Giving up

Nurses Career Support

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I am an experienced RN of 12+ years. I am working right now, but not in a specialty I love. I have been trying to switch specialties for 5+ years with no luck. It seems all of my experience is worth nothing. For now I am giving up, taking a break. I will keep my per diem job but will stop applying for FT and PTin my preferred specialties. I will just be a stay at home mom for now. Maybe I will start job hunting again next year. I just can not handle the rejection anymore. I don't understand why my experience is worth nothing. I think new grads are getting hired before me.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Please PLEASE - do not suggest "nurse educator" whenever anyone expresses dissatisfaction with their current work environment. The days of "inservice coordinators" &/or clinical experts becoming 'educators' by default is long past. Today's nurse educator is expected to fulfill a strategic role, analyzing a broad spectrum of needs and designing cost-effective systems to support achievement of organizational goals - using many different modalities. It's a complex role that requires a very specialized skill set.

The transition from clinician to educator requires more 'cross training' than switching between clinical specialties - because the additional knowledge/skills are actually from a discipline outside of healthcare. So it takes much more effort, resources, and good old blood-sweat-tears to become an effective nurse educator. Education (Nursing Professional Development) is also a recognized nursing specialty with a defined scope & standards of practice. Entry-level preparation (in my organization) is MSN.

(climbing down off soapbox)

Specializes in ICU, OR.

Thank you everyone. I have mainly ICU and PACU experience and I do have ACLS and PALS. It was NICU that I initially wanted to transfer to (and still is). After being rejected for NICU for 4 years, I have also been trying to get a job in L&D or Mother/Baby for the past year or so. Your words are encouraging, thank you. I'm okay, I am just coming to peace with the fact I would rather just not work at all than keep doing what I am doing. I have considered applying for an OB tech job but thought that would be pathetic. But I guess that isn't out of the question.

As for going back to school: I had gotten accepted toa few programs and did not go, partly because I was having another child, and partly because I really want to work in a specialty I LOVE before I go and get a masters in an area I have experience in, yet am just not that thrilled about. I may still pursue a MSN at some point but would just like to work in an area I am happy with first, so that I am sure about what I want to be doing.

OnlybyhisgraceRN - I too had a similar situation... had a great interview and listed good references who I know have my back, one of which were called. I am wondering if they also contacted a past manager who was a b!tc# and a "mean girl" type who I did have listed on the application as a past manager (not a reference). Other than that, I just don't even get called.

Specializes in "Wound care - geriatric care.

I think the nurse workplace has progressively gotten worse with the recession. Hospitals have the upper hand on nursing staffing and nursing shortage is a thing of the past so big hospitals do whatever they want and create a hostile workplace because they don't have to worry if you stay or leave. An hostile workplace keeps everyone on their toes and they somehow think it will benefit them. Time moves on and times change.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Agreed. There are many applicants for a few positions. Facilities do have the upper hand, and often, it's who you know. Just keep applying. Regarding the nurse educator role, in my area, nurse educators also hold a Masters degree specializing in nursing leadership and education, in addition to at least 5 years experience in the specialty they are working with. You don't become an educator over night.

I have also given up...for now. I have always had plan A and plan B. I always thought A was the one for me. But I have interviewed 3 times with the same NM and each time I have left feeling great only to receive the rejection email later. It has made me reconsider my long term goals and knowing things happen for a reason, I believe I am where I need to be.

(if ob is where you want to work) and you dont have experience in that area what is the advantage to hiring you vrs a nurse with 1-3years experience ( depending on areas you have worked in) you would cost alot more. many places , nit just in nursing perfer to hire slightly experienced staff onky. enough where you can be largely molded and cost less but dont need much training. what i would do is apply to a facility with a large ob unit (or whatever are you want to work in) even if you are working per diem med surg there, and use that as a way to build connections and qualify as an internal candidate.

I agree. I met an experienced nurse who I was talking with about wanting to change specialties. She was encouraging me to aggressively pursue it because she felt she waited too long to try and make a change and she has not been able to get hired in a different specialty. I have 3 yrs med surg exp so I feel now is a good turning point. She had 9 years med surg/tele and was feeling really discouraged about not being able to do something different. She told me she enrolled in a masters program. Maybe if experience doesn't help, then education will.

I totally disagree with this generalization. I truly believe it's just rationalization to meet the goal of having BSN staff, and at the same time, hiring those that are lower on the pay scale (new nurses). All that other stuff is general, nonsensical bias. It all depends upon the individual, and good experience in acute care beats NOT having that experience. It's also a matter of nurses (some of the ones orienting and precepting) that have only worked in one area, and sadly they may feel somewhat intimated by those that worked in other areas, who may have a good overall knowledge base with which they can apply to all areas. Everyone wants to feel special, but for professional nursing--those orienting/precepting, this is not the way to go about things. To me it also shows a major lack of character and security when people use or want some role or position so that they feel more important--the one up mentality. So some of these people mouth the "problems" with "unteaching" of experienced nurses, primarily b/c they are insecure, and it somehow feels like a challenge to have someone with a strong, general knowledge base.

Experienced nurses can and do make great nurses as they move into other specialties. I have done it successfully several times now--although some would say that I pretty much went to subspecialty of a particular specialty.

To the OP:

Listen, I don't know where you live, but in my neck of the woods, there are definitely Labor and Delivery Positions. Don't give up. Maybe just not focus so much on it, and do the per diem thing. Maybe work per diem in more than one place that has OB. Get to know the place, and see if you can't make gradual inquiries into the maternity area.

The best to you. Don't give up if that is what you really want to be doing in nursing. :)

I think the nurse workplace has progressively gotten worse with the recession. Hospitals have the upper hand on nursing staffing and nursing shortage is a thing of the past so big hospitals do whatever they want and create a hostile workplace because they don't have to worry if you stay or leave. An hostile workplace keeps everyone on their toes and they somehow think it will benefit them. Time moves on and times change.

I hate to admit it, but there is a lot of truth in all of that^. Thing is, I still think they could use more nurses, but they will just make nurses work with less staff or suboptimal staff b/c of the fiscal bottom line right now.

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Of course most hospitals could use more nurses...more nursing hours per patient = lower rates of complication and readmission.

Too bad most administrators can't see past their own paycheck to comprehend that .

I have always found that when you stop looking for something, it finds you.

Specializes in Psychiatry.
You may want to find other specialties or be a nurse educator.

Hi Amygarside,

With all due respect to your advice, I believe that with 1 year of RN experience, one cannot be a nurse-educator. But I respect your opinion. It's just that I did not want you to raise OnlybyHisGrace's hopes too high or show the nurse a red herring.

Specializes in "Wound care - geriatric care.
Of course most hospitals could use more nurses...more nursing hours per patient = lower rates of complication and readmission.

Too bad most administrators can't see past their own paycheck to comprehend that .

I'm noticing many nurses saying "enough" or "I quit" and I think this is a sign that the bottom is starting to fall out. Let's be real, nursing is a brutal job at times (most of the times) we are dealing with strong emotions, life and death situations, precise documentation, having to be highly knowledgeable, protecting ourselves from lawyers looking at anything they can find to incriminate you, dangerous patients, biological hazard to name a few. Now Big conglomo hospitals want to pay you $18 h and treat you like all you do is to clean people's butts. They love to get rid of you because "you make too much money" so they are heading this way because the see a sea of nurses out there but that might not be always the case in a near future when young and old nurses will just say...screw this I'm finding something better.

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