New job! No more hospital for me!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello everyone.

Well, I got myself a new job.

NO more bedside nursing for me. NO more hospitals. NO more 12 1/2 hour shifts that turn into 14. NO more days of no lunch and no breaks. NO more standing on my feet all day! NO more DOCTORS! NO more lazy manipulative RN's and CNA's! NO more loud obnoxious berating nurse manager and her minions! NO more responsibility for everyone else's job plus mine! NO 5am phone calls at home on my day off to come to work! NO more asinine rules, regulations; NO more redundant, repetitive, paperwork, policies, procedures, etc! NO more feeling guilty for calling in sick! NO more FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO more being treated like a slave, waitress, doormat, housekeeper, maid, dietary worker, tv repairwoman, telephone repairwoman, pharmacist, psychologist, social worker, secretary, and policewoman. NO more ugly scrubs and ugly shoes. NO more blood, vomit, urine, stool, secretions! NO more heavy lifting! NO more sweating! NO more exposure to diseases! NO more being in charge because no one else wants to do it so I get stuck with it bull*&%$! NO more working with a full census and not enough nurses!!! NO MORE working weekends, holidays etc. No more being stuck on the unit and unable to leave without someone covering for me!

Finally, I will have a Mon-Fri, 9-5 job. Off every weekend and holiday. I'll be home at a decent hour! I'll have time after work to meet friends for dinner, go out with my husband, go shopping, go for a walk! I'll be able to leave my work at work where it belongs! I can go shopping now for nice clothes, nice shoes. I can wear my nails long and wear pretty jewelry! I will smell nice at all times!!! I'll be respected as a professional with knowledge! I'll work in a pretty office! I'll have LUNCH EVERY SINGLE DAY! I will be able to put my work down and leave the office any time I want!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be able to register for a class in literature and know that I will have EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT OFF TO TAKE IT! My weeks will have a natural rhythm to it. I will be able to attend parties, BBQ's, christenings, showers, weddings, etc. on the weekends and holidays! I will be paid better than I am as a bedside nurse, and be eligible for quarterly bonuses! There are raises for MERIT not just raises at a small percentage!

I can't wait to just be a normal person again.

I will miss my lovely patients though. I will miss some of my friends at work.

That's it. Thanks for listening.

Cherry

okay, i am dieing to know what your new job pays........pleeeeeeeeeeease!

Fabulous!!! Hope you enjoy it!!!

Cherry, Congrats on the new job. I read your description of your job at the hospital and thought how perfectly it describes my own. Guess it's pretty much the same all over. Well, it's been a week, how is the new job?

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the new well wishes. I haven't started the job yet, I start soon. I'll post back and let you all know how it is.

About sending my post out to a paper? Hmm..maybe! It really was a vent to the very people who know exactly what I'm talking about. It helped to get it off my chest. Of course, I didn't resign like that! LOL. Resigned with class, will not burn bridges. I have a lot of friends where I work.

Oh, just to comment on the "holes" I need to look at. It's only for the purposes of the defendants case. I'll be working DEFENSE! No suing nurses/docs/hospitals here. Don't worry! But, I will tell you something. When I worked plaintiff (people suing docs/nurses/hosps.) I had to look for holes etc. Believe me, I was the nurses/docs etc advocate at times! Nurses should be in the law, because we are the voice of reason with lawyers!!!! Why? because we know how it REALLY IS. I always told the lawyers: Don't look at damages. Look at the story, the facts the causation. You cannot sue a professional who did nothing wrong because there was a bad outcome. There is a big difference between a bad outcome and malpractice/negligence. However, there were plenty of times there was GROSS NEGLIGENCE or malpractice and really, do we want these people taking care of patients. Think about it. :)

Again, thanks so much for all the well wishes. There are a lot of responses to my post, and I'm glad. If anyone has a specific question, etc, you can always send me a private message. It's easier to respond that way.

Have a great weekend!!

Cherry

Oh, just to comment on the "holes" I need to look at. It's only for the purposes of the defendants case. I'll be working DEFENSE! No suing nurses/docs/hospitals here. Don't worry! But, I will tell you something. When I worked plaintiff (people suing docs/nurses/hosps.) I had to look for holes etc. Believe me, I was the nurses/docs etc advocate at times! Nurses should be in the law, because we are the voice of reason with lawyers!!!! Why? because we know how it REALLY IS. I always told the lawyers: Don't look at damages. Look at the story, the facts the causation. You cannot sue a professional who did nothing wrong because there was a bad outcome. There is a big difference between a bad outcome and malpractice/negligence. However, there were plenty of times there was GROSS NEGLIGENCE or malpractice and really, do we want these people taking care of patients. Think about it. :)

I've always wondered what it would be like to work defense versus plaintiff. Thanks for the insight.

