Dont wanna be a floor nurse..

Nurses General Nursing

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So i know this may sound horrible coming from an RN but i am not into direct patient care. I am planning on going back to school for a masters in nursing leadership and management. But as of now, i have my associates and i have been working in telemetry for 2 months (im a new grad). So my question for all my other nurses out there is, are there any positions i can apply for (once i hit the 6 month mark) that arent in direct patient care that i wil qualify for i mean without a masters degree yet. I just want to start getting my feet wet in the area i want to be in. But for a new nurse, will they accept me in like case management or quality control or SOMETHING. Can a 6 month experienced nurse possibly get a position in a non pateint care area of nursing?

Specializes in Inpatient psych/LTC/Acute psych.
I'm pretty sure any psych nurse would probably be a little offended at that statement. But ok... :confused:

As for the OP you just started! Why go into nursing if you immediately want to not do "real" nursing, ie) bedside nursing. When I think of a manager I think someone who has experience. How will you manage others with 5, 10 yrs experience when you worked for 2 months? 6 months? Even a year? Seems very unlikely to me personally that that would happen, and for good reasoning. Perhaps you just don't like the area you are in? I would stay there for a full year though, it takes time to get used to it, I'm sure. Give it a chance. GL :)

I actually AM a psych RN. Have been for about 3 years at 3 different locations. I wouldn't give blind advice. An RN in psych nursing is mainly a supervisory position. You have to be able to make decisions quickly for others to implement.

I am planning on going back to school for a masters in nursing leadership and management.

You want to lead and manage the likes of me, but you absolute cannot stand (or withstand) the type of work I do? Do you really think this is a good idea? How are you supposed to inspire, motivate, educate, and advocate for your staff if you yourself cannot handle the type of work they do and escaped it as quickly as possible?

I'm pretty sure any psych nurse would probably be a little offended at that statement. But ok... :confused:

As for the OP you just started! Why go into nursing if you immediately want to not do "real" nursing, ie) bedside nursing.

I'm pretty sure any OP nurse would probably be a little offended at THAT statement. But ok...

As for psych nursing, I am not a psych nurse anymore and reject the person's opinion that it is primarily supervisory. Psych nursing is just has hard as bedside, if not mentally MORE draining. Communication is not as easy as it sounds. I would come home more tired after 8 hours of communicating than I have after 12 hours of task work - and in my case I worked psych med-surg so I did both sides.

As for your issue, you can find a better floor - sometimes that is really the bigger issue, the floor doesn't fit. But if you you don't like direct care than how can you, as a manager, motivate others to perform? Utilization review may take you but it doesn't pay very well. CM is not an easy gig and you HAVE to have a solid clinical background.

I suggest you start doing things that get you what you want while taking advantage of the experience your unit provides you. Ask to start training as charge, take on projects on your unit, volunteer in the hospital, take CE's, etc. Nursing is a small community for how large it is and much of the time, to get the positions you want... it's who you know. So drop the attitude and focus on the bigger picture.

as to "real" nursing, there are many, many places and roles in nursing. they are all real. when i was a clin spec in critical care i wore street clothes and a lab coat with all my tools and toys in the pockets. once a month or so i would work a shift in the unit doing patient care. invariably someone would see me and say, "grntea, you look like a nurse today!" and i would say, "i look like a nurse every day!"

as to looking to get work in insurance or disease mgmt for an hmo, they want experienced nurses. and no, six months is not "experience."

keep doing what you are doing, look around for opportunities to learn things even if you're somewhere you don't intend to stay, and remember you have a very long working life ahead of you. dependence on immediate gratification is rarely a functional attribute in adulthood.:D

Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

I had a a unit manager that was over the ICU 2 months after she got out of nursing school with an AD no less. She brown nosed her way into the position. I rememberr once days was short and she had to work in ICU. She said"you only have 2 patients. How hard can it be?" and the first task she had to do was help a very cranky Doctor put a Swan-Ganz in.I have my coat on and headed for the door as fast as I can. Still got nailed by the very angry doc yelling for me to get my butt in there now. and to get another SG tray since she ruin the sterility area. That night when I came in she was still there and crying. How can you respect someone who has no idea what they are doing and they are supposed to be your go to person?

Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
I actually AM a psych RN. Have been for about 3 years at 3 different locations. I wouldn't give blind advice. An RN in psych nursing is mainly a supervisory position. You have to be able to make decisions quickly for others to implement.

I've got about 20 years of psych experience; acute inpatient & psych home care. While it is less hands-on in terms of physical tasks, your perceptions do not match my experiences.

Perhaps the OP just needs to try a different unit/practice setting. Might make a world of difference.

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Does the OP really think that nurses that have years of experience want to be bossed by a manager that couldn't hack it in the trenches? I have had one of those managers. She lasted 4 months because she couldn't gain any respect from the nurses.As soon as she started talking you could tell she had no nursing experience under her belt.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
So i know this may sound horrible coming from an RN but i am not into direct patient care. I am planning on going back to school for a masters in nursing leadership and management. But as of now, i have my associates and i have been working in telemetry for 2 months (im a new grad). So my question for all my other nurses out there is, are there any positions i can apply for (once i hit the 6 month mark) that arent in direct patient care that i wil qualify for i mean without a masters degree yet. I just want to start getting my feet wet in the area i want to be in. But for a new nurse, will they accept me in like case management or quality control or SOMETHING. Can a 6 month experienced nurse possibly get a position in a non pateint care area of nursing?

Sounds like nursing really isn't for you. Saddens me because I know there are thousands of unemployed new grads out there that would kill for your job.

fwiw, the best head nurse i ever had was a night charge for awhile but then got the hn job at our 26-bed icu. one of the first things she told us was that she couldn't do what we did but she would always do everything in her power to see that we got everything we needed to keep doing what we did so well. she was as good as her word. if you had a good idea, she's say, "go try it, and let me know how it works out," and can you imagine how empowering that was? i would have done anything for that woman.

she ended up don of the 700+bed hospital. i was gone from there by then but i hear she's retired but still alive and well, so if anybody out there knows laurie gunderson, give her my very best wishes and tell her for me at least, she was my ideal icu (or anything) head nurse.

Specializes in wound care.

try a dsd position , or maybe a adon , min experiences for the director of staff development

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