Can't seem to find satisfaction

netglow, ASN, RN · Jan 22, 2011

Yeah you and all of us

Take your WOCN and work for a hospital part of the time? I think some WOCNs work traveling to several LTC/SNFs too. I do know that most LTC/SNF nurses look wistfully after wound/ostomy care RNs as they leave wondering what all it takes to do just that.

Scarlette Wings · Jan 22, 2011

i do understand where you are coming from. it seems very common for healthcare workers to get burned out in one area and then transfer to a completely different one and do okay "for awhile" and then burn out there as well.i think it is part of the nature of the type of work we do. it is physically demanding but also extracts a heavy emotional and mental toll as well. a great many of us transfer to a different floor, another unit, or a totally new type of nursing, or we go back to school for another degree. it is part of what we do. lol.

you can never go wrong trying new things and adding to your resume so i say go for it. you won't know unless you try it. it is one aspect of nursing that is really great, you can go through so many different venues and try different things.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2011

Please keep looking until you find your niche. I can say that I love my current job. The pay isn't great, but the satisfaction more than makes up for it. Please keep looking, you can find it, don't give up - it took me almost 20 years, but I found it.

CloudySue · Jan 22, 2011

I have been job hopping my whole life, in and out of different fields, not just nursing. While I am at a job, I'm dependable, reliable, customer-service oriented, etc. But I just get itchy after about 3-5 years and move on. If I ever win the lottery, I would become a student for the rest of my life, taking courses one after the other, like truck driving, massage therapy, HVAC, you name it. I love to learn. This is what I find most appealing about nursing, there's so much to do and so many ways to grow. I started as an LPN in LTC/rehab. Right now I'm loving home health w peds. When my kids get a bit older, I'll get my RN and get into med/surg. Or labor/delivery. Or anything! Later I'll do my MSN, and teach. Or supervise somewhere. The sky's the limit!

A generation ago, you got ONE job when you were out of high school or college, and then stayed with them until you retired. My dad always told me, "Be good to your company and they'll be good to you." Nowadays, we all know that is NOT the way of most corporations and businesses anymore. They'll drop you like a hot potato if it suits them. They merely use their employees to make their bottom line which is the most important thing to them, so I developed the mindset that I use them for my bottom line too. It's just business, nothing personal. I look after myself, and what works best for me and my family. My loyalty is complete to a company while I'm there. I'm make sure I'm great to have on staff, do my best work, be a team player, and be easy to get along with. I never burn a bridge, and always give my two weeks' notice. I protect my own little world and my own little license. Make yourself happy in life, and promise yourself that you will allow yourself to leave when you feel it's time. Never stay in a place if you are not happy. Happy people live longer and better, I think.

AngieL · Jan 22, 2011

Wow- Reading your post was like the words were coming right out of my own mouth. I can not believe how similar our situations are. I worked as a telemetry/ stepdown nurse for several years, now I'm in home health. I loved it at first but now I feel like I'm about to explode from all the extra hours and mountains of paperwork. I've also looked into getting my WOCN because I love wound care. The programs are expensive and I'm not sure how I'd be able to afford it and keep working to pay my mortgage. I just applied for a position in a cardiac cath lab. Rotating call, no weekends/holidays, and 10 hr shifts. I think I'd like the cath lab.

Anyway, I can't offer much wisdom, but I wanted to thank you for your post. It's really nice to know I'm not alone! I have an envelope full of letters from patients from over the last few years. I put the most memorable and heartfelt letters on my refrigerator. They keep me going when I feel like I have nothing left to give.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 23, 2011

i think the problem is that some of us are looking for a job to bring us career satisfaction (this is what i have realized recently is my problem too so i am not throwing stones). the reality i have found is that no one job will bring about career satisfaction. it seems that careers are journeys rather then destinations. everyone takes a different path because everyone has different end goals.

in fact, what makes me more satisfied in a job i hate is to set and accomplish small goals. when i achieve my small goals, i am satisfied. i try not to think too hard about the overall chaos or problems my position presents on a daily basis because that seems to irritate me at work. rather i accept the job for what it is and i focus on the little bit of good i can accomplish. btw, everyone at your job thinks the same things are irritating and find them hard to accept too, so you are never alone even if you think you are the only sane one in the bunch.

i am not writing this to state that you must stay in a bad situation. for instance, toxic environments should not be tolerated! on the other hand, i have found that nurses who manage to put in 20-30 years with one employer or within one specialty did so because they have accepted the bad with the good. those who do not will hop around and may find disappointment at every turn.

dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I · Jan 23, 2011

You're only in this life for so long. The time you spend unhappy doesn't get refunded at the other end. Go where you're happiest, and when the day comes to look back, you'll have no regrets.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 23, 2011

Yep........life is way too short for bad jobs. :smokin:

For many years, I kept thinking I'd find my "forever" job---the one I could stick with for the rest of my career. Trouble was, the harder I tried to make each job my "forever" job, the more it eluded me and the quicker I'd burn out. Finally, I gave up on the concept of the "forever" job, and once I did that, I was able to relax and just enjoy whatever job I was doing for as long as I felt privileged to be there, and leave when I stopped loving it.

That doesn't mean that I want to keep moving on---I've never loved a job as much as I do the one I have now, and I hope it lasts until I'm ready to hang up my steth for good. But I know that if I ever stop loving it, I'll leave and go someplace else. And honestly, knowing the nature of the industry and my own restless spirit, I really can't imagine staying in one place for more than 3-5 years, and I just don't think it's wise to make plans that far out. Life has taken me down a number of paths I never anticipated, and I wouldn't have missed a single one of them for anything.

elprup, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2011

VivaLasViejas - I agree with you whole heartedly. "Finally, I gave up on the concept of the "forever" job, and once I did that, I was able to relax and just enjoy whatever job I was doing for as long as I felt privileged to be there, and leave when I stopped loving it. That doesn't mean that I want to keep moving on---I've never loved a job as much as I do the one I have now, and I hope it lasts... But I know that if I ever stop loving it, I'll leave and go someplace else. And honestly, knowing the nature of the industry and my own restless spirit, I really can't imagine staying in one place for more than 3-5 years, and I just don't think it's wise to make plans that far out. Life has taken me down a number of paths I never anticipated, and I wouldn't have missed a single one of them for anything".

As a new/old grad who has had trouble finding a place to fit in, it's nice to know that I am not crazy for staying where my heart was not. Thank you so much!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 23, 2011

yep........life is way too short for bad jobs.
for many years, i kept thinking i'd find my "forever" job---the one i could stick with for the rest of my career. trouble was, the harder i tried to make each job my "forever" job, the more it eluded me and the quicker i'd burn out. finally, i gave up on the concept of the "forever" job, and once i did that, i was able to relax and just enjoy whatever job i was doing for as long as i felt privileged to be there, and leave when i stopped loving it.

ok, so you said it better then me!! this is the concept i was trying to get across... no job is perfect... so the odds of finding a "forever job" are small and thus hopping around to find one is a waste of time. also no one job will define one's career. you move on when the job becomes toxic or you are not meeting your needs in some way (whatever that might be). otherwise, relax and enjoy the good you can receive from a position and do not allow the bad (i mean stupid things rather then dangerous or toxic things) to cloud your judgment or make you quit.