Although I don't know what I'd do if I was working defense on a case with substantial gross negligence evidence. Seems like that would be an interesting dilemma. :eek:

Congrats on the new job.

Cherry...please tell how you came by this job. I have been very much wanting to have a job like this, and with defense, and even have clnc. My life has been a chaos magnet recently, though. Will you part with all the lovely details? Thanks, Nikki

Wow Cherry! congrats to youuuuuuu...having a NORMAL life..what a concept..best of luck to you (p.s.-I'm soooo jealous..lol)

Congrats Cherry! I'm jealous! I do the same job but I do it in Risk Management plus am the patient safety clinical coordinator for our hospital. I would give my right arm to just be doing what you're doing! You have my dream job! In my hospital, if you are a nurse and not a part of the nursing dept, they treat you like you have the plague! I love my job, just hate the politics. Good luck!

I've always wondered what it would be like to work defense versus plaintiff. Thanks for the insight.

Although I don't know what I'd do if I was working defense on a case with substantial gross negligence evidence. Seems like that would be an interesting dilemma. :eek:

Congrats on the new job.

No dilema..it is what it is. I review med mal on the side for an ins co that insures many hospitals and docs. Many cases have no merit. Yes, there may have been a poor outcome but it was a risk and nothing was done by the nurse or Doc that made it happen, policies were followed etc. Occasionally though, there is the file where it was obvious negligence..in that case, that is basically what I tell them..usually arm them with what the plantiffs atty is going to come up so they can prepare. Many times, the ins just settles since it costs so much to defend a case that the odds are they will lose. I used to contract to both plantiff and defense but now I only do defense just because I enjoy it more. Basically the best way to review a file is if you don't know what side you are working for..just look at the facts.

Erin

Specializes in Registered Nurse.

i actually wound up giving it up because i was too accutomed to hospital work and ltc! hmpft. i wish i could have kept it. the hours and fringe benefits are great!

My sister is in her second year in nursing....I warned her but she says that she will start her own nursing agency or something of that nature...I got out quickly and now only work in marketing. God was looking down on me...Bedside care is so terrible that I couldn't describe it better than you did. I could add a few more things but that would be redundent.

Good luck.:)

Hi there everyone.

I've been a nurse for 9 years. About 5 years ago I took a summer intensive paralegal course at a big university. (it was a year's worth of school in three months). After I got my certificate, I got a job in a plaintiff's medical malpractice firm. I learned a lot and I really liked it. The pay was not too good though. I also felt out of the loop in nursing. I went back to the hospital to work intensive care (peds). I've learned A LOT.

After a few years doing PICU, I am burned out (for many reasons) and have decided that I need a normal life. (just got married) I went on Monster.com and got an interview for this job. The pay is more than what I make now doing nursing, (I have more nursing plus legal experience now). Defense firms usually are bigger, and pay more anyway. I already did plaintiff work, so learning defense is going to be interesting.

It is not necessary to get a paralegal degree to work for a firm, but it helps to get your foot in the door. My first employer (as well as my new one) were impressed that I went to get a certificate. Also, with a general paralegal course you learn more about different parts of the law, (trusts and estates, real estate, criminal, etc) which is interesting. There's more out there besides nursing. The firms really just want your nursing knowledge, so it is possible to get a job in a firm with an RN only. However, going to school helped me to understand the law, and the process. I didn't feel like such a fish out of water with a paralegal degree. I could read and write like them, and do research, etc.

I could have left my unit and got a job in a clinic or something, but I decided, once and for all, that I do not want to pursue nursing. I would rather get a higher degree in something else (like literature) and perhaps go to law school. I do not want to be a nurse practitioner, etc. and really, it was time to make a decision either way. I see younger nurses moving up to management etc. and I do not want to remain a bedside nurse.

I do think bedside nursing is the most important though, don't get me wrong. The women and men that do that their whole career are to be commended. It's just not for me.

I hope I have answered the questions that you all have. If you want to pursue the law, go for it! You have nothing to lose. If you like to read, write and solve mysteries it is for you.

:)

Cherry

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