Non bedside nursing jobs?

[ericninetwo]

Hi all,

I have 2 years of psych experience and am currently working med-surg nights (about 6 months now). I've slowly come to the realization bedside nursing is not for me. I truly wanted to give it a shot for the experience and am learning so much but at the end of the day I see myself dread going to work, especially working nights and weekends.

Just wanted to know what was out there in terms of non bedside nursing roles. I have a general idea such as public health, psych, education but just wanted to see what I may be missing.

For those that are doing non bedside jobs and wouldn't mind briefly sharing what you do, your experience in nursing, and just the general. Thank you all so much

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

Is it the patient contact you're fed up of?

Already a thread here with good suggestions:

 

If you like the patient contact but prefer them a bit more well than lying in bed think of occupational health or research nursing. 

[ericninetwo]

18 minutes ago, DavidFR said:

Is it the patient contact you're fed up of?

Already a thread here with good suggestions:

 

If you like the patient contact but prefer them a bit more well than lying in bed think of occupational health or research nursing. 

Thanks for the reply.

Actually I do enjoy talking to patients, that might be one of my best traits. I would just prefer to do it in a more laxed setting such as a clinic or outpatient rather than a hospital. Plus taking care of 5 patients (my floor is 1:5) sometimes gets overwhelming and the expectations are absurd. 

 

 

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

If you can rough it for 6 more months in med-surg I expect you'll have better luck branching out. Then you'll have 3 yrs experience as a nurse, with a year of fresh/current acute care...

[Chickenlady]

Occupational health= workmans comp paperwork, testing for specific work related needs (spirometry, etc), reviewing and interpreting medical records, these days, contact tracing Covid

Industrial nursing: working in a factory as emergency response and/or acute episodic care, can have elements of occupational nursing as well. 

Case management/insurance nursing: organizing appointments/testing/supplies for patients.  Interpreting medical charts and determining if care is appropriate and reasonable. 

Corrections: emergency response, medication admin, looking after patients not sick enough to be inpatient, managing chronic conditions, PSYCH, lots of stuff here in a jail or prison environment.  

 

["nursy", RN]

Since I have left bedside nursing, I have done corrections, and school nursing.  Loved them both.  

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I'm working in developmental disabilities now overseeing group homes. Lots of overlap with psych but its not psych. And its not bedside.

I'm an administrator, but I also change diapers now and then.

I don't like being the only medical person at my job but I do like working in the community and I do generally like working on an interdisciplinary team. 

I'm responsible for a lot of the education, which I enjoy.

I also do audits which can be tedious. 

I like the autonomy.

It doesn't pay enough for the liability. I'm the only licensed person here and that freaks me out sometimes.

The state is always watching us, not like in mental health where no one really cares about your patient except you.

I feel like my patients get good care. The staffing ratios are amazing. We never have more than 4 residents in one home, and we often have 3 staff there. I've never seen that kind of staffing anywhere, ever. Amazingly, staff still complain that they are short when they are 1 to 4.

There's too much to do but that's nursing. 

My past work experience is a mix of inpatient and community psych. 

The job doesn't really pay enough to require a BSN and experience, but I think you really need both or at least the experience in order to do it well. It just would not work out for a new grad at all. No guidance whatsoever and you're the only nurse. You need a fair amount of confidence to do this job.

What else?

I really dislike hospital nursing and always prefer to be in the community. But, the downside is that the agencies that do community health are not big and rich like hospitals and therefore can't support you as well in your professional development.

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

I have a job in an FQHC (my first job out of nursing school). I really like it.  It can be chaotic due to understaffing; patients with all sorts of backgrounds and needs; high turnover among providers. But I’ve thrived there. It also doesn’t hurt that I work 8-4:30 weekdays only. 

[Kyla RN, BSN]

Research Nursing or RN Organ Transplant Coordinator 

[igus2666]

Have you considered working in the clinic..pt are in and out, and it's at a much slower pace.