honestly, how soon will you leave bedside nursing...

SweetheartRN · Nov 3, 2011

I'm happy to be going back to my peds clinic job in a structured environment where I can deliver care I can feel good about and be treated like a human being at the same time. I am moving into another phase of my life where I want to focus on family and friends, planning to start a family soon.:bby: And there is no way I will put my baby through what I've been going through these past few months.

There is a lot I like about the floor I am on but the good doesn't outweigh the bad. My floor is extremely busy, the busiest med floor in a large university medical center(I heard after I was hired) and the low nurse to patient ratios, high acuities of patients, etc. politics, customer service, blah blah blah, I didn't sign up for. There is a high turnover rate on my floor which I didn't know about at first either.

I get so many complaints about things I cannot control.....the cafe didn't send me the right tray.....while I'm in the middle of trying to initiate an order that is pertinent to another patients care, send another to this procedure, stop a patients bleeding central line dressing that the doctor won't put another suture in, round with a doctor on another patient, talk to a nagging family member, keep an AWS patient from pulling out his foley because he wants to "go to the bathroom", etc. the lab calls, the pharmacy calls, other depts., it never ends....

But it will end in a week for me because I'm on the second week of my three week mandatory notice. I'm done already after a few months in. It might make my resume' suck but I do have another job to go to and am very grateful I already know I will like it.

If you have aspirations to be an ED nurse then I think you should continue to plug away at the experience. It will only help you when you go to the ED. There you will most likely have those patients who want you to be a waitress to them as well if not moreso. You have to take the good with the bad. The question is, does the good outweigh the bad?

CorazonDeOro · Nov 3, 2011

hey RNs/LPNs...
I hate that med students can write orders for patients, and I'm expected to follow them even if they don't make sense...
How many of you think you'll leave bedside nursing. And when?

We have residents write orders but not med students. But honestly if an order doesn't make sense to you I would highly suggest calling for claification before carrying it out. When I am signing my name to an order I am signing that I understand it and it is appropriate for the patient. If they are going to right ambiguous orders don't hesistate to blow up their pager and make them come back. Its your license!.

Also, I am a few months into bedside nursing (post surgical) and some days I want to quit and never come back (sometimes it does feel like I work in a hotel) but the more comfortable I am becoming with my skills and my organization the easier my days seem to be. Some days you will get the worst assignment and leave 2 hours late, but not always! Our acuity is way too high for the 1:5-6 patients we get on days, and sometimes it feels unsafe, but I always find my coworkers or charge nurse are willing to help when they can. I have also found that some patients are so thankful for my care that it makes it feel easier to be there.

As for the hours, weekends, holidays...that's what I feel I signed up for when becoming a nurse so they don't really bother me.

Maybe change units/hospitals and look for a floor that you feel more comfortable in?

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2011

I'm sure my area of work affects my answer because I work in PICU. I always thought that I would go back to school, get my masters, go on and be an instructor or an NP or something. But now, I have no desire to go back to school. I love working beside in peds critical care. I love the variety, the independance, the skills involved. There is so much for me to learn and I know I've only reached the tip of the iceburg. I really can't see myself going back in the near future. Our intensivists are excellent, and second only to my co-workers. We are respected, thanked and appreciated.

Husband and I will be starting a family soon too. :bby: (Stole this from the above poster because it was so cute) I definately don't want to be in school when I'm raising my children. I think the 36 hours per week at work is going to cut into enough of my time with them and I don't want to add classes and studying into the mix as well.

So, even though I definately would like becoming an ad-junct clinical instructor at some point, I see myself staying in bedside nursing for the forsee-able future, until my kids are grown which could be 20 years or so.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Nov 3, 2011

I was away from the bedside for 4 months for Army training, and I thought I'd go nuts! I am definitely addicted to the bedside and the ED. However, it doesn't matter that I have all that RN BSN NREMT-P CEN CPEN stuff ... when my patient wants a warm blanket, I get it for them. Do I feel like an overeducated waitress sometimes? Yep. Some shifts it seems that we do more fetch-it than anything else, but regardless, I'm not eager to depart the bedside anytime soon.

If an order doesn't make sense, question it. I'm sure you do, but I'm just sayin'...

EDnursetobe · Nov 3, 2011

oh yes, I always follow up on orders that don't make sense... even though I get screamed at by NPs/docs quite frequently.

I also really hate all of the yelling that goes on in general. I mean once and a while sure ok... but it is SO unprofessional!

christina1614 · Nov 3, 2011

I also hated bedside nursing... I switched to working as a nurse in corrections and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The doc is there once a week, so the nurses manage pretty much everything, and all orders are done over the phone when the doc isn't there. The inmates are interesting, and there is never a dull moment! I would suggest applying to a jail/prison in your area if you think it may be for you. It isn't near as "scary" as I thought it would be... I really enjoy my career!

Before corrections, I was a long-term care nurse (got sick of being a glorified CNA) and I worked in a OB/GYN clinic, too. (Hated dealing with a prick doctor.)

Hope this helps a little!

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Nov 3, 2011

I don't see myself ever leaving bedside (until I am too old that I am the patient more then the worker). I love it. I plan on furthering my education but I will still stay at the bedside.

Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP · Nov 21, 2011

As of right now my plan is no longer than 10 years at the bedside. Going to start my RN-BSN possibly next year. Work a few more years, and then decide between NP and CRNA. Definitely hoping to get out of med/surg asap!

NewAggieGrad09 · Nov 21, 2011

I'm unsure...I don't necessarily mind bedside nursing as a whole, but doing it on this unit is what bothers me. However, it'll be 2 years next month since I started, and I can say that I have grown so much during this time.

Lovely_RN, MSN · Nov 21, 2011

Six more months and I'm done. I'm going back to outpatient chemical addiction, prison, or inpatient detox. I felt like I needed to get some acute care experience since my prior jobs were in LTC/SNF and MMTP. Well, here I am working in acute care and what a mistake it has been. The working conditions are miserable: my co-workers suck, my hospital has some of the rudest most condescending MDs I have ever had the non-privilege of working with, and my nurse manager is completely indifferent to the chaos and lateral violence but is quick to be punitive. There is nothing to keep me here once I get the magical 1 year acute care experience everyone was harping at me to get. There are easier ways to make a living. NEVER AGAIN.

surferbettycrocker · May 27, 2013

ASAP! :no: :yawn: kudos to those who love bedside nursing it means i will be well taken care of from all the nurses who absolutely love it cant picture life without itifg*dforbid i should need to be in a gross hospital bed someday in my twilight years (which are seemingly fast approaching)

i for one are in the *other* camp. i cant get out fast enuff! :nono: