Do you think I'd regret leaving school nursing to return to the hospital?
I miss working with other medical people. Teachers here get into these conversations about testing, behaviors, assignments, etc and after a while my eyes just glaze over. They can't relate to me and I can't to them.
I'm extremely bored. There I said it. It's not a hard job to me but then again I've been doing it off and on and have spent 15 years doing it. I'm no longer challenged or excited. I don't even feel like a nurse half the time. More like a cross between a social worker and a health aide.
Lack of pay. I am finally making $40,000 a year after all this time. That's it. I've thought about getting another job on top of this one to supplement it but I don't want to have to juggle two jobs when this one is full time for nine months a year.
I hate working five days a week. I only get two days off that are spent catching up on laundry, cleaning, groceries, etc. I feel like I rarely have time to have fun. After working all day I no longer have the energy to go out and do something. I just want to put on my pj's and chill until bedtime. I really liked working 12's so I had more time off.
The nice things about the position I'm in now is it truly is low stress most of the time, I get all holidays and weekends off with no call, and no summers. I don't dread going to work, but then again I don't look forward to it either.
I have about 17 more years until retirement. What worries me most is working nights as most new employees and openings are only for nights and keeping up with the young chicks. If I can physically handle it and not feel rotten on my days off.
My youngest child is a senior in high school and then I'll have an empty nest for the most part. When I am working, my husband will be home so he won't be home alone much. Because of this, I'm not sure if working holidays will be that bad because my kids are all old enough to celebrate whenever I can be there.
I did return to the hospital for a year a few years ago. I ended up leaving because I still had all my kids at home, my husband also worked shift work, and they were struggling.
I know I'm weird but I like hospital environment and I'm very task oriented. The first time I was on med-surg when I graduated nursing school I hated it. I was completely overwhelmed and worked on a toxic unit not supportive of new grads. The second time was completely different. I'm different now. I was more confident, didn't get rattled nearly as easily, stood up for myself and did great. I did find it very exhausting as I didn't sit down for 12 hours straight. The hospital in our area has openings on specialized units such as ICU, ER, L&D etc and I'd like to try one of those. I keep thinking I can work 2-3 days, take one day to recoup and still have 3-4 off which will give me more time to spend with grandkids, hobbies, travel, etc plus the extra money would help with my son's college.
However, when you're away from things for a while they may seem better than they are. I keep reading how everyone is trying to get away from the hospital and how bad it is right now with the customer service, staffing, management, etc. which is why I wanted to get some other nurse's opinions on this decision. Of course I know I'm not guaranteed to be hired for any position but I'm just thinking what if...
It sounds as if working in a hospital would be a good fit for you as you enjoy that environment. I worked in hospitals nearly 20 years and feel just the opposite; I'd done some home health/hospice, out-patient chemo. I started in corrections a few years ago and found my niche, if the patient get threatening or just belligerent back to the cell they go so most are very polite, still keep skills given health problems do not keep anyone out of prison as they once did. I love the autonomy, I see patients scheduled and most things I do not need to call the doctor on, those I do I just see everyone and call doc when I am done but that is me. I ran from bedside nursing saying I'd eat out of dumpsters before returning but it sounds like a great match for you. Take my spot ?
"I'd eat out of dumpsters before returning" LOLOL!
Think outside the box. You want to make a move, but it doesn't have to be to hospital nursing. Explore your options. I ended up working from home. Your skills can take you anywhere.
Trust me, I have been exploring many options. I don't want to work from home. I know some people love it but I'm practically stuck in front of a computer all day already and I want to get away from that. I don't want a nursing home or dr's office. I really don't want to work five days a week. I don't want to drive around all day from house to house esp in this area where it's not the safest. The only place that has what I'm looking for is the hospital at this point. Even if I decide not to stick with it forever, it will still give me a break from this and open doors for something else. Almost every job wants recent clinical experience and they don't count this.
I know many people are burnt out on the hospital. I'm burnt out on what I'm doing even though it's easy. ?
And you make a good point that one can become "done" with other settings just as some people are over hospitals. To this I would only say that some of the disillusionment with hospitals has to do with ethical matters and recent sweeping changes that are pretty widespread. Not exactly the same thing as what people traditionally call burnout.
I agree with all those who say you should trial it this summer. It very well might be the invigorating change you're looking for - but there's no way I would resign without being much more certain of that.
While i've been a school nurse steadily since 2003, i have worked a multitude of "filler jobs" to fill summers and pick up PRN work. This includes applying for a position in med surge nursing. I didn't get hired for bedside nursing, but they did hire me for administration and then I spent the following 4 years as prn ADN. So, my point is that if you feel stagnant in your position as a school nurse, then looking at your options in other fields of nursing may be just the thing. You never know what opportunities are out there unless you check your value and marketability in the career world a bit. However, if you're walking away from a pension and a retirement and thinking that starting over is the best plan, then just be sure that you've investigated all the information about cashing in or deferring your pension or transferring your 403b. I'd hate to see you miss out after putting in so many years.
Wishing you lots of luck. I left bedside nursing to be a nurse liaison for a Hospice company. Now, I get to see from far the brutality of bedside nursing with bullying, demanding families, short tempered doctors and time spend more in charting than caring. I did my time and truly don't know how I survived those years. I'm certified as a Vascular/infusion nurse so I had been contemplating getting a P-T to do what I love.
I am back on med-surg after many moons away from the bedside. The pros are: zero time for boredom. That's a big thing for me. When I'm bored, or have big gaps between tasks, I focus on the clock. For me, that makes the day unbearably long. I love it when I'm so busy that hunger reminds me it's past lunch. More time off, as you stated. New stuff, no day is ever the same. Friendships... I've just made it my policy to not get involved in gossip. It's so much easier now that I'm older. I don't care if someone calls me the worst name in the book, as long as they aren't dumping work on me. I can handle it. The cons are: the computer charting on excel programs. Dear sweet Lord, what an absolute horror. It makes an already hard and time consuming job, harder. I don't mind the computer. It's an enjoyable way to pass the time. But injecting what amounts to about 4 hours worth of charting between medication administration and general exception charting to a 12 hour shift is very difficult, for me anyway. The computer documentation is really my only complaint. I'm an empty nester too.
Thanks for all the replies! I think I’ll take the advice to wait until summer if I’m still interested in making a change and trying a prn position. I don’t want to lose a good thing because I’m going through a slow spell at work. Also someone mentioned be careful of making major life changing decisions when a major life change is coming up so that also made me think I should slow down and really weigh my options. Best wishes to everyone!
More like a cross between a social worker and a health aide
Oh my gosh I can 100% relate to this and most of what you said. Everyone thinks school nursing is the be all end all but they have no idea unless they end up at a school with a wonderful supportive staff or really enjoy the social work aspect of it. I know school nurses who absolutely LOVE what they do. Kudos to them. I WISH I loved it. I truly do. I'm also looking for a change. I just wanted to say I completely understand and think you should go for it! Life is too short to be stuck somewhere you aren't happy. Plus it will open up even more opportunities down the line since so many jobs want you to have recent acute care. Good luck!
BedsideNurse
171 Posts
"I'd eat out of dumpsters before returning" LOLOL!