help, bedside nursing not for me?

Nurses Stress 101

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I am in my first year of nursing. Finished nursing school under not so ideal conditions (divorced my ex-drug addict husband, moved twice, all while raising my under 3 year old son), passes the NCLEX and got a job on a PCU/Adult Med-Surg floor in a brand-spankin new unit that was not quite finished. I thought this is awesome...no experience and they hire me for a critical care type job in a brand new facility , I can go anywhere after this!

The residency was so unorganized and we never knew what our schedule was going to be...so started of on the wrong foot. AND all of us hired had no experience. So the blind leading the blind. The new unit opens and its filled with agency staff and all us newbies...No one knows where anything is, we all did the majority of our residency on another floor, so no commoradity and no preceptors to guide us. Now I know everyone says the first year of nursing is the hardest...BUT I don't find my actual job hard, I feel confident in what I'm doing and always get my work done efficiently (even in an unorganized unit) and patients and their families seem to enjoy me...but I don't enjoy them like I thought I would. (I promise I'm not an a-hole)

I worked as a server/bartender for 10+ years and thought my experience would only help me in nursing (multitasking, keeping my cool when things get hectic, awesome customer service skills, etc.), but I'm feeling like those 'skills' have led me to be already burnt out of beside nursing. I was so burnt out of restaurant work and thought nursing would be a great transition and pays more, with benefits...but the hours are even longer (stuck on 12's), still have to work holidays and weekends and patients are customers...and they suck the life out of you.

I'm currently looking into pursuing my Bachelors of Nursing and maybe even informatics to get away from the bedside, but what can I do in the meantime? I've been sick already 3 times and missed a ton of work because of it, thinking my immune system is shot because of stress...have tried talking to management but they keep blowing smoke up my bum and tell me my unit will get better and I'm appreciated as a staff member there. But nothing to keep me around...like can I work less hours or 8's instead of 12's so I don't have to put my child in daycare for 13+ hours a day....nothing to make me want to stay. Already have lost 3 former residents due to better job offers and the lack of organization on the unit.

Any suggestions on what I can do in the meantime while finishing up my BS? I have to work because I'm a single mom, but feel so burnt out with bedside care and can't bare to 'waste' all my nursing school hard work to go back to serving while I finish school.

Specializes in FNP- BC, Med-Tele, PCU, Home Health Case Manager.
Nurse.J.....

Good luck to you. It is so much harder when you have little ones and not a lot of family to help out. Hoping the time passes by quickly! ;)

Thank you! I'm so blessed my parents offered to help out and my boyfriend is even taking part too. Feel very lucky to have the opportunity to spend more time with my son. His dad (in rehab AGAIN) and other grandparents unfortunately cannot be counted on, so its us against the world. Things have started to look a little brighter at work and even though 12's are long days, I'll make it through and have lots of time off which will be the little relief and 'pot of gold' at the end of the rainbow until my contract is up at my hospital. I've been setting goals for myself too, so the time doesn't seem so daunting to when I'll finally be on a unit that I know is where I'm supposed to be. Going to put in for transfer in Feb when my contract is up, to a hospital closer to home, so I can spend less time commuting and be close in case anything were to happen. If I have to work in another PCU/M/S unit for another 6 months when I transfer, that is ok with me, even though I know its not my future. I want to work on my Bachelor's online and then see where the world of nursing takes me. I do missing working with the little ones, so maybe a residency in peds/m/b or NICU will open up after my transfer. I know I need that 1 year at least of acute care experience, so I'm riding it out and if I have to do it a little longer after that, oh well.

I'm realizing that nursing will always have hard days...whether I'm in a unit I love or one that I don't enjoy as much. But if I can make a little impact each day...even if its just making a patient smile...that goes a long wayyy in reminding myself why I became a nurse. Its easy to get stuck in your own self-loathing and depression and forget why you busted your butt for years to get to where I am right now...and how many other people out there are only dreaming of doing what I get to do every day I work...who may never have that chance. So I'm counting my blessings and reminding myself to never forget that. And if anyone else has ever felt like I have or is feeling that way, right now. Don't give up. You'll make it and there will be a rainbow with a pot of gold waiting for you. :) Cheers!

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Specializes in cardiac/education.

I'm realizing that nursing will always have hard days...whether I'm in a unit I love or one that I don't enjoy as much. But if I can make a little impact each day...even if its just making a patient smile...that goes a long wayyy in reminding myself why I became a nurse. Its easy to get stuck in your own self-loathing and depression and forget why you busted your butt for years to get to where I am right now...and how many other people out there are only dreaming of doing what I get to do every day I work...who may never have that chance. So I'm counting my blessings and reminding myself to never forget that. And if anyone else has ever felt like I have or is feeling that way, right now. Don't give up. You'll make it and there will be a rainbow with a pot of gold waiting for you. :) Cheers!

