Do you have to do bedside nursing

[dulcet]

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.

[DoeRN]

for me at least it is hard when people are vicious. I come from a dysfunctional family have really judgmental family friends, and was never popular in fact for the last few years I am very much a loner. I need a break somewhere. So to add on the fact that even my co workers/ teachers are kind of giving me a hard time is too much. oh yeah and my love life sucks.[/quote']

Sounds like you need a job where you don't have to deal with people period. I understand. I much rather be sitting at a desk at the end of the hall by myself. I work better this way. But I picked nursing where I'm forced to deal with people. I don't let people walk all over me because I'm quiet. I'm assertive when I need to be. I interact with coworkers on a work related basis only. The good thing is I'm a float nurse (for now) so I usually don't know anyone and can stay away from the drama.

But unfortunately yes you will have to get some bedside experience in order to move on to other things. Use it as motivation. Your getting your experience in to move on to something different.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

People suck. The sooner you get used to that, the easier life will be.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Give yourself a chance. Nursing school is a unique set of challenges.

You are very smart( must be to get into school).

Talk to a counselor and fellow students to work through that anxiety.... you will find your colleagues feel the same way.

Good luck, you can do this.

[LithEruiel]

I'm not talking about the patients as much as the fellow nurses.

I knew what you meant. In fact, you got a few mean responses just for posting this, right? (So did I when I asked about leaving bedside nursing.) I've had lots of jobs and never had so many mean coworkers until I started nursing. There's some no matter where you work of course, but some jobs you can just do your own work and try to stay out of the drama...in nursing you need each others' help at least some of the time.

It is possible to get a non bedside job right after nursing school. A girl I went to school with and worked with got a job in a doctor's office right away after graduation. We were both nurses' aides on the same floor and she was a terrible aide. My boss didn't want to hire her as a nurse, yet she got the (I'm assuming) easier job and I was stuck on the same Med/Surg floor. I'm guessing she got the job because she knew someone. After I was a nurse for about a year I tried like heck to get a non-hospital job (I didn't want to work in a nursing home either) and couldn't find one, so I just changed hospitals and it's a little better, but still not good.

I was very nervous in nursing school too and I still am sometimes (after two years), but I'm able to deal with it and I'm told it doesn't show. What I can't deal with is the toxic coworkers I have now. I'm working on my BSN and hoping with more education and experience I'll find something decent.

[Cobweb]

Dulcet, many years ago I read a piece in a nursing magazine that stated that 83% of nurses come from alcoholic families. Once you realize that fact, it can make dealing with your fellow nurses a lot easier. Remember, when nasty stuff comes out of them, that is about THEM and not about YOU. Many of them also come from dysfunctional families, and have never learned to deal with other people in a civilized fashion.

The Laundry List - 14 Traits of an Adult Child of an Alcoholic

1. We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures.
   
2. We became approval seekers and lost our identity in the process.
   
3. We are frightened of angry people and any personal criticism.
   
4. We either become alcoholics, marry them or both, or find another compulsive personality such as a workaholic to fulfill our sick abandonment needs.
   
5. We live life from the viewpoint of victims and we are attracted by that weakness in our love and friendship relationships.
   
6. We have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and it is easier for us to be concerned with others rather than ourselves; this enables us not to look too closely at our own faults, etc.
   
7. We get guilt feelings when we stand up for ourselves instead of giving in to others.
   
8. We became addicted to excitement.
   
9. We confuse love and pity and tend to "love" people we can "pity" and "rescue."
   
10. We have "stuffed" our feelings from our traumatic childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express our feelings because it hurts so much (Denial).
    
11. We judge ourselves harshly and have a very low sense of self-esteem.
    
12. We are dependent personalities who are terrified of abandonment and will do anything to hold on to a relationship in order not to experience painful abandonment feelings, which we received from living with sick people who were never there emotionally for us.
    
13. Alcoholism is a family disease; and we became para-alcoholics and took on the characteristics of that disease even though we did not pick up the drink.
    
14. Para-alcoholics are reactors rather than actors.
    
    I once mentioned this fact in a staff room at the change of shift and a fellow nurse said, "That can't be true." I said, "Everybody who came from an alcoholic or drug-using family please raise your hand." Nineteen out of twenty people raised their hand and one lady said, "That is none of your d***** business." I figure that speaks for itself :)
    
    I want to repeat this part. They don't know you. When they talk at you, that is an expression of something they feel about themselves, it is not about you. If they say, "You are really stupid," think about the kind of person that would say that to a co-worker. That's someone who is afraid. It is not about you at all. You can learn to deal with that kind of thing. I was also very timid and nervous when I started. You can grow out of it with a little experience and some thought.
    

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Well said Cobweb. I remember reading this article as well.

I learned about those traits many years ago and had developed those traits as a child. Once I learned the reason behind them, I used my objectivity to become a healthier person; along with using those therapeutic mental health techniques and equating that people are people are people, and my life has been MUCH more enjoyable.

[rudycoon]

I never wanted to work in a hospital and was able to get a job in public health as a new grad. I don't know if this is an option for you since different states have different requirements about who they will hire into these positions but it is worth checking out. Good luck!

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Your rationale for wanting to avoid bedside nursing is somewhat immature. Nursing is about building relationships and providing a safe environment, which entails communication skills and experience. Three to five years is usually the minimum requirement to be eligible for the roles you're interested in, OP. You need the foundational skills of assessment, diagnosis, care planning, and knowing how to prioritize and revise your care, which cannot be learned in school.

[Nonetheless]

I don't know why everyone is saying you won't get a job.

You are MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GET A JOB OUT PATIENT THAN IN!!!

Yes, many outpatient jobs require experience. But many also don't. Places like low income clinics, summer camps, private doctor practices, home health, and nursing homes (I don't know as much about nursing homes as the others listed) actually are desperate for nurses and will hire you as a new grad.

The catch is that they don't pay as much. A tiny non profit free clinic may pay as low as $15 an hour. But if you have goals to do public health nursing, this is a great start before you love on. Another catch is that it is very hard to get out of the clinic/ outpatient setting once you are there. This is why no one wants to work there. You may not be able to go back to inpatient.

If you expand your job search to outside the hospital you will be MUCH more likely to find a job.

Think of it: for every hospital job listed for new grads, there are 500 applicants. For evey non hospital job there are maybe 50 applicants.

if you are okay with possibly never going to the hospital bedside again and are okay with the possibility of making significantly less money (this varies from job to job) , then you will find SOMETHING!!!

[THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN]

I think it would be smart of you to explore these feelings you have when encountering "mean" coworkers. You will never ever be rid of unpleasant or non reassuring work places. But you CAN change how you feel and how you react to them.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Home care, nursing homes and clinic work would still be considered bedside nursing, just not in a hospital, and many new grads are not equipped for home care stright out of school, regardless if an employer decides to hire them.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Home care, nursing homes and clinic work would still be considered bedside nursing, just not in a hospital, and many new grads are not equipped for home care stright out of school, regardless if an employer decides to hire them.

I'll venture to say that MOST new grads are not equipped for home care straight out of school, and they don't get enough orientation to MAKE them equipped.