I've been an RN for 6 months working in acute care. After working for 6 months I'm dreadfully burnt out. Nursing is not what I thought it was. Nursing school just prepared us to do nursing tasks but it didn't show us the real world behind the scenes of nursing. Dealing with admits and discharges and orders upon orders and providers losing temper always stressed running from room to room having IV bags passing meds on time cleaning up a bed fast patient and falling behind providers yelling because they orders Stat labs an hour ago but I didn't see them because I was busy with another patient. I can't deal with that type of situation anymore and I'm just burnt. My family has seen a drastic change in my demeanor and have noticed I've been depressed and quiet and not who I used to be any more and frankly it's because of this job.
Not just that but I'm really just tired of the whole bedside / direct patient care. Techs never doing their part so I'm picking up all their tasks at the same time while they text on their phones in the utilities room.
I'm not really sure where to go now or what to do. I've had multiple panic attacks prior and during work due to the stress and responsibilities bestowed upon me. Nursing school never prepared us for this and I had no clue this is what nursing was so now I am regretting entering the field.
I'm in debt nearly 35k for school and Idk what else I can do with my BSN. I really want to go back to school and go into telecom or computer engineering where the level of responsibility is not as high and the stress level is at a minimum.
Any advice at all? I really been thinking about this for a few months now and I just don't like bed side/ direct patient care at all. Idk if I should try and find an outpatient position or something that doesn't involve doing bedside nursing care. Or if there is something else I can do with my BSN.
Have you ever thought about Private Duty Nursing? I have been doing that for about 12 years and love it! I tried the hospital right out of nursing school. It lasted 6 months. I hated it. Went to Dialysis after that. Lasted a year. Hated it. Was ready to quit nursing all together. Found a private duty job in pediatrics with PSA Healthcare. Loved it! Bayada nursing also does private duty nursing and also Maxim is private duty. You have 1 client a day in their homes. You do all their care. No problems with doctors tempers. No worries about other staffers not doing their jobs, either.
Work at a Drs office / clinic-type setting! You really don't use many skills, but generally-you won't work holidays, weekends, or nights. A clinic is a completely different setting than a hospital
I went into Public Health Nursing when I got burnt out. Home visits for moms and babies, talking to teens about North control. Emergency preparedness, Immunizations, etc. I really enjoy it. A BSN is required in most states and the benefits are great! Monday through Friday work. It's a lot more relaxed than most areas of nursing and I have been able to travel a bit (if that interests you). Just a thought.
There are other things you could do such as case management, utilization review, infection control, QA, or credentialing just to name a few. I agree with the others though, don't give up yet. You could also get your coding credentials and do billing and coding or reviews for private insurances. Floor experience first gives you knowledge to help in those types of positions as well. Hang in there!
Hi, I had a similar situation. So I switched to public health nursing making home visits to new moms. This was great as it was a Monday through Friday job. Then I moved to another state and now work for Anthem - Nurse Review, (reviewing claims). I like doing this, and don't think I would ever go back to the clinical setting. So try looking into health insurance companies. Also some of these companies have work at home option (which is what I do).
Try managed care case management or health plan case management. You'll provide education and care coordination for patients with goals to keep them healthy and help them manage their conditions. This is for outpatient ambulatory patients. The job is done over the phone, and some health plans offer work from home positions. Another position is public health nursing. The direct patient care is limited, and it mainly involves health promotion and communicable disease investigation and prevention.
I would not advise home health, hospice, etc to you at all. I am a hospice nurse after 20 years of many types of nursing, including dialysis (which I also discourage for you). You are clear that the bedside type of thing is not for you, therefore working with chronic people is the last thing you need. Plus you need a lot more than 6 months under your belt for home health or hospice, those jobs require knowledge of a vast amount of things only experience gives you. That said, there is nothing wrong with knowing you don't like it. I would strongly consider a clinic nurse position where you don't have a whole lot of bedside time, there is lots of organizing, phone calls, etc, not much patient contact at all. Better hours, less people, still paid a decent nursing wage with benefits. After doing that and getting away from this stress you have, you can have time to research and job search if you want to leave all together. Another possibility is insurance companies hire RNs to do phone calls to patients, and also help with disability claims, etc. Blue Cross advertises in our state nursing paper.
I am just coming across this and I totally feel your pain. I have been in this profession for the past 5 years. Went back to school to get my Healthcare admin degree and thought I'd be happier working in management. Not only that it was hard to get a job in management, I also was changing my mind and becoming interested in looking into different field. I am still figuring it out.
I am now looking into making money online.
Hope everyone is finding their own niche either in nursing or in another field. Goodluck! =)
Many people may have told you "it gets better." And sometimes - it does. But other times, when you KNOW bedside nursing isn't for you - you just know.
After 3 years working in the ICU, I was burntout to the core. Desperate for something new. Tired of the medical model. I felt like my job was primarily handing out pills, and offering temporary solutions to real lifestyle problems - never getting to the core of the matter.
That's when I found Nurse Coaching, a new nationally accredited Board Certification for nurses who want to pursue HEALTH and WELLNESS of the whole person. I have dedicated my life to this because I absolutely LOVE what I do and I truly BELIEVE in what I do.
LLynne50
4 Posts
Have you ever thought about Private Duty Nursing? I have been doing that for about 12 years and love it! I tried the hospital right out of nursing school. It lasted 6 months. I hated it. Went to Dialysis after that. Lasted a year. Hated it. Was ready to quit nursing all together. Found a private duty job in pediatrics with PSA Healthcare. Loved it! Bayada nursing also does private duty nursing and also Maxim is private duty. You have 1 client a day in their homes. You do all their care. No problems with doctors tempers. No worries about other staffers not doing their jobs, either.