nursing, but not bedside nursing?

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If I want to become a nurse but with no intention of doing bedside nursing and would rather work in a clinic or the community... is that a realistic expectation?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

You may be taking the term "bedside" too literally. This phrase actually refers to jobs that provide direct hands-on care for patients no matter whether they are in a bed, stretcher, chair, bench, or propped up with a walker ... LOL. Direct care can be provided in either an inpatient setting - where patients spend the night - or ambulatory (outpatient) setting where they go home after you provide the service they need. Inpatient care (in non-psych hospitals) means that the patients need help with 'activities of daily living' like bathing, dressing, getting out of bed, eating, etc. INpatient also includes Long Term Care and (physical) REhab.

So. . . bottom line .... do you mean that you want to work only in ambulatory care (clinic) type settings? But you will have to do clinical training in inpatient settings as part of your nursing education - afterward, you can choose to practice wherever you can find a job. Overall, 40% of nurses do not work in hospitals. Many nurses spend their entire careers very happily working in ambulatory care.

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all HouTX said... plus very, very low pay (unfortunately)

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I hope you don't take offense at this, but when you say you would rather work 'in the community' rather than doing bedside nursing, do you mean you don't want to get your hands dirty (so to speak)? There are definitely 'neater/cleaner' types of nursing, but that doesn't happen until you've spent a good number of years with.....dirty hands.

Clinical years in school have alot of hands-on care (obviously) and typically no one will be interested in employing you in outpatient settings until you have actual work experience to draw from (clinicals in school don't count as experience).

True, some jump from school into those settings, but it's not usual. Just something to consider if you are considering pursuing nursing. And as already mentioned, the money in nursing is NOT typically found in the 'clean hands' category.....at least not where you'd be starting.

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I think I used the wrong term. I don't care about getting my hands dirty. I mean there's gloves and sanitizer for a reason lol. What I meant is I don't want to work on a regular med/surg floor. I'd like to have a specialty and work on the psych floor.

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I think I used the wrong term. I don't care about getting my hands dirty. I mean there's gloves and sanitizer for a reason lol. What I meant is I don't want to work on a regular med/surg floor. I'd like to have a specialty and work on the psych floor.

Well.....yes, I didn't misunderstand your terminology. Actually, with this post, I am certain I understood just fine. The thing is, it is rare to come out of nursing school and land one's ideal placement. I'm sure you know this too....but I think sometimes people do go in thinking "oh, I know I have to pay my dues, learn the ropes, etc before I get to do what I want" but the REALITY is, they oftentimes don't have the patience (or stamina?) to get through that learning curve period. I think it's a shame when I see people in the pre-nursing phase planning on what they are definitely going to do (and not do) after graduation, only to find that they would be pretty danged lucky to land ANY job. New grads who wanted sexy specialties like ED and ICU find themselves in LTC. "I want to work with babies!!!" students who are lucky if they land a job in med-surg anywhere.

It also strikes me as odd when people say "I'd like to have a specialty, not work med-surg". Hmmm.....after years of med-surg, I believe I see why it's a specialty unto itself: it is not for the faint of heart, and it is not for the weak-skilled. The "specialty" of med-surg is being able to do something of EVERYTHING, rather than "that's not my area of specialty" and hope someone else can figure out the problem. Just something to think about.

All I'm saying is, while it's absolutely possible to get what you want in the way of specialties, they aren't handed out upon graduation (don't we wish!!); after you prove what you're worth, and that you ARE worth something as a floor nurse, THEN you have more opportunities coming your way.

FWIW, I *thought* my psych rotation was going to be the neat/clean rotation, LOL, because we were told to wear street clothes to clinicals. Ah, yes, finally, no scrubs and no messy patients! ROFL....VERY FIRST THING walking in the door was a Feces Thrower---thankfully not MY assignment, but let me tell ya, a classmate of mine was NOT clean in short order ;)

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I've only worked in the clinic setting for my entire nursing career and love it. I have two young kids and it's more important to me to be at home evenings, weekends, and holidays right now. Yes, the pay is lower and the prestige is lower, but you have to weigh what matters to you. I do hands-on pt care every day, from basic vitals to breathing tx to all sorts of injections to phone triage, and know that I am helping pts. People do go to the doctor's office when they're sick and someone has to be there for them and to help the doctor. Working in a specialist's office will be more involved than a PCP, with more procedures typically than PCP.

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I think you have a realistic expectation. I know some nurses (even new grads) that never stepped foot in a hospital let alone a medsurg floor. Ofcourse, this is not a guarantee but it is certainly possible. Psych is also very doable. I say go after it if it is something you really want to do.

I've only worked in specialty areas, never had to work in medsurg ( even though I consider that a specialty). I did have a few years in LTC though but once again some people are just lucky enough to bypass medsurg and start where they please.

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I just got asked to participate in my state nursing practice advisory board, and one of of the things we've looked at is the idea that with practice settings changing so rapidly there's a chance that the routine med/surg-for-two-years-first may become a thing of the past, with new grads assuming their first positions in other settings. You're on the cutting edge, then. As with all other sharp things, watch out for lacerations.

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I don't really love bedside nursing in the inpatient setting but I double (at least)whatever a clinic nurse makes every year at least.

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I went to nursing school to become a psych nurse and upon graduation had 3 offers at psych facilities. I have remained in psych with the exception of a stint in public health and mother baby. I think it depends on your area of the country possibly as we hire new grads annually if not more often. Best of luck!

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I hope you don't take offense at this, but when you say you would rather work 'in the community' rather than doing bedside nursing, do you mean you don't want to get your hands dirty (so to speak)?

They want to make sure they stay away from all those stomach "bugs" and all the vomit and diarrhea that goes with it, lol. I guess they figure if they stay away from bedside nursing and do clinic or community nursing they won't be exposed to that type of stuff.

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