Lowest stress (still great pay) nursing specialties?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

Hello all,

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 totally understand the question you're asking and I think it is valid, because so many nurses are miserable at their jobs-I'd be cautious and worried as a new grad too!

I have been working postpartum/nursery for almost 7 years now, since graduating in 2009, and find it very low stress- or at least a different type of stress. It's crazy busy, but manageable in my opinion. Most patients are healthy and stable. It can be mentally boring at times, because you spend the day teaching the same thing over and over so you really have to like this particular specialty (which I do). Word of advice, I've tried to get into different specialties, but nobody will hire me other than an OB unit because I have no experience in any other area, it's really frustrating! And then they have the audacity to ask why I've stayed in that particular specialty that long! I have a few friends who work in pre-op and they love it, they prep the patient for surgery, start the IV and have the patient sign paperwork..you may want to check that out.

Oh, boy. I'm late to this party, but this should be interesting.

Short answer: As a new grad, you take the job you can get. There will be no specialization. And besides, you'll probably fall in love with something completely different than you expect. You can search the site and find several threads like this one and get some ideas there.

Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

But then you might be missing out on all the fun!!! :woot:

There are times when my shift is stressful and terrible and heartbreaking but if it's a chill day that is low-stress, I am B-O-R-E-D. I'm not learning anything, I'm not earning my money, I'm not helping anyone -- it sucks. Most everyone I work with feels the same way. I will be, however, looking forward to my experience in what I am doing to get me to a position that is, perhaps, more predictable in terms of workload and less stressful and ultimately less death-y (which I've already had enough of). But, that is years from now because I am just starting out as a nurse and I have no clue what I am doing so I will have few days of actually being bored. Though there are days I am like, "Oh god *** was that AND I have to come back tomorrow?!!?" I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even a boring, easy day.

So, for now, look forward to finding something that is challenging, stressful, full of learning opportunities and providing you the experience you need to get into a "less stressful job" that requires all that you learned from all that stress and experience. You won't get that fresh out of nursing school, though but you can mitigate the stress though. I lucked out -- I got into a fabulous floor specializing off the bat and I can't imagine it being the normal "adult med-surg for 1-2+ years slog" that is generally recommended. That does decrease the stress. The money, though, isn't so great (kids are kind of a resource-suck so there's not too much money to go around -- unless you're in endocrinology).

I work in an extremely busy LTC, often times understaffed. I've been in LTC for 20 years. I'm good at what i do and know what I need to do. Everyday is stressful, some day's I'd like to scream and actually do. I get paid a very comfortable rate. My point....I like what I do. I thrive on the stress and business at work. I manage the stress and probably wouldn't know what do do without it.

Is that crazy? Probably. I've been at the same place for those 20 years and have worked at other places PT and PRN. I get bored at the "less stressful" places.

Bottom line.....love what you do. At least have a strong like for it!

Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

But home care pays close to nothing where I live.

prnqday said:
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.

You'll find your niche and a job that you love!

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!

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
txbornnurse said:
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.

Too bad I can't LIKE this MORE.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

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.

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