Leaving nursing

mattsmom81 · Jul 7, 2004

I'm not sure how far out you are of the DFW area...but there are Medsurg and LTC contracts available through my agency and I know of out of town nurses who commute in for say 3 12 hr shifts and sleep in a hotel. If you would be interested, please PM me and I'll refer you.

Another option is the doc-in-a-box facilities...who like to hire new grads specifically...I'm thinking of CareNow facilities in particular which always run advertisements in the Star Telegram looking for nurses.

I can only imagine how hard it is to get your confidence up again after a rough start in nursing...I had 5 yrs of good experiences up north to draw on before I ran into the problems here being a nurse in Texas.

Pm if you want to talk or if I can help you. (((HUGS)))

nursemjb · Jul 8, 2004

I'm not sure how far out you are of the DFW area...but there are Medsurg and LTC contracts available through my agency and I know of out of town nurses who commute in for say 3 12 hr shifts and sleep in a hotel. If you would be interested, please PM me and I'll refer you.
Another option is the doc-in-a-box facilities...who like to hire new grads specifically...I'm thinking of CareNow facilities in particular which always run advertisements in the Star Telegram looking for nurses.
I can only imagine how hard it is to get your confidence up again after a rough start in nursing...I had 5 yrs of good experiences up north to draw on before I ran into the problems here being a nurse in Texas.
Pm if you want to talk or if I can help you. (((HUGS)))

I'm right in the center of Fort Worth. I really don't want to go to another city because I would need up front money which I don't have. I've sent a resume to Care Now twice with no response.

I have worked in the OR, med-surg, home health, school, and drug/alcohol rehab. I really hate to say this but I feel that being blackballed twice might be the kiss of death. You are right my confidence is pretty shot. What I am really good at is paperwork, I am one of the wierd people that enjoys it. I used to be an engineer at General Dynamics in the Materials and Processes Lab before I became a nurse, and I really enjoyed experiments and reports, mostly desk work. I also have a degree in Microbiology and a minor in Chemistry but it's very old knowledge since I graduated the first time in 1980.

Sounds wierd but I was really happy if there hadn't been such awful politics and upheaval in the defense industry.

What I would really like to do is some sort of case management, mostly a desk job on the 3-11 shift part time. I'm definitely not full time worker material.

Now you know my story.....pretty pitiful isn't it ????? HA HA

hypnotic_nurse · Jul 8, 2004

Have you considered monitoring for a pharmaceutical company? I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if I've missed something. It's lots of paperwork and attention to details...and no patient contact. Doesn't require a nursing degree, but they sure like nurses in those positions.

nursemjb · Jul 8, 2004

Have you considered monitoring for a pharmaceutical company? I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if I've missed something. It's lots of paperwork and attention to details...and no patient contact. Doesn't require a nursing degree, but they sure like nurses in those positions.

I have never heard of monitoring for a pharmaceutical company. What does the job entail? How do you find out about them? I enjoy paperwork....I used to be a Materials and Processes engineer at General Dynamics in a previous life.....

hypnotic_nurse · Jul 8, 2004

A pharmaceutical company places research studies at various sites, both for-profit places and places like universities. Usually the monitor works with several sites doing the same study, and other sites doing other studies with the same drug.

The monitor's job is to make sure the sites are doing their jobs properly...that they are obtaining proper informed consent, recruiting the right types of patients, that problems are reported quickly both to the pharmaceutical company and the site's human protection program. Also, the monitor makes sure that paperwork is filled out properly, that all adverse events are properly reported and followed up on. It's very detail oriented. Usually there's some travel involved (some within a single state, some multistate or even international, but some are also based solely in large cities or travel between two large cities).

Finding the jobs can be tricky. One route is through a head-hunter. Another is to contact the pharmaceuticals on your own (Lilly, Astra-Zeneca, Smith-Kline Glaxo, etc.).

Some monitors do very well financially -- especially the ones who travel a lot. It does tend to be a stressful position, though, especially for those who are not detail oriented.

If you like a mix of patients and paper, pharmaceutical research trials (also called clinical trials) are another option. Research nursing still requires a lot of detail and paperwork. If you work in a small group, you may get to schedule your own patients and arrange your own day -- but the paperwork is intense for either job (many of us -- not always so jokingly -- say we kill a tree for every patient that we see). I have had studies that used 3 4-inch-binders for each patient we completed.

In a small group, you also tend to be a jack-of-all-trades; not only do you see the patients, but you make sure everything gets reported to the human protection group, you recruit your patients (this might even entail speaking to groups depending on what you're researching and how difficult it is to find patients). You are responsible for telling your MD what they're supposed to do at each visit, because most of them won't remember. You may be in charge of counting and storing your investigational drugs as well. You also have to work with your monitor to make sure you are doing everything correctly.

In a larger group, you may be responsible only for your patient visits and paperwork; sometimes for-proft groups have a good support staff that takes on some of the administrative paperwork. For-profit sites may pay less but some offer large bonuses at study end.

This is a very brief overview, and I know it sounds like a lot. But I find it very interesting, and (other than my 4 shift a month part-time job) it's the only type of nursing I've ever done.

bloodmonster · Jul 8, 2004

I enjoyed labor and delivery mainly. But there were no L&D jobs avaliable for new grads when I got out. So I choose critical care on the recommendation of my critical care instructor. Like I said- I would like to remain in nursing- but when potential employeers call for my references- all they get is negative information. Any suggestions?

Post deleted

mattsmom81 · Jul 8, 2004

Nursing homes are crying for MDS coordinators...consider taking a course through the state agencies and apply to all the LTC centers. It's all asessments, documentation and followup reporting to state agencies.

Most LTC centers also do not use Group One (for now).

AMICRW · Jul 8, 2004

Nursing homes are crying for MDS coordinators...consider taking a course through the state agencies and apply to all the LTC centers. It's all asessments, documentation and followup reporting to state agencies.
Most LTC centers also do not use Group One (for now).

Most of the RNAC / MDS coordinators have computer skills and KNOW what they are doing. I did MDS' when they were on paper. Now, I do need to learn how to do it the computer way. I know that I can do internet and word processing, but, I'm still phobic about hitting a wrong key and distroying all that I've done. I DO NEED to find a class or very patient coach. I will look for both. (Group One? 000OOOooo) Thanks a LOT! AMICRW

lillybrat · Nov 2, 2004

hi, :nurse:

just a thought but since you were fired from 2 jobs in 3 months, why put those down? use your previous employment instead of those 2 that didnt work out for you. possibly mention them in an interview saying they were trial periods for you to find what you wanted to do, that way you are not hiding them nor lying about them.

hugs

lillybrat

Maisie · Nov 22, 2004

I think it depends on why you were fired. If it was because patients were in danger, and you feel that addditional training would not help, you should consider another career. If patients were not in danger, maybe another area would work for you.

I am not a nurse, but I had a long career in IT. I was terrible when I started. My teacher advised me to find something else to do. Career advisors told me I would never make a success of IT. I stuck with it and finally found my niche. It was hard work. More training and a lot of soul searching.

I worked in the field for over 20 years making a decent living and hating it completely, but I did finally become a very good programmer.

mattsmom81 · Nov 22, 2004

To the OP: how are things going? Did you take that hospice job or???