Hello everyone. I hope someone can give me some advice and suggestions. I am a new RN (graduated in Decemeber) that started on a general surgery (and medical) floor in January of this year. It has been about 9 months into working on this floor and I realized that it is NOT for me. I will be honest and say that I absolutely hate working on this floor. I hate working on weekends, odd hours (evenings), and working overtime. I can't stand the stress and pressure of a med/surg floor. I give a lot of props and credit for those that can handle it.
I recently got accepted to a Master's program in Boston to become an FNP. My intentions from the beginning was not to become a floor nurse but an NP. But because I have to move to Boston and make money for living expenses, I would have to be a part-time student and work full-time. Now I am trying to search for a nursing position that is not on a med/surg or floor nursing at a hospital setting, and have reasonable (normal) working hours. I would probably have about one year experience (or may be a little less...but more than 6 months).
I would like some advice on where I should apply with my qualifications and needs. I realized the pay would not be as much as a floor nurse but its to the point where I don't care about the money because I feel utterly miserable. I feel like the money's not worth it. Some have suggested a nurse in private practice or a clinic setting (which would be ideal since that is where I want to end up after I become an FNP). If anyone can help me with this job search in the Boston area, that would be great! Any suggestion or advice will be greatly appreciated. My goal is to find a job up in Boston as soon as possible, quit my med/surg position, and move. Please help a fellow nurse! Thank you for reading and I look forward to your replies!
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
This is not what I have seen. I did my NP clinical rotations with many direct entry NPs--some with a year or so of hospital experience, some with clinic setting or rehab experience, some with no experience. They were all quite qualified NPs--and I worked with them pretty extensively. They knew their stuff and knew advanced level patient care.
Another option you could consider--how about working part time in an acute care setting while doing school full-time? It's insane, yes. It's what I did. But you could make more money with fewer hours. AND, while I disagree that NPs need 5 or more years of bedside experience, I do think it can be a valuable learning experience.
I never wanted to be a bedside nurse either--it wasn't a role I could see myself in (I like community/longitudinal care). And I'm not a huge fan of working in a hospital--but I've gotten a lot out of the experience. I know you already have some bedside experience--perhaps in a different environment with less hours you may find it more to your liking. I can't speak for working as an RN in a clinic setting since I haven't done it personally. That also might be a good option, I imagine you could learn a lot. But you may need to work full-time to meet your financial needs.
Congrats on getting in to an FNP program! And Boston's great! (Expensive, but great!)
Good luck!
Not in my area. One of the FNPs on the floor asked me to come up and help her insert a foley on a patient who was in so much pain that he didn't pee for 16 hours. She was desperate. She was the floor's resource for the new nurses.
Edited to Add: This is NOT a bashing against nurses. This is my anecdotal experience with these "types" of nurses, and I have not been proven wrong yet. And, the docs in my hospitals who do hire NPs hire only those with excellent clinical background. This is in South Florida--where everybody has a lawyer or two or even three. I don't know how torts are in Boston.
check to see if your job offer the weekend program where you work 16hr weekends and take the rest of the week off you still receive fulltime benefits and hrs, or you may want to look into doing some agency work, you can work 16hrs every other weekend and make 2wks pay as if you worked da whole week and a half I know I've done it.
Not in my area. One of the FNPs on the floor asked me to come up and help her insert a foley on a patient who was in so much pain that he didn't pee for 16 hours. She was desperate. She was the floor's resource for the new nurses.
Why did she have a job as a floor resource nurse if she didn't know how to insert a foley? That's not an inexperienced FNP issue--just sounds like she needs more training with some basic nursing skills. Inserting a foley is one of many skills that a nurse may or may not have to do. In primary care, whether or not an NP can insert a foley just doesn't come up. It has nothing to do how capable an NP is in assessing, diagnosing, and treating illness.
I hated floor nursing too. I did it for almost 5 years. I worked telemetry, med/surg, ICU, etc. I didnt like any of it. I now do home health and love it. The pay is even better. I dont see myself ever going back to floor nursing in the future, unless something happens and I HAVE to.
You should hold on till you have been there for one year, then it will be easier to transition into whatever specialty you would like to work in. Almost all jobs require 1+ years experience.
I read many great suggestions. However, I agree with those who wrote that you should do some serious soul searching and decide, in priority, what it is about your current job you are most disatisfied and see if you have control to change the circumstances.
I am a DNS at a Sub/acute/ LTC facility and many nurses find this setting to be very rewarding. Have you ever considered this setting? Many have come a long way. There are usually openings, however, I live in the Northeast and I am finding the job market to be stable. As a DNS, I have never had so many applicants since the recession. I would highly recommend you stick it out until you secure another position. It doesn't seem to be as easy to get a preferred position as it was a couple years ago. Good Luck!!!
