No More Bedside Nursing, I Quit!

iwantedtobestressed · Sep 28, 2005

Jeri, do you currently work in NICU? One of the areas I have been pondering over is womens health, I am very interested in this area but I have been told that most places want you to have X number of years experience prior to entering this specialty. Any comments regarding this?[/quote
Yes I do, and no you do not have to have experience where I work. Just do well with your interview and they train you on the job. Two friends of mine came from adult areas and were welcomed with open arms! It may help to have at least one year of nursing behind you before getting a job in an ICU, but we have had several nursing assistants who worked in our unit before graduating and then getting hired on as a nurse.

rntraveler · Sep 28, 2005

To all, If you are overworked,you need to look at other areas. When looking,be sure to ask staff:pt ratios. It makes all the difference in the world. I currently work part-time on a psych unit and we have been full for the past year-they transfer in from all over. I guess psych is not a money-maker,so hospitals everywhere else have cut beds. At any rate,for 32 pt we have 9-10 staff-a ward secretary,a charge nurse 4-5 RN or LPN and 2-3 patient care techs-Our pt care techs have college degrees in psych-related fields or are going to college for day or evening shift-nights get 5 staff. Everyone here works together. In larger cities,like Omaha I have worked with nurses who work for agencies and specify which shifts they will work and where they will work. They get to work when and where they want and get higher pay. I worked hard when I worked dialysis,but the staff-patient interaction was great. Everyone was like family. NICU sounds like a very nice place to work also-I would love to hold babies!

kurtzmobile · Sep 28, 2005

I am a new grad a I recently recieved a job offer to work in the Telemetry Unit. On top of being a new RN, I have never worked in a hospital before does anyone have any tips about this unit? Thanks a bunch.

Hi there,

I started out on a TELE/Stepdown Unit as a new grad and as it was well umm... a bit overwhelming @ first, I ended up loving it. It is overwhelming for the fact that 1) you're a new grad, 2) You have to learn many new procedures, interventions, and skills you only brushed upon in nrsg school, 3) every doctor has his/her own "little" ways of wanting things done, and 4) the fact that every hospital has it's own system to be learned. That being said, after I got all those things down (it took me a good year to feel autonamous), I truly loved my job. A few tips that helped me and you too may find useful was that I took notes, lots of them on little tips about each doctor, what they wanted, and what they expected of me. Take advantage of your resources. Ask questions and when an interesting pt comes in and is not yours ask the nurse if you can help out/observe a procedure. Also take advantage of your hospitals edu. opportunities. I was ACLS and ENPC certified w/ in 6 months of hire and took a basic critical care course w/in the first year. All of those classes helped out tremendously. Ask your charge if you can run to a code and observe &/do the charting to get a more passive exposure to codes. I did that and it helped me when faced w/ actually being on as code nurse for my shift. Just remember that you are never alone, when in doubt, just ask. Another helpful tip, when faced w/ calling a Dr on an issue always have your ducks in a row. Have the chart out, what your question is, current lab values, primary diagnosis, and ask the other nurses prior to calling if anyone else needs to talk to him/her. Nothing makes a Dr more upset than to call him and not have up to date data regarding the pt available. Carrying a quick reference nrsg handbook can also help. Another thing to have is a sheet that is your own personal "charting" on your pt such as a notecard that has med times, procedure times, vitals, lab values, etc. Fill this out @ start of shift and update w/ periodic pertinent info. and you will be prepared when a Dr walks by and asks you a random question about one of your pts. Hope this helps. I could ramble on and on....hhmmm...maybe I should go into teaching b/c I so love helping new grads. That's probably why I was also a preceptor. :)

Nurseinthemaking · Sep 28, 2005

Have you thought about Dialysis Nursing???

Kaseyrn2b · Sep 29, 2005

hi everyone-
I recently began working as a new nurse on a Tele floor, 2 1/2 months ago. I have no clue what I am doing half the time. Thank God for my preceptor because I learning a lot from her, but I have no clue what I'm going to do when I'm on my own next month. I feel like I'm working as a servant instead of a nurse. some of these patient's think their in a hotel, which is absurd. A lot of theses patient's are self sufficient, but refuse to be a part od their rehabilitation. I know their is a lot responsibility in nursing, but school did not prepare me for this stuff. I hate bedside nursing I just wanted my med/surg exp. for a year. I will probably stay part-time after a year, but my first love is in psych which is what I have a degree in and I want to explore other avenues. I going to hang in there for this 1st year, but does anybody have other suggestions on what I can do?
redred

Wow...I am really reconsidering nursing school now. My degree is also in psych and I'm thinking even if I have to take a few grad classes and (yipes) the GRE to get in maybe I should just forgo NS and go right to get an MS in counseling. I was leaning towards Ns b/c of job security, I like science and the caring for people part, but there doesn't seem to be much caring allowed..too much other junk. I already have a job I hate (but pays well)that I can stand and keep by only working only 15 hrs/ week. I don't want to do that again! I want to enjoy what I do, even if I don't rake it in, and be able to stand working 30+ hrs/ week...Ugh...this is so confusing. Sorry to vent, thanks for listening :)

