Getting bored at my job..

[HeartOfGlass]

Hello everyone. Psych is the first area I have worked in as a registered nurse. I started in Feb of 2011. I began as a PRN position at the psych hospital I am at, was floated often to the child/adolescent unit, was offered a full time position there (which was still a float, but I'd have a core unit, and would be the "second nurse" unless census was low), then was promoted to charge nurse of one of the adolecent units over the summer. I loved my job. I was very pleased, enjoyed the staff, everything was going great. But now I'm bored. I'm feeling like a babysitter, an overworked babysitter. I'm starting to count up more negatives than positives. I have reached every goal I have set for myself here. I have done all there is to do. I have charged all of the other units in that hospital (when other charge nurses at the entire facility are on vacation, they typically float the others if possible), and I'm just burned out!

The doctor I typically have to deal with (my shift is 2nd shift, and I only see one face to face, all the others come in the mornings for their rounds) hardly ever listens to the nurses and their opinions, and its getting aggravating. The other doctors (I deal with them when they are on call) are pretty amazing, and use the term "we" more than "I". The patients I get are mostly frequent fliers. I deal from 4 years old to 18 years old on my unit. And its just me as the nurse. I do it all. I take orders, do the admissions, do the discharges, do the visitations with families, do the medications, relieve for breaks for my techs (who are not in the nursing field). Today, I had 23. I've shared my exhaustion to the house supervisor and my director.. but it really gets me no where. I have two techs, one for the children, and one for the teenagers. The one who helps with the children is very mean spirited and causes the children to go into fits of rages at times, screaming, hollering, etc, which usually ends up in a physical hold.. I've complained about this, but sadly, this person has been working there for 30+ years and they just aren't going to get rid of him/her. My other tech, for the teenagers, was wonderful, FABULOUS, such a HUGE help, but had a really difficult time working with the child unit tech because he/she would always butt in or would call on my tech for help with getting a child under control. So, this week, my tech was transferred to another unit, and I was given a new tech which hasn't had proper training and is too easy on the teenage unit.

I get a lot of behavioral issues. And a HUGE return rate. I hardly ever feel that I have helped a child/teenager. They usually come back, still on drugs, or still being "defiant". Half of my unit is usually someone I've already dealt with before.

I'm just so exhausted and fed up. I'm tired of the same old routine, I'm tired of feeling like I'm babysitting a unit, and I'm tired of doing it all on my own. I feel used most of the time. Is this normal after just one year? Should I stick it out a little bit longer? Or update my resume and begin applying elsewhere? Hoping I'm not alone here. Thanks for letting me vent.

[Rushtallica]

Although it might not alleviate the boredom, have you tried working a different shift so you can work with other docs and see if some things might be different for the better?

Also, have you checked your local classifieds and maybe hospital websites for job opportunities to see if any seem worth looking into? Are there other areas of nursing that seem interesting to you right now?

[emilyrn11]

This situation sounds similiar. I just became licensed and am having the most difficult time trying to find work. I received my bachelors 12 years ago in psychology and have worked in Psychiatry for almost 10 years, pretty close. I just thought having my first job in Med/Surg would be ideal, but it seems as though no one wants to take a chance on me and all of my confidence is lost. I am feeling burned out and I haven't even started my career. I am trying to stay positive and think what will be will be and just let it go. It's difficult to even get an interview. So I understand some of the pressures being in Psychiatry for as long as I was, and how it can get stale. And you feel like giving up because nothing ever changes. Please hang in there.

[monsterRN]

I feel like everyone gets to the point where they are fed up with the job they are in so don't feel alone. Do you want to branch out from the psych field and maybe become an RN in the med/surg or whatever unit in the hospital? Maybe apply elsewhere in other psych places if you want to continue in the psych field? I feel as though you should do whatever you think is best so you can get the most out of your job.

[caliotter3]

Start with a vacation, a good vacation. After the vacation, return to work with the objective of taking an objective look at the prospect of remaining there over moving on down the road. What would you do if this was it, the only job available? How would you learn to cope? If moving on comes to the front of your choices, then come up with a plan to do this in an organized manner. Start looking, when you get an offer that you want to accept, give good notice, and leave on good terms. But throughout this process, address the boredom aspect. At some point in time, almost all jobs develop a boredom to them. You can't always move on, so learning how to deal with boredom can be a desirable sub-focus along the way. Good luck.

[Rnurse 2008, ASN]

I agree, would try a different shift or if you have an adult unit try working there. I work nocs at my psych job and I'm one of those that always get floated to adult, adolescent and childrens unit. I was bored with my job at one time also and then applied at the mental health unit at the prison and oh boy. I came back to my regular psych job in 2 months and appreciated working with patients that can get discharged and go back to their level of functioning.