Contemplating Returning to Bedside: Seeking Wisdom and Insight

[VHS, BSN, RN]

Afternoon everyone,

I seek genuine advice from folks who have had a similar predicament, such as mine, at some point in their career.

So, here is some background on myself – I've been a nurse for six years; I took two of those six years to obtain my BSN and some courses toward my eventual MSN I plan to pursue. Three of the four years I worked as an RN were spent in med-surg and one year as a public health nurse. I am contemplating returning to bedside nursing; however, it's been three years since I've been away from bedside nursing in a hospital, and I feel as if I owe it to myself and my patients to do one of three things. 

Option one is returning to bedside nursing after a refresher course incorporating a didactic, hands-on lab, and clinical hours. Option two is returning to bedside nursing with the stipulation of participating in a re-entry/residency program that will refresh my skills, clinical knowledge, and practice under the supervision of a nurse preceptor. Option three would be a combination of options one and two, with me taking the didactic portion of a refresher course while obtaining my clinical hours at my place of work under the supervision of a nurse preceptor. Taking one of these three routes would give me peace of mind in my practice.  In my opinion, unless I am 100% certain that I can pick up where I left off without a ton of issues, that may be a sign that a refresher course or program might be in order. However, I am open to the possibility that this is a novice mindset and part of this is me severely doubting my abilities here. 

There are some potential issues with these three options. One problem is the financial aspect, with some institutions offering refresher courses having estimated costs as high as $3,000-$6,000 depending on where you go. There is also the possibility that some institutions may not support your location for clinical hours. The next issue I may deal with is the logistics of attending one of these refresher programs that include skill labs, and I would need to travel very far to attend some lab sessions that typically occur over the weekends over two weeks (so that would be two Saturdays and two Sundays). Another issue I am concerned about is the quality of hospitals in my area and the willingness of nurses to precept in my area. The two most prominent hospitals in my area that are considered teaching hospitals are understaffed, lack sufficient support from management, and turnover is high. I can say this with 100% confidence since I used to work at one of these hospitals. As for the second hospital, this is merely an assumption on my part, but I have spoken to people who have worked at the other hospital, and many of them claim that they, too, suffer from the same issues as the one I used to work at. These issues are not exclusive to these hospitals; it's a nationwide issue, but my concern is that I will be pushed out to take on a high number of patients in a very short amount of time despite them knowing that I am just returning to bedside.

Part of my problem is moving past issues that all nurses deal with in their careers, such as shitty management, co-workers, and traumatic events that shoot down your confidence. I know a part of nursing is maintaining your confidence in the face of adversity and crappy situations, and I accept that this is something I will need to work on throughout my career. But saying it and doing it are two different animals, and I am trying to navigate how to get out of these negative feelings when they occur.

I've looked at this situation as an opportunity to branch out to other specialties I have been interested in, including the emergency room or critical care. Still, I also recognize that med-surg is the backbone of all hospital organizations and would provide me with a plethora of necessary opportunities to refresh myself in an area I am already familiar with making it a tad more comfortable (dull, I know). I also had dealt with ER departments straight up, shooting me down even when I was working full time in med-surg, and I had a year of experience before applying for employment in that department. I have looked into the range of non-bedside positions, such as occupational health nursing and nursing education and even applied for nursing research positions. Still, I have only received one call back from a PRN occupational health gig, where the money is not consistent, and my hours would be erratic.

I've thought about looking into a nursing coach to help guide me along whatever path I choose, but this may not be needed.

(Hold on, let me overthink this more.)

 

So, with all that said-

• If you were in my situation, what would you do?
• If you have experienced a similar situation, what did you do to overcome it, and did it work?
• Do you experience moments where your confidence is shot, and what do you do to overcome it?
• In your opinion, when returning to the bedside after a period of absence are resources such as refresher courses, and nursing coaches valuable or just a gimmick?

 

Thank you for your time—peace out.

[IndecisiveRN97]

Since you already have the experience, I think you'll do fine and don't need the refresher course. I was recently hired with another nurse who hadn't been at the bedside for about 6 years and she had some anxiety regarding it as well. However, she said everything came back to her and it was easy fitting in again. And also remember, they will train you according to their policies and standards. You can always ask questions, don't be afraid to ask.