LilRedRN1973

I left the ICU and ended up in an outpatient psychiatric clinic for 5 years. I LOVED it. I loved the "normal" hours, Monday through Friday. I loved having an hour for lunch. I loved having my own office with a window and a plant with supplies that were there the next day exactly where I left them. I loved not having to fight other nurses for computers to do my charting. I loved the interaction I had with the patients. I loved actually having the time to do patient education and other nursing tasks without being pulled in a million directions. I am now a nursing supervisor in a prison and while it's not the bedside, it is the prison hospital. What I love about the actual job (not the higher management and coworkers...that's another story) is taking care of the inmates and being able to practice nursing without rude family members questioning why grandma had to wait 5 min for her water or Uncle Bob's pain meds took too long to be given, etc. I love not having patient satisfaction polls and surveys. I love not having to cowtow to the patient and kiss their rear end for fear they will report me for not "doing my job" when in fact, I AM doing my job to the best of my ability but without enough staff, sometimes things take a little longer than I would like. I don't enjoy the people, however. My theory is that because they are all paid a ton of money (we all make well over $80k/year for a very easy, cush job), they have turned into spoiled brats. I'm stuck on the movie set of Mean Girls, I swear. I think they have forgotten what it's like to work their tails off for a lot less money and be treated poorly. The inmates are extremely grateful for the care and for the most part, my actual job is enjoyable. I don't regret leaving the hospital setting for one second. Ever.

What is your cost of happiness? I have been in my new job for about 7 months and part of me regrets leaving a job I loved for this one. There were three main reasons why I changed jobs. One, I wanted to work less days and the job I was at was a Monday-Friday 7:30 to 4:30 clinic job. By the time I got home, I felt like I hadn't seen much of my children (I had to leave for work before they were up for school since my work was 35 min away). My current job is 5 min from home and I love that. I also love working 3-4 days a week and having much more time off to do some of the things I enjoy. Second, the commute. I had been driving 70 minutes round trip to work for 5 years and it was starting to wear on me. This job, as I said, is 5 minutes from home - about 2 miles each way. Third, my pay went from $65k a year to $90k a year. That was obviously a big factor as was the fact it's a supervisory position and the clinic where I was at offered no chance for advancement (they are both within the state system). Now, I find myself reminiscing about my old job and what I liked about it. We were doing fine with finances before but admittedly, the higher paying job offered more chance to save for a house, retirement, kids' college, etc. Of course, my old position is no longer available and I don't really think I would go back there because the drive really was killing me. But there is a position open about 10 min from my house that is exactly what I was doing before - an outpatient psychiatric clinic - and it's within the state sytem so I would not lose my retirement (we get to retire with 65% of our highest grossing years after 25 years). The downside? It's part time. So we would have our household monthly income cut by about $3000/month. We CAN afford it if we budget carefully and it would mean no extras for the most part. But does all that really make me happy if I am unhappy in my job? Plus, working part time would offer me more time with my kids and to even pick up a per diem position if I so desired. In fact, my current place of employment utilizes per diem nurses and it pays around $38/hr. I could easily handle working per diem here as I like the job, just not all the political BS and gossip that seems to go with it. The per diems generally don't have to deal with all of that. I think I have come to realize that while I'm in a good place to set myself up for a DON position in the next 3-5 years, I don't really think I WANT to even do that. I like being just a staff nurse, not having to worry about staffing, scheduling, payroll, etc. I'm just very frustrated and confused right now. I've been a nurse since 2005 and this is the first time I've ever struggled with this issue. So what have you all done with something like this? Stay at a job that is okay (the job is okay, the personnel sucks) and make bank? Or go somewhere that you are really happy, enjoy your coworkers but the pay sucks?

Thank you....everyone has given me something to think about, truly. I had to laugh when I went looking for this post. I just realized I posted in the wrong place! I meant to put it in General Nursing. lol. Thanks again, everyone. Tonight at work has been better with a slight shift in my attitude :-)

This. I am also back to seeing my LADC regularly, I attended my Aftercare group and made my amends to them and I am going to be checking in with the faciliator for my old nurse support group to see what her opinion is on the matter. She has worked with the BON for years and has about 20 years of experience in working with substance abuse/nurses on contract. I do NOT consider this a slip - it is what it is. A relapse. I was prescribed the oxycodone from the ER but did end up taking my husband's after a couple of weeks. I did not take it at work but that doesn't matter as I know enough to know my thinking is impaired when I stick that crap in my body, even if it's not affecting me physiologically at the time. When I am using, I am not thinking with the head of someone in recovery. I appreciate everyone's feedback and understand both sides of it. My Aftercare group gave me a lot to think about as did my counselor (he faciliates the group). I am looking forward to hearing what the RN's in my old nurse support group have to contribute as well as my old faciliator. I respect her very much and her guidance has never been wrong so far.

