Did I make a mistake switching HH jobs?

[NurseFries, BSN, RN]

Hi everyone,

I have been sick to my stomach about this. I had a HH visiting RN job and quit after 3 weeks because the pt population was depressing me. All the calls and paperwork I had to do was overwhelming me as well. I have done HH in the past, but mostly private duty.

I felt really bad quitting the job after only 3 weeks but my gut was telling me it was not going to get better. I gave 2 week notice because I did not want to burn any bridges. The DON was really sad I left and even gave me a big hug.

I just moved to a new city and have been suffering from facial nerve pain for the last 6 months. During the 3 weeks I worked for the company and visited pt's my pain and anxiety increased and I was sick to my stomach about going to work.

I recently took another HH job, but it is a private duty and not visits (need the income). I thought it would be less stressful than juggling multiple patients during my facial pain. The private duty job has been "ok" but the pay is lower. Now I am regretting quitting the other job.

I regret it b/c I did like visiting different pt's verses 1 pt per day, although the population was depressing me. I like the flexibility in my schedule as well and not being "stuck" in someones home for 8-10 hours.

I don't know what to do. I feel like I made a bad choice and don't know how to fix it.

Should I call my old company back and try to get my job back?

Did I just ruin my nursing career?

I think the pain, anxiety, and feeling disconnected from moving to a new city contributed to my quick decision to leave the HH visiting job and prevented me from rationally thinking it through.

I need some advice.

Thanks!

[caliotter3]

I would stick with your present job until you have had time to settle in and have had an opportunity to get a handle on your health problems. Have worked both types of hh and have found that visit work categorically involves more stress and involvement (often on unpaid personal time). You can not expect the job parameters to change much, even from agency to agency. The only thing you can expect to change is your approach to the job and how you handle the realities versus expectations that may have been unrealistic. We should not expect to "absolutely love" every practice arena. We find some to be more suitable than others and stick with what works for us. Best wishes.

[NurseFries, BSN, RN]

Thank you :/