Overwhelmed by options...

[Dermnurse1]

I have been a nurse for roughly 2.5 years now. My first job after being licensed was on a Cardiac TCU Telemetry unit, which seemed to receive a lot of new graduates with the promise of providing experience and knowledge, to transfer to other more desirable floors. The turnover rate was ridiculous, and I made it just past 1 year before I started to leave work every morning in tears (working nightshift did me no favors). The stress of what I was going to face each night at work overwhelmed me, and I was constantly anxious. Coupled with being understaffed and poorly managed, it was not the right place for me.

I ended up moving to another state (for personal reasons, not professional ones) and got a job as a RN in a Dermaology outpatient office. The work I do is glorified scribe work, with mostly typing, obtaining HPI, reporting to the physicians, and sending prescriptions. To put it bluntly, I am bored. I miss the feeling I would (occasionally) have while doing bedside nursing that I was helping someone and making a difference in their life.

Fast forward 13 months, and I may be moving again, which means the potential to go back into one of my two previous specialties, or to start doing something I actually enjoy. I am overwhelmed by options in the nursing field (I know, better to have too many options than not enough). I am afraid to start a brand new job, just to end up forcing myself to stay in it. I would like to find something M-F that is more patient hands-on, but not fast-paced. Help?

[203bravo, MSN, APRN]

School Nurse

State Dept of Health Nurse

Ambulatory Surgery Center

[cleback]

I second ambulatory surgery. Maybe endoscopy too would work. Sounds like you enjoy more of the hands on nursing. I would actually stay away from public health in that case as it can be a lot of paperwork.