I wish I were in a position of authority. Being a supervisor here is like being a figurehead. It's in name only. Even the DON doesn't get much accomplished. I work in a correctional institute and there is not much that I can do to change anything, unfortunately. Everyone just shrugs their shoulders and says "that's the way it's been around here for years". Fighting with the warden doesn't get you anywhere. While the extra money is nice for the things you mention (although we currently rent and have no plans to buy a house anytime soon), I can't stand the stress I have when it's time to go to work. I never had that at my old job. I looked forward to going to work every day and on my days off, never gave it a second thought. I think the biggest part I hate is being a supervisor. If I could step down to staff nurse, I would probably be just fine sticking it out. And the cut in pay would only be about $9k for the entire year (I make $90k, the staff RN's make $81k/year). I'm not sure there is even an opening or if they would even allow me to do that. Maybe I should sit down and make a concrete list of pros and cons instead of keeping it all in my head. Putting it on paper might allow me to see things more clearly. Because truthfully, I had stress before when it came time to pay bills. We always had enough but it was something we had to really watch and there were weeks we were living paycheck to paycheck. Now, I don't ever have to worry about that and there is always plenty to go around. But it's definitely a trade off.....

What is your cost of happiness? I have been in my new job for about 7 months and part of me regrets leaving a job I loved for this one. There were three main reasons why I changed jobs. One, I wanted to work less days and the job I was at was a Monday-Friday 7:30 to 4:30 clinic job. By the time I got home, I felt like I hadn't seen much of my children (I had to leave for work before they were up for school since my work was 35 min away). My current job is 5 min from home and I love that. I also love working 3-4 days a week and having much more time off to do some of the things I enjoy. Second, the commute. I had been driving 70 minutes round trip to work for 5 years and it was starting to wear on me. This job, as I said, is 5 minutes from home - about 2 miles each way. Third, my pay went from $65k a year to $90k a year. That was obviously a big factor as was the fact it's a supervisory position and the clinic where I was at offered no chance for advancement (they are both within the state system). Now, I find myself reminiscing about my old job and what I liked about it. We were doing fine with finances before but admittedly, the higher paying job offered more chance to save for a house, retirement, kids' college, etc. Of course, my old position is no longer available and I don't really think I would go back there because the drive really was killing me. But there is a position open about 10 min from my house that is exactly what I was doing before - an outpatient psychiatric clinic - and it's within the state sytem so I would not lose my retirement (we get to retire with 65% of our highest grossing years after 25 years). The downside? It's part time. So we would have our household monthly income cut by about $3000/month. We CAN afford it if we budget carefully and it would mean no extras for the most part. But does all that really make me happy if I am unhappy in my job? Plus, working part time would offer me more time with my kids and to even pick up a per diem position if I so desired. In fact, my current place of employment utilizes per diem nurses and it pays around $38/hr. I could easily handle working per diem here as I like the job, just not all the political BS and gossip that seems to go with it. The per diems generally don't have to deal with all of that. I think I have come to realize that while I'm in a good place to set myself up for a DON position in the next 3-5 years, I don't really think I WANT to even do that. I like being just a staff nurse, not having to worry about staffing, scheduling, payroll, etc. I'm just very frustrated and confused right now. I've been a nurse since 2005 and this is the first time I've ever struggled with this issue. So what have you all done with something like this? Stay at a job that is okay (the job is okay, the personnel sucks) and make bank? Or go somewhere that you are really happy, enjoy your coworkers but the pay sucks?

For my AAS-N (Associates of Applied Science in Nursing), I was required to have classes such as ENG 101, MATH 120 or 126, CHEM 121 or BIOL 190 (Intro to Cell and Molecular Biology), BIOL 223 and 224 (Anatomy and Phys), PSY 101 before applying to the program. You could then either take BIOL 251 (Micro) before or during the program. I choose to take an accelerated 3 week long Micro class the summer prior to nursing school because I did not want to have to take any extra classes besides the core nursing classes while in the program if I didn't have to. You could also choose to take ENG 102 before or during as well as one of the following: HIST 111, CH 203 (Core Humanities), PSC 103 (Principles of American Constitutional Government). I also choose to take those PRIOR to the program. You received points based on your GPA in the hard science classes and you could also get points for being a CNA, EMT as well. My EMT license is what helped me get accepted into nursing school on the first try.

