New nurse leaving hospital for office job.. advice?

[Cabana]

I’m a new nurse and took a job on a busy medsurg floor and started in early June. After almost four months of constant anxiety, seeing therapists and having some medication prescribed, I still feel so anxious that I never stop thinking about work and don’t even enjoy my days off. It's affected my everyday life, relationship, and perspective on nursing. I either don’t sleep well or feel like I can’t get out of bed, I cry constantly when I’m at home and at work and I just don’t feel hungry anymore. I’m at the point where I question if I picked the wrong career field as a whole. 

I’ve had multiple conversations with my manager at my current job and she’s been nice enough to agree I shouldn’t stay where I’m miserable. I’ve applied to and been offered a few office jobs. I’m hoping that a change in setting is what I need to enjoy my career choice as a nurse. I’ve always had the plan in my head that I would be a bedside nurse, get my experience, and go to grad school. Any advice for someone going into office nursing? Also, what kind of grad school education I can get with minimal hospital experience and some office experience under my belt? TIA!

[Wuzzie]

Your manager is absolutely correct that you should not stay where you are not happy but...be very careful of the decision you make now in the heat of the moment. 

1. All new grads find their first year extremely stressful. Maybe not to the extreme as you but literally all of them.

2. Office nursing often does not pay well. You need to look at your finances. Can you survive on a low salary and potentially minimal benefits?

3. Your plans to go to grad school are much less likely to come to fruition with an office job vs a hospital job. You might be able to pull off getting into an FNP program but even that is highly questionable. Anything else, forget about it. 

4. Office nursing has it's own issues. The stress is not the same but it is still stress and often at a very high level. Office nurses still have dumpster fire days (sometimes weeks) like everyone else, especially now with COVID. 

5. Office politics are a thing and they can make your life miserable. At least in-patient there is a large pool of people for you to find an ally. That is not the case is an office setting. If you don't get along with even one person that can make for a very uncomfortable situation. 

Sorry you are going through this. Being excited about a new career and then finding out the ugly side of it is a huge bummer. 

For the TLDR folks: the grass isn't always greener. 

 

[Cabana]

@Wuzzie

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it! Luckily I’m in a spot where I don’t have too many bills and no kids, which is helpful financially. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few office jobs that only pay a few dollars less an hour than what I’m making where I’m currently at. 

My thought is to take a step away from the hospital setting and see if the office setting is better, that way I can determine if it’s the setting that’s giving me anxiety or if it’s nursing as a whole. I have one more week left on my current unit and then I will make the switch to something else, most likely office. I totally get that offices also have their downsides and that it’s not always greener on the other side, but I’m wondering if it would be better based off of my personality, as I’m an anxious person in general and am hoping a more structured environment will be better. Since starting work I just can’t tell if it’s the setting I’m in or the whole field that makes me so anxious all the time. I can’t even relax on my days off as I’m either thinking about work or crying on the couch. I mean, worst case scenario I go to an office job and get my anxiety in check and some experience there, and then return to the hospital when I feel better able to handle it, right? Genuinely asking, as I don’t want to be putting my nursing career down the toilet due to my own personal anxiety. 

Do you think grad school programs like healthcare administration or nursing informatics or something along those lines would still accept someone with more office experience than hospital?

Thanks for you input!

[Wuzzie]

3 minutes ago, Cabana said:

I mean, worst case scenario I go to an office job and get my anxiety in check and some experience there, and then return to the hospital when I feel better able to handle it, right?

Maybe, maybe not. It entirely depends on the job situation in your area. M

3 minutes ago, Cabana said:

@Wuzzie

 Do you think grad school programs like healthcare administration or nursing informatics or something along those lines would still accept someone with more office experience than hospital?

Thanks for you input!

No, I really don't think they will. I don't mean to piddle on your Wheaties but I feel being honest is the right thing to do.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

On 11/5/2020 at 3:52 PM, Cabana said:

@Wuzzie

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it! Luckily I’m in a spot where I don’t have too many bills and no kids, which is helpful financially. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few office jobs that only pay a few dollars less an hour than what I’m making where I’m currently at. 

My thought is to take a step away from the hospital setting and see if the office setting is better, that way I can determine if it’s the setting that’s giving me anxiety or if it’s nursing as a whole. I have one more week left on my current unit and then I will make the switch to something else, most likely office. I totally get that offices also have their downsides and that it’s not always greener on the other side, but I’m wondering if it would be better based off of my personality, as I’m an anxious person in general and am hoping a more structured environment will be better. Since starting work I just can’t tell if it’s the setting I’m in or the whole field that makes me so anxious all the time. I can’t even relax on my days off as I’m either thinking about work or crying on the couch. I mean, worst case scenario I go to an office job and get my anxiety in check and some experience there, and then return to the hospital when I feel better able to handle it, right? Genuinely asking, as I don’t want to be putting my nursing career down the toilet due to my own personal anxiety. 

Do you think grad school programs like healthcare administration or nursing informatics or something along those lines would still accept someone with more office experience than hospital?

Thanks for you input!

The jobs for both are limited. Many with degrees and experience, not enough jobs. Office nursing won't lead to many opportunities. Possibly FNP, but those are a dime a dozen now as well

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Your experience with office nursing, could be heaven or it could be hell.

That will completely depend on the culture of the office. You will be scrutinized in the beginning.  The medical assistants will be running the show.  Let them.

 Smile and nod. Make FRIENDS with all of them . Do not  pull rank until you have to. 

Best wishes.

