Nursing beyond the bedside-for new grads? Help!

calivianya, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2013

There are some eight hour days in the hospital. See if you can transfer to an oncology floor for a while and then apply to work in an infusion room. Those usually require a year or two of oncology experience, but that is the easiest clinical experience I ever had in school. Your patients come in, stay fully clothed, you either start an IV, access a port, give a subQ/IM/whatever, and just watch your patient for reactions. If they have to go to the bathroom they walk there by themselves, so (except in extreme circumstances) there is no cleaning up of accidents. It's also usually either a 7-3 or a 9-5 at my hospital. PACU sometimes also has eight hour days that aren't so difficult. I realize these are still bedside nursing but there are some good bedside options out there.

Tina, RN · Apr 22, 2013

How about a doctor's office? Or school nursing?

loriangel14, RN · Apr 22, 2013

What were you expecting from nursing if you didn't think that taking care of patients and being on your feet a lot would be part of the deal? What did you think nurses did all day? Yes most non patient care jobs require experience.

Mulan · Apr 22, 2013

Try looking for a place where they do same day surgery, or an eye surgery center where they do cataracts, or an endoscopy center where they do EGDs and Colonoscopys all day.

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2013

How about school nursing?

Fiona59 · Apr 22, 2013

In my hospital system, the "easy" jobs take years of experience or that you be a placement there due to an injury. Our eye unit requires five years surgical experience as does endoscopy. The pre-admission clinic? Nobody there has less than 20 years of service.

These units while appearing "easy" to outsiders require honed assessment skills, the ability to work quickly, many require you to stand for long periods of time and endure really needy patients.

I have a friend who works in Opthamology. I've heard her about her cataract shifts, 72 patients over six nurses. Dealing with their over involved families and thinking that cataracts are major surgery rather than an elective surgery. They get patients from LTC that are incontinent, demented, toal cares. Every day is different and they don't know what they are getting. And yes, they've coded a few. We hear the code blue calls overhead.

salvadordolly · Apr 22, 2013

Maybe you could get 6 months to a years in and then try home health/hospice. There is a lot of autonomy and flexibility in your schedule. It's not as physically taxing as hospital work.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 23, 2013

Psych is more often 8s than not. I've worked for a few different facilities and have never worked a 12...at least, not involuntarily: any 12s or 16s I worked, I volunteered to do.

However, psych is just as physically demanding as your current position, plus there is a greater risk of injury.

goalienrse · Apr 24, 2013

I know what your going through. I can't wait to earn my bachelors and get a couple years more exp (I only barely have 1) and then move on probably to being a case manager. But I have to do those things first.

I know some will have their questions, but don't feel bad, nursing is not everything you think it will be and sometimes the reality of that can hit hard.

I can say this, people say you get used to it after a year or so, it gets better. Till then it might be hard to find something else.

amygarside · Apr 24, 2013

How about teaching or working at a doctor's office?

loriangel14, RN · Apr 24, 2013

Teaching would require experience first.