Am I crazy or too old for considering this??

[Seaturtle01]

I currently work in a pediatric office setting M-F 8-4, no weekends, holidays, or evenings etc.  I took this job so I could be there for my kids as they were growing up. However, they are all out of high school now.  I am restless. I miss feeling challenged and growing my skills.  I feel stagnant and bored and I really don't like M-F. I feel like I live in the rat race. In the evenings I cook, clean, and watch TV because I don't have any energy after all that and on weekends I spend the time getting caught up on all the chores, laundry and try to squeeze seeing my kids/grandkids in there if they're available and want to which isn't every weekend.

 Many years ago I worked L&D and I was actually excited to go to work. I LOVED my job. I left because my husband also worked shift work and we were having a baby and I had no family or late eve daycare in our area that would watch my baby 12-16 hours a day. I immediately knew I didn't care all that much about my job but I made it work so I could be there for my kids in the evenings and I've also hoped to go back one day.

I applied a couple of years back for a L&D job and was offered a position and was super excited. Then I backed out because everyone was telling me how hard it is now, how I'm too old to return to patient care, how I won't have a life if I work nights (which I'd have to start out on), etc. They got in my head and I started second-guessing myself. I also think it would be cool to work a couple years and then try travel nursing. My husband hates to travel and I love it so this would give me a way to discover new places and make money at the same time.  My kids no longer really want to visit very often because they are busy with their own lives and I do feel a little lost. When I thought of all the opportunities I could have and places I could visit I felt like I had a new lease on life. Then all my friends, co-workers, and family were telling me I was crazy to blow up my life and appreciate what I have and let this idea go.

However, I know things aren't great in the hospital right now and I've been away from the bedside for so long that maybe I'm just remembering the good parts and not all the stress.  I did start some new hobbies and exercising more but I still have that itch. I also think maybe this is the time to get back in the hospital because I'm 50 and I feel like it's now or never and places seem desperate for nurses right now so I stand a decent chance. My husband says he will support whatever I want to do. He finally also has a M-F job which he says is nice we finally have the same schedule after all these years but I do miss the long 12 hour shifts because the days I work that's all I'm expected to do. No one expects me to cook supper or clean etc like I've done for years after getting home. Then the days I'm off I'm off to do as I choose and will have a few hours alone. I miss having time home alone. I'm an introvert and I need alone time to recharge and I can hardly get that now and it's hard. 

Sorry this got long. I just wanted other thoughts and opinions from others that have been there or have more insight. Thank you in advance!

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I don't think this is crazy at all! I am worn out from my 12 hour nights, but I personally find the M-F life exhausting and unsustainable, so this makes total sense to me. Like you, I love the time I get on days off to introvert and find that I'm a better partner (and just a better human being) for it. This perspective is totally valid, even though it isn't always popular.

I guess the big question is, what is there to lose if you return to the bedside and aren't as happy as before? Would you be able to return to your current job, or find another,  if it's not working for you after a few months? Also, will you miss having holidays and weekends off? That is one benefit of your current schedule that won't be available if you switch.

It sounds like you have long wanted to return to L & D, and I hope you won't be discouraged by others if this is truly your passion! Working at thr hospital sucks, but so does working in general. If you can find something you're proud of and feel challenged by, that's worth going after, in my opinion. You won't truly know until you try!

[JKL33]

We are each having our own, slightly different experience in life and that is why, despite the fact that those in your life have discouraged you from making a move like this, there are still people (possibly you) who will be successful at it/find it fulfilling. Possibly even be energized by it and/or find great joy in it.

Personally, they wouldn't pay me enough to get me to subject myself to the likes of those running the show in acute care. BTDT. I would probably work outside of nursing if acute care bedside were my only other option. But that's me and my life and my experiences, not yours.

If this is something that you're going to regret not trying, then go for it and give it your best. You've already had the experience of being talked out of it, so don't let people talk you out of it--that will bring you further regret. You are the one who decides what brings you satisfaction/joy.