Jen

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Sep 29, 2005

It kind of bothers me when people rec. home health as some sort of "easier" option. Home health is very stressful, in a different way. You're out driving around, sometimes in terrible weather. Pts. don't always live in nice, neat homes. I've been in many places that were out and out disgusting.
Expect to put a lot of wear and tear on your car, and not get compensated adequately for it. HH agencies are notorious for paying as little for mileage and wear and tear as they can get away with. Your car becomes your office. Trunk space? Prepare to have it filled to the brim with supplies (God love you if you ever get a flat and have to get the spare out!)
Pts. come home very sick, and you'd be surprised what you're expected to deal with in a home. And there's not another nurse "just down the hall" to ask for a second opinion...you need to do a lot of problem solving on your own.
The paperwork...think it's bad in a hospital? It's a thousand times worse in home care.
Plus you usually have to take on call, so you could have put in a difficult 8-10h day, then have to get up at 0200 and go see a pt.
No cakewalk, that's for sure.

Ditto. I worked in home health for 18 years, and it is NO cakewalk, for sure. Besides having to do visits in homes which should have been condemned years before and having to put up with snakes, rats, roaches as well as alcoholic, neurotic and irresponsible family members, you had better hope that you WILL be able to problem-solve on your own, for you aren't going to get it from the agency. I actually had a supervisor hang up on me, after I was called to a patient's home to reinsert a Keofeed, which I had never worked with before. I wound up sending him to the E.R....and it was a good thing I did, for I found out afterwards that these can only be replaced under radiologic confirmation. Suppose I had tried to reinsert it and had punctured this guy's esophagus...or worse?? Nowadays these people are coming home with everything from wound vacs to Dobutamine drips and blood transufusions and as Fab4Fan says, they are SICKER than ever. And, as for the paperwork, mileage and being on call, you will get NO compassion from the home health agency you work for, either. It is just another form of disorganized chaos, which you do not need at this point in your life.

icugirl33 · Sep 29, 2005

I recently graduated from a BSN program (5/05) and by my third day on the floor, was ready to head back to schhol. By the time I received my first paycheck, I reapplied and will be starting an ARNP, MSN program in 1/2006. I agree with everything the original poster wrote.

Seasoned salt · Oct 31, 2009

As a veteran of 30 years of Nursing on both the bedside and administrative level, I can tell you that you must never lose sight of the fact that you are the advocate for the patient. There is a shortage because no one wants to work so hard anymore. A degree is not an entitlement to "smooth sailing" unless you are just looking for short cuts. In this day and age, whether you have a union or not, you as a nurse can advocate for the benefit of patient safety , make management aware that the staffing level is dangerous. But do not abandon your role. When I started nursing we had 2 nurses for 35 patients. All charts and flow sheets had to be filled out and medications were given on time under penalty of suspension in between strict guidelines of patient care. There were no computers and certain technologies which exist now did not exist then. But we stuck it out, without breaks sometimes, without meals sometimes, but seeing the outcome and the patient satisfaction was a great reward, That is why I am who I am. You do not need to suffer inappropriate working conditions, but strive to change them for the benefit of those who follow your footsteps and your patients. Don't run away. If you run every time things do not work as you anticipated in healthcare, you will never stop running.

Wsmith16, ADN, BSN · Nov 6, 2009

Come from a family of nurses & been a nurse for a few months and am looking for my way out. I love nursing--I believe that alot of new nurses simply will not stay at the bedside. Too much abuse from families, patients & administration. We are being pulled in all different directions. I don't want end up bitter hence am going back to school ASAP. bedside nursing/

Wsmith16, ADN, BSN · Nov 6, 2009

As a veteran of 30 years of Nursing on both the bedside and administrative level, I can tell you that you must never lose sight of the fact that you are the advocate for the patient. There is a shortage because no one wants to work so hard anymore. A degree is not an entitlement to "smooth sailing" unless you are just looking for short cuts. In this day and age, whether you have a union or not, you as a nurse can advocate for the benefit of patient safety , make management aware that the staffing level is dangerous. But do not abandon your role. When I started nursing we had 2 nurses for 35 patients. All charts and flow sheets had to be filled out and medications were given on time under penalty of suspension in between strict guidelines of patient care. There were no computers and certain technologies which exist now did not exist then. But we stuck it out, without breaks sometimes, without meals sometimes, but seeing the outcome and the patient satisfaction was a great reward, That is why I am who I am. You do not need to suffer inappropriate working conditions, but strive to change them for the benefit of those who follow your footsteps and your patients. Don't run away. If you run every time things do not work as you anticipated in healthcare, you will never stop running.

On the contraire maybe she should run away. Maybe if new nurses run-- administratuin will see that there is a problem & maybe it will get fixed. Instead of putting up with it maybe we should say enough is enough. Pt safety is at risk, our license is at risk. We need to say enough to poor staffing conditions. Why must nurses be the martyrs. Administration is aware of what is going on there just not doing anything about it. Maybe we as nurses need to be more vocal about nurse to pt ratios. By doing so the patients will benefit more in the end.

FLmomof5 · Nov 10, 2009

Since this thread is about 4 yrs old....maybe you should start a new one!

CoffeeGeekRN · Nov 11, 2009

In this economy to run may not be an option.