I'm in an RN program and I could use a little advice. Before starting the RN program, I worked in a hospital as a nurse aide in med-surg and hated it. I also work in a primary care clinic (mostly in pediatrics, some in family practice) as a medical scribe and I really enjoy it. It's early at this point and I just finished my rotation at a SNF, but I still dislike everything about bedside care.
I really like the patient flow and the vibe of the community clinic I work at. Patients come in, they get help, then they leave instead of needing to be tended to and monitored all day and all night. Obviously there are patients who need to be in hospital, and those hospital nurses are great, but I don't feel like that's a good fit for me personally. My clinic job is not easy and most days everyone hustles pretty much all day. We see about three patients per hour depending on complexity, but generally we see them one at a time. My previous job at the hospital was just crazy busy, especially for aides like me with 10 to 12 patients each. I'm never doing that again if I can help it.
Should I try for a new grad job in public health or primary care without doing time in a hospital first? I could probably do a couple years in hospital if absolutely necessary to gain experience, but I'd rather not. In the hospital setting I felt stretched too thin with too many patients to care for at once, and the nurses were not impressed with my performance (mainly my speed) even after a year. In the community clinic, it took only a few months before everyone respected me and wanted me to be their scribe. I'm very concerned that if my first job is in a hospital, I'll do poorly and get a reputation for mediocrity that might have a lasting negative effect on my nursing career.
I'm a bit torn by what I hear about the ICU. It's bedside care but only one or two patients at a time, and I've heard you get great experience doing detailed assessments which increases your medical knowledge. However the ICU patients are fragile and very ill, so they have multiple problems to manage and as a new grad maybe i would not have the necessary knowledge to care for them.
At the clinic where I work they just hired a new grad RN to train as a pediatric triage nurse, so I know at least a few of those jobs are out there. However, they tried this several months ago with another new grad RN and she quit for a hospital job saying she felt like she needed the experience. The veteran pediatric triage nurse does have misgivings about new grads in triage without hospital experience. The RNs in the clinic do mostly triage and case management but also help with catheterization, etc. I actually love talking to patients. My dream job would probably involve wellness checkups, triage and patient education.
Helpful advice is much appreciated. Telling me I'm lazy for wanting a day shift clinic job or that I simply won't be a real nurse if I don't do bedside care is probably less helpful, but if that's the way you feel go ahead and share. I'm so sorry for this long post I can't stop writing! Thank you for any help!
There are a few new telework nursing jobs that have become very popular with many nurses. I belong to an HMO and they have what they call "advice nurses" who have a desk and can do assessments by what the patient tells them. That is a type of nursing that nurses can do and they do not have to do bedside care. Here is some information about nursing: Nurse Training and Online Resources
I believe that the best way to avoid bedside care is in the following ways:
1. Be the charge nurse in that they are in charge of other nurses on the floor.
2. Be a bath nurse in that you are giving baths and that is all.
3. Be the nurse that is on the computer and stays on the computer all day doing medical charts and research.
4. Become a research nurse by doing research studies and write research journals.
I was charge nurse on my shifts in the ICU at a large metropolitan hospital. Somehow my bosses never got the memo that charge nurses didn't have to do bedside care. I took the same load as the staff nurses on my shift!
There are a few new telework nursing jobs that have become very popular with many nurses. I belong to an HMO and they have what they call "advice nurses" who have a desk and can do assessments by what the patient tells them. That is a type of nursing that nurses can do and they do not have to do bedside care. Here is some information about nursing: Nurse Training and Online Resources
Having spent two years in what I laughingly (very tongue-in-cheek!) call "t-con hell", I don't know how anyone can do telehealth without a clinical background, whether that's bedside or straight clinic nursing. I'd never encourage a new grad to go that route - the risk is far too high.
I was charge nurse on my shifts in the ICU at a large metropolitan hospital. Somehow my bosses never got the memo that charge nurses didn't have to do bedside care. I took the same load as the staff nurses on my shift!
Yeah- my charge nurses have a full assignment more often than not. They count them into the numbers. So if they didn't take an assignment, each nurse would be picking up 1-2 more pts, making the ratio waaaay unsafe.(stepdown)
Yeah- my charge nurses have a full assignment more often than not. They count them into the numbers. So if they didn't take an assignment, each nurse would be picking up 1-2 more pts, making the ratio waaaay unsafe.(stepdown)
Maybe MHays mean unit manager rather than charge nurse.
Nurses can be a nurse and not do bedside care, but I think that they need to be on the floor first as either a staff nurse or a nurse in a nursing home for at least 5 years. The reason is because they need the exposure of doing clinical nursing care to their patients so that they can gain exposure into the nursing environment. One great way to do nursing without bedside care is by doing nursing research. These nurses look at case studies, look at statistics, and then interpret what all of that meant. They also research nursing items and statistics from the past to present. I would have experience first before a nurse can do any nursing work without bedside care.
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Mhays
190 Posts
There are a few new telework nursing jobs that have become very popular with many nurses. I belong to an HMO and they have what they call "advice nurses" who have a desk and can do assessments by what the patient tells them. That is a type of nursing that nurses can do and they do not have to do bedside care. Here is some information about nursing: Nurse Training and Online Resources