Peds RN seeks advice

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 1, 2005

If you really have a passion to be an L&D nurse, then by all means switch. There is nothing wrong with that.

However, your question "am I just burned out?" is a really good question to ask yourself. Are you just looking for greener pastures because you need a break and/or have reached a point in your current job where you need to get refreshed?

As we are young, we experience frequent changes in our lives as we go from winter to summer ... school to summer vacation. We also enter a new grade in school each year with a new teacher, some different classmates, more advanced subject matter, etc. Then, as adults we take jobs that don't have those naturally occurring breaks and built-in progressive steps. After a year or two of being in the same place, doing the same thing ...we start to look around for "what's next?" and/or get frustrated at coping with the same problems every day. We look for that "moving on" that happened automatically when we were young, when we never stayed in one place long enough to experience that fatigue of sameness.

I have seen many nurses hop from job to job during their careers, making a lateral mover every 2 years or so once they have "mastered" the basics of each job. Those nurses often end up as great generalist staff nurses, but they rarely ever develop true expertise in any one area because they never stay long enough in any one place. They never build their career "upward:" they just make one lateral move after another -- always staying at the beginner/advanced beginner level of practice. Once they become fully competent, they start feeling "stagnant" and "burned out" and they start looking for the next place to go to.

So ... what you probably need to explore and think deeply about is: Does L&D seem particularly attractive to you because you really think that you would really be happier there long term? ... or Does L&D seem attractive to you now because you are a little frustrated with your job right now, need to refresh your career, and you are putting rose-colored glasses on to view L&D because you want to leave where you are now?

I would suggest thinking about your long-term career goals and the reasons you chose pediatrics in the first place. For example, if you want to teach nursing someday, it might be a great idea to get both Peds experience and maternity experience. That would make you more marketable as a faculty member. Also, if you will always wonder what life would have been liked had you given L&D a try, then it might be worth it to invest the time and effort to try it.

However, you also might discover that your long term career desires are more pediatric focused. In that case, you might want to look for ways to refresh yourself and revitalize your professional life that involve pediatrics. Perhaps a transfer to a different peds unit is in order (ICU? NICU? oncology? OR? etc.). Perhaps it is time to consider going back to school on a part time basis so that you can qualify for some advanced practice / leadership positions. Perhaps it is time to become more active in unit-level leadership by serving on committees, being more active as a preceptor or mentor, etc.

In other words, now that you have 2 years of experience and have reached the competent level of practice -- do you want to move beyond that into providing leadership within pediatric nursing or do you want to switch fields and become a beginner again?

Achieving expertise and providing leadership is hard. That's why most people don't do it. They let other people make the bigger investment and stick out the tough times and rough spots in a career. But if you ever want to be a leader, you need to "work through" the rough spots and build your career in an upward direction instead of repeatedly making lateral moves from one specialty to another every time you need to get refreshed.

On the other hand ... if you truly have a greater passion for maternity nursing than for pediatric nursing ... or if you want to be a maternal-child nursing instructor ... then switching is what you should probably do.

Good luck,

llg

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 1, 2005

Is there any way you can float to L/D or shadow a few aquaintances there? L and D is NOT at ALL like peds---and it's not all about babies, either. Actually we spend very little time with the babies, other than teaching new moms to care for them. It may not be what you are after, if being around babies is your passion. You spend MUCH more time being with moms and dads, and dealing with numerous family members.

Perhaps, you could become a postpartum or Mother-Baby nurse-------this would allow you to spend a lot more time being with moms AND their babies and teaching new parents about their amazing newborns and how to care for them.

I would definately put some thought before you go to L/D. Talk to some people you know who work there----and maybe ask if you can float there to help out or something. Get a feel for it----it is sure not for everyone. Then try the same with Mother/Baby and see if either is for you.

GOOD LUCK and best wishes choosing what works for you!

nurse_knitter · Dec 1, 2005

Thank you so much for the thoughtful responses. You've given me some things to think about. :)

EDValerieRN, ASN, RN · Dec 1, 2005

Maybe the well baby nursery?

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 1, 2005

well-baby nurseries are hard to find. Most of them are for sick kids, only.....or NICU's.