am i missing out?

[momtojosh]

hello......a little background first.....i am a new older nurse(46),graduated in june,started my first job in july,took and passed boards in august.....LPN.....before all this...............................................i have

been a stay at home mom for 20 yrs...i went to college and graduated in early childhood(was going to go for special ed,but met a boy)cloudy judgement....worked mostly with special ed kids as teachers aides,loved it....got married,starting having our family and now i am a nurse...so anyway......my first job is for the state,it is for the very medically frail mentally retarded......they all have feding tubes,trachs,and need lots of medicl care.....they are all in wheelchairs.....the house only employs nurses...no aides,so we do everything......total care to medical care......it takes a whole shift to do meds...as they need to be crushed and tubes need to be flushed etc.......vitals are done once a shift on all,more on some others.....they have breathing treatments,and other simpler treatments......nursing notes at the end of shift.....doc apts.....etc...

here is the missing out question.......at times i really dont feel like a nurse....like when we were doing clinicals at the hospital i felt like a nurse.....even though i loved clinical and loved all my PT...my heart is for the mentally challenged...always has been as you have read above......so...do you think i am gaining nursing skills or am i missing out from not being in a hospital.......i never mentioned i love my job...i love my co workers and my residents even more......

i have heard in the past that nurses who go to work for the state must not beable to get a job elsewhere.....i was offered 2 jobs at the hospital while in clinicals...then some state emplpyees(nurses) came to "recruit" one day in class...i took a tour of theri house and loved it and just knew thats where i wanted to be......these residents dont talk....they cant tell you if they are in pain.....you really have to know these people and how they usally are to know if something is up.....i think that takes alot of skill right there....

thanks everyone!

[Jolie, BSN]

Oh, please don't fall into the trap of thinking that only those who care for adults in the hospital setting are practicing "real nursing".

Yo have found a way to combine your years of experience with disabled children with your nursing education to create an incredible niche. I am in awe of your knowledge, experience and dedication to a population of patients that most of us know very little about!

Please continue to do what you love and educate the rest of us about your critically important specialty!

[momtojosh]

"""""Oh, please don't fall into the trap of thinking that only those who care for adults in the hospital setting are practicing "real nursing"."""""

your right....that is EXACTLY where I DONT want to go.....(or fall in,as you said).......thank you for yoiur respond........i am proud of what i do and who i have become.....but sometimes your thoughts just runaway with craziness.......sometimes you just like to say what your thinking and see what others say...does that make sense......

thanks again....your kinds words will stick...

[ShiphrahPuah]

I think it is amazing that you found a job you love and coworkers you love in an area that brings together your life experience and passion! You are very fortunate indeed! Many nurses start out in the hospital putting in their time and hoping desperately to find their niche eventually, dreading waking up every morning that they are going to work. Just feel blessed that you found your niche right away and skipped over the whole floundering and paying your dues stage. What you do is extremely valuable, and the people you serve are very fortunate to be in your care. The hospital environment is not for everyone, and as a new grad I question myself every work day about whether I want to be in a hospital in the long run. If you found something you love, don't torture yourself with feeling you should be somewhere else -- you are right where you should be!

[GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN]

OK,let me understand this, You love your job, your pts, your coworkers, are exactly where you wanted to be, are doing lots of skill-based hands on MEANINGFUL CARE, are you missing out??.

You BETCHA !! Your missing shift work, running your a$$ off with admissions, discharges, pt's crashing, catty coworkers, demanding pts and or visitors, rude, demanding doctors, taking off all those orders, coding pts, fighting for for some semblance of a schedule and a life. Oh lets not forget anxiety, lack of sleep,poor staffing, surveys that tell you every week what the patients didn't like about their accomodations, food, room view, you name it. I'm sure others can elaborate. Me thinks you are a very blessed woman!!!