I really want out of bedside nursing.

[LilyBlue]

I've been an RN for ten years now. I'm 32 years old with a BSN, and lots of varied experiences. I was a float nurse for five years, which included areas such as ICU, ER, and Mother/Baby. I'm now a PCU/telemetry nurse.

I have never enjoyed bedside nursing. I LOVE the critical thinking aspect of nursing - analyzing lab results, formulating care plans, etc. Quite simply - I do not like trying to appease people who are generally at their worst. By and large, I do not like working with physicians. I do not like dealing with family members. I've struggled with this for years, and hid a lot of it - my reviews constantly praise me for my great interpersonal skills, etc. But I don't "feel" it. I don't WANT to deal with angry/angsty family members who are generally displeased about something beyond my control, and I don't want to deal with doctors who bark at me or glance at the patient for two seconds before running away, leaving me with the angry/angsty family members to deal with.

I am extremely good with IV starts, and technical aspects of nursing care. It's patient interaction that I have grown to dread. I taught a clinical rotation for ADN students through a community college- and did extremely well. I ENJOY working with nursing students. However, the pay was next to nothing - and I cannot support my family on that.

I am a good student, and have been seriously considering pursuing a masters degree in nursing education. I enjoy people in general - just not when I am the one expected to supply the Percocets that have been discontinued, the diet that the patient cannot have, etc.

Is it fair, though, I wonder, to teach students to be bedside nurses, when I myself really didn't care much for being one?

I am also wondering if I would be truly be employable as a theory instructor of nursing with an MSN? I know that it is not feasible for me to get a PhD - not now and maybe never.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated.

[NikkiH]

For what it's worth, I think you know exactly what to do and I would encourage you to follow your heart. You sound to me like you would be an excellent instructor and lord knows, we need excellent instructors out here! Don't second guess yourself, dear one...follow your intuition. You have your answers inside of you!

[NursingRocks1998]

As a nursing student, it sounds to me like you'd be an excellent instructor as well. You have the experience to back up what you're teaching, and your people skills sound like you'd be the type of instructor we would really learn from and enjoy. And if you get a Master's, I'm assuming you'd make a little more money than when you were a clinical instructor before. Also, since you didn't enjoy bedside nursing, you could always just be classroom/lab instructor without teaching clinicals- maybe that would be a good option. Whatever you decide, I'm sure the patients/students/families are lucky to have a nurse like you! Good luck!

[netglow, ASN, RN]

You excel at IV starts, etc... what about an infusion related position, chemo etc... I think your skills would be much appreciated... :anpom:

...and from what I've seen, you don't have the Docs in your hair, or family either much. How about some sort of outpatient situation?

[VivaRN]

Thanks for your honest and insightful post. Just because someone is a great bedside nurse doesn't make them a great TEACHER of bedside nurses. If teaching is where you feel at home, I say go for it. It's up to the students to decide where they want to go with bedside nursing. You're at a different place in your career and looking to give back to nursing in a different way. Nothing wrong with that. You have a wealth of experience to share with the next generation.

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

The only problem is that getting a Masters will not increase your pay much in education. Nursing educators do make less many than the bedside. Believe me I know... I just received my MSN/ED and I will have to take a cut in pay (pretty big one) to leave the bedside. NPs actually get substantial increase in pay. It is unfortunate, because we need educators so badly. One of the big reasons we have such a nursing faculty shortage is because of the disparity in pay. Many nurses with degrees don't leave the bedside for this reason. Also, if you want a didactic position instead of a clinical one, ususally you will be expected to be involved in research and publishing, etc. (at univerisites). If you don't plan on getting a doctorate you are very limited with pay and professional growth.I am not trying to discourage you, just being honest. There are very few faculty positions out there right now that are not clinical positions (at least in my area of the country)