So I have been reading a lot about nurses hating bedside nursing lately. I know that at some point in my career as a bedside nurse I really wanted to throw in the towel. That is why I went and got my FNP. I still have my bedside nurse job and let me tell you that I have focused so much energy in trying to leave the bedside, I figured out that it is not really that bad. I have done teaching, Clinic NP, and bedside nursing. Now I liked the teaching but my job never ended at the end of the day. It was not physical but it seemed to be less freeing. I had to teach students and grade their work and a lot of times I didn't get paid for any extra time I put into researching for the kids. Any extra time I did was not paid. I also dealt with students who where unappreciative Just like unappreciative patients, but the thing was, at least the patient was sick and demanding, the student was not sick and demanding. In my head that makes a difference at least. I still work as a clinic NP and floor nurse both part time, the clinic NP is a nice job yes, but it is like being a doctor you give prescriptions and do assessments. If there is an emergency you call 911 or an ambulance and that's it. As a clinic NP I it can be satisfying although we still have to deal with demanding people. Here too my work does not end at the end of the day. I have to do chart reviews and things of that nature when im not seeing patients.
My point is that as a floor nurse I have so much support from my other floor nurses. We see emergencies call doctors, we call the shots most of the time on the floor. We bath patients and make them feel good. We feed the old person who can't feed them selves. Dressing changes, wound vacs, Traumas, there is a lot of variety .
Sorry for the long rant but I have focused so much time and energy into getting all the way to the top of the nursing food chain, that in reality, I still feel more at home on the floor. I like ranting and grumbling about bad patients/doctors, I like to talk about how hard management is treating us. I like to make fun of the silly things that happen on the floor. I miss being part of a team. I love being the person that the new grad comes to to start an IV. Love spoon feeding that patient untill there food is all gone. Love shaving the long beard of the homeless man, who now looks 25 years younger.
I still work on the floor but not as often and sometimes I think that I wasted so much time looking for something better, when in reality it was in from of my face. (lets not mention all the days I can get off in between 12 hours shifts) I can literally take a vacation every month if I wanted to. I know it really depends on where you work, some floors are an absolute nightmare to work on, but if you find the right floor and the right staff, you will never regret being a floor nurse. If you heart is in it, floor nursing might be right for you. Please don't disregard floor nursing as the entry level, "that's the only job you could find" kind of job, its not that at all. I have a masters FNP and still love the floor.
