For those of you that have left the bedside....

HealthyRN · Nov 17, 2007

My first job out of school was in the ED. I left that position after 10 months and became a community educator for a home health care agency. I loved that job! It was a complete shock at first how nice a normal job was where I was a respected and valued employee. Also, the pay was better and the benefits were unlike anything I have seen at any hospital. The only downside was the amount of driving that I was putting on my vehicle- about 300 miles/wk. I had mileage reimbursement, but I live in a large metro area and I don't like driving on the highways. After about 9 months, I got this crazy idea to go back to the bedside. I didn't really want to, but I am currently enrolled in an FNP program and my professors were encouraging me to get more clinical experience in order to get a good job when I graduate.

So, I am now working on a med-surg unit and I HATE IT more than words can describe. I hate it so much that I decided to drop out of my FNP program. I do not want to devote my career to a job that requires any type of patient care, even though it would be much different as an FNP. I feel really depressed as the holidays approach and I am stuck working like a dog through 12-hour shifts when I could have taken 3 weeks off at my old job.

Sorry to go on a rant, but I just feel really down about this. Long story short- I didn't miss, I did go back (and regret it very badly), and hopefully I will be far, far away from the bedside before too long.

dria · Nov 17, 2007

let me preface my response with a bit of background....

haven't worked at the bedside since nursing school. didnt wanna. still dont wanna. i have worked several direct care positions in home health and private duty. fast foward to today....i work case management, and i have found this to be more challenging than direct care. it has also ramped up my critical thinking skills. maybe i am just biased, because i really do feel that i have found my "niche."

so looking at your questions, i will subsitute "bedside" for "direct care:"

1. no

2. not yet...nor do i have plans to do so.....

sounds like you may be making a decision? if that is the case, good luck...i hope you find the solution that works best for you

@

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 17, 2007

I missed it at first ... but then found the rewards that my other positions (as a CNS and Staff Development Educator) have to offer. Each type of position has its own rewards - and sources of stress.

At first, I missed the immediate sense of doing something good and the expressions of gratitude from the patients. You rarely get that in a leadership position. (When's the last time you expressed your appreciation to your educator or manager?) If you think you don't get enough positive feedback as a staff nurse, try taking a leadership position where positive feedback almost never happens. But then I came to appreciate the rewards of helping staff develop and knowing that my programs were helping the staff and helping the patients even if that was rarely acknowledged. Also, I appreciated the flexibility of the scheduling, the decreased stress on my body, and the increased money without having to work off shifts, weekends, or holidays.

Actually, I was happiest in my job as a staff nurse ... but I wouldn't want to go back.

So .... yes, I missed the patient care at first ... but I got over it.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Nov 18, 2007

Couldn't go back, shouldn't go back.........wouldn't go back.

Actually, I have the best of both worlds at my ALF position---I can do as much (or as little) direct care as I choose, because I'm the DNS and I can call in home health for any situation I don't feel comfortable delegating to staff or have the time to deal with myself. I do perform some, because I like to keep my knowledge and skills up-to-date AND I love the one-on-one with residents.

But as far as going back to a staff nursing position........my motto is "never say 'never'", but since I still have nightmares about working at the hospital, I'd rather have my toes chewed off by a sharp-toothed rodent. I'd rather walk across a desert blindfolded and barefoot. I'd rather have dental surgery without benefit of anesthesia. I'd rather...........well, you get the picture!

Trauma Columnist · Nov 18, 2007

I have been away from the bedside (level one trauma center) about a year and a half. Yes, I do miss it very much. I love the adrenaline rush, the feeling that I'm on top of my game and that I can care for any pt that comes in the door.

globalRN · Nov 22, 2007

no, i do not miss bedside nursing

there are different types of nursing and you just have to find your niche

i look around at the acuity of the patients we admit today to hospital...multiply complex medical patients, almost all total care...and i don't know how the bedside nurse does it.

I coordinate and manage the patient care from the nurse practitioner side ...very demanding job...

but i am thankful i am not the one at the bedside implementing all those orders!!!

and working shiftwork....and understaffed to boot!!

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Nov 22, 2007

Have been gone from the bedside five months now. Do I miss it? NO! Do I want to go back? NO!

Am now doing case management for a health insurance company. Love it, I am treated calmly and professionally every single day. The company treats its employees as if it actually VALUES their contributions and not like cattle to be prodded and trampled on. If I had known there were actually jobs like this available, I would have been gone long ago.

onepenny · Dec 4, 2007

Do you miss it?
Did you go back?
Just wondering............

Here's a little summary of my previous jobs within the past 3 years..first job i got was doing a critical care residency program -cardiac specialty which made my stress level so high.. in less than a year i left to try to work at a doc's office ( total opposite from hospital nursing)..after a few months there i felt that my skills had plateau and was going nowhere.. i also didnt like how the doctor practiced and ran his office..also, i didnt get any benefits and pay was horrible..at that time, i realized i missed bedside nursing and direct patient care..sooo i decided to apply for a hospital nursing job in a non cardiac speciality...got a geriatrics med-surg position and was there for a year a half...staffing issues and floating about every week really took a toll on me...if it wasnt for the floating i think i would have stayed but i always felt my license was at risk being in a unit i wasnt familiar with and that was understaffed...it was to a point where i was just depressed, sometimes crying..hated having to work on the holidays..hated being stress & tired physicall, emotionally and mentally... so my current job, im in utilization review, reviewing retrospective charts at different hospitals ( commuting is a Pain)...it's a total turnaround from the hospital...now i get so bored reading the charts utilizing my critical thinking skills than my clinical skills....i get holidays and every weekends off which i love...i've been here less than a year realizing that my clinical skills are not being put to any use...i've been contemplating possibly getting a per diem job to keep my skills up... but hesitant cuz that would most likely mean floating all over the hospital again...i think i havent found my niche cuz i dont see myself in this position 10 years down the line.. nursing has so many opportunities so i try to stay positive if it doesnt work out

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Dec 4, 2007

What a sad commentary on the state of bedside nursing this thread is.