New here..sorta. need help

[Big E, BSN]

I've been a part of all nurses before but lost my password and it was just easier to make a new account.  Really what I need is advice.  I've been nursing since 1996.  I started in public health.  At the time I felt like I needed more adrenalin so I moved to the hospital.  It was a rough start as I hadn't done any bedside care in 5 years at that point.  (degree program was heavy on the airy fairy the last two years).  Anyway I powered though and wound up in obstetrics for 20 or so years.  At one point I was passionate, worked hard, felt unappreciated.  Then as it happens I gradually lost steam and became hateful and crusty and took a whirl in the OR.  Which I LOATHE.  I am now doing a temp teaching connect care software which I don't mind, but this job will end in the fall and I will have to go back to the operating room.  I just feel like I'm floundering.  I have another decade before I can retire.  I have considered going back to school for a masters.  But why? And what focus?  I live in a rural ish area.  there is one hospital here. I'm just tired of being a nurse.  Nothing appeals to me.  Please tell me what to do.

[Davey Do]

Welcome (back) to allnurses, Big E!

The first encouragement would be to post your thread in the General Nursing forum. It gets a lot more traffic, and, hence, responses.

I get a sense that you could be stuck in the doldrums. Twenty four years of working as a nurse, and as you say, retirement is a decade away.

I can kind of identify with you, Big E, in that I felt pretty much the same a decade ago, about the time that I became a member of allnurses. That alone gave me a boost- being able to identify with other nurses with similar situations and problems. Virtually supporting others and sharing my knowledge felt good!

I think I also bloomed where I was planted and became proactive in making changes in the way things were run at Wrongway. I became a burr under administrations' saddle blanket and that really gave me a lift, too.

You could attempt to bloom where you're planted or seek greener pastures. For example, a couple of the RNs with a BSN that I worked with at Wrongway took teaching positions in CNA programs. They said that getting back to basics and sharing their knowledge really gave them a lift.

One moved out of state and worked in a completely new setting and hospital. Another went and got her NP license.

The nursing field is so wide and varied that we have opportunities to try on other shoes and walk them around for awhile.

Good luck to you, Big E!

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Hello @Big E and welcome.

We moved this topic to the General Nursing forum for the best response. Others will come along.

@Davey Do has provided some excellent feedback.?

Good luck with all of your decisions!

[Davey Do]

I thought of something else that might help, Big E: What we do outside of working as a nurse can help with the attitude toward our job.

My art always helped me deal with stress, but about 10 years ago, 2011, my '51 Chevy pickup got T-boned by a big rig. The pickup was totalled and driver's insurance company paid me handsomely for it- $2300 more than I paid for it!

The insurance company allowed me to keep my pickup, and for the next 3 1/2 years, I took that old truck apart and repaired and/or replaced parts. until I got it back on the road.

Looking forward to my leisure activities helped me get through some hard times at work!

Again, good luck!

[Big E, BSN]

thanks I'll head over to the general nursing section!!

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

As someone who has been in school for the past 12 years, if you're not sure what you're going for or why you're doing it, you'll most likely hate that, too. Much of the MSN classes I found were fluff and pretty useless, so if I didn't see them translating into meeting my goal, I would have been more miserable than annoyed. I could deal with the annoyance because I knew it was a means to an end I hoped to achieve.

Wish I had a great answer for you, but as Davey Do pointed out there are MANY options with nursing so I'm not sure where to best direct your efforts. Case management appeals to many, you might be able to transition into that area, either in the hospital or there are more virtual options lately. Since you don't mind the teaching related to software, have you considered IT? There's always a need for nurses to interpret the (stupid) EHR stuff for those of us on the floor! 

I don't have much in the way of advice, but wish you good luck with finding something that's a good fit for you for the rest of your career. Take care!