Life outside of hospital nursing?

[Genista]

Another night from Hades! Argh! I have HAD it with acute care hospital nursing. Tonight I had a full patient assignment/also Lead RN. No breaks for anyone. No unit secretary after the 1st 2 hours. Phone ringing off the hook for hours. I'm supposed to "help" my peers, being the lead & all, as well as put in orders/note orders & be aware of all goings on. But I have a full assignment too! It's an impossible standard. Families were throwing fits & needing 1:1 nursing care. I'm so sick of it!

I feel like I am NOT making a difference. I feel like a cog in a wheel, nothing more. If it weren't for the money, I'd quit nursing in a heartbeat.

Don't get me wrong, I still like my patients. I am just sick of working like a dog every darned day! I'm sick of working my a$$ off every damn night & feeling guilty b/c I can't live up to some damn unrealistic standard.

It's always "something" in the hospital. I can count on one hand, the number of "good" shifts I've had.

If I could get into a less stressful area, what would it be?

I am combing the want ads weekly. I can take a pay cut, but I still have a family to support & bills to pay. I'm going to be attending full time school next semester, so I need a job that pays 60% of my current wage. I am open to suggestions.

I am wondering about private duty nursing? Anyone tried that? I would love to be able to give REAL care, instead of the fly by the seat of your pants type in the hospital.

My hubby is unemployed, so I HAVE to work to pay our bills.

I can't afford to work for a measly $10/hr in Northern California. I have a BS in Nursing, and would be seeking part time employment.

Any ideas? Any suggestions? I am beginning to HATE hospitals and how they always screw the nurses. I can hardly wait to get out of this thankless environment.

[RMH]

What about rural hospital nursing. Meaning a small out lying hospital. There are still crazy/busy shifts, but usually time to spend with your patients. The pay isn't quite as much, but not too far off from larger hospitals. I work in a small hospital in No. Calif., I make way more than 10.00/hr, am never bored, love my job and have been here 11 years!!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Gee, you just described a day in my life.

Good luck and I hope you find peace.

[K O'Malley]

If you want to get away from demanding families try OR, PACU, cath lab. True, you won't have as much pt contact but will only deal with one at a time in cath lab and OR and a couple in PACU. There is stress in these areas but the stressors are different than what you experience on a hospital floor. Don't stay in a job you are miserable in. Keep searching until you find the right place.

[JNJ]

Any pediatric experience Kona? There are lots of underserved children in the community; Regional Centers usually organize payment for their care. You can do this thru an agency or as an independent. Pay is around $25 per hour.

There is also a Medi-Cal program allows an RN to do the same type of work with pay about $32 per hour. I work this way as an independent contractor for Medi-Cal. Note that I am not a Nurse Practitioner - just RN.

Look hard and choose carefully; but please know many of us have been in your illfitting shoes and have stepped out into a better working life. List what you need/want/would like and work from there. Ask specific questions online. There are some awesome answers out here. Luck to you and empowerment. JNJ

[TiggyBee]

Kona,

I just left a similar situation and went into rehab nursing. What a difference! The pace is much more relaxed, better staffing, pay, lower stress and guess what? You can even sit down once and a while! I would NEVER go back to hospital nursing, and money is no reason to stay in a job you can't stand. Your health, sanity and licence are much more important than that!!! And with the shortage you can find another job in a heartbeat - just be sure you aren't getting into another situation like the one you're in now.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

[hapeewendy]

I did community nursing for a year, loved it , fantastic, made a huge difference in the lives of my patients and it was less stress than the med surg job I'm working at now - slightly less pay though

another option is nursing reasearch, I was lucky enough as a fairly new grad to get hooked up with an MD who did a TON of research , mind you it was medical, pharmaceutical for the most part but still great experience and FANTASTIC $$$$$$$$$

you learn a lot that might benefit you later should you pursue any research opportunities

either way , I feel your pain right now , I understand how you feel because lately, I've been feeling the same way....

[CseMgr1, ASN, RN]

Look into Case Management. http://www.cmsa.org/

[Going80INA55]

There are way to many opportunities out there for nurses for you to stay in a position that you are not happy in.

Don't waste your time or energy.

[Brita01]

Hi Kona. You asked about private duty. I work private duty 36 hours out of the week and it was one of the best choices I ever made. Twelve hour shifts of almost no stress whatsoever. I am there and only there for my one patient, so he gets my total attention. I've had this job since September and still can't believe someone's paying me money to do what I do.

I am an LPN, but there are positions available for RNs. The private duty RNs for my Louisiana agency make about $20/hr, which will probably be a pay cut for you. But if you're like me, the pay cut will be worth the stress free environment. I don't use a whole lot of my skills in private duty, so I keep them up by going to work in a hospital med/surg unit once a week. Hope I was able to help you.

[hoolahan, ASN, RN]

With regards to the LTC manager, not sure about the weekend deal, but in the LTC center's around here, due to constant call-outs, the supervisor must be floor staff and supervise, and take call, which means EVERY time you take call, you end up going in as staff. It is the reason I wouldn't enter LTC for all the tea in CHina. NO amount of money could get me to do it. If you choose this route, be sure you ask about how staffig emergencies are handled, you may buy more stress than you had before.

Home Care is great, except for the paperwork. Check out my web site for more info http://www.geocities.com/vnarn_nj/recruit1 (These are info pages only, not a solicitation.)

You may enjoy ICU as well.

The home care would also be a great option to get into an insur co as a case manager. It is pretty hard, at least around my way, to get a CM job w/o HH or Dischrage planner experience.

There is more call for private duty peds by me than adults. Bayada has a preceptor program where they train you to do peds vents at homes. It's not for me, but lots of nurses enjoy this, see posts in the HH forum here.

[researchrabbit]

I've worked in research for 12 years now. Love it.

[zudy]

Kona, I left a miserable work situation a little over a year ago to work in a neurosurgery clinic. Making more money, have time for my pts, and I've learned so much. I work in a pool in the ER to keep up my skills. Hang in there!! There are options! Let us know how you are doing.