Members are discussing the stress levels and compensation in various nursing specialties. Some members mention that nursing is a practical means to earn a living, while others share their experiences in different nursing roles such as hospice nursing, med/surg, and occupational health nursing. There is also mention of the importance of clinical experience, finding one's niche in nursing, and managing stress through coping mechanisms and self-care.
This is my first post here so bear with me. I am a current RN student and while my main focus right now is finishing the program I am nevertheless interested in finding out more about different specialties from nurses who have been there.
I have yet to decide on a nursing specialty for sure. To be honest money is a big motivator for me..but a post I read from forum member THE COMMUTER really struck me as exaclty how I feel. It stated id rather love my personal life and tolerate my job than tolerate my life and love my job. By this I mean im never going to enjoy work, I mostly enjoy traveling, exploring , cars..etc..(hence money motivated).
So begs the question...what nursing specialty out of the seemingly hundreds...would be very low stress on a daily basis and very good pay ( even if masters level as I have considered the NP route after RN school).
Any suggestions? ( I know im kinda asking for the best of both worlds here but im looking for things closest to what I seek). Thanks in advance everyone.
I think Occupational Health Nursing is a very stress free job. Many companies hire OHN to run health fairs, run their onsite employee clinics and minor on site injuries. This line of Nursing has so many opportunities to advance into Public Health, Epidemiology, Safety ..and the jobs are limitless with advanced education. No stress and increased salary plus federal or state jobs with great benefits..in most
School nursing and post partum. I've don't both and currently doing PP.
School nursing does not fit the "pays well" requirement.
TheCommuter said:
For me, nursing is a job and a means to an end. It was never a childhood dream or higher calling. Rather, it is a practical way to earn a living.
I find it curious that no one really expects pharmacists, speech language pathologists, physicians in lucrative specialties, physical therapists, hospital dietitians, occupational therapists, and other healthcare professionals to arrive at the table with that intangible calling.
Let's assume your employer abruptly announced that you'd no longer receive pay for the services you render after today. However, the employer also announced that "compassion will provide a place for you to live and caring will result in food on your table." Would you continue to report to work day after day, year after year without monetary compensation?
I sure as heck wouldn't. If an employer could no longer pay me, I would refuse to provide even one minute of my labor to that entity. Again, I was not called to this profession. Nursing is an avenue to a decent livelihood.
Thank you for this. I have no calling to being a nurse. I like working with people and nursing pays the bills. The second I leave my job, I stop thinking about it.
I suppose stress is relative, but I've found that hospice nursing is the lowest stress environment that I've worked in (I've done Med/surg, MICU, NICU, Psych). Sure, there are good days and bad and then there is the necessary evil of paperwork and charting, but the work itself is amazing and I feel everyday that I provided excellent nursing care and made a difference. Most of the patients and families are greatly appreciative of everything I do.
I know I HATED hearing this when I was a student but I'm going to say it anyway- med/surg was a great way to "find myself", develop my nursing and time management skills, and hone in the nursing instincts. Don't rule out med/surg!!!
Hello! Get your clinical experience under your belt, learn lots, work hard, you'll have great opportunities. Pharm, med tech, insurance companies pay well and the stress is quite lower than patient care, but of a different nature. Best wishes!
For the record OP I have a fair number of years in the I/DD field and it is not in any fashion stress free for a nurse. There is the on call aspects which can be exhausting, there are productivity expectations, there is dealing with insurance coverage issues when trying to obtain care for the clients. Try spending hours on the phone and internet finding a specialist who is part of the latest managed care network for Medicaid. There are lengthy and redundant reports and meetings. In addition since there is not shift to shift coverage by the nurses the nurse has global responsibility for health and welfare issues which ties into that on call all the time thing. Granted most of the companies I have worked for do rotate the call on the weekends or have an on call nurse but it can still lead to some very long days.
