Need Advice on Job Searching

[PAnurse94]

Hello,

I am a new nurse (6 months experience) working part time in a hospital on a tele/ICU overflow unit. It is very busy and I've learned a lot. This hospital network is HUGE, I have amazing benefits (at part time) and the hospital is literally 2 minute drive from my house. There is always an opportunity to pick up extra hours.

However, I have had some major issues especially recently. I posted about this on here a few weeks ago - basically, to keep it short, there are tons of safety issues that I am seeing and even being thrown in the middle of. I am seeing patient's safety being compromised due to cutting costs by cutting staffing, and tons of burnt out nurses/management not handling situations appropriately. I am being stretched extremely thin, given 6+ patients (when most of them are critical, on drips and such), dealing with patients I've never had before (example: i gave my first blood transfusion on my first week off orientation, told my manager and 2 other nurses i never did it before and needed help, had SEVEN patients that day - the blood transfusion patient was critical as well as 4 others and then the other two were non critical tele patients. Long story short I basically ignored my tele patients, half ignored my other critical patients, rushed the transfusion but whatever time I had was spent looking up information about it so I didn't harm the patient. It was EXTREMELY unsafe and I drove home sobbing).

I also got punched in the chest about a month ago by a combative and confused patient who had his 1:1 d/c'd because of management cracking down on physicians to cut "unnecessary costs" and I had this patient 2 days in a row, and this was on the 2nd day. I told the physician multiple times as well as my manager that this pt needed a 1:1. There was also no nursing assistant (there hardly ever is) and none of the other nurses had a second to help me, so every time I went in there I was alone and he was throwing things at me, spitting at me, refusing things. I did my best to be patient and kind but at one point he was going to fall, I was holding him steady so he didn't, I called for help several times (pulled the call bell out of the wall and the secretary verbally told me she was calling every nurse and my manager to come to the room ASAP) and it took about 5 minutes before anyone showed up. By then I had been scratched, hit across the face, spit on, and punched in the sternum. I ended up letting go of him when he punched me, unintentionally, so he fell anyway. On top of that, the way management treated the situation was horrible. I had to go see their doctor to be cleared for work. I wasn't cleared initially because I had fluid in my lungs from not taking deep enough breaths because I had some pain still, and then they kept me out for a week and then cleared me and I went back. I was written up for an unexcused absence (which I am fighting) and employee health/HR/management is all claiming that I was cleared for work at my initial visit. I have a paper from every visit, dated, signed by the doctor, stating whether or not I was cleared. I've sent them this multiple times and they just ignore me. I have called, emailed, gone in person, they will not fix it. I also didn't get paid for that entire week. Apparently if it's injury, they pay for it (which they said they're not because it was "unexcused") otherwise it should come out of my PTO, which I have. But they just didn't pay me at all. It's so frustrating. I am in a constant battle with them daily over this.

Anyway, I know I need to get out of there. I am interested in moving toward pediatrics anyway, and hopefully out of the hospital setting, or maybe just keeping a per diem hospital job on the side of another job that is more my speed. This is where I need advice.

First - part time vs full time, the job I have now, and benefits. I am in school online for BSN, also planning my wedding which is in 10 months. My fiance works full time and he suggested I work part time with the opportunity for extra hours so that my schedule is more flexible and on busy weeks with school and wedding-related events or appointments, I can just work my part time hours. This works great with the job I'm at, but since I am trying to get out of there, I'm unsure what to do if I find a new job. Ideally I would like to find somewhere else part time, and then maybe try to move to per diem status at my current hospital just because it's close and always has shifts open to pick up. But then I wouldn't have any benefits. I also don't know how to work it with the timing of getting a new job and leaving or changing status at this one. Do I try to find another full time job and then quit this one completely? Should I wait it out a little bit and try to transfer somewhere else within my current network, staying part time? This location, while the closest, is relatively small, but I could work somewhere else within the company, even their home care system, probably in or around my area. My company doesn't really have pediatrics, though, and I wanted to try getting experience in that area.

So, should I go for a full time job for the benefits and quit this one? I don't want full time PLUS per diem plus BSN and wedding planning... that would be too too too much. Full time and Bsn and wedding planning is already stressful to think about, but if that's what I have to do, I'll do it...

My fiance suggested starting off per diem at another job to see if I like it, and keeping this part time hospital job for now (it's two 12's a week so I have 5 days off if I don't pick up any hours) and do all of my other hours at the new per diem job. Then, maybe after a month or so, see if I can switch to full time and get benefits at the new job, if it's working out well for me, and at that point I can completely quit this hospital job.

Second, types of jobs - for the places that will take me with just 6 months of exp and an incomplete BSN - I'm looking into home care (pediatrics), same day procedure/pre op and pacu (i'm not sure if I can get this but someone recommended since I have that little bit of critical care exp), and some outpatient pediatric places.. I'm also considering some facilities I did pediatric clinicals at that are anywhere from 20-60 minutes from my house...I did enjoy those places, and might enjoy them more?

Down the line (just keeping this in mind), I'm thinking I would like to get my school nurse certification and become a school nurse, with a per diem hospital or home care job on the side to even out the income (since school nurses tend to make a lower amount) or take summer jobs like camp nursing or even home care, and when I have kids, I can have the option to drop the per diem or summer job if I want to take the summer off. This is why I'd like to get into pediatrics now for some experience. I always loved it the most in clinicals.

Advice would be appreciated! I have an interview today with a peds home care company in my area offering per diem, part time and full time. I am hoping to get some feedback from you guys should they make me an offer in the next few weeks, and also for any other interviews I might get. I am also still actively applying to new places, so input on types of places to look would be awesome too.

Thanks for reading! xoxo

- Stressed out graduate nurse (:

[Sour Lemon]

At six months in, you're not very marketable. You're very likely to find a new job with as many problems as the job you have now. Per diem jobs are usually reserved for those with at least a year of experience (NOT counting time on orientation). Mine required two years as a minimum.

"Good" employers will look for employees with more to offer. That being said, you don't have much to lose by trying something else. I would only advise that you avoid home care if you wish to ultimately work in acute care. It can be difficult to get a job in acute care without recent acute care experience.

Good luck to you.