My problem with nursing is that there are more harder days than easy, more days where I stay 14 hours instead of 12, more days where I float to other floors and don't know where I am going or who I'll be working with, I can't stand the unpredictable and everything is in nursing. I love talking to patients (not under pressure though!) and interacting with co-workers but that is about it. I can honestly say there are very few things I like about my job and I hate that. I wish I could find something in between the constant stress-run of floor nursing and sitting on my orifice never using my brain!

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Specializes in FNP- BC, Med-Tele, PCU, Home Health Case Manager.
My problem with nursing is that there are more harder days than easy, more days where I stay 14 hours instead of 12, more days where I float to other floors and don't know where I am going or who I'll be working with, I can't stand the unpredictable and everything is in nursing. I love talking to patients (not under pressure though!) and interacting with co-workers but that is about it. I can honestly say there are very few things I like about my job and I hate that. I wish I could find something in between the constant stress-run of floor nursing and sitting on my orifice never using my brain!

I'm still pondering what nursing job I can do sooner than later that fits about what you just said Lol. Lately I've had some really ****** days (12+ hours of pure hell and no breaks :/)...but I know working M/S/Tele...that its going to be expected. Not to say other areas don't have similar issues...but I have to keep reminding myself that it'll get better once I'm elsewhere. But where is that elsewhere going to be? I know everyone has to do at least a year of bedside nursing to go somewhere else...but what jobs can you do that don't require bedside nursing? ...because I think bedside nursing is going to be exhausting whatever unit I'm on. And I don't have my BSN yet :/ I feel pretty limited and am stuck as far as ideas. What unit do you work on?

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Specializes in FNP- BC, Med-Tele, PCU, Home Health Case Manager.

Soooo my 1 year is FINALLY up and I have been applying all over...in fact have a second interview with a HH company on Monday and another interview for a surgical unit at a different hospital (still mulling this over because it would be the same crazy 12+ hour days on a surgical floor). My question is where to go? HH would be a complete change (but also greater pay) and I feel like the surgical floor would possibly be just a lateral move and possibly same crap, different hospital.

I have been researching and talking to other HH nurses about the job and it sounds like it is right up my alley. AND the territory I would be doing visits in is in my neck of the woods, so I would never be driving ALL over town, like I've heard some agencies have their HH RNs doing.

I'm just a little nervous as it is a complete shift in gears and wonder if it is the right choice for me. The M-F schedule and no holidays or weekends (despite the one weekend every 4-6 weeks I'd be on call) and flexibility in creating my own schedule, is what has drawn me to the position. The stress of the hospital hours and commuting has really taken a toll on myself and son (who's turning 4 this month and I'd like him to start preschool soon) and 'regular hours' are hard to come by in the hospital setting. My hospital has also made some major changes with budget cuts and restructuring of my unit and it only seems to be getting worse. I love my coworkers but I am so done. I'm ready for a change and not only is the schedule and autonomy of HH attractive, the ability to actually talk to my patients in their homes, instead of the running back and forth with no time to do anything let alone chat, like my days in the hospital...sounds so much more rewarding. I've also always believed in HH as well, I think pts do much better at home (with the exception of the situations where SW has to be involved). I hear you either love HH or you hate it but I am beginning to feel it is like that with every area in nursing.

So what do you think fellow comrades? This has been a crazy year and I feel like my basic foundation of nursing skills has been laid, I just don't know where to take it. I suppose if I take the HH job and it doesn't work out, I can always go back to hospital nursing. But I may end up loving it, which I really think I will...and never leave. :)

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Specializes in Step Down, Cath Lab, Health Coach, Education.

How did the change to HH go? I am 8 months in Tele Step down, and looking forward for a change. I have an offer for Home Health Assessments for an insurance company, but I am afraid to loose my skills. Tell me about your HH experience so far.

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Oh my! I can completely relate to what you're going through. I started off my first year of nursing working on a cardiac/PCU unit. We were placed in a "internship" program. The older nurses there were not very receptive to the new nurses. It was the true definition of "nurses eating their young". I remember my first code, and just feeling like I was completely on my own. Thankfully the patient survived, but it was not a pleasant situation at all; not really having any experience with barely any help. My first year alone burnt me out. We would have six and sometimes seven patients at a time. I remember having an assignment where I was giving blood to two patients at the same time, with the third patient on a drip. I didn't realize how dangerous it was and how I was putting my license on the line. Over the next several years, I tried working on a post surgical unit, MedSurg, oncology, telemetry, ER-Obs, float pool on night shift...starting to wonder, as many nurses who have gone through the same experience, if I had chosen the right career for myself.

I'm now currently work as a nurse case manager for an insurance company, and I absolutely love it. It feels so good to finally find a niche in nursing that I truly like. It's a different type of nursing, but you use your nurse knowledge to really help patients get back to a baseline level of functioning. I hope that you've found a field that you enjoy working in. As hard as it is for those who may be going through the same thing, try to get your experience at the bedside as tough as it may be at times; everything you learned at the bedside will pay off. The world of nursing is so diverse and there's so many different opportunities out there. If anyone is interested in my role please feel free to hit me up. I truly wish you and everyone else all the best in your future nursing endeavors.

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