Least "demanding" nursing Jobs?

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

Alright cowboy, calm down. You're obviously super smart, going into nursing before going into med school. Loans flowing freely, interest rates so good!

No. You can't make your own schedule.

No. There is no easy specialty, you have no idea what you're doing.

No. The current nurses are not going to willingly take on more work so you can study to be a doctor.

This has got to be a troll.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

I'm about to apply for my last semester senior course where we pick our top choices in which we wanna work at.
long story short: I plan on taking the remainder of my medical school pre-reqs when I finish nursing school next spring (about 24 credits worth of prereqs), and I don't want a demanding job. From clinical experience, PACU and Post Partum have been the easiest/chillest areas, what do you guys think?
basically, freedom to make my own schedule, no huge learning curve, relaxed environment; I'm not to concerned about the pay as long as it's near the average RN salary.
I also had a question about "orientation" when it comes to new grads at hospitals. Do new grads get to schedule when they work or do they pretty much work whenever their preceptor works? Is it a full time schedule, or does this just depend wherever you work? Thank you for any replies!

Beware getting the idea that clinical experiences give you an accurate idea of what it's like to be a nurse with a full load.

And all of this depends on staffing and nurse to patient ratios. No specialty, no matter how "simple", is low stress if the facility doesn't staff appropriately.

There might be some facilities where working night shift will give you time to study. Working 3 12's will give you 4 days off to study.

Never heard of new grads getting to dictate their own schedule.

PACU "easy" or "chill"? Not in my experience. YMMV.

Maybe there is some helpful information in the New Nurse forum:

https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/

rnhopeful82, ASN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

Well, I mean if you work in post partum I guess you'd have to be REAL thankful for taking all of those female needs dominated classes you complained about before....

carti, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

Alright cowboy, calm down. You're obviously super smart, going into nursing before going into med school. Loans flowing freely, interest rates so good!
No. You can't make your own schedule.
No. There is no easy specialty, you have no idea what you're doing.
No. The current nurses are not going to willingly take on more work so you can study to be a doctor.
This has got to be a troll.

you literally cannot tell me there are certain nursing jobs than are at the same "stress" demand as others like medsurge/ICU. It doesn't even have to be a hospital job, it could be at a clinic or an office Nursing job.

I just need a temporary job nursing related that isn't demanding or stressful. How is that "trollling"?

carti, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

Beware getting the idea that clinical experiences give you an accurate idea of what it's like to be a nurse with a full load.
And all of this depends on staffing and nurse to patient ratios. No specialty, no matter how "simple", is low stress if the facility doesn't staff appropriately.
There might be some facilities where working night shift will give you time to study. Working 3 12's will give you 4 days off to study.
Never heard of new grads getting to dictate their own schedule.
PACU "easy" or "chill"? Not in my experience. YMMV.
Maybe there is some helpful information in the New Nurse forum:
https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/

Thank you. As for PACU, this was from experience form my classmates not myself. But I've been to Post Partum shifts which were probably the most laid back 12 hour shifts I had.

Do you know of any non-hospital nursing jobs?

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

you literally cannot tell me there are certain nursing jobs than are at the same "stress" demand as others like medsurge/ICU. It doesn't even have to be a hospital job, it could be at a clinic or an office Nursing job.
I just need a temporary job nursing related that isn't demanding or stressful. How is that "trollling"?

Every job as a new grad is going to be difficult, but difficult is a subjective term. I don't believe there is an "easy" job in a hospital setting. Are you going to work day shift or night shift? Day shift nurses coordinate care across different areas. Night shift nurses have less resources and those patients do not sleep.

If you want patients who require the least amount of concern, then perhaps you should look at an acute care nursing job. Just remember, the least amount of possible patients is five, and some hospitals require an acute care nurse to take on 7+

Want progressive care with only 3-4 patients? Welcome to the dumping grounds of patients who are on the line between ICU and PCU. Or would you rather ICU with a patient load of 2.

You working at a trauma level I, II, III, IV, or V? That's going to be a big difference in the acuity of patients. Trauma Center Levels Explained - American Trauma Society

Now you've got some things to think about before obtaining a hospital position. Also, it's all busy your first year.

Spadeforce · Nov 6, 2018

if you want to go to med school then just do that. med school admissions could care less if you worked as a nurse prior to. Its about as helpful as volunteer hours.

psych is prob the easiest at most places

carti, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2018

if you want to go to med school then just do that. med school admissions could care less if you worked as a nurse prior to. Its about as helpful as volunteer hours.
psych is prob the easiest at most places

I'm 1 semester away from graduating my BSN program. Anyone would be a fool to drop out and waste my last 4 years of school. To add, I recently decided to take this pathway, I didn't join nursing school to make my med school application better. If anything, if I don't get into med school (extremely hard to get into as it is), I have my nursing degree to live off.

but psych is a good one that I've thought about. The learning curve doesn't seem to be so much but I may be wrong.

Shanimal · Nov 6, 2018

I'm about to apply for my last semester senior course where we pick our top choices in which we wanna work at.
long story short: I plan on taking the remainder of my medical school pre-reqs when I finish nursing school next spring (about 24 credits worth of prereqs), and I don't want a demanding job. From clinical experience, PACU and Post Partum have been the easiest/chillest areas, what do you guys think?
basically, freedom to make my own schedule, no huge learning curve, relaxed environment; I'm not to concerned about the pay as long as it's near the average RN salary.
I also had a question about "orientation" when it comes to new grads at hospitals. Do new grads get to schedule when they work or do they pretty much work whenever their preceptor works? Is it a full time schedule, or does this just depend wherever you work? Thank you for any replies!

I have nothing helpful to offer other than to say, "Good luck with med school."

Xiatara · Nov 7, 2018

You may want to look into home health

Nature_walker, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2018

but psych is a good one that I've thought about. The learning curve doesn't seem to be so much but I may be wrong.

Oh dear, as a new nurse there is always going to be a learning curve. Psych like any other nursing job will have a steep curve. However, unlike other nursing jobs, psych has more "walkie-talkie" pts and they don't like to stay still sometimes.

Psych nursing is not task based and more about how you use that therapeutic communication to help de escalate situations that occur. Learning to de escalate is one of the hardest skills for new nurses to learn. When it's done right it's magical. When it's done wrong, well, that means more documentation for me. I've seen new nurses who think they have this down and then things go sideways. Once it goes sideways it can be really hard to recover and learning to keep your cool during this time is the second hardest skill. Psych nursing takes a lot of fine tuning to get just right. Not the kind of thing you want to take on when you are looking for a "more chill nursing job."

My job is very physically demanding and emotional draining, but with a good team it makes it worth it. At 2 and 1/2 years in I still have a ton to learn about the psych world. Don't let it fool you into thinking it's easy. Plus, we are always short staffed, so my hours swing all over the place. I never have a set schedule and every week is something new.