DeeLeeRN

Thanks Lunah! I am hoping that there is not a problem with NJ residents....I am a little worried about that part. I would think they would have said something to me before I started.

Hi Everyone, I have also started in July with the Transitions Course. I was hoping someone may have an answer to my question about accreditation. I cannot find online accreditation information anywhere and that is scary. Also, I am from NJ and told a few people about the program and when they went to the site, it says they can't accept inquiries from New Jersey residents at this time. What is that about? I would love if someone could help answer my questions....Thanks in advance.

CoachBarbara thank you so much. My struggle has been knowing that passion and trying everything else BUT that. I have to wonder why people do that to themselves because I know I am not alone. Even in nursing school I was reccommended for clinical excellence for my psych rotation, why did I not listen?, I guess you can't ruminate over the past.You are so right about the what if stories, that is me, totally!

Thank you so much for your post. It helps so much sometimes to get feedback. It was hard for me to post this because I dislike talking about me to that degree but I really am at a crossroad and want to quit wasting my lifetime.I feel if others in the profession see this maybe they could say "yeah sounds like someone who could do this" or not. Or maybe my story is similar to theirs. Again thank you, and I am actively pursuing my job search as we speak. I will let you know how it goes!

Thank you so much for your time to read the post and for your ideas, very appreciated. I will definitely look into doing a float position.

Hi Everyone, I have not been at the site in awhile. I am a RN who is not sure about anything career wise anymore and could use some wholehearted input/experiences. I have been an RN for 4 plus years. I always liked psych. I have a natural "knowledge" and interest, I find myself always reading and intrigued by psych. However, I had suffered through a major depressive episode myself 10 years ago and have been afraid to go there even though in my life since, I have been able to really connect with people,especially depressed or anxious and offer comfort. So,what did I do???I went into the OR out of school, what a mistake!!Not because I wasn't good, I did well, but I felt nothing,no connection EXCEPT on this one day when a lady was crying because she had to get a double mastectomy, I sat and talked with her and got reemed by anesthesia to "get her back there"in the OR. I did not care about the docs because she thanked me AND she stopped crying. Needless to say, I quit the OR. However, I went to the NICU and did Hospice simultaneously. Both areas are OK and I love Hospice when they give you time to actually do your job. But, here I am again wondering about psych because the one thing I know for sure is the best parts of nursing for me is the interpersonal piece. Does this sound like I could be an effective psych nurse and love what I do---because I am not LOVING anything right now, just tolerating it. My best days are when I can talk to parents of my babies or when I can comfort a family in crisis, they are my best days. I guess I have the fear that I will end up depressed if I am constantly around it. I don't want fear to keep me from something I am very passionate about and I am passionate about feeling, emotions, and people. And to be honest, and I feel i can be here, I resent when the technical stuff and duties take away from that part of my nursing, although I know it is the vital piece in med/surg areas.Any advice would be appreciated. I am hoping someone out there sees something in my story that they can shed some light on, because I am not a happy nurse and I feel it is because I am not where I need to be and now I know it. I just don't know in what area I will be the best for my patients. Thanks.

Thank you for your replies. It is such a help to hear a perspective from others. I can't say how much your support and words mean to me. I have begun to feel alone in nursing sometimes because most times when you admit how you feel, your own peers show very little compassion because that is how they may have been treated or how they survive.How refreshing to see nurses actually CARE about each other.

Hi Everyone, I am new to this site and have seen the wonderful feedback and support you have given to each other.That is why I am here asking this question to all of you. I have been a nurse for about 2 and a half years. I went to school in my early thirties after already having a decent career in quality control for a publisher. I had many reasons for wanting to go to nursing school, some of them based on really wanting to have more meaning in what I do everyday and some based on finances. After school, I really believed that I wanted to work in the OR/a less emotional environment because it might be safe for a feeler like myself.Not the right choice,not that I knock it, for the right person. I really worked for that job too and waited all summer to get it only to find that I felt so empty and lost. (sometimes I think a higher power tries to tell us something when we don't get what we want but we are too stubborn to hear it)No experience is a bad one because I did learn about myself. I came home crying everyday because I felt so empty and felt I made a wrong choice about becoming a nurse. My husband, bless his soul, told me I felt empty because I was not being true to my real nature, I was trying to avoid emotion because of my past losses. How right he was!!!!!!!I had lost my mother to cancer as a teen, it was horrible.No hospice, in the hospital and I lived devastated for years by the experience.Also, my 14yo daughter has a chronic illness that has exposed us to pediatric oncology patients over the years. At first, I would shy away from the families, not now.I am just now embracing who I am instead of running away from my fears.I had left the OR for the NICU and that has helped me find myself and not fear the things that make me ----me. People ask me all the time how I can do it,I say because it is closer to who I am, I cry but out of caring and love , not because I hate my job and that is a big difference.But it still is not the place for me yet, I just feel it.I want more, I want to spend time with my patients,not have different ones everytime I walk through the door.I like bonding with the families and "being there"for them I wish I had that with my mom and maybe I wouldn't have spent 10 years lost and sad.I have really come to terms with myself and have prayed for this because I hate the politics of nursing in the hospital, just hate it.It is no longer about money either, I know what I need to make my bills and be happy. When I think about being a hospice nurse, I feel a sense of well-being that I have missed for a long time,it feels "right". What do you experienced nurses think???I am a feeler and a talker, I cry easily , I care A LOT!!!I am a deep thinker and believe there is more than what we see everyday, and I embrace the human touch. And, I am sick of trying to put those parts of me aside. Do you think I might be feeling my calling finally???Sorry so long, I just really need some support. I am at the point where the more I continue in the hospital, the more shut down I feel.Thanks for your thoughts.