Leave Acute Care for Hospice?

[gemmi999]

I have been working as a nurse in a community ER for about 8 months; This is my first nursing position. While I like the diversity of patient's that I see, I don't like the quality of care patient's receive. Instead of spending a lot of time working with the patient and educating them about their condition, it's in and out, super fast. I worked in a hospice during nursing school as an aide and liked really spending time with the family and patients, liked helping them.

I was going to stay in my ER for at least a year but recent staff changes have made me want to leave sooner, if possible. I spent a little bit of time looking at hospice positions in San Diego and lined up 3 interviews!

Here are my questions:

1) Should I stick it out for 1 year in my current position, even though I'm not super happy with it? I already stopped doing overtime...

2) If I go into hospice now and later change my mind, is it hard to get back into the hospital system? I do have acute care experience--just shy of 1 year.

3) Is there overtime available for hospice RNs?

4) Hospice Case Manager versus Hospice After Hours "Runner" RN versus Hospice Admission RN? Any thoughts on what I would be doing with each type of position?

Thank you!

[nutella, MSN, RN]

1) Should I stick it out for 1 year in my current position, even though I'm not super happy with it? I already stopped doing overtime...

In general, you need a good skill set and some experience to be successful in hospice. One year looks better on your resume of course..

2) If I go into hospice now and later change my mind, is it hard to get back into the hospital system? I do have acute care experience--just shy of 1 year.

It can be tough to go back into the hospital and depends on the area and how well you interview. It is possible but may be hard to find a job plus pay will be lower when you start all over in the hospital.

3) Is there overtime available for hospice RNs?

Yes, there is always overtime plus you could pick up some hours in traditional home care if it is home hospice or find something else per diem with your experience. That is why working a year or 2 in your job could make a difference. If you go to hospice and keep per diem at the hospital, you will have more options...

4) Hospice Case Manager versus Hospice After Hours "Runner" RN versus Hospice Admission RN? Any thoughts on what I would be doing with each type of position?

Case Manager: Full time, hands on, a lot of documentation, care coordination, steep learning curve but good as a beginner in hospice position as you will learn everything .

Runner : not sure what you mean but probably after hours/on call : usually requires solid hospice experience as you will be on your own with less resources - I would not recommend that for a beginner in hospice.

Hospice admissions: It is somewhat rough to become an admission hospice nurse with no solid experience because you will not only do lots of paperwork but also be responsible for the initial care plans, symptom management. If you get a great orientation it may be ok.

In general the CM job would give you the best all around hospice education especially if you work for an agency that does everything.