Do you have to do bedside nursing

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I'm in nursing school and I just realized I don't want to be a traditional nurse. I get way too nervous and people aren't very nice at the bedside. Is it possible to do non beside roles once I graduate? So things like utilization review, triage, ambulatory care (outpatient), etc? I know the economy is pretty bad. Any input would help. Thanks in advance.

Specializes in ICU/PACU.

You'll become less nervous and more inclined to see the good in people as time goes on...don't give up on bedside yet IMO

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

The writing is on the wall OP... :no:

You need good, competent assessment skills and nursing judgment abilities to have a "non-bedside" position in nursing. No new novice nurse can possibly have the judgement and insight and assessment skills of one at 1, 2, 5, 10 years, even 15+ years of nursing; a novice nurse needs support and experience to excel at those positions.

People are people are people. This business is the exposure to people at their most vulnerable and sensitive moments; sometimes there is little to no room for "nice" but effectiveness, competence; rationale and reason, and at times that doesn't look "nice"

My question is are you an introvert, is your EQ high? There are many people in this business who are introverted on have high sensitivity factors that do excel; seek out support from your instructors (they wan you to succeed) as well here; there's plenty of support here as well. :)

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Just because a job is non bedside, it doesn't mean everyone is going to be nice. Non bedside jobs require lots of experience at the bedside first.School only teaches you so much. A lot of the knowledge that you need for the jobs away from the bedside are acquired through experience and development of professional judgement.

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Yea it is possible to get a non-bedside job after graduation. You may want to head over to the "First year after licensure" and you'll come across some new grads who did it. However for some of them it took a very long time in an already tough economy for new grads in obtaining those positions. If you have bills to pay, I wouldn't put my eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is for non- bedside positions.

But I must warn you as a new nurse, assessment, interpersonal, and communications skills are important in any position (bedside or not). You can't run from "mean" people. Guess what, they are everywhere, so you have to learn how to effectively talk with them.

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Same here. Anytime I got triage for the night it was always a long shift. I preferred to be in the trauma bay lol. They didn't consider me for triage until I had 8 months of time spent in PEDs ED, trauma, and main ED/ urgent care and even then sometimes you still need advice from a fellow nurse/doc on where a patient should be triaged to.

Agreed. Triage is my most despised role in the ED. So much focuses on you and making the sick/not sick call is one of the most stressful parts. We wont even let our newbies out there until they have a minimum of a year under their belt, and that is only ER experience, not bedside. So I completely agree with you.
Specializes in Pedi.
Just because a job is non bedside, it doesn't mean everyone is going to be nice. Non bedside jobs require lots of experience at the bedside first.School only teaches you so much. A lot of the knowledge that you need for the jobs away from the bedside are acquired through experience and development of professional judgement.

I actually think you'd probably deal with some of the nastiest people in the jobs the OP asks about. Triage- EVERYONE thinks they should be the priority. So when you send the guy who walked in with a migraine back to the waiting room and prioritize the chest pain patient, he's going to be pretty mad. Don't you know his head is about to EXPLODE?!?!?! Utilization Review? People who work for insurance companies are the worst people I've ever dealt with in my life. So yeah, a nursing job where you only deal with "nice" people doesn't exist.

Did you think that people in crisis would be nice? Do you have any experience with the medical field at all? Ever been a patient or stood at the side of an ill loved one? It's a shame you've gone so far with apparently no idea of what nursing entails .I think you should transfer your credits-get out of the nursing program. Good Luck

You are assuming everyone in-patient is literally in a crisis. There are flat out nasty people who are: A. Attention seekers (Fibromyalgia, non-existent MS etc). B. Non-compliant patients with plenty of education and resources who then get readmitted for stuff like DKA, COPD exacerbation or Cellulitis and are on the call light every 5 seconds C. People who just love the narcs D. Demanding people who ask you to scoop out excessive ice in their drink or ***** about their room assignment because their roommate snores and they can't get 8 hours of sleep. E. Ask me to play Judge Judy in their jack-up living situations while I am doing an assessment on another patient. F. Insert other wastes of my time here.

Seriously, yeah a lot of patients have real stuff going on that requires our best care but there are throngs of people that love to make your day miserable. I can see why the OP doesn't want to go bedside.

OP might have to gut out a few bedside years but I won't bemoan he/she if they hate it.

Part of your question involves defining what bedside nursing really is.

I fond when most people say "bedside nursing" they mean med surg.

That,however,is a VERY limited definition.

Ltc,Private duty,Med surg,etc all qualify as bedside nursing,so you really aren't that limited,and still have options.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Part of your question involves defining what bedside nursing really is.

I fond when most people say "bedside nursing" they mean med surg.

That,however,is a VERY limited definition.

Ltc,Private duty,Med surg,etc all qualify as bedside nursing,so you really aren't that limited,and still have options.

If the OP has decided that she never wants to get near an actual patient because there are so many mean people out there, there aren't a whole lot of options.

I'm in nursing school and I just realized I don't want to be a traditional nurse. I get way too nervous and people aren't very nice at the bedside. Is it possible to do ... things like triage
Holy cow, if you think people aren't very nice at the bedside, you should interact with them when they've been in the waiting room for 4+ hours...
Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.
I'm in nursing school and I just realized I don't want to be a traditional nurse. I get way too nervous and people aren't very nice at the bedside. Is it possible to do non beside roles once I graduate? So things like utilization review, triage, ambulatory care (outpatient), etc? I know the economy is pretty bad. Any input would help. Thanks in advance.

First of all, there is light at the end of your tunnel. Before answering your question, I would like to know what is it about nursing that makes you nervous? In what situations, if any, do you feel comfortable? When you said that people were "mean" at the bedside, in what context were you talking about (what clinical experiences have you had)? What brought you to nursing in the first place?

By answering these questions, you may find your new direction. New nurses are typically very nervous and scared. You need to understand the source of your fear. Are you an introvert who does not like conflict? If so, you probably will need to combat those issues first before entering into any profession as most workplaces have "mean" people and conflict. There are plenty of workshops out there in communication and conflict that can give you tools and skills you need engange in uncomfortable situations. Also, there is a book called "Crucial Conversations" (also on CD which you can listen to anywhere) that has excellent ideas on how to handle conflict.

However, there are other options. If you like nursing, but do not like to deal with difficult patients, then I would look into research. Although you will eventually need the minimum of a master's degree, there are plenty of opportunities for research assistants with an RN degree. Also, school nursing or clinic nursing is another option. There can be mean people in these arenas as well, but you are not subjected to them as much as at the bedside.

Remeber the "difficult" patients are a challenge to deal with, but they almost always are mean because of an outside problem and it has nothing to do with you. Seeing them through a different lens can make the challenging times tolerable.

I think people should treated with respect and dignity period. As a society we chaste people who are rude to cleaning staff and waiters but somehow with this field it is okay. I understand with getting hot headed in a life and death situation for a patient but I am talking about cliques, backstabbing, and eye rolling. You know what I am talking about horizontal violence as they call it.

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