Feel lost as a nurse

[sean12345]

I am a 28 year old male nurse working on a busy surgical unit in Tennessee. I am originally from north CA but moved here a few months ago to get acute care experience in a large hospital (wasn't able to get a job in a hospital in CA. Before working at my current job, I worked for about 11 months in a subacute unit as an RN. While I can honestly say that I enjoy my current job way more then my last job, I still feel like being a nurse isn't for me. I kind of hated my last job (It was dull work and physically demanding). I find the work at my current job significantly more interesting but I'm filled with doubt. I started taking antidepressants because I got depressed at my last job (havent been on them before). I think my plan is to work in the acute care setting for 1 year and then figure something else out. Maybe still as a nurse or something totally different. What transitions to different areas of nursing have you seen bedside nurses make? What areas of nursing are physically and emotionally less demanding? I think I'm posting this partly because I need someone to talk to or just hear about other peoples experience.

Thanks. Have a good one.

[TruvyNurse]

Unfortunately no area of nursing is perfect. Any specialty will either be physically or mentally demanding. What interests you? Did you leave family behind in California? Are you all alone in Tennessee? A good support system is where is all starts. Correctional nursing is fairly easy and entertaining. However you must mentally be tough. Clinic nursing is laid back most days but may become boring. Maybe home health could be a solution? One to one care.

[FreudianSlip]

Hey Sean,

Sounds like you're at a bit of a crossroad. Luckily, you're still quite young(ish), so still time to recoup any life or career changes. Your feelings are not uncommon from what I've heard from many nurses and seems to be a combination of culture shock (school to work) and the difficulties of modern nursing.

All that being said, many nurses (including myself) have successfully navigated and overcame that pain point in our careers. When I was starting out around 15 years ago, I was working in critical care and absolutely hated it. After a couple of jobs, I was thinking heavily about leaving nursing altogether when I finally found the area that clicked for me-behavioral health. It resonated with me in a way that no other area of nursing had and I truly enjoyed the patients, staff, and providers. It became a springboard for my personal growth and development that has served me well. Fast forward to now; I am a well compensated nursing leader in a very successful company in a very strong industry-in short; nursing has been good to me.

Morale of the story? Nursing may indeed not be for you; or perhaps you haven't found your niche yet. I would see if you can explore what you truly enjoyed about nursing and see if you can make those fit in to your career. Nursing certainly has its issues, but one amazing thing about the field is the vast amount of career paths you can take under the nursing umbrella.

Hope some of this was helpful to you and best wishes.

[DextersDisciple, BSN, RN]

I would suggest outpatient areas like medical oncology (chemo nurse). It is never boring, the patient population Is beyond the kindest I've met and you usually work 8 or 10 hr shifts with weekends and holidays off. You'll learn a lot and keep busy while still feeling rewarded in your career.