I became an RN a year ago after being a paramedic for 10 years.
Every day I struggle with knowing I’m not meant for bedside nursing. I’ve tried a few different facilities and assignments, but it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, 12 hours of *** from admin, other nurses, patients, their family, etc has made me miserable for a year.
My problem is that I have no alternatives. A nursing degree is very limiting, obviously. I can’t be a paramedic anymore.
The situation is akin to wanting to jump out of a plane and knowing I need a parachute to do it, not having said parachute, but contemplating jumping anyway and hoping for the best.
I don’t know what to do. I have a wife and 2 toddlers and my prime function is stability for them. But my wife is okay with me making a change so long as we can pay the bills. She’s a stay at home mom and we want it to stay that way until my kids get into school (they’re 2.5 years old).
I’ve tried looking everywhere online for answers and I can’t find anything.
"I just want to make clear that not all outpatient jobs pay poorly".
I don't know much about FQHCs. I live in a city where most of health care is owned by 3 big "non-profits". They have specific pay scales set for inpatient vs outpatient. Of course, years of experience determine where you lie on the pay scale. It takes 20 years to get to the top. Once a nurse reaches the top, she/he gets a yearly bonus instead of an hourly pay increase.
"I just want to make clear that not all outpatient jobs pay poorly".
I don't know much about FQHCs. I live in a city where most of health care is owned by 3 big "non-profits". They have specific pay scales set for inpatient vs outpatient. Of course, years of experience determine where you lie on the pay scale. It takes 20 years to get to the top. Once a nurse reaches the top, she/he gets a yearly bonus instead of an hourly pay increase.
Out of curiosity- do you happen to know if bonuses are taxed at the same rate as "regular" income? Thanks!
2BS Nurse, BSN
703 Posts
"I just want to make clear that not all outpatient jobs pay poorly".
I don't know much about FQHCs. I live in a city where most of health care is owned by 3 big "non-profits". They have specific pay scales set for inpatient vs outpatient. Of course, years of experience determine where you lie on the pay scale. It takes 20 years to get to the top. Once a nurse reaches the top, she/he gets a yearly bonus instead of an hourly pay increase.