Leaving Bedside Nursing

[addiewaad]

Hello,

I am in need of some encouragement/advice about where I stand right now with my job.

I graduated nursing school in May 2016 and have been working on a general pediatric floor in a Children's Hospital for 1 year and 2 months. This job was my first choice and I felt so blessed and lucky to get the job, and initially I was super excited about it. Very quickly after beginning orientation I began to realize that bedside nursing wasn't for me. There are so many aspects about the job that I don't like, but the 2 main things that I don't like are 1. how much anxiety I get before going into work each time and 2. being so busy that my phone is ringing off the hook, running non stop, and RUSHING to get everything completed, all which makes me feel like I can't be the nurse I want to be and unable to do my job throughly. Other smaller reasons are the 13 hour shifts and working nights has taken a toll on me. The times that I am not running around like crazy, I enjoy the job more because I feel like I can check on my patients and complete tasks without being stressed about other things weighing on my shoulder.

I have a 2 year contract and truly want to complete my contract on this floor because I am not one to quit and I know I will feel accomplished when my 2 year mark comes.

One thing I have found interesting is that in this hospital we get pulled to other floors and a lot of the time its going to the NICU. I actually enjoy working in the NICU more than my own floor. I realize we are given the easier babies, but the NICU is 10x more structured than the floor, and I feel like I am making more of a difference in the NICU.

I am very discouraged because I feel like I am the only one who doesn't "love" their job at this Children's Hospital. I am a very efficient person and I desire to be the best nurse I can be. I am going to stick this out until my contract is over and see where I stand, but my questions to you guys are if I don't like bedside nursing... then is nursing even for me? Do I not have the right personality if I have a lot of anxiety and worry with this kind of job? Where are some areas that you think would suit me better... or have suited you better rather than bedside nursing? Have any of you left bedside nursing for a clinic job or school nursing?

I am shadowing a school nurse next month and have also thought about looking in to pediatric clinics. I have also thought about public health, but I don't know very much about it.

Any advice, encouragement, personal stories are appreciated! :)

Thank you!!

[DTWriter]

OP, out of curiosity:

Did the contract explicitly say that the 2 years has to be completed on your current floor?

If not, why not transfer? Granted, there the risk of your current manager saying whatever about you to block the transfer...but, other than that, why not?

[Steffy44]

I loathe my floor more every day. I love floating to PCCU. We don't get the stroke, MI, or drip pt so for us it's a break. I'm on an ortho/uro/med sure floor. They closed one of our floors and only open it for overflow. We're always full and all we have to look forward to is transfers and admits. Our floor seems to be the repository for the uninsured/Medicaid pt that need skilled/nursing home but no one will take. Add to it they are usually heavy and dependent on us for everything or they are BS crazy and no one wants them. One pt is going on month 2! Everyone who floats there hates it. I too am going to observe the school nurse to see what they do. They are always looking for subs. I just finished my BSN so now I have options to move around. Unfortunately the university med center I heard is worse with a patient load of 8-12 and they were told deal with it or leave. $27.50 starting pay isn't worth my license.

[addiewaad]

Thank you all for responding. I appreciate the feedback so much. I am going to try and stick it out and complete my contract, but I am considering going part time mainly because night shift is seriously affecting my health. I cannot wait to find my niche, and I hope that I find it sooner than later!

[Dfmarzano]

OMG!!!!! You are describing me 100%!! I hate floor nursing and it depresses me. I'm normally a very happy guy with a great wife and a great life.... then I go to work and I hate my life... lol! Ugh!

David

[setownsley, BSN, RN]

Everything you have said is me at the moment! I am one year into being a floor nurse at a pediatric hospital (after one year of adult ICU) and I am always wondering if I made the right decision. I am at the hospital I have always wanted to be and I am working pediatrics which I have always wanted, my complete dream job.... and now I am wrecked with stress and anxiety everyday. This stress and anxiety has slipped into my days off and now I am on medications to help with constant nausea and headaches. I am looking to see what other areas I can move into, but want to give my floor at least two years. It makes me sad that my dream job did not turn out to be just that.

[addiewaad]

Setownsley,

Yes you are definitely not alone. I also have had to go on medications for migraines due to night shift (and I feel also due to stress). What kind of pediatric floor are you on? Do you feel like there are other nurses on your floor who feel similar to you? I wrote this post back in August, now it is mid February and I still feel the same way. Certain areas have gotten better of course, but I still feel that I am not meant to be a bedside nurse. Soon I will be beginning to look for other jobs, so I have just been praying for clarity and guidance!

[Dfmarzano]

I'm definitely not meant to be a bedside nurse and just hate it more everyday!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I secured my "dream job" at a Children's Hospital as a new grad. Fast forward 4 1/2 years and the dream had become a nightmare. The rotating shifts and the politics of floor nursing were taking their toll on me. Leaving bedside nursing was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Since leaving bedside, I have been a home care nurse/clinical manager, a per diem school nurse, a home infusion liaison and soon I will be starting a new job as a complex care manager for children in foster care. There are endless opportunities for nurses. All of my jobs have been in pediatrics.