IT Nurse Who Wants To Get Out Of Healthcare. Advice?

[Tatted_Nurse]

Hi everyone. I was hoping I could draw some support and inspiration from all of you wonderful folks. First, let's cover my background.

I graduated with my BSN in 2014. My "dream" at the time was to be the hotshot male nurse who puts out fires in the ER. I capstoned in an ER and initially liked it. It's a bit difficult to get an ER job out of school, so I moved and accepted a float RN job. That "dream" of mine was soon crushed. While my technical skills (like IV starts) were great, I soon realized I couldn't handle the pressures associated with direct care. Physicians yelling at you, patients dying, short staffing...the list goes on. I lasted a paltry 8 months in direct care before entirely burning out. I salute those of you with the fortitude to continue direct patient care.

This lead me to case management. Initially, I took a job administering a waiver service that helped keep the elderly out of nursing homes and be cared for in their own home. I loved this job. But my specific job was outsourced and I was shifted to another case management role that primarily dealt with severely mentally ill clients. I despised this job. Not enough resources to help my clients, a supervisor that subverted your clinical judgement (she wasn't a nurse, mind you), and constant panicked calls from clients who were in the throws of a mental breakdown.

I stayed at this position for 3 years. Then a job opportunity that I thought would be perfect for me appeared: A position in my home town as an Epic Analyst! I'm a young guy who loves tech and has a clinical background, so I thought this was a match made in heaven. I was fortunate to have some connections and landed the job.

In my current position, I am responsible for responding to issue tickets for my hospital(s) Epic, build the system out according to users requests, etc. It is a good use of my interests and background

Once again, the grass is not always greener... I am now 3 years into this position and I am fed up. I am regularly on "night call" for a week at a time. This means that for an entire week afterhours (430pm-730am) I can be called with an issue that needs my immediate attention. Yes, I have received calls at 2 in the morning that something isn't working in Epic. There is a constant flurry of projects, including "go-lives" which means implementing our Epic at another hospital. This means 2 weeks away from my family, working with people who don't want to use Epic, and being screamed at by MDs that "they don't want to be secretaries."

I am at my wit's end. I thought a nursing degree would bring me happiness. It hasn't. I am making more money than I ever have before and I feel like a miserable pile of human waste. I want to get out of healthcare entirely, but I don't know what to do.

My interests lie in technology. I love learning about new tech. So an IT degree feels like a natural next step to remove myself from this. But I have a terrible fear that this will drive me down the same road. "What if I switch degrees and still don't like my field?"

I don't know what to do...I know one of my stressors is I can't afford to risk a step back in a new field right now because of my student loans. I am feverishly throwing money at these right now to pay down early. I know that once those are gone I'll have a clearer mind to make a better decision.

But until that time, do you all have any suggestions for me? Know anyone else who had a similar experience as I? What would be a good non-healthcare job to step towards with my experience? Any other advice? Thanks everyone.

Tldr: I am a nurse who now works in healthcare IT. (Epic) I want out of healthcare entirely. Any suggestions?