Sick of floor nursing, what now?

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I'm getting tired of floor nursing. And I'm getting burnt out on night shift.

I've only been nursing for a year and a half. We're always told that med-surg is where you should start to get your experience. I just don't know where to go from here. What do you do when you don't WANT to advance to another area (within the hospital)? I don't want ICU/ED/L&D/Mother/baby/PACU/OR/Charge nursing/Case management.

I love everything about the job of night shift, but it's killing my body. I miss sleeping normal human hours, and being awake for the day. I miss the sun. However, it's not as simple as switch to days”. No way in HELL I would work dayshift on the floor. Less pay, more stress, more families and doctors and discharges. No thanks.

The only non-hospital options I can come up with are all ones that include a paycut, but I'm seriously at the point to where the money isn't worth the physical and mental exhaustion anymore. I'm considering home care, clinics, doctors offices, or one of those work from home insurance approval positions.

I don't need the excitement or challenge that drive some people. I like stable, steady, routine. I want to do my job, know that I helped someone in some way, and go home. I don't want to feel like I'm spread so thin that I barely get the tasks done, not able to give a patient quality care because I have to rush off to another, walking on eggshells, and sit here on my days off dreading the next day.

I feel stuck.

I would appreciate advice from those like me who have made the change from floor nursing to other positions, and how it turned out for you.

Specializes in Med Surg.
I've only been nursing for a year and a half. QUOTE]

For crying out loud.

Specializes in Cardiac (adult), CC, Peds, MH/Substance.

When I get tired of floor nursing, I switch it up with ceiling nursing for a bit.

I love all of these posts (especially the ceiling nursing :laugh:). It's nice hearing that I'm not alone, and that there are others who have made the move and had success. I am following many peoples advice - researching, and waiting for the right opportunity to pop up, all while building more solid work experience where I'm currently at. Also considering going part time for a while to clear my head and look into other options. I would still love hearing advice, or your stories on how you left the hospital or med/surg nursing, if you would like to share. Thank you for the support.

Try sub-acute rehab or SNF and become a RN Supervisor, where you supervise and delegate tasks to LVNs and CNA. Your primary tasks will be IV medication and IV insertions. The only downside is the nurse:patio ratio, but it also depends on the staffing of the facility. It's an 8 hour shift compared to 12 hour shift. Admissions can be pretty hectic depending on the time of the day and week. I haven't really seen a "chill" nursing job that pays well at the same time...unless you become a Nurse Practitioner.

Specializes in Informatics, Orthopaedics.

You could look and see if Clinical Informatics interests you. I was in Ortho for a year and a half and it almost completely killed my desire to be a nurse. I switched to CI and couldn't be happier.

I recently left floor nursing after 5 years. Half on nights and half of it on days. I was beyond burned out. The stress got to the point where I was was seeing a neurologist for migraines and a GI doc for stomach problems not to mention I was sick all the time and I HATED my job. I took a huge leap and took a job in home health. I have to say I've been doing it for a little more than 3 months and I'm enjoying the change. Not to mention I actually make more money than I did in the hospital! Certainly it has its stressful moments but it won't come close to the kind of stress I was experiencing on the floor. You get a little more time to educate (which I LOVE) and boy do you get good at wound care and PICC dressing changes lol. It still feel so rewarding and my patients are so gracious and thankful... and I get to be home no later than 4:30 or 5. Check it out... it can't hurt!!

I spent almost 5 years in the hospital. From telemetry to OR to step down & even ICU. I wanted the ICU experience so I could go back to school. Guess what I hated it. I left the hospital for case management with insurance. It was work at home M-F no weekends or holidays. Now working as a UN with the same company & love it. Honestly a slight pay cut but worth the work at home, away from the hospital politics í ¾í´¢ . I am currently looking to relocate my family to another state & will keep my job & pay. How awesome is that. Don't get discouraged we have all been there. Many do not find their "niche" but that is ok. You will find what works for you & your family. Network & keep looking. Never be afraid of change. I worked many of floors & learned a lot from each. That helped making me a more well rounded nurse. I respect all positions & do not hold one over another. Had many times the ICU nurse would come over & she even berated a my coworker - very unprofessional. We need to encourage others & not look at them as a PIA but use as a teaching moment to help them become a better nurse.

Specializes in orthopedics, psychiatry, med-surg.

Hi.

I was like you, in that I never cared for hospital nursing. I drifted from med-surg to oncology to nephrology to urology, and finally psychiatry.

I did enjoy psychiatry, but I found out after years of nursing, that acute care was just not my niche. Nurses tend to think that, unless you work in a hospital, that you're not a "real nurse," but there is so much more to nursing than acute care. Public health or community nursing is what it's all about for me. Yes, I took a drastic pay cut when I left the hospital, but the benefits far outweigh the money. I finally did minor emergency walk-in clinic care and loved it! There was never a dull moment, but I was able to focus my nursing skills on less patients at a time, instead of spreading myself thin and feeling like I had half done everything at the end of my shift.

Now, I am a school nurse and going on my 10th year. I have 2 campuses and things can get quite hectic but still not like the hospital. I have always loved patient teaching and I get to do quite a bit of health ed. Don't be fooled though, there are lots of young diabetics that you will spend a big part of your day with trying to keep sugars from getting out of control. There are many times I've had to call an ambulance for emergencies and do emergency care until they arrive. There are lots of young asthmatics requiring inhalers that I assist everyday and I even have a student that requires G tube feedings.

I certify the staff in CPR, First Aid and AED, Assist in policy making for health concerns, give lots of meds, do screenings for vision, dental, and scoliosis, just to give you an idea.

Needless to say, I love my job and plan to stay until I retire. This is what nursing is all about for me. I have summers off and all holidays. Don't limit yourself to just the hospital.

There's so many opportunities out there. Go out and explore!

I pre op patients for heart and vascular surgery. No nights, weekends, call or holidays. Hours can be unpredictable as we start early (0500/0600) and you get off once the last patient goes back (depending what order you came in). So you might leave at 3pm, 6pm, 12pm- who knows?!

We work closely with anesthesiologists, surgeons, OR nurses, CRNAs, and the surgeons office (their nurses there, PAs,NPs). Lots of strong personalities.

One thing I like is that we are a one way stop. Patients (and their families!) come to us either from home or from the floor. We may take care of them for 15 min or 6 hours and anywhere inbetween.

You have to be very detail orientated going thorough charts making sure that patient is able to go to surgery. Things get added on and cancelled everyday so you have to be flexible. We call all around the hospital needing things yesterday (transport, lab, blood bank, etc). Everything is hurry up and wait.

Its not a bad gig. I don't think I would be any good at floor nursing since this is all I know. GI, outpatient surgery operates on a similar level if you wanted to look into anything like that.

Specializes in PCCN.
You could look and see if Clinical Informatics interests you. I was in Ortho for a year and a half and it almost completely killed my desire to be a nurse. I switched to CI and couldn't be happier.

Do you mind if I ask what additional education you had to get to do this?

Are you at all interested in LTC? MDS coordinator?

Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology, Epic CT.

I was in the same position as you, only I had different life circumstances that directed me to my current position.

I am a Training Specialist for my organization I work for now. Specifically for the Epic system.

So I train employees, mainly nurses and doctors, about the system. You can also get certified and do consulting as well ( however, that is not as steady going as a full time position).

This can also segway into an analyst job, where you can help build the EMR system your colleagues use.

Research it and see if it's a fit.

The pay is good too. Usually jobs in "Clinical informatics" do.

The pace of the job is definitely more steady as are the hours. Plus I get to help people and use my expertise in a different way.

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