Did you leave bedside nursing?

[NurseMegIBCLC]

For those of who have left bedside nursing (but not to move on 'higher' like as a NP etc), were you happy or do you regret it? Does it make you feel like less of a nurse? I am so proud to call myself a nurse, and I feel like if I leave bedside I won't be a nurse anymore.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Our bedside skills can be applied anywhere. The skills of assessment, communication and judgement are appreciated in any PLACE.

I worked for years in utilization management. Never laid eyes on the patient, but it took all of my skills to make the right call.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

very honest response,thank you.

[NurseMegIBCLC]

Wow, every one. Thank you so much for your kind words and views! Perhaps because I am a newer nurse and always assumed I would work in a hospital, it's a strange option to me that I am considering leaving. Like another said, I would be working on a much larger scale and impacting care differently. Thank you all so much!

[Have Nurse, ADN, RN]

NurseMegIBCLC said:

For those of who have left bedside nursing (but not to move on 'higher' like as a NP etc), were you happy or do you regret it? Does it make you feel like less of a nurse? I am so proud to call myself a nurse, and I feel like if I leave bedside I won't be a nurse anymore.

I know how you feel. I wondered that about myself many years ago when bedside nursing and I departed. My body just couldn't take it anymore. But no. You will not be less of a nurse. If anything, once you decide where in nursing you would like to end up, you will be better prepared because of what you have done, and what you have seen.

Not everyone is cut out for permanent bedside nursing, and that's ok. Really, it is.

[Have Nurse, ADN, RN]

Mr.Bill RN, BSN said:

I have to agree with others, bedside nursing in my view is the lowest you can go. 12 hour hospital shifts, with minimum down time, always on your feet, with patients and management always pointing finger at you for anything that goes wrong. In fact my biggest mistake was leaving a supervisory position to go back to bedside. Did it once, and would never do it again. The only positives from bedside nursing is experience, IV's, blood draws, CPR the basic foundations of nursing practice. Management roles don't compare as you gain completely different set of skills in communication, time management, tolerance, organization etc. Anyone that elevated beyond bedside should be very satisfied. My niche was home care nursing. Started an agency, and have been completely satisfied every single day. Less stress, with more satisfaction.

"Lowest you can go?" I can't say that I agree with that, but I can certainly appreciate how you might feel.

Bedside nursing for me was not a 12 shift. It was 8 with me occasional overtime. But that aside, I had a goldmine of experiences in all kinds of cases that really helped to shape my knowledge base and nursing foundation. No, I stopped beside nursing 18 years later, but used those skills in Skilled Nursing Visits in home care: Drains, IVs, Foleys, Oxygen, Wounds, Post Ops, etc.

There's no argument that it's exhausting and sometimes thankless. But the "lowest you can go?" I think we need to re-visit that.

[Mr.Bill RN, BSN]

Have Nurse said:

"Lowest you can go?" I can't say that I agree with that, but I can certainly appreciate how you might feel.

Bedside nursing for me was not a 12 shift. It was 8 with me occasional overtime. But that aside, I had a goldmine of experiences in all kinds of cases that really helped to shape my knowledge base and nursing foundation. No, I stopped beside nursing 18 years later, but used those skills in Skilled Nursing Visits in home care: Drains, IVs, Foleys, Oxygen, Wounds, Post Ops, etc.

There's no argument that it's exhausting and sometimes thankless. But the "lowest you can go?" I think we need to re-visit that.

I think you misunderstood my comment. Bedside nursing is entry level nursing, therefore on a hierarchy of career advancement, stands the lowest you could go in your career. I understand that people enjoy bedside nursing, but that's a personal choice, and there is nothing wrong with that of any other career.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I left the bedside to do case management and yes I did feel like I was less if a nurse. I felt line an over said secretary and missed the bedside so much that I return 7 months later. This is why I'm scared to get my MSN FNP degree. I feel I would miss the bedside too much.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

Your comment was not misunderstood ,you meant it that way.Nursing would not exist without the backbone which is the bedside nurse,that is where it begins and ends .

There is nothing special about about being the eternal resident for doctors that do not want to do procedures they consider too LOW for them.

Best of luck with your elitist viewpoint,I am so sorry you actually feel and think that way.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I quit my bedside job about a year ago, and now I'm a full-time academic instructor. The idea that I'm not a nurse anymore is something I struggle with. I have made sure that I do traditional clinicals, though, so I don't completely "lose" the bedside. It's a good balance.

[Davey Do]

NurseMegIBCLC said:

I feel like if I leave bedside I won't be a nurse anymore.

Yeah... I can kind of understand that feeling, NurseMeg.

I bet those cowboys didn't feel like cowboys when they had to leave their guns at the bar.

So, a nurse might not feel like a nurse if they have to leave their nursing at the bedside!

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

I haven't left yet, but I'm considering changing to something in public health in a year or two. I can kinda-sorta identify with the feeling you're alluding to, but I overall have to disagree with it. As much as nurses DO, there is so much more that we KNOW that can and should be used away from the bedside.

I have been kind of down on myself for finally deciding that I can't do this for much longer. The thing that's helped me move past that is that I have still given years of my life to people through bedside nursing, and it still counts and is meaningful. Taking your nursing career in another direction only adds a new dimension to your work; it takes nothing away from it.

[NightNerd, MSN, RN]

KelRN215 said:

Happy.

Why would I feel like less of a nurse? I was still a nurse when I was working in a boarding school, still a nurse when I was accessing ports and pushing chemo in children's homes, still a nurse when I was teaching parents how to use IV or enteral pumps as a nurse liaison and I'm still a nurse now managing complex needs of children in foster care.

Ooh, I would love to hear more about your current position! I'm very passionate about foster care and would be very interested in working in this capacity someday. I keep stalking my county and state government for jobs but haven't seen many RN jobs like this.