Completely frustrated...I forget why I wanted to be a nurse in the first place.

[ashortnurse]

I feel totally lost. I've been working on a med/surg tele unit for a little over six months and I absolutely hate it. While I appreciate the fact that I have a full time job and the opportunity to gain experience, I can't seem to get past the feeling that I'm wasting my time working in a miserable field. I love the nurses I work with but the patients are miserable, the nursing assistants are miserable, the manager is nasty, the entire hospital is short staffed (pharmacy, etc).

I was so passionate about becoming a nurse, I was thrilled to have found my calling, it took 5 years to get my BSN...and now I feel completely hopeless.

I became a nurse to be an educator and an advocate...working as an inpatient nurse is killing my desire to be a nurse at all.

I think I'm better suited to community health, mental health, clinic setting type work but I'm not even sure of what positions to apply for. Honestly, I don't know what to do with myself. I don't know if I want to be a nurse anymore. Just needed to get that off my chest, thanks for reading.

[Pat_Pat RN]

You said what kind of nursing you want to do. Go look for jobs in those areas. Try out Monster.com or similar.

Good luck.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Are you going to throw away 5 years and a degree, because you don't like your first position?

You have 6 months to complete that magical first year. Spend it searching the job boards and websites of major companies.The job descriptions will be very informative. Also a lot of info here on AN to assist you in your search.

[RNperdiem, RN]

By 6 months the honeymoon is over and the hard work of building experience wears a lot of us down. Don't give up too soon. Spend the next few months doing some research into what else is out there in nursing. Once you have a year of experience, more jobs are possible.

[Libby1987]

Look at it as a paid internship preparing you for work that you want to do.

[ashortnurse]

I think I'll enjoy outpatient positions or public health related work. The only issue is needed experience WITHIN public health in order to get a job in public health. I'm not really sure of what type of entry level position to look for to get into that field. Visiting nursing? I have interviews lined up for a dermatology office and a plastic surgery office. I thought gaining surgical experience could open a lot of doors in the future. I hate the hospital but I'm afraid to leave it and limit myself. Thanks for the comments.