Looking for options/opinions

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Apr 7, 2018

Depends what cath lab you work in. Where I work our cath lab is super super busy, 99% of the time. You also have to take call, so does that sound like fun to you? If so then go for it. But based on what you've said it doesn't. Listen, nursing is a hard profession, my anesthesia group is super short staffed and it's hard on everyone so I understand you frustration but this is the unfortunate reality of medicine right now. The ICU wouldn't suit you any better to be honest, there you'll have super sick patients and still be most likely short. I mean we're all talking in hypotheticals here, without going there and asking people or seeing for yourself, you'll never have an idea of the culture there. So go ask around, investigate and see what works for you? Maybe even consider Interventional radiology? Idk, but good luck.

Cardiac.smartiac · Apr 7, 2018

Thank you so much for your reply! I can see why so many people have viewed this and not replied. It looks like im just lazy. Thats not the case at all. I just feel like i personally cant prove good care when working short on the floor. Ive heard how much floor nursing sucks and thought that another area may better suit me. And i dont know about your cath lab. I mean what does a cath lab nurse do? What does a stress lab nurse do? Those were the two main areas i was interested in. But ill look into the interventional radiology stuff. Also i started in the icu and they burnt a bridge with me and as long as certain staff and manager are there I will NEVER go back. Thanks again for your input

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Apr 7, 2018

Well in cath lab, depending on where you work could be doing cardiac cath (obviously), maybe EP studied, abalations, Pacemaker or AICD implants, TEEs, Cardioversuons. You could have an emergency come from the ER, TAVRs, Watchman LAA closures etc. Both cath lab and interventional radiology are procedural areas so you'll be doing procedures all day. It just depends what kind of procedures you want to do. IR does a lot of lines, PICCs, Permacaths, LPs, angiograms, TIPs, perhaps there may even be Neuro IR where they Coil aneurysms, embolism AVMs or do carotid stenting. Ever place is different and it just depends on what you wanna do.

I don't think you're lazy but just remember it's going to be hard work regardless of what area you choose.

Cardiac.smartiac · Apr 8, 2018

I agree but there's a difference in hard work and dangerous work. Thanks for all your help im going to try to shadow @

dontbetachy90, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2018

I agree with the other two comments, here. Acute care nursing is a tough gig; our patients have acute and chronic diseases that need managed, we are micromanaged like no other to meet certain standards, we are not only nurses but social workers, pharmacy techs, computer specialists (not literally of course but you get what I mean), and on top of it, we take the brunt of the frustration from patients, families, and MD's who believe all we do in a day is pass meds, clean poo, and click on boxes. And as you said, we do all of this with what WE believe to be improper support. It can be downright miserable, but it does pay better than most other nursing gigs.

Are you on day shift? If not and if it is an option, would you consider transitioning to night shift? The hours may seem dreadful to some, and the staffing is certainly no better, but there are obstacles that days must face that simply don't occur as often on nights. I worked with a (now retired) nurse who worked all over -- cardiac step down, pre-op, ED, mostly day shift, who wound up spending her final 20+ years working night shift on my cardiac intermediate/progressive unit because she was fed up with the crud that was day shift.

Have you and others discussed these concerns with management? Are they offering incentive pay to get more people to work? My hospital has been offering $40 incentive over base pay for nearly 2 years now in attempts to alleviate our staffing issues, though lately, even that is not enough to make people want to come in. There is just something about our line of work that we nurses are not thrilled about, hmm, what could it be?

Take some time to explore other options -- maybe a smaller facility that is not quite as busy would suit you better? One of the hospitals in our area is considerably smaller; we have a nurse who used to work on that cardiac step down who transitioned to ours and was blown away by the difference in patient population and how busy our unit was, as ours is intermediate and progressive care and theirs was intermediate only, but more akin to a cardiac med-surg than anything. A smaller hospital's ICU, while still challenging in a variety of different ways, may not be as chaotic as a PCU or step down, where your ratios are higher but your patients are sometimes just as ill as those ICU patients.

I also know a nurse who works in home health and loves it, but picks up per diem at the hospital when the incentive pay is being offered.

Forgive me if I have been babbling, but I can surely empathize with your struggle, as can many others. I hope you find something that suits you better! Sometimes a change of scenery is all you need, even if from one area of total chaos to another. Good luck!