Is private duty the "easy way out"?

[luvtwilight]

Ok so my story is I'm a recently graduated RN, had my LPN for a year before that. I went into private duty nursing straight out of LPN school (because it seems agencies are the only ones willing to hire new grads) and have had the same client as both LPN and now RN for almost 2 years doing full time three 12 hour shifts a week. I can't help but feeling a little inadequate sometimes because I haven't spread my wings yet and experienced any other kind of nursing other than home health/private duty. The thing is I'm completely happy with my job! I make my own schedule, usually don't have to work weekends or holidays if I don't want to, I love my client/family/agency that I work for. But I can't help feeling like I'm taking the "easy way out" when I hear of my friends from nursing school going on into the big hospitals and doing med-surg and ICU and such... but hospital nursing is something that I've always known really isn't for me... I guess this is more of just a vent because I'm feeling down about myself almost as if I'm doing myself a disservice because I'm not out there in the hospital using all of my nursing skills and knowledge. Anyone ever feel like this or in the same boat? Any advice or wise words? Thanks so much for listening!

[wjwall3]

Nothing wrong loving what you do. Too many people are stuck in jobs they don't like. I have had an experience that may however provide some food for thought. I have been an LPN for almost 6 years now. Just out of school, rather than a year or two in med/surg, I chose a job with a world renowned ENT group. I was hired to perform vestibular rehab on the group's dizzy and imbalanced patients. It was a full time job and I loved bringing my patients back into balance to lead normal lives. I thought I had a job for the rest of my nursing career, HOWEVER, last August, my job was eliminated because of a Medicare ruling that LPNs could not perform that type of work and bill under physical therapy codes. It had to be a physical therapist. Irony of it is, I had to teach the incoming PTs that replaced me, the vestibular exercise techniques. So here I am, not having practiced nursing skills for the past 6 years and no job. Now, I'm swinging in the breeze with no "nursing experience" and most of my skills gone from lack of use. I found a nurse refresher course that starts in April, but until then, I'm working for an agency as a home health aid. My pay check has been reduced quite a bit. I'm just saying.