It is not a job for a new grad by any means. Like home health you are assessing things solo quite often with your only nursing resource being on the other end of a phone. You might not do a lot of procedures or hands on care but you need to be sharp in your assessment skills because many clients are non verbal or limited in their ability to describe an issue. If one does this it is because of the hours, the focus being less task driven and, frankly, because of enjoying working with people with disabilities. One last thing unlike a hospital where the patient/family from Hades is only there for a limited time one frequently finds themselves dealing with the family from Hades for years at a time.
IMO OP what you are wanting from nursing is not something a new grad is equipped to handle. You need that "stress" and experience to learn how to be the best nurse possible. That is not a justification for poor staffing or unsafe environments but one cannot just sail through the day and learn how to deal with literal life and death issues without stress and being challenged in the mix. And when one can do that then one has, again in my opinion, earned that "low stress, high paying" job.
I have worked in the community, in the hospital, in long term care, specialist offices, and everything in between; I have also been a supervisor; I have ran a unit and a "house" (meaning the whole building healthcare wise)...each has its own stressors.
I work at a Level I Trauma Pedi ED in one of the top 5 areas in the nation for poverty, drug use, a new HIV cases; however I enjoy working in that community, and it can be stressful, but the thinking that I do and the results that I get done along with who I work with unit and hospital-wise make it enjoyable; even more so as I got involved with changing how things work.
It's my niche I plan to be in for a long time; even if I move to being an educator or a NP or both; I found a place for my temperament and for all the experiences that I engaged for the 10 years previously of nursing experience; which include Post-Acute Rehab, Private Duty Home Health, Orthopedic surgical Sports Medicine, LTC, Medical Daycare for Children, PICU, Post-Acute Pediatric facility...all those experiences helped transition to the my new position and specialty while I continue to learn; hence, even when I get a stabbing, a shooting, a sedation for a reduction or a complex traumatic wound, a platelet or blood transfusion and a respiratory distress or five traumas back to back, they may be stressful, but once they are stable and manage that acute phase and go into monitoring, it's a stress I can handle.
Life is stressful; even a happy event in life is considered stressful. The key to managing and handling stressful events is leaning good coping mechanisms and engaging in self care to help manage stressful situations in life.
I'm going to echo that having an open mind while in nursing school is the best path for you to take at this time; once you've found your niche, the "stress" won't be as "stressful" as you are thinking, at least from your original post.
To share: I had a non-stressful job as a monitor for a small hospital that had a PT gym; I just performed BPs for 35 bucks and hour as an agency nurse-no weekends and it was a 9-5 job; unfortunately I was BORED and I knew when particular songs came on the radio several times a day. Thank god that job lasted a month, and I moved on to another job afterwards!
Specializes in Allergy/ENT, Occ Health, LTC/Skilled.
bfredd71 said:
I think Occupational Health Nursing is a very stress free job. Many companies hire OHN to run health fairs, run their onsite employee clinics and minor on site injuries. This line of Nursing has so many opportunities to advance into Public Health, Epidemiology, Safety ..and the jobs are limitless with advanced education. No stress and increased salary plus federal or state jobs with great benefits..in most
Yes!!! I was about to say the same thing. I did it for 3 years as an LPN, had to resign because I am finishing up RN, but I worked M-F, 8-5:30 pm, no weekends or holidays, and made $20/hr which is bank around here for an LPN in a clinic. It is a undiscovered gem and there is so few of us with the certs and experience, you can essentially name your price for hire. I am going to go to the hospital for a few years after graduation in April but will most definitely returning to occ health after that, love the patient population, and it was just a great job. And not to mention they paid for literally thousands of dollars of occ health training for me to attend and get certified in certain things.
Your solid wall of text is very difficult to read and your view on all the extra money you will be paid for being male is ridiculous. Yes, there is a pay gap even in nursing. But to think someone is going to offer you $2/hour just for being male is a little naive. Not to mention arrogant.
How did you even get that much meaning out of the wall of text?
bfredd71
5 Posts
I think Occupational Health Nursing is a very stress free job. Many companies hire OHN to run health fairs, run their onsite employee clinics and minor on site injuries. This line of Nursing has so many opportunities to advance into Public Health, Epidemiology, Safety ..and the jobs are limitless with advanced education. No stress and increased salary plus federal or state jobs with great benefits..in most