Hate Floor Nursing But Where Else?

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I have been on a tele/medical floor for the past 15 months and trained in the OR for the 4 months previous to that (long story there) fresh from RN graduation. I HATE my job, most particularly the hospital itself. It's an HCA facility with the worst staffing around. I work on the stroke floor which naturally gets the heaviest kinds of patients and the highest fall rates. It's also the lowest paying hospital around for new grads and the pay increases are miniscule. It will take over 2 years to increase my pay to what the other area hospitals have been hiring their new grads at. In a nutshell, I feel I can go ANYWHERE else and work less hard and get paid more than where I am right now. I also work night shift and it's killing me.

Trouble is I don't see where I can get a job doing anything other than tele or med-surg. It doesn't appear that places are willing to train anyone for new areas anymore. I'd love to work endoscopy, dialysis, Pre-op, mother and baby, ER, ambulatory care, home health, NICU, the list goes on... I thought once I had in a year of tele/med-surg I could go anywhere. I'm not feeling that flexability. :confused: Suggestions?

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I had the same sort of problem and I applied to a home care agency and they hired me... I like it, but I dont think its for me... Im currently looking for something new and I cant find anything because every where says experience a must. So aggravating.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Your problem is HCA. I guarantee you that no matter where you work in an HCA hospital you will NEVER have enough help. You need to get away from them and to another hospital. HCA is a horrible corporation to work for.

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Specializes in med-surg, OR.

Can you take post grad courses part-time, in another nursing area of interest?

Like the other poster said if the hospital is the problem, change employers. Also, see if you can job shadow in another area of interest (either at your current job, or with a prospective employer.) Before you commit to a new nursing area.

I decided to shadow when thinking about changing areas, and it really helped me make a better informed decision.

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