Changing my path...

[lepetitoiseauRN]

Hi all! I was hoping to get advice on the situation I'm in right now.

I've only been a nurse for about a year. For a few months I worked in the OR but it wasn't the right fit, so I took a new grad position on a critical care unit. I love my floor, coworkers and patients. However, I also happen to have rheumatoid arthritis, which was diagnosed five years ago. I've done pretty well with diet, exercise and medications until now. When I saw my rheumatologist this past week, she suggested that I need to consider changing to a position with less physical demand and shorter work days, because she's noticed a rapid progression of joint issues over the last six months according to recent labs/MRI/x-rays. As much as I hate it, I can't help but agree. The physical toll of pain and exhaustion has become more than I can deal with. It's painful to think about, but in order for me to have the longest career possible (not to mention my personal life away from nursing!), I'm going to start looking for a position elsewhere. Luckily, I have a great manager who will readily give me a glowing recommendation and has given me some time off to rest.

I know that was long, but I wanted to give the backstory before I ask. Before I was a nurse, I was a medical/clinical assistant in a few different specialties. I know that I can handle 8hr days with a decent amount of activity. I've been looking at positions in places like holding, special procedures, endoscopy, etc. within the hospital and thinking about looking for a position in a clinic outside of a hospital. I'm just not sure where to start looking for clinic positions since I know many offices have gone to solely using medical assistants. Ideally, I want to stay in a full-time/part-time benefits eligible position rather than prn and I want to make every effort possible to stay in patient care.

So, that's where I am. For all my frustration, I'm still trying to stay positive. Any ideas on what types of clinics/specialties to look into and where to look? Any ideas that I've not thought of? I appreciate the advice & help in advance. :)

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

So sorry you are having to cope with this - especially so early in your career.

This is an issue that is surfacing more often in many "12 hour shifts only" facilities. As the intensity of the workload has increased, the 12-hour shift is just grinding a lot of great nurses into dust. It just is not reasonable any longer to try to force this model on the entire nursing workforce. Smart organizations are exploring a number of scheduling options, including 4-hour mini-shifts, job-sharing (2 nurses, each one working 6 hours of the shift), and even phased-in retirement for those us who want a transition period prior to complete retirement.

I would advise you to talk to someone in HR about your need to work shorter shifts and maybe suggest an alternative. Is there another nurse you could job-share with? No employer wants to lose a competent & motivated nurse - I am sure they would try to work out a way to keep you.

[lepetitoiseauRN]

Thanks so much for your kind words. This has been particularly rough for me.

I wanted to follow your advice and get some feedback from HR before I came back to answer here. My hospital is one of the most well-known in the country and it often seems like although employees are treated exceptionally well, in any scenario that would warrant going outside the billions of guides and rules, employees are made to feel that they've inconvenienced the organization. So, although my manager has been great throughout this, HR has not. I was told that under no circumstances could I split shifts because this is not in line with their continuity of care model. Their two suggestions were that I could go prn and work 8hr shifts (not an option, as I would lose all my benefits) or find an area willing to hire and train me that doesn't require 12hr shifts (such as PACU, cath lab, clinic side, etc.). Of course none of those areas have any openings.

My only hope right now is the clinic I used to work in before I started nursing school. I loved working there and had a great relationship with the physician I worked for. I've seen him a few times and he's said to me (and apparently others) that he wishes I'd come back. I'm hoping he's being sincere, because I'm going to call the office tomorrow and talk to my old boss. Hopefully, it goes well.

Thanks for all your great advice. If you have any other ideas to throw my way, I'd really appreciate it. : )