Are you happy with your job?

Published

i'm a new nurse for almost 6 months now. i work on a very busy med-surg floor at night. i'm just not happy with my job or my life at this time. i thought i would love nursing, and i do sometimes, but i just haven't found my niche.

does any body have any advice on an area of nursing i may like? i know that's a hard question for somebody that doesn't know me. what is an area of nursing that produces overall job satisfaction, or is there one? i orginally wanted to work hospice but i need 1-2 yrs of nursing experience. i want a job that i enjoy, that i don't cringe inside while getting ready for work. any advice is much appreciated. thank you.

Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.
i feel for ya... first of all you have to determine what it is you dont like (the hours, pt population, hospital in general, beaurocracy, stress etc) and really figure out who you are and where you would fit. i hated er and just the hospital in general so i quit... right now i am trying to figure out where i fit. ive quit 4 jobs in the past month that ive been looking!! (er, home health, doc office, and clinic) sounds awful but i believe in quality of life and not settling, and they were not for me :) anyways, im very interested in public health nursing because it is more focused on prevention and health education... i think this would be much more rewarding. good luck!

i'm not really sure what it is i don't like. for one thing....i'm always exhausted! i got home this morning, went straight to bed, slept all day and now i'm ready to go back to bed. thank goodness i have tonight off. basically, i'm super busy all night long. i just wish i had a job that would provide more one on one time with my patients without feeling so rushed. i didn't realize that nursing was such hard work. i know one thing for sure......we are underpaid!

i have to stay where i'm at for at least a year. i signed a two year contract and really don't think i'll make it that long. i'll have to pay my employer back some of that bonus money, but right now, i don't care.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I work medical floor, and I love my job. I transferred for a while to peds/mother/baby and was bored out of my skull. I transferred back to the medical floor, and here I will stay.

BTW, I am one of those nurses who does not feel dissatisfied with nursing. While I would love to earn more, I feel I earn enough. I get decent time off and I think my employer does a good job with staffing. Not every nurse wants more this and that; some of us work at a decent place for decent reimbursement. I don't really like the managerial crap sometimes--Relationship Based Care comes to mind--but every job has it's negatives.

Overall, I'm quite happy where I am, and would recommend my profession and my facility to anyone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

If you want to stay in nursing, Britney, you have to stick that out for the year. Get a year, and get ACLS, then move on. You will find the second six months easier than the first. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.

First; good for you for not just running away but thoughtfully thinking about what to do next. I LOVE being a nurse. I love that if i become dissatisfied in my job i CAN go out and look for something else.

the job i have now is great for many reasons. I love the kids and my staff. administrative bull excrement does get to me at times; but that is with every position you will ever have, no matter what career.

you need to look at what parts of you job you do like; and then go to a job search site and plug in those key words and see what comes up. Good luck and let us know!!:heartbeatmary

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Making the Pt laugh..

My first job was on an ortho ward, I loved the job and Pt's but some of the staff made it a poor place to work. I am currently on a Medical ward, the Pt's are not my cup of tea, the work is interesting and the staff are excelent so I am happy-ish at the moment.

I have plans of moving on from here but only when it suits my timetable.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.
First; good for you for not just running away but thoughtfully thinking about what to do next. I LOVE being a nurse. I love that if i become dissatisfied in my job i CAN go out and look for something else.

the job i have now is great for many reasons. I love the kids and my staff. administrative bull excrement does get to me at times; but that is with every position you will ever have, no matter what career.

you need to look at what parts of you job you do like; and then go to a job search site and plug in those key words and see what comes up. Good luck and let us know!!:heartbeatmary

Thank you very much. I realize I need to stick to it for at least a year. I just need to find my niche and at my age (47), it's probably going to be a little hard. I guess the thing I dislike the most is 3-12 hours shifts...it takes so long for me to recover. I like the 4 days off in between tho. I've been off for three days now and my feet still hurt when I first wake up and step out of bed. I love certain parts of nursing though and it is so fulfilling to see a compliment that a pt has left for me. This compliment was posted on the bulletin board and it made me feel so good to see it. Makes the hard work I do seem a little more worth it. I wish pts would do this more often, but most of them probably don't realize how hard we do work.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion