As stated in my previous post I'm very unsettled in what I do right now in LTC. If curious please see my other post, I'm too exhausted to rehash it and completely saddened today that my one day off in the next 5, my son left early from previous plans. He gave me a heartbreaking hug, so I'm in a fragile state.
Completely unexpected I stumbled upon a postion for an educator for a hospice organization. Not only does it pay more (which is saying alot since I make as much as a hospital RN around here) however I didn't go into nursing for the money, bills must be paid. But they are willing to completely train! sounds a little too good to be true right? Besides life experience, I do have management experience, but agreed....in a whole other ballpark.
I read about how many nurses know from the get-go that they don't want bedside but it's necessary (this of course doesn't apply to those who love it, and I am not trying to be disrespectful) to understand the other jobs. It makes sense of course to have that experience to fall back on. But what I'm getting at, is after awhile much of the bedside skills are forgotten no? If someone is begrudgingly in that hospital knowing that they are going to leave for non-beside, this is good for the patients how? Esp when the skills will get rusty anyway. AND even more important is much of the hospital is paperwork and more paperwork, agreed? How many times do we read that nurses who want to provide direct care really can't in the way they want?
I'm leaning more and more these days towards some type of research I think. However I greatly respect the hospice mission statement.(so this may be a viable segway on the journey) I used to say (back when I was clueless and starting the nursing journey!) that I wanted to help people to the other side. So that may be what fits for now, and then build onto something for research later.
I'm not exactly sure if I stay in my LTC for a year how that will really benefit my nursing abilities. We do some skilled care, but anything we are doing is pretty repetative b/c of the same people. There are some that are different, but I'm not sure a year's time is going to provide me with that vast of an experience. Which leads me to the end question I had on my other thread. Is hospital bedside nursing a definite to be able to be the best at whatever you move on to do?
Or do any of you know any nurses who had relatively a short time as bedside and moved on quickly to non? I read one experience here from 2008 Of a nurse who left bedside after only 8mos. I only have a couple mos. am I completely crazy to want to try something else so soon?
I think I will still go on the interview and see what is what. But I just wanted perspective on when you know what you're doing really isn't cutting it, why must you waste more precious life keeping on the same hard path. Perhaps b/c of my age, I am very quick to realize what is not working, I have little tolerance for sticking through something that is making me more miserable than giving me joy in terms of work, b/c I have BTDT and just b/c it wasn't in the nursing sphere does not mean those trials and hard times should be eradicated. Nevertheless I don't want to skip valuable steps that I would regret later.
Maybe if this other position works out, it could be for now, while my son is still home, then if need be go back to a hospital? Or as I keep asking, is the hospital absolutely 100 pct necessary?
i've been contemplating this issue myself. I have a public health license and I thought about going into that route.. i even thought about dialysis. I've read from several posts that after these nurses go into non-bed side nursing fields, they find it a bit challenging to get employers to hire them into the hospital. So it really depends on where you want to be in the long run. if out of the hospital is where you set your heart at, then go for it! sounds like a fantastic opportunity for me. hospice nurses are well respected
Kittyhawk you are struggling with the dilemma that all of us working momma's know all too well--how to balance career advancement while also being present for our kids. I think that if this potential new job allows you more quality time with your son it is probably a very good path to take. Soon he will be off on his own and you'll be able to fully focus your pursuits (I thought previously I saw that he was 17). You have achieved a goal and your are a nurse. You will continue to blossom and go further but try not to feel like you have to do it all today or that you should have had it all done yesterday (HA, I know... easier said than done!). Take the job if it means more quality time with your family, you will not regret having made the choice to be with them--especially 10 years from now when you are looking back.
I think you should do what is best for you , is the best answer .
But a possible reason for having a good grounding in bedside nursing is that when cuts happen , they usually effect nurses away from the bedside first .So if jobs are being cut , your educators post could disappear , if there are only bedside jobs left your lack of experience will be a problem .Also I believe having a good grounding in the realities of that which you wish to teach , is at least helpful .
I am a former hospice nurse, it is a very rewarding type of nursing.
Several questions. How do you feel about Death and Dying. Have you have you had life experiences which can help you relate to patients? How are you pain management skills?
I would suggest you spend a day or two with a hospice nurse, so many nurses would think hospice was there dream job only to leave once they realize the intensity of dealing with death on a daily basis.
If this job turns out to be your dream job go for it, but usually it doesn't look good if you job hop.
I don't think bedside hospital experience in med-surg is a must for everybody. But I would think about how you feel you can function as an educator in a setting that you have no experience in. I think it would be fine to go into hospice with no hospital experience, but being an educator is something different. I think it depends on the role they hope you will take, but I will just give an example from my own workplace to illustrate my point.
We have a CNS who I believe had bedside experience in some other specialty but no experience in the NICU. For some reason they thought it was a good idea to hire her and then just give her some orientation to patient care in our unit so she would have some perspective. Is she able to look up research and make some clinical decisions based on evidence for the policies of our unit? Absolutely. Does she have any concept of how these decisions affect our practice in our unit and any unintended consequences of these decisions? Very little. Has she established trust and relationship with our staff so that people get on board with her recommendations? Not at all. This is in part a personality issue. But when you have many nurses who have been doing this for 20-30 years, it's hard to gain their respect when you don't have any experience. It's kind of like when nurses aren't happy that higher ups who don't work at the bedside make decisions that don't make sense at the bedside.
