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Discussion

How did you escape the floor?

I don't think that I will be able to sustain a career in nursing if I can't get off of the hectic floors. Honestly, I have worked in several hospitals, and it seems like so far all of them are guilty of overloading nurses in some way. The only conclusion I have come to is that I must find a job that has a manageable workload, or I will be brewing coffee for a living.

If you found yourself in this situation and found a solution, I would love to hear your story.

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    Go back to school!!! There are so many different fields of nursing out there. And network like crazy. You can not have too many friends or too few enemies. Join professional organizations. It is worth it, and it works.

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    • Author

    anything more specific? I'm not really keen on going back to school at this point. still working on paying off loans from the first round :(

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    Many schools will work with you to help you get your master's while you're still working in a hospital. There are graduate assistant positions available that let you go to school free for a reasonable amount of helping undergrads with clinical or tutoring. There are also masters' programs that are mostly or all online that may help you with scholarships. BELIEVE ME, it's a lot better than wishing and hoping that someone at the facility you work at will suddenly take a shine to you and pull you into QA or something similar (although it happens, you are still at the mercy of staying in the good graces of the powers that be). You just have to get moving and hustle. You are surely already doing a lot of that just to keep up with floor nursing.

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    I got out of floor nursing by taking a position in an ICU. I LOVE IT. It fits me well, higher acuity but only 2 patients per nurse so its doable and I get to actually spend time with my pts.

    There is also going back to school... if you are ready to get away from bedside nursing all together. Your employer may offer tuition reimbursement.

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    • Guides

    You could always try a job as an MDS coordinator in long-term care, or even become an assisted living nurse who functions as a director of nursing, rather than working the floor. These positions have their drawbacks, but if you're looking to get away from direct care, they offer a pathway that doesn't necessarily mean having to go back to school. I didn't, and I'm now managing the health services department at a good-sized ALF where I do as much, or as little, resident care as I choose. It's a great job, it pays well, and I get all weekends and holidays off. You could go farther and do worse. :)

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    Went to ICU straight out of school. Tension producing, but loved it. Not my long term passion, so I "escaped" to prn...and took a home health job during the week. When OASIS hit about 10-11 years ago, I "escaped" back to the hospital, and the unit. When mandatory OT was stretching my 36 hrs to abt 60, I "escaped" to women's health...and found my passion.

    Take some time to think about what you loved in school, even if you don't think it was your best class/rotation. See what's open in your facility. Postpartum is a different world than a M/S floor, and many facilities will do a bridge program for M/S RNs who are interested in Step Down or ICU.

    Good luck to you!

    T

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