ascty87

I am a new nurse, currently working on a Med Surge floor until the Med-Psych floor position I was hired onto opens. I am a little older than the average new grad (31) and thinking about where I would like to work after I put in some time on my current floor. I have a previous psych degree and worked as a case worker for an outpatient behavioral health center previously. I never really loved the hospital setting in school, but I wanted to give it at least a year (so I will be staying here for a bit) to be sure that I wanted to go a different direction (I LOVE all the things you can do in nursing). I felt like I needed to "Work the floor" to give myself some confidence before going to a specialty like Hospice where I felt my assessment skills should be better. My biggest strength in nursing is definitely patient communication/education, and sometimes I don't feel like I get to utilize these skills because there isn't always time on my floor. I definitely feel drawn to a few specialties; Hospice, drug/alcohol rehab, or community nursing in another capacity. The Hospice team that provided care to my Mom made me really want to work in that capacity, but I wanted to know, what do you like about Hospice? Do you feel like you get more patient interaction? I know the charting and on call hours can be a lot, but I would love to get a feel for how you feel about your position. Thank You!!

Thank you all so much. I have waited to be a nurse for so long (I always wanted to become one, but went a different career path first) and I have looked up to all nurses, so sometimes I get down on myself about my obvious lack of nursing experience. I feel much more positive today, and will take all of your wonderful advice and support in, I truly appreciate it. Thank you all!!

I am a brand new RN, and just worked my 4th shift. It left me feeling overwhelmed and incompetent. I have always been a quieter person, it takes me time to feel comfortable in a new place, and sometimes my "Shyness" can be mistaken for obliviousness. I am 31, so I am older than the new nurses on my unit, but their outgoingness and confidence just makes me want to shrink more. I do really well with patient communication, but skills have always taken me longer (I NEED repetition). Report overwhelms me, because I know what I WANT to say, but I feel so judged, like I must be forgetting something. I guess I just need someone to tell me it's going to get better. Today was also the 1 year anniversary of my Mom's death, so that didn't help my emotional self. I know I know things, and can do this, I just feel so defeated right now. Anyways, I have always enjoyed looking up things on this site, and am happy to finally join as a nurse.