Dialysis, psych and corrections. All are contract friendly in my state. At the prison where I currently work, IF you can get on day shift, the Department of Corrections is a good place to work. It also pays extremely well, around $80k a year. Dialysis is the way I went, for a few months anyway. Then I ended up in the state run outpatient psychiatric clinic. It was an excellent place to spend my time on contract. My supervisor had been on contract years and years prior so he was very empathetic to nurses on contract and in fact, had 4 of us working there.

I don't drink at all....haven't had ETOH since prior to June 2008. I relax and unwind after my 12 hour nightshift by going for a 4-5 mile run at 6:30am before getting ready for bed. Helps me clear my head and sleep like the dead :-) Also, a little melatonin always helps facilitate great sleep.

My regular nursing job in the prison infirmary is fairly cushy. It pays very well, about $43/hour and there isn't much going on 80% of the time. The hardest part is trying to figure out which inmate is attempting to compromise you this week.

If my RA continues to flare up, I may be getting a doctor's note sooner rather than later. I am scheduled to go to dayshift in the coming months but I have noticed since changing jobs, my RA has been more of an issue. I went from Monday - Friday, 7:30-4:30 to nocs, 12 hour shifts. When I was working days, I rarely had issues with my arthritis and now, it seems to be a regular problem.

It was one of my options and I quickly turned it down because for me and me only, I would have been replacing my dependence on pain pills to dependence on suboxone. From what I have seen working in the psychiatric field for the past 5 years and many, many addicts, when they have been offered suboxone, it doesn't encourage them to find other ways to manage their sobriety. They aren't much interested in meetings, a sponsor, etc. This is just from my experience. I think it has its place, short term but long term use just wasn't for me and I didn't want to even start down that path. I was taking close to 40 Norco's a day and endured a nasty 7-10 days of withdrawal but then it was over and I was clear of any pills, medications or the need to take anything. And that was when I buckled down and started a 12 step program in order to ride myself of the obsession/craving. I know our BON does NOT allow it at all. They are very much opposed to the use of just about anything while on contract.

If your state offers a monitoring agreement as opposed to probation (I am in Nevada and they do both), then your discipline will never be made public if you complete your contract. My name is clear in NurseSys even though I surrendered my license and was placed on contract. This is because I was offered a monitoring agreement rather than a probationary one. If I had violated my contract while on it, then I would have been placed on a probationary one and all my info would have been placed in the national data bank, showing my discipline.

The thought of entering into Nevada's monitoring program was so daunting to me that I actually placed my license on inactive status and attempted to do the whole sobriety thing on my own. Big fail. I was back to my old behavior within a few months. I finally called the BON from inside the rehab and agreed to their monitoring contract. I am SO glad I did. They gave me back my life...no, they gave me a better life than I had before. Although there were some rough times through my contract, I did complete it. I was very blessed in that before they granted me a restricted license back, one of the RN's who was in my nurse support group encouraged me to apply at Liberty Dialysis as a tech so I would have some dialysis experience when I did get my license back and hopefully procure employment as a dialysis RN. And they did just that. I was hired as a tech and on the day my license was reinstated (a restricted license), they moved me from tech position to RN. I ended up leaving that job for one I would stay at for the remainder of my 5 year contract, which was an outpatient psychiatric clinic run by the state. But I will forever be grateful to that RN's suggestion that I look into being a tech before getting my license back. It was good for me to have a job within the medical field so when I did get my license back, becoming gainfully employed as an RN was not as difficult. Our monitoring contract stinks in that you only get credit towards your 5 year contract while working as an RN. So if it takes you a year to find a job after getting your restricted license, your time doesn't start coming off until you begin work as an RN. All that being said, I never second guessed entering my monitoring agreement. I learned things about myself that I will be forever grateful to the Nevada BON for and I never would have done so without their program. It wasn't easy at times and I absolutely hated having to call in 365 days a year for drug testing and all the money I paid out for the drug testing, nurse support group, counseling, aftercare and monitoring fees to the board. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. My life, even after a brief relapse, is so incredibly different these days and most of the time, I like who I have become (hey, I'm a work in progress....lol). Good luck in whatever you decide!

I thought when I signed my 5 year contract, that it seemed like FOREVER. And truth be told, the first 1-2 years kinda did seem like forever. lol. But once I got into the groove of recovery and really became a part of my AA home group, formed a close relationship with my sponsor, etc. all the requirements the BON had me doing were really things I was doing anyway in order to keep spiritually fit. When my 5 year contract was ending, I actually had some separation anxiety because I had grown close to all the women who sat on our Professional Evaluation Group board. I had grown to like and respect them. My exit interview/meeting with them was so positive and I found myself thinking how fast 5 years flew by. So just as you said, ODAAT and keep it simple. Life has a way of working things out as long as we work for it. I know it can be hard as I always wanted everything right then and there. When I had one month, I wanted one year. When I celebrated one year, I wanted to have 5 already and so on. I am not a patient person...lol. Being in my BON's monitoring agreement taught me to work for the things I wanted, trust God and be patient. Good luck!

