How did you get out of bedside nursing?

[abnormal_saline]

Hello, I've been a RN, BSN for about 7.5 years, working as a floor nurse for the most part on the night shift 7pm-7am. I started out my career at age 25-years-old on a busy Med-Surg Tele unit, worked my way up to a Preceptor, Resource Nurse and Charge Nurse within 2 years and have won the Daisy Award. I am now per diem at my old job since I wanted a change of scenery and better pay. Now, I currently work full-time at a busy Stroke Unit in a bigger hospital and I still don't "love" nursing. I don't want to go to ER or ICU, nor am I interested in management. I am tired of being extremely tired on my days off. I believe the night shift is wearing me down. The constant physical demands of the job is wearing me down. The mental demands of the job is wearing me down (constantly having to be fake-nice with rude coworkers and/or rude doctors, and demanding family members). I am tired of having all the responsibility of having lives at stake under my watch for 12 hours and having everything blamed on the RN no matter what. I am tired of hospital politics and dealing with mean higher ups who have forgotten what working the floor is like. Life is short, and I want a job that I LOVE going to, but still pays about the same or better. My question is, when did you leave bedside nursing? And what non-bedside nursing job did you go into? And did you love it? Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated!

Non-Bedside nursing jobs I'm considering: Nurse Educator or Clinical Instructor, Hospice, Home Health, Clinical Nurse Researcher, Corrections, Public Health, Nurse Writer, Aesthetic Nursing, or go back to school for NP to specialize in Dermatology. Please help me get out of bedside!! Do I have enough experience to leave?

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

I got out of bedside after only 9 months experience as a nurse to work in an outpatient oncology clinic. You just have to apply to the jobs you are really interested in. I was initially rejected with an email, but responded to the email saying I was really interested and to please keep me in mind. I received an interview after that. Follow up is what got me the jobs I really wanted.

However, I am back at the bedside now after 1 year and 4 months away.

[Libby1987]

Not home health.

[abnormal_saline]

What made you come back to bedside? If anything, I want a full time non-bedside job and still keep my per diem bedside job so I don't lose my skills. Thanks for inspiring me! I am going to apply everywhere!!

[abnormal_saline]

Why not home health?

[Aunt Slappy]

I worked about 1.5 years in inpatient hospice and LTC, then moved into a M-F public health clinic job. Days only, holidays and weekends off. I just left that job to start an occupational health job with the same type of schedule but much more flexibility because clinic hours aren't a concern. It was a major issue for me to need to take a kid to a doctor appointment or to have my own dental appointment, and I got tired of that among other things that really only had to do with the leadership and not the work. I enjoyed being busy all day in the clinic as long as it wasn't insane and most of the people I saw were a pleasure to deal with.

I'll be honest, it would take a lot, like a major catastrophe, for me to return to bedside shift work.

[HelloWish, ADN, BSN]

Working in outpatient oncology was just as stressful as bedside, and I was sitting all day. I hated sitting all day. Unfortunately, my work situation also turned out to be dysfunctional with the particular doctor I worked with. I like being physically on my feet and moving even though bedside is a bit overwhelming physically at times, I feel healthier to keep moving. Also, bedside is a better schedule IMO for going back to school and family. When I worked in a clinic I worked long days and 5 days a week, plus commute. I was gone far more than when working a hospital schedule. I had to use PTO for appointments, etc.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Please see my PM.

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

You know it's funny, I got out of bedside nursing (full time at least) 4 years ago and took an opportunity to get into informatics, and here I am desperate to get back to bedside. I work per diem in the ICU but I am interviewing today for the ED. It's in my soul, I guess. I miss the camaraderie, the excitement, the keeping busy. I love medicine and it's really all I want to do. I'm just trying to kill time until I graduate in may with my NP, but I can't stay here any longer. I'm not cut out for sitting in an office. There's no camaraderie here, no bonding. I miss those crazy nights in the ICU when we'd get a crashing, bleeding post op, or a coding MI. Whenever I watch a medical show I get a lump in my throat because I know that's where I belong. Good luck to you. Sometimes you need to be away so you can see how much you love it.

[Wuzzie]

HelloWish said:

Working in outpatient oncology was just as stressful as bedside, and I was sitting all day. I hated sitting all day. Unfortunately, my work situation also turned out to be dysfunctional with the particular doctor I worked with. I like being physically on my feet and moving even though bedside is a bit overwhelming physically at times, I feel healthier to keep moving. Also, bedside is a better schedule IMO for going back to school and family. When I worked in a clinic I worked long days and 5 days a week, plus commute. I was gone far more than when working a hospital schedule. I had to use PTO for appointments, etc.

My experience in an ambulatory oncology clinic setting is entirely opposite of yours. Most people work 4 tens but I work 5 eights. We have multiple roles in the clinic that we rotate through daily including lab, check-in, phone triage, charge, float, clinic and currently a flu-shot clinic. We each are assigned physicians ( I have two physicians so have actual clinic two days a week). If it isn't working out we can request a change and they are usually granted. Fortunately I love both of my clinics even though the docs are a little quirky. The only role I find myself sitting much is phone triage but we have a nice office with windows and good company so we usually find ourselves laughing our butts off for the entire day. We get all weekends and all federal holidays off. The patients, for the most part, are awesome so we don't have to deal much with the negative aspect. If they get nasty on the phone we simply inform them that they may call back when they can get themselves back under control and click. The flip side of course is we also pay through the nose for parking and the commute is a pain. Sometimes the days are long but overall I think we have it pretty good.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I went to grad school -- twice. That opened up lots of career options. I didn't leave the bedside because I hated it or was burned out -- as I was a staff nurse for only a couple of years. But I knew that if I were going to stay in nursing, I would want those other options available for the long term: so, I went to school.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I was bedside for 38 years, and education was the key that unlocked non-bedside opportunities and to me leaving. Frankly- I didn't leave because I hated it, but I proactively left before my body had a chance to force me out. I left for academia without any major physical issues.

I miss it- but know I am doing something meaningful that I could continue to do for another decade or more Lord willing.