Specializes in Home Health; Family Practice Clinic.
Maybe home health? You basically get to pick your own schedule/days. If you have a few hours in between classes, maybe you could even pick up a case then.
It's usually really good pay, and it'll help you learn your way around Boston, which is a great city! I lived there for a few years in college and it's truly one of the coolest cities in America. :)
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Why did she have a job as a floor resource nurse if she didn't know how to insert a foley? That's not an inexperienced FNP issue--just sounds like she needs more training with some basic nursing skills. Inserting a foley is one of many skills that a nurse may or may not have to do. In primary care, whether or not an NP can insert a foley just doesn't come up. It has nothing to do how capable an NP is in assessing, diagnosing, and treating illness.
Because she was hired as the NP. Because she was the one who was with the advanced degree who convinced someone in management that she could "manage" and "intervene" in these types of situations.
Where YOUR basic bedside nurse (ALL of them that day were pretty new) didn't know how to intervene appropriately.
She assessed well.
She diagnosed well.
But goodness gracious, she is still a NURSE--who cannot do basic things. To top it off, I had to advise her that the patient was freaking out because he thought that the intervention she suggested (a little over the top because that was a knee-jerk reflex) was going to make his member fall off.
Basic.
Basic.
Basic.
Oh, and she acknowledged (to her benefit) and has actually decided on her weekends off to work in her unit as a bedside (not as the NP) but actually care for the patients. She has the potential to be an excellent clinician because of her openness to her weaknesses. Good for her.
Which I might add seems to be a shortness in those who are direct-entry or have minimal clinical expertise. Some are very defensive.
Because she was hired as the NP. Because she was the one who was with the advanced degree who convinced someone in management that she could "manage" and "intervene" in these types of situations.
Where YOUR basic bedside nurse (ALL of them that day were pretty new) didn't know how to intervene appropriately.
She assessed well.
She diagnosed well.
But goodness gracious, she is still a NURSE--who cannot do basic things. To top it off, I had to advise her that the patient was freaking out because he thought that the intervention she suggested (a little over the top because that was a knee-jerk reflex) was going to make his member fall off.
Basic.
Basic.
Basic.
Oh, and she acknowledged (to her benefit) and has actually decided on her weekends off to work in her unit as a bedside (not as the NP) but actually care for the patients. She has the potential to be an excellent clinician because of her openness to her weaknesses. Good for her.
Which I might add seems to be a shortness in those who are direct-entry or have minimal clinical expertise. Some are very defensive.
It's not that DE NPs are defensive (we're really not). But what you describe as "basic" nursing skills that all nurses in all specialties should have is misleading. If an NP is working on a hospital floor (especially as a resource for new RNs), it would behoove her to be comfortable inserting foley catheters. But many many NPs DON'T work in that environment and may never be expected to insert one. They know what they are, where they go, and why people need them. They can write orders for a patient to have one. But it is not necessarily part of an NPs skill set to be able to insert a catheter. It's not necessarily part of an RN skill set either, if a nurse chooses to work in a non-hospital setting.
Reading EKGs, interpreting lab results, determining studies that are needed, adjusting medications--these are more common things that an NP should be trained in, and s/he he will get that training in a didactic and clinical setting
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
It's not that DE NPs are defensive (we're really not). But what you describe as "basic" nursing skills that all nurses in all specialties should have is misleading. If an NP is working on a hospital floor (especially as a resource for new RNs), it would behoove her to be comfortable inserting foley catheters. But many many NPs DON'T work in that environment and may never be expected to insert one. They know what they are, where they go, and why people need them. They can write orders for a patient to have one. But it is not necessarily part of an NPs skill set to be able to insert a catheter. It's not necessarily part of an RN skill set either, if a nurse chooses to work in a non-hospital setting.
Reading EKGs, interpreting lab results, determining studies that are needed, adjusting medications--these are more common things that an NP should be trained in, and s/he he will get that training in a didactic and clinical setting
If you're going to be a resource for the people you are writing orders for, your credibility will be questioned when even basic nursing skills can't be done.
I am going to ARNP school. This will never be an issue for me.
PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN
2,211 Posts
Not in my area. One of the FNPs on the floor asked me to come up and help her insert a foley on a patient who was in so much pain that he didn't pee for 16 hours. She was desperate. She was the floor's resource for the new nurses.
Extensive theoritically trained? Yes. Excellent didactics--No issue.
Clinical expertise?
Yikes.......
Edited to Add: This is NOT a bashing against nurses. This is my anecdotal experience with these "types" of nurses, and I have not been proven wrong yet. And, the docs in my hospitals who do hire NPs hire only those with excellent clinical background. This is in South Florida--where everybody has a lawyer or two or even three. I don't know how torts are in Boston.