Clinic vs. Floor nursing

[MingaL]

I need some perspectives.

I recently got an offer to be trained to work in an inpatient setting.

I have been working in a clinic for a few years.

I have never worked on the floor, but I have talked to many nurses who have been there done that, and say they would never return to inpatient floor nursing.

I realize this is subjective, but I am hearing more negatives than positives.

I have been warned that working the floor makes nurses "bitter" among other things.

It seems like the majority of nurses leave the floor due to back injuries, the stressful environment, and/or they just tire of the unpredictable work schedule.

While I thought I always wanted to be inpatient, these warnings are making me have some serious second thoughts....and of course the aforementioned swing shifts/unpredictable hours that go along with the job will be a super tough change for me.

I am torn about whether this transition would be a good step, or if I should just stay put.

My pay and benefits are great, my job is secure. However the job can be rather boring, it involves more phones and paperwork rather than direct patient care. I am really more of a nurse secretary than an actual nurse and often feel underutilized.

I would love to hear the opinions of nurses who have worked the floor, are working the floor, and ones who would never return. As well as what made you like it, and/or hate it..

I fully realize that I am one lucky duck having this opportunity to choose between jobs, however these big decisions are always fraught with many pros and cons....

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

It all depends on what your goals for the future are. I stay in med/surg acute care because I feel that it's general enough to keep me marketable. I would love to have a set schedule with paid holidays off, though. That sounds dreamy.

[JaxJax5423]

Staff nursing in Acute Care inpatient is good if you work in the right facility that is staffed appropriately. I LOVE working 3 day work weeks. The job is usually busy and you Def use nursing skills (IV, catheters, assessments...). I enjoy my job though it can be exhausting cause it is a physical job. Again, I have worked at HORRI LE hospitals that are understaffed leaving the nurses feeling like you described above....burnt out! overall, I think I feel accomplished to know I have years of acute care inpatient under my belt.

If you hate inpatient, I believe it us much easier to go back to clinic than it is to move from clinic to inpatient. I'd make the change. I'm sure you'll get a pay increase as well.

[Newbie_RN17]

I love my job on a med surg floor but a majority of the time we are well staffed on days and have awesome ratios (1:4 yesterday and 1:5 today, sometimes 1:6 but not as often lately) as well as 3 cnas and a unit secretary. Other floors don't have the same luxury so they have high turnover, we have had the same core group of nurses on day shift since I started last may. It all depends on staffing to me, it can make or break your shift.

[Cowboyardee]

If those who are telling you how awful the floor is are your coworkers in the clinic, you might be running into a little self-selection bias in the opinions you're hearing. I'm sure all the things they've said are true - it's stressful, people treat you badly sometimes, the hours aren't ideal, etc. But that doesn't necessarily mean you won't like it. Not everyone wants an easy predictable job.

I work the floor, and I enjoy it. Then again, I found in my first career that I'm psychologically incapable of working a desk job, which is why I became a nurse in the first place. YMMV.

[Ayvah, RN]

I've worked both, and there are pros and cons to both. Inpatient all depends on the floor, the ratios that you will have and support staff available. I LOVE inpatient med surg work but the working conditions were enough to drive me away from inpatient. All the staff I worked with were phenomenal but every day you felt like the patients got bare-boned care despite you working as hard as you could. It sucks seeing patients have needs (like education) that you can't fulfill because you simply don't have time. It can be a very physical job as well, constantly on the move and when trying to move heavy patients with a lack of staff to help, coupled with oftentimes not getting a lunch. One of the first things I noticed when moving to outpatient was that I could go to the bathroom without a cell phone on my hip ringing. You know you make a big difference in inpatient, and the fruits of your efforts are obvious to see. And the experience you gain from inpatient opens up doors and expands your nursing knowledge which will be beneficial for the rest of your career.