Can you return the bedside? NYC

klone, MSN, RN · Feb 24, 2020

Yep, absolutely. I left bedside nursing for 6 years (2 years in research, and 4 years in ambulatory) before returning.

Why are you thinking of leaving the bedside?

Birdsofprey, BSN · Feb 25, 2020

7 hours ago, klone said:
Yep, absolutely. I left bedside nursing for 6 years (2 years in research, and 4 years in ambulatory) before returning.
Why are you thinking of leaving the bedside?

I'm thinking of leaving the bedside until I get my BSN and get in with a private hospital. Right now I am only marketable to public hospitals and the conditions are abysmal and all the nurses are at their breaking point amd want to leave.I care for way too many critical patients at a time as a new nurse and have very little support. I work in a unit where the patient ratios are supposed to be 1:5 and they are often 1:8 or 1:12. I can't fathom staying here until I finish school. I've tried as hard as I can to leave but the places without a ton of red flags are all more hands off (rehab, detox, clinic, community health, home health). The idea of working in a public hospital makes me feel anxious and exhausted. Also, I've been in school and working full time for 4 years at this point with no break- this alone is another factor here too. Thanks for your input. I would love to try hospital nursing again- once I'm more marketable.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Feb 25, 2020

1:12?? What kind of floor do you work on? That sounds so stressful and so unsafe for patients and for staff. Unbelievable

Birdsofprey, BSN · Feb 25, 2020

59 minutes ago, LibraNurse27 said:
1:12?? What kind of floor do you work on? That sounds so stressful and so unsafe for patients and for staff. Unbelievable

Hi Libranurse-

I work on a telemetry unit which is really a step down unit, but they combine it with med surg so they can get away with the insane patient ratios. Many times I have total care pts who should be in the ICU but were rejected. Sometimes half my patients are on Tele monitoring, sometimes none are. The other day I had a patient with multiple pressure injuries, a suprapubic Cath, feverish and septic needing a blood transfusion, one pt having seizures, and a third one who was rejected from the SICU having respiratory distress and almost coded. This is too much for anyone.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Feb 25, 2020

Omg! That is crazy. I work in stepdown and in CA the ratio is 3:1. I hope you can get out if there soon! The most I ever had was in Arkansas... 7 on days and 9 on nights and I was DYING. Good luck!!

RNperdiem, RN · Feb 25, 2020

Consider going per diem and working the minimum required while you work on your BSN. This way you keep your skills up and have current working experience on your resume when it is time to find another job.

If there is shift differential or free parking for the off shifts consider something like working a Sunday night every other week.

egg122 NP, MSN, APRN · Feb 26, 2020

My sympathies, Brooklyn hospitals are a nightmare. I worked in a private hospital with with similar ratios/issues. It is possible to go back and forth from bedside to non bedside jobs however. I know someone who went into quality then ended up landing a mobile stroke unit RN job in Manhattan. Also, there are low key jobs, like infusion, where you can keep up your skills.

Gurmo · Jul 13, 2020

On 2/24/2020 at 10:04 AM, klone said:
Yep, absolutely. I left bedside nursing for 6 years (2 years in research, and 4 years in ambulatory) before returning.

I'm interested in hearing more. What were some of the challenges, fears, and missteps that may have happened. If you would rather connect outside of this forum I'd be happy with that as well. On my personal note, I am putting a date out there now that I want to leave where I am and get back into bedside nursing.

Thanks!