not just a small doctor's office. There are several husband-wife, or mother/daughter sets working there.

Thanks again for the replies. I am basically just waiting to hear from the lady who is in charge of hiring.

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Go for the pedis. Do not ever accept a job with someone you get negative vibes from on an interview no matter how "nice" or wonderful people tell you the person is. I am sure he is nice but this doesn't sound like a good match for the two of you.

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