To move away from bedside nursing or not?

Nurses Recovery

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I am fairly new in recovery, about 10 months and am fortunate enough to have a job. Half the time I supervise and the other half I work the floor. I have no narcotic restriction and to date have done well with the position. Almost by accident, I was interviewed for a position as a nurse educator for an LTC facility (where most of my experience is). The nice parts of the job are that it is Monday thru Friday and only on call one weekend per 8 weeks. The other nice parts are that it is 40 hours a week, day shift, flex hrs and involves little to no exposure to narcotics unless I was required to work the floor while on call. The thing that holds me back from jumping on this is that my entire career has been in bedside nursing and people respect my clinical judgement, which I am very proud of. Has anybody in recovery had to make a choice like this? I feel like it is a no brainer in terms of sobriety but I am not sure that this type of job will be as satisfying . . .

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I think it sounds like an amazing opportunity, you will be taking care of patients, and teaching people at the same time! Learning something new is really good for us, and even better...getting taken out of your comfort zone will give you even more confidence in your sobriety. It'll be one more thing on your resume- it will make you that much more valuable, this equals security. Commit yourself to a year in this adventure, you may love it, and it you hate it you can always go back to bedside. Just my two cents!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I agree with the poster ^^. Most of the things we regret in life are the chances we didn't take. If you don't enjoy it, you can return to bedside nursing without difficulty. It's because of your great clinical judgment that this opportunity is available to you. Go for it!!

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Thank you so much for your support. I just found this website but I love it already! No one can understand the issue of addiction like another nurse who's lived through it and come out stronger on the other side.

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I love my non-bedside job- I still use my critical thinking a skills and I have no temptation whatsoever. If I ever wanted to go back I am sure the tasks of nursing at the bedside would be no problem to sharpen.

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Thanks for your reply. Do you mind my asking what role you play in your facility?

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

i actually learned and enjoyed mds coordinator while working off stipulations

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