Finding my "nitch" as a nurse.

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after 14 years of nursing i am changing jobs again. i began my medical career as an adrenaline junkie (paramedic), attended a community college for my adn and my first nursing job was in med/surg then moved on to icu then flight team within 4 years. also i tried travel nurse in ccu, neuro and trauma. now after 5 years of geriatrics as clinical coordinator and bedside nurse i am back to the hospital on a telemetry unit. does anyone else change jobs as their interests wander? i just love the new challenges and new faces i encounter each time i move along my winding path.
Specializes in Most recent: Hospice, Home Care.

I feel you on the movement thing.The first couple of years of my career I moved every three months for circumstances out of my control. So I must say its a scary thing when an employer gives you the cold shoulder.The good part for you was that you got a solid year of experience in something that this profession respects. The majority of my experience was in home health care and I swear I got so tired of not being "qualified" to work as a med/surg nurse it hurt my feelings. Finally after years, I was able to find a hospital willing to give me a chance. You inspire me.

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does anyone else change jobs as their interests wander? i just love the new challenges and new faces i encounter each time i move along my winding path.

i'm currently a student, but every time i go through a rotation, i find that my interests change! it's cool that this profession can allow moves like yours.

kafene.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
after 14 years of nursing i am changing jobs again. i began my medical career as an adrenaline junkie (paramedic), attended a community college for my adn and my first nursing job was in med/surg then moved on to icu then flight team within 4 years. also i tried travel nurse in ccu, neuro and trauma. now after 5 years of geriatrics as clinical coordinator and bedside nurse i am back to the hospital on a telemetry unit. does anyone else change jobs as their interests wander? i just love the new challenges and new faces i encounter each time i move along my winding path.

i thought it was just me. but i like you started out in the er setting, went onto sicu, flight nursing, administration, casemanagement, then a 3 yr break, then returned to a tele unit, and now clinical support - which i started 3 wks ago and can already can tell is not for me.

actually what my goal is to teach, so i am applying now for an instructor

position.

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Specializes in Med Surg/Ortho.

Looks like I am in the right place! I am so excited that I found this place and decided to go to nursing school. I can't wait for all the diversity and the challenges. I get bored easily and my interests change from day to day. So many fspecialties call to me, and I don't know which I will choose (or perhaps how many!). Some days I think I would like to work in the ER, then it is ICU, OR, forensics, community health, management, NICU, even teaching...so many things you can do, and you don't have to choose just one. Like someone else said, if you don't like where you are, you don't have to start completely over in another field, go back to school, get more debt, then find you don't like where you ended up. Just work on another floor, perhaps another hospital, or even more to another state. All while still using your education and still being a nurse. Heck, you can even further your education as much as you like, even to the PhD level. The sky is the limit.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Stepdown, Vascular ICU.

I'm still in my 1st year and I've reached a point where the unit I'm on is old. I feel like I need to be somewhere else. I work on a surgical unit taking care of vascular, ortho and general surgical patients; we get overflow med and gyno alot too. I love the experience I get with the different types of surgeries but I don't feel I'm getting what I need. Working 12's is great for having 4 days off, but day shift is quite chaotic most of the time. I want to move on to somewhere that will help me gain clinical experience, but I have no idea where I want to progress my career to (as far as post-grad education). Anyways, how will I know when I've found my nitch when I have no sense of direction as far as my career goes? I love nursing, no doubt about that, but I feel stuck in my own head right now. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi,

I just read all the posts. Awesome gathering of info!

Ok, my husband died September, this year, and I quit my Tele/PCU position, giving my 3 week notice. Now, I dont' know what to do with my life, my children are grown and married. I am considering travel nursing. I am worn out, though, and am afraid. In general, I am healthy, and adventurous, but, I feel so lost and alone. I feel kinda frozen, unable to commit, and make a jump.

Financially, I can't stay, and not work. I could sell all and move to a less expensive area, but, then I would be making multiple steps, it seems like wasteful work. A part of me, says, FINE, I am going to sell ALL, and rebuild myself in my health, like muscles, and loose weight, perhaps staying on the ocean side in NC, and THEN find work, and begin a new chapter of my life, with an awesome new body!!

I want a man in my life too. Where do I even begin? I am on a loop of "where do I belong, and who am I?" HELP,:banghead: PLEASE.

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I have worked in variety of settings and many have been outside of the hospital. I have moved a lot with my husband's work, so that has given me opportunities to do different things. I have worked in psych, medsurg, work comp case management, school nursing, public health....I've enjoyed all the changes and it gives you a fresh perspective.

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.
Hi,

I just read all the posts. Awesome gathering of info!

Ok, my husband died September, this year, and I quit my Tele/PCU position, giving my 3 week notice. Now, I dont' know what to do with my life, my children are grown and married. I am considering travel nursing. I am worn out, though, and am afraid. In general, I am healthy, and adventurous, but, I feel so lost and alone. I feel kinda frozen, unable to commit, and make a jump.

Financially, I can't stay, and not work. I could sell all and move to a less expensive area, but, then I would be making multiple steps, it seems like wasteful work. A part of me, says, FINE, I am going to sell ALL, and rebuild myself in my health, like muscles, and loose weight, perhaps staying on the ocean side in NC, and THEN find work, and begin a new chapter of my life, with an awesome new body!!

I want a man in my life too. Where do I even begin? I am on a loop of "where do I belong, and who am I?" HELP,:banghead: PLEASE.

I'm sorry for the loss of your husband. It sounds like your restless to do something. I think what your feeling is quite normal and your stress level must be pretty high. I've read that for the first year not to make any big changes, but for nurses I think that's pretty unaccurate.

I had to quit when I was a CNA working on an orhto rehab unit the year my son was born. He is hypoplastic left heart syndrome and had been in the hospital for almost 2 months. It was too hard to listen to pts tell me they would rather die than deal with the pain of a hip replacement. All I could think of was how much easier they had it than my tiny little baby. I had no choice but to leave. My compassion was just gone.

I have no real advice to offer, just support and to listen to your heart, even when it tells you one thing one minute and the complete opposite the next. Take care of yourself. :icon_hug:

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Wow, there are others in nursing like myself who love challenges, learning new things. I enjoy working in the community and was going to leave nursing for MSW..did 2 grad courses ..and realized "hey, I am already helping people, and have come to a new appreciation of myself and nurses in general..i could not find on the internet such a forum such as this ..where we are so supportive of eachother...i did not find that in the students in MSW grad school. I realized just because one setting did not work..there are so many others i didn not try...I am so proud to be a nurse and will pursue my other interests' psych, telephonic, public health nursing, teaching...the skys the limit....

and ultimately an NP ...

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

check out these links for ideas where to look for that next position:

nursing career websites: discover types nursing positions or career alternatives

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