I've been an RN for a little over a year now. I have my ADN and im the process of obtaining my BSN. I am fairly young (twenty-two) and see that as both an advantage and disadvantage. I'm sure many of you have been twenty somethin' at some point, no? I was told my a fellow colleague of mine that it was their hardest decade. Before becoming a nurse I thought I wanted to be a surgical ICU RN then enter CRNA. Now I realize I didn't enjoy the ICU. The more I'm a nurse the more I pick up on the things I enjoy. I love LOVE patient education. I LOVE pain management. I LOVE teaching nursing students. I LOVE when I have time for ONE patient at a time... but being postoperative care this rarely happens. I've been thinking about a few career moves... some requiring more education and experience. Endoscopy RNPatient Educator Nurse Educator Nurse Practitioner (Maybe doing all the acute post op management)I am beginning to feel at a standstill in my current position. I know I have a lot to learn still from the floor. I just feel like I'm entering this phase where it is becoming a drag because apart from small instances it is the same thing. I can basically look at their surgery notes and already guess their postop orders. So this uneasiness with mundane makes me gear toward maybe research even. I know many jobs become mundane after a while. I KNOW I won't escape that. My former nursing professor told me she switched areas every 6 to 7 years. She has done maternity, pediatrics, oncology, NICU, and OR.Maybe that's my destiny? Just keep trying different flavors every so often. Maybe one day I can be a adjunct clinical professor. PRN postoperative nurse that does patient education as well. Who knows. Just wanted to express my thoughts.
icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN 1,970 Posts Specializes in MICU, SICU, CICU. Has 24 years experience. Aug 13, 2015 My suggestion is for you to job shadow in the cath lab. The upside is having a team, time limited encounters and acquiring very marketable skills with job security.There is a lot of on call and $$ is very high when called in. You will be well qualified to be a medical device sales rep when you want to transition out of pt care.
TheNGTKingRN 208 Posts Specializes in General Surgery. Aug 13, 2015 My suggestion is for you to job shadow in the cath lab. The upside is having a team, time limited encounters and acquiring very marketable skills with job security.There is a lot of on call and $$ is very high when called in. You will be well qualified to be a medical device sales rep when you want to transition out of pt care.I do have to have ICU experience, no? I was only in the ICU for a few months I enjoyed the tools/pharmacology/detail of the ICU. I enjoyed titrations. I enjoyed explaining everything to family and decreasing anxiety. I didn't enjoy the total care aspect. Doesn't make me a bad nurse, I simply didn't enjoy it. In postop I rarely do total care. It's more about rehabilitation. Getting them to walk. Getting them to learn to use their new ostomies... their new pegtubes...their new trachs. That I enjoy but of course being a floor RN isn't all about teaching... I wish lol. I would teach all the pts if I could.
TheNGTKingRN 208 Posts Specializes in General Surgery. Aug 13, 2015 My suggestion is for you to job shadow in the cath lab. The upside is having a team, time limited encounters and acquiring very marketable skills with job security.There is a lot of on call and $$ is very high when called in. You will be well qualified to be a medical device sales rep when you want to transition out of pt care.In your opinion based off my post does it appear that the jobs I seek are positions with less patient (DIRECT) care and limited time with same patient? Thank You for your response by the way!
