Don't think I can do this

Purple_roses · May 16, 2016

I'm not going to give you advice, because I'm not a nurse yet. But, I will say that it's probably still an option for you to become a paramedic. One woman in my cohort became a paramedic before entering nursing school. I see no reason why you couldn't do the opposite, especially if you feel that nursing is absolutely not for you.

loriangel14, RN · May 16, 2016

Nursing is not nonstop action and saving lives every shift. You provide nursing care to make your patients comfortable and carry out orders to aid in recovery or resolution. What you consider menial is part of nursing.Even paramedics do dull stuff. It sounds like you have unrealistic expectations.

calivianya, BSN, RN · May 16, 2016

You could always try ER if you need constant stimulation. There's always something going on down there - it might not be lifesaving, but it's busy.

I agree that ICU isn't saving lives and high drama all of the time. The saving lives part is awesome when it happens, but I'm perfectly okay with the nights where the most I do is titrate a couple drips and keep the sedation from running dry. Sometimes those nights are what keeps you sane.

purplegal · May 16, 2016

Trust me, whatever you're doing in the ICU IS helping to save a life, whether or not it seems like it. There are many of us who wish they could do what ICU nurses do. Also, there's no reason why you couldn't be both a paramedic AND a nurse. I know some people that do both. Plus, if you feel that you are not busy enough, try the ER. Our ER is always swamped, although you will see a large number of "minor" issues. If you're looking to teach more, consider becoming a nurse educator (which doesn't mean you have to stop patient care yourself).

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 16, 2016

I think, OP, you are only seeing it that way is because you are still a novice-your thought process is still in the "tasky" phase and you are not always thinking in the rationale as to the WHY.

The "tasky" parts of nursing is the backbone to when the crap hits the fan, the rationale and the best nursing decisions will come into play.

Develop the reason and rationale; start to cultivate your practice in the "anticipation" phase; each "task" is meant to maintain safety for the pt and prevent complications so that they go to the next level, wherever that may be.

Don't just see the magical forest....no need to see the trees as well.

beckster_01, BSN, RN · May 30, 2016

What ^ said. While you titrate drips are you thinking about what the next steps for your patient are? Before they drop their pressure do you know if you should ask for fluid or pressors? If they desat have you thought about if they need PEEP or sedation or diuretics? Even if nothing happens you should be ready for what could happen, that's where you will save lives. Even paramedics respond to "boring" calls. You might only get boring assignments when you are new but as you progress it becomes easier to squeeze yourself in where the action happens. Maybe you need a new specialty, but I feel like medical tends to have more chronics and I get plenty of excitement where I am (upper GI bleeds and massive transfusions this week!). I feel like I spend half my time sharing my knowledge with families. They don't always listen, but I try anyways.

Editorial Team / Moderator · May 30, 2016

As a nurse who was a paramedic first, I can tell you that prehospital medicine isn't all lifesaving either. Neither is the ER. I hope you can find your niche.

NightNerd, MSN, RN · May 30, 2016

As a hospice nurse myself, I can agree with your assessment that it's very interesting, and it is important in its own right to educate patients and families and provide comfort care. But it sounds like you want to be doing stuff, using critical thinking, etc.; and hospice, while certainly busy, is just not that same level of adrenaline rush and brain work. I would give quite a bit to be where you are now. I'm sorry you're unhappy where you are now. I agree with others that perhaps ER would be a good fit. Or, once you gain the right experience, perhaps flight nursing?

margin261 · May 30, 2016

I 2nd what Pixie said...

I was an EMT before becoming a nurse & my best friend is an EMT-P.

She does get to do some truly awesome life saving things, however she told me about a recent call that was to assist a sweet LOL that couldn't pull down her shirt that had gotten bunched up behind her. No- I'm not kidding.

That's just to let you know it's not all 'emergencies' all the time.

Some places might allow ride-alongs if you're really interested, and I would suggest trying that just to see what a shift is like. My friend spends a great deal of time transferring people from the hospital back to the nursing home, which, from experience is not exciting!!

Good luck with whatever path you choose!

emtpbill, ASN, RN, EMT-P · May 30, 2016

Yea, many shifts I've had one call of none at all. And that one call was for a lift assist at 3 in the morning cause granny fell out of bed and needs to be put back into bed. EMS is 90% boredom and 9% adrenaline with 1% terror thrown in. We get the patient for the first hour. I used to get jealous because nurses would see my patient all the way through to discharge. That was one of the reasons I went to go get my RN, I want to be the one who takes care of the patient to see them get better and healthy, hopefully.