Leaving the bedside in 2020

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Specializes in Cardiac interventional/Telemetry/ICU.

Hello all,
 

Thanks for taking your time to view this post. I've been a nurse for 3+ years in dabbling in different unit specialties (respiratory/cardiac interventional/ICU).

I've had history of back problems that gave me constant chronic pain with bedside care, along with occasional bouts of chest pain (probably from anxiety) with this massive covid surge that basically makes a regular 12hr shift feel like 36hrs.

I've already searched through the forums about similar topics of leaving the bedside and etc. Would I be shooting myself on the foot if I accept a work from home utilization management position? Would I still be marketable or would I find difficulty finding jobs in the future if I do?

 

Thank you for your advice.

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Specializes in school nurse.

Is it all or nothing? Could you still pick up a couple of (8) shifts per month in a hospital setting to "stay fresh"? Would your health tolerate that?

That's if you want to...

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

If you're not going to be working full time in bedside care again, what skill set are you afraid you will be missing? Your health is important and has to be a consideration in all of your future jobs. A utilization management position will be a different skill set, and it's true you will probably not be as marketable for bedside positions. But, if that's not where you want to go back to, there are plenty of options not at the bedside that will need different skill sets. Case management, IT, telehealth, wellness coaching, many things that don't require bedside. But you're the only one that knows what you might want in the future. Good luck with your decisions!

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Specializes in Cardiac interventional/Telemetry/ICU.
14 hours ago, JBMmom said:

If you're not going to be working full time in bedside care again, what skill set are you afraid you will be missing? Your health is important and has to be a consideration in all of your future jobs. A utilization management position will be a different skill set, and it's true you will probably not be as marketable for bedside positions. But, if that's not where you want to go back to, there are plenty of options not at the bedside that will need different skill sets. Case management, IT, telehealth, wellness coaching, many things that don't require bedside. But you're the only one that knows what you might want in the future. Good luck with your decisions!

 

18 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

Is it all or nothing? Could you still pick up a couple of (8) shifts per month in a hospital setting to "stay fresh"? Would your health tolerate that?

That's if you want to...

Thank you for your replies. I didn't realize there'll be more to advance my career if I do dive into UM. That's mostly my worry as I don't know if I always need to be in a clinical handson environment to advance my career.

I'll think about picking up shifts but I may just look into something less intense than acute care.

 

Thank you again.

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I have been in an ICU nurse for a few years now and got offered a similar position to yours. Did you end up taking the wfh job? If so how are you liking it? 
 

thanks 

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Specializes in Cardiac interventional/Telemetry/ICU.
1 minute ago, Nurseynurse1116 said:

I have been in an ICU nurse for a few years now and got offered a similar position to yours. Did you end up taking the wfh job? If so how are you liking it? 
 

thanks 

Hi Nurseynurse1116,

Yes, I did take the job and have been at it for 6months now. It was an adjustment with a learning curve but I love it! It doesn’t pay as much as bedside but I’ve found that taking an extra shift or doing some overtime hours can somewhat match my old earnings.

My back problems don’t bother me too much anymore, I get to spend time with my family every evening and I feel that I get time to decompress from a workday every day. Compared to working 3 12hr shifts, you only really get to decompress on your days off.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do miss the 4 days off. But to be truthful, half of those days, I end up sleeping or am too tired to function - I end up staying home so it ends up fairly similar to a Mon-Fri schedule. It also doesn’t help that I worked nights so majority of the time I was awake, no one was.
 

I suggest giving it go, I’ve found hospitals are forever hiring bedside nurses in case it doesn’t work out later on. I just thankfully found it has worked well for my well-being. Hope this helped. ☺️

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28 minutes ago, hellopanda said:

Hi Nurseynurse1116,

Yes, I did take the job and have been at it for 6months now. It was an adjustment with a learning curve but I love it! It doesn’t pay as much as bedside but I’ve found that taking an extra shift or doing some overtime hours can somewhat match my old earnings.

My back problems don’t bother me too much anymore, I get to spend time with my family every evening and I feel that I get time to decompress from a workday every day. Compared to working 3 12hr shifts, you only really get to decompress on your days off.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do miss the 4 days off. But to be truthful, half of those days, I end up sleeping or am too tired to function - I end up staying home so it ends up fairly similar to a Mon-Fri schedule. It also doesn’t help that I worked nights so majority of the time I was awake, no one was.
 

I suggest giving it go, I’ve found hospitals are forever hiring bedside nurses in case it doesn’t work out later on. I just thankfully found it has worked well for my well-being. Hope this helped. ☺️

Thanks for your feedback! I’m glad it worked out for you. I am definitely giving this job a shot. It’s true hospitals are always hiring and I a solid few years of ICU under my belt. 
 

I do agree with you with 4 days off depending on how badly the 3 12s kicked my rear I’d be sleeping or too grouchy to do anything. It’s nice not working weekends, holidays and late nights. 
 

What is your position now if you don’t mind me asking?

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Specializes in Cardiac interventional/Telemetry/ICU.
13 minutes ago, Nurseynurse1116 said:

Thanks for your feedback! I’m glad it worked out for you. I am definitely giving this job a shot. It’s true hospitals are always hiring and I a solid few years of ICU under my belt. 
 

I do agree with you with 4 days off depending on how badly the 3 12s kicked my rear I’d be sleeping or too grouchy to do anything. It’s nice not working weekends, holidays and late nights. 
 

What is your position now if you don’t mind me asking?

Of course!

My position currently is Utilization Management/Reviewer.

The job itself is like preauthorization of cases/surgical procedures. I call MD offices and hospitals for more information regarding cases to meet national guidelines and review utilization of resources if it meets medical necessity or not. I also receive calls and requests about the said cases.  Other times I handle appeals at the nurses level. 

It can still be stressful at times even as WFH but its nice to be in your home as comfort even when things get rough. Though, it never gets to the point where you dread coming into work, its all quite manageable and a long ways away from hospital level stress. In a way, you still handle patients, just in a different way this time around. 

The job itself has many advancement opportunities, even management positions. I've seen my coworkers leave for higher level positions in the company or to hospitals for a case management position of some degree.

 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, hellopanda said:

Of course!

My position currently is Utilization Management/Reviewer.

The job itself is like preauthorization of cases/surgical procedures. I call MD offices and hospitals for more information regarding cases to meet national guidelines and review utilization of resources if it meets medical necessity or not. I also receive calls and requests about the said cases.  Other times I handle appeals at the nurses level. 

It can still be stressful at times even as WFH but its nice to be in your home as comfort even when things get rough. Though, it never gets to the point where you dread coming into work, its all quite manageable and a long ways away from hospital level stress. In a way, you still handle patients, just in a different way this time around. 

The job itself has many advancement opportunities, even management positions. I've seen my coworkers leave for higher level positions in the company or to hospitals for a case management position of some degree.

 

 

 

Oh wow! It sounds very similar to my new wfh position for a major insurance company. 
 

thank you! Yes I’m sure it’s not stress free but working a 12 hour shift literally had me physically and mentally exhausted! Also the fact that I won’t have anxiety as to whether or not one of my two very sick patients will code during my shift. I did enjoy all my experiences but working ICU during covid literally was a lot for me.

 

I’m excited for this new journey in my nursing career. 
 

I appreciate your insight! ? 

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