Good luck ~

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

I figure the only guarantee is that a year from now I'll be a year older, everything else can change (obviously ignoring the potential to be hit by a bus). I'm nearing my 50s and I've been working acute care for only 4.5 years after 5 years in long term care. Yes, acute care nursing has MANY challenges these days, especially with staffing shortages everywhere. But for me, the positives of going to work still outweigh the negatives. And since I recently went per diem and could show up pretty much any day, or not, I know it must be worth it to me. Last night I got to make sure that a patient who died wasn't alone, I was holding her hand. I was able to call her daughter from her room so she could talk with her mom one last time and when I called her later to tell her she had died she said she couldn't thank me enough for calling so she could speak with her. I know some of my coworkers might have done the same, but most would not, so it was important that I was there- at least in my mind.

If L&D was a passion of yours I say go for it! If you don't end up liking it you will probably be able to find something else that fits what you're looking for. Best wishes!

[MarkMyWords]

Objectively, you are not too old. Subjectively, only you know your energy level, strength, skills and enthusiasm and whatever else you bring to the job. Is ageism is a factor in hiring, like other work sectors? This is a general answer because I don't know the demands of the job or hospital.

[glasgow3]

Do I think you're crazy or too old? Nope. I myself considered a return to acute care nursing in response to the near nonstop media articles/stories that the beds were filled to overflowing, the nurses were overwhelmed/distressed, staff vacancies abound etc.

But the reality is despite having been certified in both critical care and rehabilitation for decades before moving to Documentation/QA/EMR etc. positions I found zero takers. At least in this area, except for new grads, hospitals are unwilling to provide any sort of refresher/orientation beyond three shifts in length one of which included the computer stuff + the usual general orientation stuff....and after those three shifts I would be expected to float anywhere in the med/surg "cluster". In fact, in most cases the "Talent Acquisition" folks who weren't even nurses responded to my offer of help during the pandemic by ghosting me. Also, a local Return to Nursing practice program (primarily online Zoom training followed by a couple weeks shadowing a staff member etc.) which I was scheduled to attend early in November was cancelled at the last minute by the partnering hospital system

they said due to lack of interest, the very same week the chief nursing officer was on TV bemoaning the fact that their current nursing vacancies were double the norm.

Point being, you've hit the big 5-0 and in many hospitals even a year away from the bedside is a "disqualifier" these days, let alone after an extended absence. I would see what the hospitals are actually willing to offer you before I spent too much time pondering the crazy/too old question. 

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I became an RN at 48. It will be 10 years this year. I love it. After getting my BSN and MSN, I still love working the bedside. Age is just a #. ?

[Seaturtle01]

Thank you for all your responses. It's given me great encouragement and food for thought! 

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

On 1/6/2022 at 2:32 PM, glasgow3 said:

they said due to lack of interest, the very same week the chief nursing officer was on TV bemoaning the fact that their current nursing vacancies were double the norm.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Clearly this is a case where management and those doing the bedside nursing are completely at odds. I know that I would love to have experienced nurses working along with me, even if there was a gap in employment. Things like electronic charting and med pyxis can be taught, but the years of nursing intuition is an invaluable resource. It's too bad that hiring managers and management are probably the ones that don't find the value in experience. 

[glasgow3]

Thank you JBM for the thoughtful and kind response to my post. But for the record, I am quite familiar with the predominant EMR systems (and others) in this area including Epic, Cerner and Meditech. Also, med (& supply) pyxis' have been around a long time and I've used both extensively in the past.....a review of the current software/user interfaces , and I would have been good to go.  The same might be said for smart IV pumps, CRRT machines etc.

Excuse the phraseology, but several commonly used machines have actually been "nurse-proofed" when compared with earlier versions/models of those same therapies/diagnostics etc. Anyone else here old enough to remember what it used to take to derive a single cardiac output and/or to calculate other hemodynamic values, or to keep a  CRRT or an IABP machine running safely and efficiently etc. back in the day? Now please don't get me wrong---I know things have changed dramatically and I had no illusions that I could in any way replace any current bedside nurse at any place on the continuum of care, but surely I could have been taught to do something to take the load off the overwhelmed nurses to some meaningful degree after a reasonable amount of review during a pandemic.

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

That’s terrible they wouldn’t hire you glasgow! I think older nurses bring a lot of life experience to the table and are less likely than new grads to run when things get hard! In our area I know they would take you in a heartbeat. We don’t have nurse refresher programs in our rural area and they don’t expect it. They just put you through an orientation like they would any new grad. I know of several nurses that decided to return to acute care after a long break, some new and some older, and some are still with it and some moved on. It all just depends on the person not the age! 

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Acute care is the pits. Nurses would kill for a job like yours.