Advice

I've been a nurse for almost a year now. I'm also overly stressed and pregnant. I know I'm not the only one. I know many nurses have gone and lived successful careers with the stresses of family & work. I just don't know how to cope. This is my 2nd nursing job at a SNF, and last week I made the mistake of taking on overtime within my first week out of training. I broke down and started crying in front of my coworkers & preceptor. She told me to calm down, and that I'm doing fine. But my bp is up, and the headaches always come when I know I'm working that day. I just don't know if I made the right choice becoming a nurse. This is all I'm good at, I'm no good at anything else. I've been changing diapers since i was 9 years old! I need some advice, I can't keep this stress level, it's not good for me or my baby. Is there another part of nursing other than working the floor that isn't as stressful? Please help!

I also am pregnant and work at a SNF. The stress is elevated most days, but I just try my best. That is all anyone can do. I am more fatigued than I have ever been in my life. I work extra shifts when I can, and I regret those long hours most of the time. I find that every employer stretched nurses thin. Whether you are a supervisor or a floor nurse, you will be stressed. Other jobs may look greener on the other side of the fence, but I find that all nursing is stressful. Yes I cry too on occasion, but those incidents are fewer and fewer (at work anyway). You probably are doing very well if you have been at the SNF for a year now. Just hang in there. Congratulations on your

pregnancy! Keep positivity all around you.

Look into Private Duty Nursing. It's a type of home health where you work a whole shift in the home, rather than the typical home health visits to a bunch of different patients per day.

It doesn't pay as much as a facility, but the stress level (physical or mental) isn't nearly as extreme, either. You're only looking after one patient at a time, and they are "medically fragile but relatively stable" (and often children).

The downside is that most of the shifts available are overnights. Also, you're on your own in PDN -- there's no charge nurse or CNA to help you out, etc. You have to be willing and able to handle the responsibility of being "the one" who is there for the patient.

Call around to home health agencies in your area and ask if they have any openings for private duty nurses. You could even just pick up one shift a week to start, to see how you like it before giving up your regular job.