So much depends on where you live and where you work. At my last job, I made about $62k a year and I was very grateful for the money I made considering my job was an office job Monday-Friday, weekends and holidays off, etc. I recently switched jobs and went from $62k a year to $89k a year. While the job itself is pretty easy, the environment can be difficult. I am in a prison infirmary and the prison pays its nurses very well to come work behind the gates and barbed wires. I actually enjoy my job but could do without the political baloney and gossip mill this places seems to breed. So you can't compare apples to oranges. I am very, very grateful to have a 2 year degree that probably cost me less than $5000 and it has paid off with an annual salary of almost $90k a year. NP or MD? Nope. Not interested, never will be. I make as much as a NP in our area and I don't have to deal with the nonsense they do. MD? I could do without the horrendous medical school loans (I have a friend who is a doctor and his school loans are over $300k). I also don't care for the medical model. I think that you really have to look at where the nurses are working, COL in that area, how much OT or shift differential they are getting, etc. Otherwise, you really ARE comparing apples to oranges.

The nature of my relapse consisted of going to the ER for severe back pain after lifting an extremely heavy inmate at work. I was given 12 Percocet and because I hadn't been going to meetings, working with my sponsor or having a relationship with my Higher Power, it was the open door this disease needed to sneak in there. For a little over 2 months, I took 2-4 Percocet a day on and off, along with 2-4 Tramadol (both medications belonged to my husband). I would go a week not taking them, think "I got this" and could clean myself up alone but would give in after about a week to the voice of my addiction and start taking them again for 1-2 weeks, then stop again. This ugly cycle went on for a little over two months. I was taking my husband's supply after I found the key to his lockbox. We now have a new lockbox that is done with a code and I was removed of the obsession after about two weeks of returning to my sponsor, the program and God. When I came clean to my husband, sponsor, etc. I also removed myself from pill room duties at work because I think putting me in there while trying to stay clean and sober after a relapse would be stupid. Now, if I have to be in there, I bring my per diem nurse in to "do some training" with her. This way, she is getting trained in the pill room and I'm not alone with narcotics. My current supervisor is aware I am a recovering alcoholic/addict and went through monitoring with the board but does not know about this relapse. I have no plans to tell him and feel it's the right decision for me. The people who are important in all of this know everything about the past few months and that's what matters I feel. Thanks again, everyone :-)

Thank you all for your input. I really struggle with stuff like this because I am practicing a program of rigorous honesty and sometimes, there is a fine line between that honesty and being a martyr as someone mentioned above. I am back with my sponsor, back in my home group, meeting with my counselor and my Aftercare group again. I feel the board gave more than enough tools with which to stay clean sober. I also feel like I have a clear understanding of how important it is to use those tools after this relapse. After over 6 years of recovery, being clean and sober.....this was kind of eye opening to see how the disease just lies in wait for that perfect moment when we allow God to become a last resort rather than a priority. If I were to be placed on contract again, I would definitely lose my current job and the job I was able to get so easily while on contract has no positions open at this time, nor do I foresee any in the near future. People tend not to leave that clinic because it is a good place to work and there are already 3 other nurses on contract working there. The consequences wouldn't necessarily be devastating if I were placed back on contract but it would be a definite financial hardship just when we are finally getting solid footing underneath us in the money department. We lost our home due to my actions 7 years ago and it's still a foreclosure mess but we have managed to move past all of that and have really worked on bettering our life over the past 6 years. I also would lose almost 6 years with the state, which includes retirement. I am hoping to put in the years I need in order to retire from the state. So yes, it would be difficult (not impossible) to deal with the fallout from the board placing me on contract again. And they WOULD place me on contract again, I have no doubt of that. I would have surrender my license, which would mean no work for about 6-8 months while I fulfill the requirements then applying for a restricted license and 5 years of that. Thank you again for all the responses. I know addicts and alcoholics (at least this one!) tend to be liars and can struggle with honesty. I wanted to make sure I wasn't falling into that hole. My sponsor just keeps gently reminding me that all of this is almost two years down the road when I have to renew my license. She suggests we wait and see where I am spiritually in the program before needing to make a decision.

