I am a RN that hasn't quite found my "niche". I have done one year in OR, one year in cardiac outpatient, and am currently in my 4th month on an Acute Transplant/Med-Surg floor. I have considered leaving my current position for two main reasons:
1) due to the stress level, frustration and extreme acuity of the patients we see. Our patients are very sick and the ratio is usually 5:1 or 4:1, which sounds great but is still somehow unmanageable with all that has to be done all day. I rarely eat lunch or take a break before 3pm and run around wearing myself out all day. I should mention that I am at a really prestigious hospital (also Magnet) so I don't want to act impulsively.
2) The most pressing reason-- I am trying to get pregnant and don't feel that this is the healthiest environment for my situation. I have already had one miscarriage since working there (which could have been from anything, but the stress didn't help I'm sure). PLUS, most of our patients are CMV and a ton on isolation, high-risk Hep C/HIV, etc. I was also recently exposed to active TB before anyone knew the patient had it. So, my anxiety around becoming pregnant again in this type of work setting is REALLY unsettling, even though I know RN's do it all the time on the floor. However, I am in 30's and so I don't really have the time (or want) to wait to start our family, and I'm at a crossroads where I don't know if personally putting myself -- or my future child-- at risk is worth it, just to say I stuck it out...
SO, I have the opportunity to work at a call center (for a Great insurance company) where it would be M-F and the pay is surprisingly 10k more a year than I make now, which is a huge incentive. (I forgot to mention that in my current position I also have to find a second job to make ends meet, in addition to the three 12 hr days). It seems like it might be the perfect fit for me right now while we are starting our family-- I am just SO scared to make the wrong decision, leave this great hospital and regret it....does anyone have any advice on how hard it would be for me to go back to a hospital in another year or two if I end up hating the call center? I know the setting is different than "traditional" bedside nursing, but feel I could make a difference with the patients over the phone. I really do enjoy education and patient interaction. I really don't know what to do given the current situation. If we weren't trying to get preggo ASAP I would stick out where I am for another couple months and try to transfer back to the OR maybe....that's where I liked the best so far, and since I know now I hate bedside, I would be able to appreciate it more. I have no clue, I go back and forth so much on what I want to do when I grow up!
ANY advice on call center nursing in general and/or what I should do is GREATLY appreciated. Does anyone know if call-center/phone triage nursing can really be a long-term nursing specialty? Does anyone stay in a position like that very long? I am so confused and just want to do what is best for my family and my future career as a RN.
