Life after bedside nursing?

[guest2117]

Hello all,

I have been a nurse going on 4 years. I've worked telemetry, ICU, and PACU. I've come to the realization that I am incredibly burned out and I no longer have that same passion for bedside nursing as I once did. It's not the patients I don't think- I enjoy taking care of people and I feel like the majority of them really are appreciative of the care they receive. I think it's the way hospitals are ran and the unrealistic expectations they put on their nurses and techs. I think the trend of unsafe ratios is what gets me the most. 6:1 on a cardiac floor with drips like dobutrex and cardizem seems to be the trend with many hospitals, or having 3 true ICU patients. I am frustrated when I hear in the morning that we need to make sure that our communication boards are filled out, but there is no follow up with "thanks for all of your hard work!".

I've weighed out my options- Either I can drop to PRN status while trying to find something outside the realm of nursing, find a job in an outpatient surgery center (and still find supplemental work as hours typically are not guaranteed in these facilities), or find a whole new speciality of nursing that is non-bedside. I am not big on having heavy on-call requirements, either. My husband and I only have one debt, our home mortgage - his salary alone can cover the monthly $800 mortgage payment. So I feel like the time is coming in the near future for me to make a career move. Taking a pay hit does not matter to me, anymore. I just want to start enjoying my career again. Any thoughts on career moves or nursing specialities to look into? Anyone else find themselves in this situation?