Do you like working in clinic/office?

RN416 · Mar 29, 2018

There are some things I like better, and some things that I miss about bedside. I love the consistent schedule of a clinic, M-F 9-5, never any weekends, holidays, or call. I love only having one patient I'm responsible for at a time, instead of 5-6 like on the floor. I love the lower stress levels of clinic work. I like that the patients are generally happier than patients in the hospital are, because they're stable and not acutely ill. I can't speak for all clinics, but I work in an oncology clinic and with this patient population I get to know my patients over time and develop a relationship with them, giving me a unique opportunity to help them more and make more of a difference in their lives. I also get to do a lot more teaching in the clinic, which I really love. Overall, I enjoy my job. The only thing I really miss about the hospital is using my skills. In the clinic I don't use many of my nursing skills except for assessment and patient education. I sometimes miss starting IVs, inserting foleys, hanging blood, passing meds, calling doctors for abnormals, etc. I sometimes miss the acuity and having to closely monitor labs, vitals, etc. But to me it wasn't worth the stress and burnout I experienced, and I'm much happier working in a clinic. It does have its boring days, but I'd take boring over overwhelming and worried about losing my license any day. I've never worked in a SNF so I can't say how it's different than a SNF, but it's different than bedside because you get to spend more time with each patient, you get to know them over time, you get to do a lot more teaching and to me it's a lot more rewarding. Hope this helps!

Everline · Mar 30, 2018

There are some things I like better, and some things that I miss about bedside. I love the consistent schedule of a clinic, M-F 9-5, never any weekends, holidays, or call. I love only having one patient I'm responsible for at a time, instead of 5-6 like on the floor. I love the lower stress levels of clinic work. I like that the patients are generally happier than patients in the hospital are, because they're stable and not acutely ill. I can't speak for all clinics, but I work in an oncology clinic and with this patient population I get to know my patients over time and develop a relationship with them, giving me a unique opportunity to help them more and make more of a difference in their lives. I also get to do a lot more teaching in the clinic, which I really love. Overall, I enjoy my job. The only thing I really miss about the hospital is using my skills. In the clinic I don't use many of my nursing skills except for assessment and patient education. I sometimes miss starting IVs, inserting foleys, hanging blood, passing meds, calling doctors for abnormals, etc. I sometimes miss the acuity and having to closely monitor labs, vitals, etc. But to me it wasn't worth the stress and burnout I experienced, and I'm much happier working in a clinic. It does have its boring days, but I'd take boring over overwhelming and worried about losing my license any day. I've never worked in a SNF so I can't say how it's different than a SNF, but it's different than bedside because you get to spend more time with each patient, you get to know them over time, you get to do a lot more teaching and to me it's a lot more rewarding. Hope this helps!

I could echo a lot of this. I love the regular schedule, no weekends, nights or holidays. I love seeing one patient at a time and getting to talk with them and educate them. I work in a health department and therefore see people over time and get to know them. I like the amount of autonomy I have. Our clinic sometimes gets very busy and requires juggling multiple tasks and seeing patients quickly. But generally I feel like I have enough time with my patients and can focus on what they are saying and what they need. It's very rewarding. My work is varied. I administer medicine, give injections, wound care, educate, phone triage, etc. I learn something new all the time. I like working with the providers and figuring out what's going on with patients and how to help them get better or find the help they need. It can be stressful, but it's a different type of stress than I experienced working in a hospital. I feel like in a clinic, I can actually be the nurse I want to be--practice the way that is right for me. I'm not saying I have the perfect job, because I think every nursing job has it's stress and difficulties. But this is my niche and I'm quite happy.

I haven't worked in a SNF. I have friends that do and they mostly talk about the high nurse to patient ratio, which is the opposite of what I deal with in my job. Their experiences seem very different from mine on a daily basis, except for the fact that they do see the same people and get to build relationships with them over time.