[SarHat17, ASN, RN]

  4 hours ago, Cabana said:

@Wuzzie

 Do you think grad school programs like healthcare administration or nursing informatics or something along those lines would still accept someone with more office experience than hospital?

Thanks for you input!

No, I really don't think they will. I don't mean to piddle on your Wheaties but I feel being honest is the right thing to do.

---

I agree with Cabana. I read your OP as the office opportunity as more of a clinic/PCP-type office. You might find a path to a more "office/business leadership" role, but spending the time doing that may impact your options down the road.

What about a more "office-type" job for healthcare systems, like Cerner or Epic? (Cerner is in my area; not sure what other companies/businesses are around you.) That might give you more of a leg up into the informatics/tech side of nursing. And then pursue further schooling in that direction. Or even something connected to a University Health System? You might make more connections and have an established track record that way to move into an administrative role.

[Stillcrazyafteralltheseyears]

Oh I loved changing from my med-surg unit I worked for 10 years to working with a physician. You learn so much more about disease process and establish a great load of really cool patients. He taught me so many pearls like "split the difference" and head, abd, and chest pain couldn't really be evaluated without more radiology screening. My assessment skills increased. I would of stayed but he gave my hours to the lab tech he was seeing after hours. He was married 7 times. Poor guy his mind was thinking about other things. I learned he went into rehab after I left. But what I learned from him opened up independent thinking in myself. And I began to question and look at patients charts in a new way. 

[Nunya, BSN]

On 11/5/2020 at 3:52 PM, Cabana said:

@Wuzzie

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it! Luckily I’m in a spot where I don’t have too many bills and no kids, which is helpful financially. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few office jobs that only pay a few dollars less an hour than what I’m making where I’m currently at. 

My thought is to take a step away from the hospital setting and see if the office setting is better, that way I can determine if it’s the setting that’s giving me anxiety or if it’s nursing as a whole. I have one more week left on my current unit and then I will make the switch to something else, most likely office. I totally get that offices also have their downsides and that it’s not always greener on the other side, but I’m wondering if it would be better based off of my personality, as I’m an anxious person in general and am hoping a more structured environment will be better. Since starting work I just can’t tell if it’s the setting I’m in or the whole field that makes me so anxious all the time. I can’t even relax on my days off as I’m either thinking about work or crying on the couch. I mean, worst case scenario I go to an office job and get my anxiety in check and some experience there, and then return to the hospital when I feel better able to handle it, right? Genuinely asking, as I don’t want to be putting my nursing career down the toilet due to my own personal anxiety. 

Do you think grad school programs like healthcare administration or nursing informatics or something along those lines would still accept someone with more office experience than hospital?

Thanks for you input!

We all know nurses who have gone to grad school immediately after their BSN.  I'm not sure that not having much hospital experience would be a detriment for informatics or HCA.  For a practicioner job, yes. But while I like hospital 12 hour shift work generally, there have been a couple times when I gladly made the move to a clinic job.  And one of the BIG problems was that they're 5 days/week.  So only two days to recuperate.  And while you think you'll get out on time that doesn't always happen, and in most places you get an hour lunch so that extends your day to 9 hours.  Things to think about.  Good luck with your decision.

[0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN]

The first year sucks major donkey booty. For most of us it does end up getting better. If you can manage to stick it out, even if that means getting a different hospital job, I think you’d find yourself much more marketable. Also there are other acute care jobs that aren’t as stressful as med-surge managing 4-5 patients. If you could get through this time, there may be other acute care units you would like.

[Cabana]

14 hours ago, Stillcrazyafteralltheseyears said:

Oh I loved changing from my med-surg unit I worked for 10 years to working with a physician. You learn so much more about disease process and establish a great load of really cool patients. He taught me so many pearls like "split the difference" and head, abd, and chest pain couldn't really be evaluated without more radiology screening. My assessment skills increased. I would of stayed but he gave my hours to the lab tech he was seeing after hours. He was married 7 times. Poor guy his mind was thinking about other things. I learned he went into rehab after I left. But what I learned from him opened up independent thinking in myself. And I began to question and look at patients charts in a new way. 

Do you think in any office setting there's this kind of opportunity to learn and grow? In the place I'm highly considering now, I would do more office stuff like rooming and checking out patients along with doing allergy shots and starting IV's for infusions and also rotate being a phone nurse as well. Did you go on to stay in an office setting or did you go back to the hospital? Thanks for your input!!

[Cabana]

5 minutes ago, 0.9%NormalSarah said:

The first year sucks major donkey booty. For most of us it does end up getting better. If you can manage to stick it out, even if that means getting a different hospital job, I think you’d find yourself much more marketable. Also there are other acute care jobs that aren’t as stressful as med-surge managing 4-5 patients. If you could get through this time, there may be other acute care units you would like.

I've heard this a lot from other nurses, but I feel like some of the anxiety I have isn't necessarily from being a new nurse. I hear people say it's part of being in your first year which is very anxiety inducing but I feel like a lot of the time I get anxiety every single day I'm off due to the idea of even just being there, let alone the other anxiety that comes along with being a nurse. Even then sometimes, and I know I should've known this going into nursing, that the schedule I have as a nurse gives me anxiety as well. I struggle spending the weekends and holidays away from family and friends, which is something that also in a way makes me feel like a failure when it comes to nursing because I should be able to handle the anxiety and I should be able to handle the schedule but for some reason I am really struggling with it. I would love to be able to say okay I can get through this for a little longer and then decide but mentally it has affected every aspect of my life even outside of work.