Looking for a change?

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Specializes in RN.

I have been a PDN for almost 3 years. It is the only job I have ever had as a nurse. I have 1 case (a quadriplegic on a vent).

I have PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder), so I can not handle stress or tolerate it as well as many other nurses may be able to on a floor, or in demanding positions.

I guess I am starting to feel like I am not doing "anything important". I feel like I would like to work in a hospital and be around other nurses and socialize.

But I am also afraid that if I take the leap, get a new job, and melt under the stress that I will be left jobless. I'm also afraid that since I have had my "time" as a new graduate, and I used it on home health, that I have lost most of my skills.

I am comfortable and satisfied with my job, but I have an "itch" for something new.

Maybe I should look for an additional private duty case?

I feel like the home setting is good for me because it is consistent and there is down time for me to relax. But I've been feeling like I'm in the movie groundhogs day and things are just so predictable. No challenges (little ones that I could handle)

Sorry to ramble on.

Any thoughts or opinions?

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You may not feel that you are doing anything important but what you do is immensely important to your patient and his/her family!

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Specializes in RN.
You may not feel that you are doing anything important but what you do is immensely important to your patient and his/her family!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I guess sometimes we all feel like we are taken for granted!

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Agree that you can add "variety" by taking on an additional case, or even more. If that does not do it for you, then you can try a taste of facility nursing by getting a weekend "fill-in" position at a LTC facility, realizing, of course, that there will be a steep learning curve. You might also learn to accept the less stressful extended care nursing environment as your lucky niche to allow you a successful career in nursing while dealing with the burden of PTSD. Best wishes.

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Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.
You may not feel that you are doing anything important but what you do is immensely important to your patient and his/her family!

spot on

you're pt. depends on you 100%

a quadriplegic pt. told me several years ago

"the highlight of my day is getting my scalp massaged (shampoo) in the morning-

from then on everything pretty much goes downhill"

it was up to us (nurses) to change that, if that's not important?

lost your skills?

you have vent training

highly sought after in my area

having said that, i believe most of us get tired of our routines

every so often and the "what if" bug bites us a little bit

could you fill in on another case at times or do seasonal stuff

such as immunizations while keeping your present job

or how about taking a seminar or two or a class at the local

community college, it doesn't always have to be job related

e.g. i participated in a community project this weekend planting trees

felt pretty darn good and i gained a lot of knowledge

(it's a wonder the trees i have planted myself in the past lived :))

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I felt this way too. I took on another case, cut hours at the old ones. Problem solved.

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