In need of advice

[LoveLaughLive]

Hello all,

I am new to allnurses.com and I am in need of some advice. I don't know if it is due to work demands or home demands but I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I woke up this morning with a heavy heart, regretting my decision to be a nurse. It has been three years since I received my license and obtained a job at a hospital. I will say that I have learned so much and value my experience but I no longer want this. The problem is, I have no idea where to go from here. As of now, I work one to two night shifts a week, while attending school for my BSN online, wife and mother of two kids (one dx with ASD- mild to moderate). My question is, where should I begin to look for careers away from nursing when I have no idea what exactly I want to do? What careers did you pursue after nursing?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Have you been in the same job for the three years? It may not be that you want to leave nursing but that you want to leave that particular job/nursing specialty. Nursing has a lot of options- including those that are away from patient care. It could simply be you haven't found your niche yet. But I would definitely look into information about burnout and compassion fatigue. I think there may be some good articles floating around here, perhaps in the health & stress management forum?

[LoveLaughLive]

Hey,

Thank you for your response. To answer your question, yes I have been in the hospital setting. I believe you may be right in assuming that I may want a change. I just don't know where to go from here. I guess I need to do some research. What field of nursing are you in?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I've been in the OR since graduating nursing school. I've done various different specialty teams, a stint as the charge nurse, and I'm now moving into a non-clinical administrative role, still in the OR. I was one of the lucky ones who found where I wanted to be with the first job.

[Rivalicious]

I've actually never worked in a hospital (they don't really utilize LPN's anymore) but I've heard from others that it can be a special kind of hell. Since you have a child with ASD have you considered IDD nursing? That's where I'm working currently- I do weekend overnights in an intermediate care facility for adults with developmental disabilities and per diem home care for pediatric cases. There are a lot of options in this field and a real need for nurses with the background and passion for it. I just happened to end up here and found I loved working with this population, but a lot of the nurses I work with have family members with special needs (usually siblings or children) who inspired them to go into this area, and the experience and empathy they bring to the table is invaluble.

Eta- I meant to add that although these are nursing roles, the role we play is quite different from other specialties. You have a lot more autonomy, but the pay is not as good and the workload can be intense in the more institutional settings. In my ICF I have a 48:1 ratio with as little as 2 direct support professionals (similar to NA's) on overnights!

[LoveLaughLive]

Thank you, I actually never thought of this.

[Rivalicious]

No problem, if you have any questions about it feel free to ask! There's also a developmental disabilities nursing forum here, and the National Developmental Disabilities Nursing Association (NDAA) has some great resources as well.