CAREER PATH?

[yashimi]

hello. I am a 28 years old, 5 years as a nurse, I was recently offered a job in 2 different hospitals. One, was a telemetry nurse, night shift in a big and top hospital in Illinois. The other one, was from a community hospital and the job position offered was as clinical education patient coordinator RN, day shift and a nursing admin category. I am really confused which one to pick because I am still young and that my only experience is being a nurse in a nursing home. I was promoted as an evening supervisor there too. I am torn which one to choose because both of it has its pros and cons. I dont want to work night shift because its not healthy for me because I tried it before. The thing is, i know its hard to be accepted in a big hospital and maybe this opportunity will not knock on my door anymore. Meanwhile, the other job offer as a pt. coordinator is like part of the administration and it works as a nurse who is educating patient upon discharge. I am tired of doing floor nursing as well but i dont want to let go of working in a top hospital and learn a lot of new skills. I need advice my fellow nurses. If i were you, which one will you choose?? thank you very much. All your opinions will be very much appreciated.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

What do you want to do?

What is your dream position?

[yashimi]

Since i started being an evening supervisor, I dont miss passing meds and doing floor nursing. I wanted to be an administrator or a position that is not bedside.

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

It seems like this is an easy choice, then. If you don't want to do bedside nursing, don't take the telemetry position.

[yashimi]

do you think clinical education will also have a lot of opportunities in the future?

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Do you not think a position within administration that involves patient teaching.. would be learning new skills?

The hospital skills you refer to are tasks, teaching is a skill.

You could go prn in the hospital and pick up an occasional shift. You know, just to remind you how much you hate it.

[yashimi]

Do you not think a position within administration that involves patient teaching.. would be learning new skills?

The hospital skills you refer to are tasks, teaching is a skill.

You could go prn in the hospital and pick up an occasional shift. You know, just to remind you how much you hate it.

thank you. i only hope that i will be able to work out my schedule so i can have both worlds. :)

[firstinfamily, RN]

Pt education is a huge field that impacts how facilities get reimbursed, how pts recover and how re-entry into the health system readmisions to acute facilities are impacted. YOu will have a challenging project to accomplish. Most likely the more advanced facility has realized how this is going to impact their bottom line. When you stop and think about it, nurses have been doing patient education since day one, just not documenting it or no way to track it etc. You will be training staff as well on how to educate patients. I have been interested in pt education for at least the last 10 years, but it seems the computer programs at the facilities in which I work really donot fully address this. You need to have a starting point, care plans that address pt education. Do you have your BSN or MSN, because truly you should have your MSN or a certification as a Certified Pt educator? There will be a lot of growth in this area of nursing. Coming from LTC supervisor position you may have to update yourself with current practices and medications that are being used in the acute environment. Does this new position include utilization review?? If it were me, I would go for the Pt Educator position, but that is also because I have been interested in this field for a long time!!! I am envious!! Good Luck!!

[yashimi]

thank you so much for your encouragement. I have a BSN degree and planning on studying masters but i am not sure if I am going for ms degree in education or administration. There are no care plans to be made. It is just educating patients about follow up care and discharge medications and home care. I know it is a vital part too because it will prevent readmission to hospitals and having a good results in surveys. Yes, I will study and refresh my knowledge in different diseases and medications so I can be more confident in educating the patients. They told me that they will be giving me 6 weeks of training on a med surg floor so i can exactly know the process and familiarize myself with the different scenarios from admission and until discharging patients because it is totally different from LTC facilities.