I'm currently a Nursing Supervisor in a prison infirmary. I work NOCS, 6p to 6a and while I enjoy working nights, I hate that I work both weekend nights when my husband's days off are Friday and Saturday. We also have children so it affects them as well. But I do enjoy having Mon through Wed off because it allows me to walk my son to school, have time to myself during the day and then be there for him in the afternoon. I also enjoy the $3600/year shift differential of NOCS. Being a supervisor at night, I really don't do much more than the regular RN's. Not a lot of paperwork or dealing with the "suits". The dayshift supervisor put in for her retirement and will be leaving. I've been offered her position. She has a variable shift, meaning she can work four 10's or five 8's with a variety of hours (she currently works 7-5, 4 days a week but I would be able to work 9-5, 5 days a week or any combo like that). There is a LOT more responsibility with her job than there is mine, even though we are classified the same and make the same amount of money. I would like to eventually promote to DON in this facility and realistically, I could not go from the NOC supervisor to the DON position because I just wouldn't have enough experience dealing with all the responsibility. Also, the dayshift would provide me with the same days off as my husband and if I did work 9-5, I could still walk my son to school. I would lose the time to myself and it would be a little more difficult to fit things like my marathon training in but at the same time, I would have weekends off for all my races instead of having to use annual and try to find coverage (staffing sucks for NOCS, for the most part). I am very torn with this, especially since I am still on probation and can be fired for any reason at any time. After I make my year in July, it will take an act of God to get rid of me....lol. I do not want to lose this job as it pays extremely well (around $90k a year) and there is opportunity to advance up to DON II eventually. I almost feel like I should tell my current DON that I just want to stay on nights but I also think part of it is my fear of change. I'm "comfy" in this current position. Help!

I'd like to hear what everyone's opinions are on this matter. I had over 6 years of sobriety and then because I stopped putting my sobriety first, I relapsed briefly. Thankfully, I came to my senses, re-established relationships with God and my sponsor and started back with meetings. I did everything the BON had taught me to do during my 5 year contract with them. My question is would you tell the BON? Now? When it was time to renew your license? I have discussed this briefly with my sponsor but am wondering what others would do. I know that when it comes time to renew my license in a little less than 2 years, I will be faced with this decision as well since we have to do a short paragraph of why we had been disciplined in the past, a description of our program of recovery, our sobriety date, etc. Obviously, by putting down a different sobriety date, it could potentially be a red flag to the board. There would be many repercussions to being placed on another 5 year contract. And some of them would be severe and life altering. And yes, I understand relapsing has devastating effects as well, one of which is death. I just want to know when you get right down to it, what would you do? Thanks!

Around here, everyone wants to work the holidays (we get paid double time) so getting the holidays off isn't too hard. But this is prison. At the hospital, everyone always wanted the holidays off. We rotated so if you had Christmas off one year, you were going to work it the next.

I agree that going into it for the money is not all that wise. In most nursing jobs, you will work far harder than you are paid. I have done ICU, dialysis, psych and now corrections. I went from $31 to $35 to $30 to $43 an hour, respectively. Making $90k a year with a two year degree has certainly paid off but there are downsides. In prison, you aren't making much of a difference and I struggle with that on a regular basis. Money isn't everything and while my job is fairly easy, I still miss that compassionate component. And working weekends getting paid for full time might sound great but I would weigh it out carefully. Even though I'm not a party animal or am out on the town on the weekend, as someone else said----the world revolves around folks who have weekends off. I hate that I only have Sundays off (I work until 6am Sunday morning). But it is what it is.

melatonin works great and is probably a better alternative than Benadryl :-)

I would love to work 11p to 7a! I have three kids and a husband who works at the same facility as a Sergeant (I am nursing supervisor in the prison infirmary). He leaves for work around 6am and comes home around 2p. With those hours, I would be able to be home, get my kids ready for school, drop them off, go to bed and be up shortly after he gets home. Then hang out with the family until around 8:30-9pm at which point I would probably go to the gym since hubby and kiddos would be heading off to bed. Come home, clean up and go to work. Perfect! But I've had lots of experience balancing out nightshift with kids, husband and life in general. There were times when he worked Sun-Tues and every other Wed night then I worked Thur-Sat and one Wed a month. We slept in the same bed once a month. That sucked. It lasted for two years and while our kids benefited as there was no daycare or babysitters, it sucked for our marriage. You should have time to spend with him upon him getting home as you would just be waking up. Then, you can do things for yourself once he is in bed and before you have to go to work.

I work 12 hour nights shifts in a prison infirmary. We pretty much take what we want for lunch as that is our "slow" time. When I worked in the ICU at a local hospital, I was lucky to get 15-20 minutes while worrying about whether my patient was going to extubate themselves as I was shoving a sandwich down my throat.