Career move away from patient care?

[ivyleaf]

I have about 8 years of experience in psych nursing and 2 years of primary care (with some urgent care and rheumatology sprinkled in)

I am trying to decide if I should move out of direct patient care

I have always wanted to work in the ED but didn't like my med surg rotations in school and fell into psych

In the past I have applied to ED (and med surg) jobs without luck

After accepting my current position (primary care), I was invited to re-interview for an ED position I had interviewed for @ the same time as the interview for my current job

I was "offered" the job by the nurse manager contingent on HR overriding our policy of 6 months working for the same company before transferring to another dept- which they did not agree to

She invited me to apply back after 6 months; this was about a year and a half ago

Due to multiple factors (personality, working conditions, autonomy), I think that long-term I would like to get into the operations side of healthcare- risk management, quality/safety, infection control, informatics, population health

I know this sounds bad, but I would prefer a non- patient care role -- I have been feeling burnt out on patient care

however, I have always wanted to try ED or cardiac/tele nursing, and I feel like it would make more sense to do it now, when I am currently in a clinical position. I am worried that if I don't try it, I will regret never having done it and/or won't be able to get a position due to being away from pt care.

I am torn between making a move out of patient care and giving tele or ED a shot

I know no one can make the decision for me, but thought I'd see if the group had any thoughts

thanks in advance!

[CoolKidsRN]

Ivyleaf,

Everyone's nursing career path is different. After about 2-3 years of patient care, I have ventured off into healthcare operations myself. Currently I work full time in a non-bedside position and work prn at a bedside position. This is how I balance both my passion for nursing as well as job satisfaction. There is nothing wrong in wanting to leave the bedside however, if you would like to work in the ER, I would do that first that way you have the satisfaction of trying something that you have always wanted. Good luck!

[ivyleaf]

Thanks for the input, CoolKids!