From Stepdown to Interventional Radiology

62 Posts

Specializes in OR SCRUBULATOR, Nurse Practitioner.

So as the title reads, I am a Stepdown nurse working at one of the biggest hospitals in New York City. I love the craziness of my job but I also despise how unorganized the system is set up because it makes things that are simple in other hospitals, catastrophically difficult.

In any case I was a position in another hospital in Conneticut, the same distance from my house, for day shift working in their IR department. I spent a day on the floor to get a feel of what it's like and MAN! If my floor is a ten on a bad day, this floor is a 2. It's 8 hours, 5 days a week, early morning on call hours, since I would work the late shift. I'm afraid to leave my current position because of the benefits, pension, salary, and opportunity to move to other departments (for example I was recently contacted to transfer to NICU, which I am very interested in) however, I am reluctant to stay because of the dissatisfaction I've experienced with the way my hospital does things (the medication dispensary system, the way we get in contact with doctors and other nurses because it's so inefficient because we are essentially yelling down the hallway to look for people, patient disrespect of the nurses, constantly short staffed, assistants who don't assist but instead come running for the nurse to get patients on and off of bedpans and a few other things I'll spare you, things that SHOULD NOT BE happening in such a prestigious hospital and I KNOW FOR A FACT they make ridiculous amounts of money, so a small community hospital shouldn't be outperforming so)

i have very few negative things to say about the position I was offered. They use Pyxis and Care fusion, systems I love and have had great experiences with. And there are only 3 doctors, with each nurse carrying her own telephone. Plus it's a small department and no one person has to do a particular task, there are no assistants, and the patients are mobile for the most part. However I am concerned about the radiation I am exposed to (since I'm expecting) and the standing during procedures made me dizzy and nauseous. Otherwise I really liked the pace and hours seemed acceptable. It's not as challenging But I definitely felt like what I think a nurse should feel like. Respected and valued.