Looking for suggestions on different areas of nursing.

[greetings]

I have been a nurse for about a year and a half. I worked in long term care for about 6 months and on a very busy ortho/neuro/uro floor for the last year. I did not like long term care as I felt very alone and also felt that all I did was pass meds. No offense to you long term care nurses who are awesome at it, it just wasn't for me. I like the hospital more but I am constantly second guessing myself, laying awake for hours wondering if I should have called on something or done something differently. It is miserable to work and then come home and think about work. (Believe me if I knew how to leave work at work, I would). After thinking a lot about what it is that makes me so uncomfortable I THINK my biggest concern is the liability. I know I am doing the best I can and I'm still learning but I don't want to make a mistake that causes real harm while I'm still learning. I have never made a major mistake but the thought of that possibility has me an anxious wreck on and off the job. I am now thinking about different types of nursing. I really think I would miss the skills of being on an acute care floor. I enjoy doing the skills and I even enjoy the really intense stuff like rapid response and code situations if they are not on my patient. I just hate making the judgement calls and trying to think of every possible situation for my patients. I'm looking for input from some of the less well known (or not well known to me anyway) areas of nursing. I would like to still have some patient contact and would like to still do the skills as that is a lot of the meaning of nursing to me but maybe not such an acute setting where I have such high stress and liability. Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone ever "shadowed" a nurse in a different setting to see if you would like that before trying to get a job?

[Nurse Kyles, BSN, RN]

Maybe something like an outpatient surgery center would be more your style? I know the outpatient centers in my area are considered very premium jobs. The hours are great, and you still get to do skills. They offer wound care, outpatient iv antibiotics among many other things. My hospitals "short stay" area is the same type of thing. People come in for outpatient procedures, and so are pretty stable. If they are unstable for any reason they will be shipped to a floor and admitted. This is also considered a sought-after job since it is Monday-Friday. Good luck! I hope you find something you love!

[Aniroc]

I am currently working on a busy medical/ortho/uro/gyne unit and now considering taking my Masters and or specializing. One of the areas that doesn't get a lot of attention, and one that I find fascinating is Nurse Continence advisor. I don't think its a well known area because many individuals are ashamed of discussing their urinary or fecal incontinence. Its a problem that isn't limited to geriatrics, anyone at any age can become incontinent. Being involved in this specialty has significant impact on a persons social life and overall quality of life. A nurse continence advisor works with physiotherapists, urologists, gynaecologists, generalists and performs assessments, urodynamic testing, various non-surgical interventions and works in a variety of environments from clinics to hospitals to LTC facilities.

Good luck in your research and do search the nooks and crannies of nursing as there are definitely some interesting and not well known fields that should be explored.