Advice, thoughts, personal experience, etc

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Sorry for the lengthiness but I have a lot going on in my head. I am a registered nurse of 9 years. I always said I wanted to work in the ED. I did my precepting in an ED and I rotated through the ED as a new grad but chose to go to the floor to get more of a base knowledge and have more time to look up meds etc. I ended up moving toward clinic and outpatient jobs because I was a single mother. I took a lot of 9-5 jobs so that I could be home on the weekends, holidays, and evenings with my son. I am currently working in a walk-in clinic where we see anywhere from 30 to as many as 70 patients in a day. A variety of colds, rash, wounds, flu, cardiac issues and even strokes. Let me clarify that the more critical patients get sent out via EMS. Typically we just give IM injections, do EKGs, wound care etc. My son is turning 16 this year so I thought maybe I should try the ED now that I am not needed at home as much. I have been out of the hospital setting for about 4 years and just happened to get called for an interview for a day shift ED position. (I have applied for about 15 and never received a call back.) I went to the interview and was offered the job. 7a-7p and every other weekend. This hospital is about 35 min from me and they offered me $6 an hour more for weekdays and $9 an hour more for weekends. I am 38 years old and I do not have any ED experience. I am quite comfortable at my walk-in job. I know it in and out, it is one block from my house, no weekends, no holidays. Now I do work evenings and flu season is coming which means longer hours and it is 5 days a week. I am struggling on whether to step out of my comfort zone and go for the ED. Honestly I might not get another opportunity to. I love to learn and I don't see any opportunity for growth in my current job. My current job gets stressful, I am on my feet all day, and barely get lunch but the ED will be a whole other level. I am comfortable at my job, I am comfortable with my co-workers and I am comfortable with the providers that I work with. I don't know if comfortable is a good thing. I don't want to become stagnant. I am 38....am I too old to learn a whole new specialty? Can I handle the stress of the ED? I am an overachiever, I like to be the best at what I do, I like a challenge but I keep second guessing myself. Again sorry for the length but my mind is racing.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

At 38, you are not too old to learn a new specialty.

It seems like you know the pros and cons, which is good.

It's really impossible to tell how you will really feel about it until you try it. You may go in and love it and you may go in and hate it and it could be anywhere in between for you.

If you decide to go for it, give your old job notice and leave on good terms. Do not burn the bridge. I'm sure you already know that.

In general I tend to take risks and go for things. But I also rarely feel like bad experiences are failures, and I am not wired to experience a lot regret over things I tried. I would much rather try something than spend my whole life wondering if I should have tried it. If you have a similar mindset, go for it. You can't lose big and you could win big if this winds up being something you love.

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Are you still excited about ED? The you of nine years ago was, but what about you now? Do you actually want to make the change, or do you feel this is a "should".

Can you ask to shadow in the ED for a shift? You have been a nurse for a while, so I suspect you have the instincts to see if this particular place would be a good fit for you.

Personally, I am all about comfort. It is hard to truly get stagnant in nursing, because the protocols, equipment and policies change with time and we change with them.

It seems almost like you got your jobs in reverse order. A lot of nurses work hospital jobs with the nights and weekends early in their careers, and switch to clinic hours when the kids are grown and they need a less physically demanding role.

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Some people are going to think you have the dream situation and others are going to say get out of there and go to the ED while you can. It's highly personal depending upon your own motivations, desires, life experiences, etc.

Thoughts:

- $6/hr is way less than the difference between acute care pay and clinic pay that I'm familiar with.

- What size ED are you talking about?

- What feeling did you get about management and the overall culture of the ED in question?

- What kind of orientation would they like to allow you?

Personal opinion: You're not too old. Just the same, if I had a child and s/he had only two years left at home, and I had a job with no w/e, no holidays, most evenings home, with good coworkers and pay that was only $6 off from the hospital, in a location close to my home - - there is no way I could be convinced that imminent change was necessary. There is more than one way to be smart and not-stagnant. ? I'd save the challenge for the quickly-approaching day when I'm officially a bored empty-nester. You won't be too old then, either, it's only two years away.

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Specializes in SCRN.

Go for it!! 9 years passed , and ifyou are still thinking about it, give it a shot.

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I find myself wondering, what do you like about ED? What do you feel like you're missing or might be missing?

I love being stuck in a good, comfortable rut. If I felt too stagnant, I'd look for a hobby outside of work ...assuming I was happy with my current work.

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Some thoughts-

I started nursing school at 38, so not sure what your concern is regarding age.

In Most ERs, your clinic skills will be a huge asset. Think of the ER as a walk in clinic that can also see actual sick and dying patients. I would find it easier to train an experienced clinic nurse used to moving PTs through a fast paced environment than a floor nurse used to doing full assesments.

6$/hr is 10,000$/year. Factoring in weekends, that will probably be an extra $1,000 a month or so.

What would happen if you did not like the job?

For some people a short gap in pay, or trying to find something new would be a real challenge. Barring that, what is stopping you from trying?

And to re-iterate: Shadow. It is a cool job, but not for everyone.

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