I don't want to be a bedside nurse, please help. possible switch to office setting?

Nurses General Nursing

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I always dreamed of being a nurse (since middle school). I worked so hard to be nurse. I went through so much and gave up so much (which I'm sure many of you can relate to). I finally passed nursing school and my NCLEX. I landed my first job before I even took the exam. It was like a dream come true. My job is on an interventional cardiology/telemetry floor. Most of our patients are pre/post-procedure. We have a decent turn over rate. There have been days where I started out with 5 patients and ended with 4-5 completely new patients. It can be a lot as a new grad. The people on my floor are actually great and I love them all. But over the past 4 months I have realized bedside nursing is not for me, but I do want to give it more time to see if it grows on me. It gives me so much anxiety, I actually have broken out in tears at work. I cannot sleep the nights before I go into work. I feel like I know nothing. I feel so lost. I am still very passionate about nursing and the medical field, but all this stress and anxiety is not helping.

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I am looking at possible career change options. But I don't know what options are out there. I would love and appreciate all the advise you can give. I do not mind a 9-5 job. I actually prefer it. I would love to work in more of an office setting but still in the medical field.

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I always dreamed of being a nurse (since middle school). I worked so hard to be nurse. I went through so much and gave up so much (which I'm sure many of you can relate to). I finally passed nursing school and my NCLEX. I landed my first job before I even took the exam. It was like a dream come true. My job is on an interventional cardiology/telemetry floor. Most of our patients are pre/post-procedure. We have a decent turn over rate. There have been days where I started out with 5 patients and ended with 4-5 completely new patients. It can be a lot as a new grad. The people on my floor are actually great and I love them all. But over the past 4 months I have realized bedside nursing is not for me, but I do want to give it more time to see if it grows on me. It gives me so much anxiety, I actually have broken out in tears at work. I cannot sleep the nights before I go into work. I feel like I know nothing. I feel so lost. I am still very passionate about nursing and the medical field, but all this stress and anxiety is not helping.

LONG STORY SHORT

I am looking at possible career change options. But I don't know what options are out there. I would love and appreciate all the advise you can give. I do not mind a 9-5 job. I actually prefer it. I would love to work in more of an office setting but still in the medical field.

Start filling out applications and see who calls. The pay will most likely be lower if you manage to find an "easy" job, but it may be worth it.

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Specializes in ER.

Sorry to tell you this but almost, if not all nursing jobs that are office based with regular hours only consider if you have bedside experience. Case management or utilization management are typical non-bedside jobs nurses typically cross over once they get enough bedside experience, and usually requires minimum 2 to 3 years just even to apply. Unless you want to get masters or change career, there's not really a way around it; you have to get bedside experience. Some people are lucky like me and do 3 years and get out to push papers, some pay their dues until you see the dust of their bones on the floor since they grind them out on the floor and finally made to switch.

Either way, you can't escape bedside experience to get off the bedside. You will be able to broaden your options after initial 2 to 3 yrs, so hope you find a specialty you can stick it out

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I started off just like you as a new nurse. I cried a few times before my shifts. Hated night shifts. Wondered why or how people could do this for their career.

Eight years later, I just started a 9-5 office nursing job. I spent those 8 years at the bedside and got a master's degree. There are some here who will tell you you don't need an advanced degree to get out of the bedside but I'd definitely not have the opportunity without it.

Funny thing is... Now I'm waxing poetic about the flexibility of floor nurses' schedule. By the time I left, all preshift jitters had been gone for a while.

So I think you have a few choices, you can work towards and pursue specialties that would allow you to not be at the bedside. Or you can wait, maybe find a different unit. Your anxiety will more than likely decrease as you gain experience. Up to you.

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Specializes in LTC.

"but I do want to give it more time to see if it grows on me"

...

I've missed out on some great opportunities in the past, simply due to letting those anxious feelings get in the way. It is very real, and it can be overpowering.

I won't ask you here, "have you considered medication?" But I will say that when I finally realized and accepted that anxiety was holding me back from the places I wanted to go and the things I wanted to do in life, things turned around for me.

You are stuck in fight or flight mode. Flight feels like the right thing to do right now. Later, you may wish you had used all of your available tools to fight.

I wish you all the best in your path forward ... whatever it may be.

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Hey, I've only been a nurse for 3 years now and I totally relate to the anxiety the night before and feeling overwhelmed, and from my experience it does get better. I started out on a med/surg with telemetry, we had a variety of patients and we were considered the "dumping floor". I had days where I could not get myself out of bed because I was so beat down from the night before. I reconsidered my life and career choices. But all those negative thoughts subsided once I gained more experience and knowledge and became more comfortable but always cautious in my practice. I now started working in our ICU and some days it feels like I'm a new grad all over again. It can be very discouraging at times, but it does get better, and that's what my more experienced coworkers remind me every time I feel a certain way. Continue to pursue your higher education, I know I am. I have a love/dislike (not quite hate lol) relationship with bedside nursing, at the end of the day I don't see myself being anything other than a nurse. I love taking care of people.

-Wishing you luck and lots of patience:up:

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I would advise my younger self to not look for the job to grow on me, to become something like able.. look at it as the opportunity it is, to learn and gain skill.

Tell yourself every night that you don't need to like it or to feel confident. You're getting up in the morning to face the challenge and on the worst day you're still building skill and experience. Think of it as an investment in yourself for a career that's still ahead of you.

Those office jobs by the way are 1) also attractive to nurses with experience 2) not all that you might think they are, with experience they will always be there, without experience your options will narrow.

What you're doing now is essentially an internship, that you're being paid for to your benefit. If you can think of it like that versus not liking it, you can let it work for you.

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Thank you all for the responses, this has all helped with my anxiety. I have decided to keep giving bedside nursing a bit more time to get used to. I am sure once I get a bit more used to my job it will make things easier and less stressful!

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Specializes in IMCU, Oncology.

I worked 9 months at the bedside as a new grad and then I was able to get a job at an oncology clinic. I applied and when I was rejected let the recruiter know I was really interested - then landed the interview and job. So it is possible to get a job in a clinic as a newer nurse. I didn't like it so I left to go back to the bedside.

Honestly, I felt the way you do at my first job on a post surgical unit. I had 6 patients and often discharged some and got more. I am in a critical care role now where my max is 3 patients. It is still very busy and at times overwhelming but more manageable. I enjoy the excitement of stabilizing a patient and using more critical thinking skills and working on my feet vs. sitting on my bum in front of a computer or on the phone all day.

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starting out at the bedside can be rough and anxiety is real but as time progress you will become comfortable. Sometimes I love the bedside but now I am studying to become a FNP but getting a clinical site is so hard, I wish to find a clinical site soon before discourage empowers me.

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