Career change?

My advice....find something administrative. MDS coordinator at a LTC facility, ADON position. In a hospital you could go with case management. My facility currently uses RN's as case managers. If you want to have contact with patients you could go with endoscopy, cardiac cath, or PACU. Insurance companies uses RN's to audit claims. Good luck! And stay optimistic!!!!!!

My advice....find something administrative. MDS coordinator at a LTC facility, ADON position. In a hospital you could go with case management. My facility currently uses RN's as case managers. If you want to have contact with patients you could go with endoscopy, cardiac cath, or PACU. Insurance companies uses RN's to audit claims. Good luck! And stay optimistic!!!!!!

I would clarify what is meant by no bedside nursing. The endoscopy, cardiac cath and PACU can be just as strenuous or more so than bedside nursing. It could be that the administrative route would be the best to look into.

tvccrn

Discuss how your PACU/Cath Lab/Endo areas are as far as work loads as compared to 24-7 inpatient areas.

I just set up an interview with the local Optin Care office. They are looking for intake nurses and case managers. Gosh I hate starting over again.

It's not necessarily the work loads, it's the physicality of the job. Just becasue we don't keep our patients as long as the floor nurses do, doesn't mean that we don't work just as hard.

In the cath lab there is one nurse per patient. If the patients goes downhill and it's during the day, provided no one else is busy with their own patient you may have some help when your patient codes. We don't call codes here, we simply call for a stat intubation and continue with the cath to see what need to be fixed during the surgery that we are about to rush them too. We draw all the labs for that while giving the meds, watching the vitals, calling for spiritual counseling and making sure someone is with the family. If it's at night, the codes are called, but then it's just the intubation team and a pharmacist that hands you your meds.

We don't sit during the case, we stand. We average 15-20 cases per day with 3 cath labs. That just about 1 1/2 hour per case, including set-up and clean-up before the next patient is to be on the table and ready to go.

I can't speak for PACU and endoscopy, but the nurses that I know working in those areas are just a busy as we are and they have all the same complaints about the aches and pains after a day of work.

tvccrn

Oh I never meant to start a dispute over who works harder...........I was just saying that I can not return to hospital work. Any hospital work.

No dispute, just trying to clarify some misconceptions about the areas of the hospital that aren't considered floor nursing.

I wish you luck in finding something. I do think that administration of maybe working for an insurance company would be a good choice.

tvccrn

Yes that is the way I am heading. Nurses work very hard mentally and physically. It is hard to find the jobs that don't require lifting. Also the pay is lower and I am unsure of benefits. the hospital had some good benefits.

bklynborn, Im sorry you wont be returning to the hosp. I hope you find something that is satisfying and pays well too. I know the local Option Care is less pay but I did a couple days preceptorship with them and they are nice folks. Take care, Col