Low On Energy And Time!

[nurse1717]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on a nursing career that is less physical as one of a floor nurse?

I'll be getting my RN soon and have been working on the floor for the past 5 years. At my ripe age of 51, with an RN degree, any suggestions?

A friend has mentioned a nursing career in research or case management. I do enjoy the floor but find myself much more physically exhausted after my shift than I used to be.

Yes, I have a packed home life too with 3 children.

Any other mature nurses feel this way? What have you done about it?

Maybe I should begin lifting weights.:monkeydance:

Thanks. Marie

[nurse1717]

ok. i guess there aren't too many other nursing students that are tired from nursing on the floor. better pull out those weights!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Marie. This is the distance learning forum and might not get many answers here. I'll move it to the general nursing forum where perhaps you'll get some answers.

Good luck. I know what you mean. I'm getting my BSN to have options for the ulimate day I can't physically do med-surg nursing.

Good luck.

[nurse1717]

Thanks for doing that Tweety. Funny, I just thought of the same thing.

[shazbo]

i'm still working the floor but in a baylor program that has saved me. 7p-7a q sat/sun. work 24 get paid for 40. the combination of nights plus only 2 shifts per week will hopefully see me to the finish line. it offers me not only a living but a life.

[nurse1717]

what is a baylor program?

[shazbo]

the baylor program can vary somewhat place to place but basically you work every weekend, 2 twelve hour shifts. depending on the facility you may get partial benefits including health ins.paid time off,pension etc. sometimes you can only work every other weekend for the premium rate but then no benefits. i have seen other threads on this so check them out. good luck

[nurse1717]

I'll check it out. Thanks Shazbo!

[Halinja, BSN, RN]

marieylego,

There was another thread recently where there were several suggestions/ideas for jobs other than floor nursing that use your RN.

It was: https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/i-dont-want-do-anymore-154994.html

Hopefully you'll get some good ideas there!

[fleur-de-lis, BSN, RN]

I am just a student, but I'm doing my clinical rotation in Psych and had a conversation with one of the nurses there that has lots of health problems, RA, knee probs, etc. She switched to psych becuase it is less physically demanding - you mostly sit and watch/talk to the patients, at least thats how it is on her unit. She did say that if there is an "incident" with a pt getting out of hand, and she is the closest one there, it does get physical. Also, maybe home health if you don't mind driving? Good luck!

[nurse1717]

Halinja, thanks for the forwarding advice. I am reading all the posts on that site. Although I'm no where near that desperate-there's good information.

Fleur-de-lis, I've heard Psych come up a couple times...I'll check that out too. Thanks. Marie

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Marie, have you ever thought about going into assisted living or long-term care as a director of nursing or health services coordinator? It is a lot of desk work, but you can also do some hands-on care if you choose, you don't usually have to work nights, weekends, or holidays, and if you work for a good company, you can be as creative as you want to be.

I left floor nursing at age 47; my body just couldn't take the daily pounding anymore. Now I can sit down when I want to, get up and walk when I want to, even go up to the activities room and get on the NuStep when I feel like it. I'm sure I'll last a lot longer this way, which is fortunate given the fact that retirement---much like becoming a size 3 and starring in the next Academy Award-winning film---is NOT in the cards for me.