Outpatients Nursing - The Right Decision?

[Dizzieblonde79]

Based in the U.K. so I'm not sure if there's a big difference between British and U.S. Outpatients Departments and what the job involves, but I was just after some advice

After graduating, I worked on a busy, typically heavy 36-bed acute medical ward, and then last year was moved to Intensive Care after my ward was closed. Although Critical Care nursing isn't *that* difficult really (although getting used to having only one patient was a bit strange!), a few of the staff really seem to spoil it and the morale on there is rock-bottom. I spotted a Band 6 post for Medical Outpatients and applied knowing that I probably wouldn't get it - I'd only be qualified 3 years and thought I stood no chance of jumping from a Staff Nurse to Sister post in such a short time. Lo and behold, I was offered it and have accepted (subject to CRB checks, the usual paperwork etc.). The thought of regular hours were a god-send after the soul-destroying shift patterns on Critical Care, and I knew I'd never progress up the ladder unless I moved around a bit.

I did a shift there just to get my head around the layout, the staff and the basic job and all it seems to be is taking a long line of blood pressures, weights and heights (although the auxiliary staff usually do that!), send the patients in to see the doctor in the next room - and then repeat, over and over again until the end of the shift

Although I'm looking forward to the regular hours and a lot less hassle, part of me is starting to worry that I'll be so far removed from hands-on nursing that I'll be completely unemployable anywhere else afterwards, or will just become brain-dead and end up leaving the profession altogether. Does anyone here work in an OPD and have similar concerns, or has left one for similar reasons?