That said, I encourage you not to stay where you're unhappy and not to get this supposed prerequisite hospital bedside experience unless your goals require it. I hope you find a niche, whether it's hospice or elsewhere, that fits you!
If you are looking to go into this field it would be a good idea to shadow a shift or two like a previous poster suggested unless you had a clinical rotation in this area. I did have a rotation and I'm keeping the possibility in the back of my mind when I get too old and crotchety for bedside care. I know I don't have the experience to deal with hospice and give these patients and families what they need being just a year out of school. I feel that I need the hands on experience to be able to teach others also. I respect everyone's opinions but I feel to educate one should have experience in that field. But you never know some things til you ask questions and give it a shot.
I feel that being an educator would require having walked the walk before talking the talk. Too often I have seen managers, clinical coordinators and educators where I work make ridiculous decisions because they haven't really any clue about what bedside nursing entails. I do agree that if you feel that bedside nursing is not for you that you should find something that is not hands on nursing but you should balance that with at least some experience at the bedside. Some nurses are gifted teachers and excel in that role, I have encountered some. You could be one of those women, especially if you really are passionate about what you are teaching.BUT you need to have the experience to back up what you are teaching. The voice of experience counts for a lot and will enable you to gain the respect of those you work with. If you really have no clue what you are talking about, they will know.
Best of luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.
i dont want to sound naive but i have a hard understanding what bedside nursing is. :confused:for example i do 8 hour shifts in a home with 1 patient that has ivs,trachs,vents,foleys but yet i hear that is not bedside nursing.also ltc i heard is also not bedside nursing. i though bedside nursing was care done at the bedside? i have an extremely hard time trying to get hired to do bedside nursing because i started out doing homecare and ltc, which if im doing bedside nursing already should no have been so hard to do:confused:. so if you were doing ltc you were not doing bedside nursing i think to begin with? but as i guess since we are taught in various setting in school it doesnt matter b/c we all have that basic traing from that.
If you're interested in the position, apply for it and see what happens. There isn't one particular path to any nursing position. Most of my experience is in non-clinical positions and I can tell you that I haven't had any problems finding/keeping a job. There are positions in the nursing world that require xxx amount of bedside/clinical experience, but there are positions in the nursing world that don't. Good luck to you!!
i dont want to sound naive but i have a hard understanding what bedside nursing is. :confused:for example i do 8 hour shifts in a home with 1 patient that has ivs,trachs,vents,foleys but yet i hear that is not bedside nursing.also ltc i heard is also not bedside nursing. i though bedside nursing was care done at the bedside? i have an extremely hard time trying to get hired to do bedside nursing because i started out doing homecare and ltc, which if im doing bedside nursing already should no have been so hard to do:confused:. so if you were doing ltc you were not doing bedside nursing i think to begin with? but as i guess since we are taught in various setting in school it doesnt matter b/c we all have that basic traing from that.
Well, technically, yes, "bedside nursing" would be any nursing done at the bedside -- but the term is generally used as "shorthand" to refer to acute care, inpatient (hospital) bedside nursing (as opposed to other nursing roles in acute care, hospital settings, or home health, or LTC, or any other kind of nursing position).
I don't think bedside hospital experience in med-surg is a must for everybody. But I would think about how you feel you can function as an educator in a setting that you have no experience in. I think it would be fine to go into hospice with no hospital experience, but being an educator is something different.
I totally agree. I don't think that adult med/surg experience is necessary for everyone either ... but I definitely agree that an educator has to be at least competent in the field the he/she is going to teach. The same is true of most leadership and/or advanced positions. You can't teach, lead, or make advanced decisions about a field of nursing if you have no experience in it.
I suggest that the OP apply for the job -- and use the interview process to explore the expectations of the educator role indepth. What would the staff and the management expect of someone in that position? Then, she should ask herself whether or not she has the expertise to do a good job. If she does, great ... if not, and she is still interested in that type of role ... then she could ask herself what type of experience or education would be needed for her to excel at that role.
The possible mistake would be to accept the position and then fail miserably at it ... and end up jobless and with only a little experience in this economy. She wouldn't qualify for new grad programs anymore, but she wouldn't have enough experience to market herself as an experienced nurse. That's a difficult position to be in when there is lots of competition for every good job available.
sounds a little too good to be true right? Besides life experience, I do have management experience, but agreed....in a whole other ballpark.
but as i guess since we are taught in various setting in school it doesnt matter b/c we all have that basic traing from that.
nurse441
143 Posts
i've been contemplating this issue myself. I have a public health license and I thought about going into that route.. i even thought about dialysis. I've read from several posts that after these nurses go into non-bed side nursing fields, they find it a bit challenging to get employers to hire them into the hospital. So it really depends on where you want to be in the long run. if out of the hospital is where you set your heart at, then go for it! sounds like a fantastic opportunity for me. hospice nurses are well respected