non hospital nursing

[luvly189]

Hi. I'm looking for a job that isn't in the hospital setting. I did a year in the hospital on a telemetry unit and absolutely hated it. I'm wondering if I'll ever like nursing . I've been looking at Ltc facilities as well as home health and county prisons. My problem is when I look at reviews everything is negative. Everyone is always complaining about their job and I don't know if there will be a nursing job I will actually like. All the negativity is so discouraging I'm getting depressed in the job hunting process. I guess I wanna know is there anyone who actually likes their job that isn't in the hospital? Or is it just gonna gonna be a living he'll wherever I go?

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I love my job doing pediatric home visits. Admittedly there are some parts of it I don't like (mainly dealing with nurses who sold their souls to the devil to go work for insurance companies and think they know more about my patients than I do and doubling as a Social Worker) but I work normal hours and have enough vacation time and money to travel abroad several times/year.

[sourapril]

check your county or state health department. They hire nurses.

[RunBabyRN]

I do home infusions, and I like it. It's very chill, and I get a lot of downtime to study for my certs or do whatever else I need to do (I take stuff with me to keep myself amused). It's super flexible, as it's around my and my patients' schedules, and I'm often driving all over, which also gives me a chance to do stuff in other areas (like trail running up in the mountains here, or going shopping in the city or visiting my brother who lives a ways from here). I work very independently, and I say yes or no to whatever work my agency offers me. I am constantly learning about new meds and new diagnoses (more because I am genuinely curious when I see my pt histories). I also get to build relationships with my clients, many of whom receive their meds at least once a month. Some clients are more fun than others, of course, but overall, even though this isn't my "desired" area of nursing, it's been pretty darn good. I've also made some great connections.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

People tend to be more vocal about their jobs when they don't like them, just human nature. And some jobs have higher turnovers, no doubt, because of the nature of the job. But overall, whether you like or dislike your job depends on YOU, your EMPLOYER, and what you want out of life (and your job!).

For the most part, a job opening exists because someone else didn't want it and left. And the other jobs working with the vacant spot are filled because those people DO want to work there. Or, at least, want to stay more than go.

If you find a job that is open AND is the end-all, be-all of nursing for every person everywhere, better keep it: it's a unicorn! :)

[Caffeine_IV]

Why are you giving up on the hospital system? There are other jobs for nurses within the hospital besides telemetry. Maybe you would enjoy a different specialty such as L&D/postpartum or endoscopy lab.

Within our hospital system there are positions in case management, patient placement, outpatient areas (surgery, recovery, pre op).

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

I was wondering the same thing about trying out other positions in the hospital system. Now that you have a year's experience there are so many different possibilities for you. Also, a different hospital may be better for you. The pay is better in a hospital than most other places too. We've had positions come open for the cancer center, wound center, radiation nurse, charge nurse, infusion center, informatics, case managers, discharge nurses, telephonic nurses, unit educators, cath lab, dr's offices, etc and that's not including units like OB, surgery, ER, ICU, etc. One hospital I worked med-surg at and hated but another hospital I worked med-surg I liked so sometimes finding a good, supportive, learning hospital is the answer.

All that being said, I know nurses who work in urgent care, dr's offices, health depts, and free standing surgery centers that all like their jobs. I'm currently working as a school nurse and I really like it but the pay is very low compared to other nursing jobs. I also sometimes miss the skills I used in the hospital but it works well for my family. Good luck finding something you like!

[LilRedRN1973]

I guess I wanna know is there anyone who actually likes their job that isn't in the hospital?

I enjoy my current job. I am a nursing supervisor in the prison infirmary. I make very good money and the job is not difficult. Am I changing the world with my nursing care? No. I gave up that idealistic view when I left the ICU after realizing my hospital was all about profits and less for patient care. The inmates are respectful and thankful for the care they receive (most of them, anyway). The only thing I don't care for is the politics, being the Department of Corrections. But I can think of much worse places to work for much less money. I already have 5 years in with the state (as a psych nurse) and if I can hang in there another 15, I will have a nice little pension waiting for me.