greetings

I've been a nurse for only two years but am already burnt out with my busy ortho/neuro bedside nursing. I'm wondering what qualifications I might need to get into QA/QI. I am very analytical which is the biggest reason I'm so frustrated with bedside nursing. Thi sounds right up my alley! I know there is a certification of some sort but it appears to be for experienced QA/QI nurses....is that right? I've also looked into a masters program and I'm not sure whether I should be looking into MBA or masters in nursing-nurse administrator or healthcare administration. What are they chances I would be able to get a job like this with only two years experience? Is there anything I could be doing to better my chances? Other than hospitals, where else might there be a QA/QI nurse position?

I've learned since I started nursing that I am very much a rule follower. I feel like I have to do everything by the book, catch every mistake, (even if it isn't mine) and just overall feel like I have to be perfect. As everyone knows, this is impossible in nursing. I feel so overwhelmed all of the time and although I realize I'm doing the best I can, I can't keep doing this. Most people can tell themselves, this is something that can be dealt with tomorrow or they do as much as they can and then can go home and forget about it. I however can't do that, I even find myself going looking for mistakes and triple checking everything in my and others responsibilities. I am overly thorough to the point of being so overwhelmed ALL OF THE TIME that I just don't feel like acute care nursing is right for me. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a niche in nursing where I may thrive. Is there somewhere where a highly anxious, rule follower would be able to use that thorough, perfectionist mind. I know it sounds like this type of personality should be great for any kind of nursing, everyone wants a thorough person to make sure everything gets done. But it really isn't, you have to be able to roll with the flow and know that sometimes things just can't get done, or at least every word of the policy isn't going to happen. My personality just won't let me do that and it makes my whole personal and professional life pretty miserable. Anyone have any suggestions?

I have been a nurse for about a year and a half. I worked in long term care for about 6 months and on a very busy ortho/neuro/uro floor for the last year. I did not like long term care as I felt very alone and also felt that all I did was pass meds. No offense to you long term care nurses who are awesome at it, it just wasn't for me. I like the hospital more but I am constantly second guessing myself, laying awake for hours wondering if I should have called on something or done something differently. It is miserable to work and then come home and think about work. (Believe me if I knew how to leave work at work, I would). After thinking a lot about what it is that makes me so uncomfortable I THINK my biggest concern is the liability. I know I am doing the best I can and I'm still learning but I don't want to make a mistake that causes real harm while I'm still learning. I have never made a major mistake but the thought of that possibility has me an anxious wreck on and off the job. I am now thinking about different types of nursing. I really think I would miss the skills of being on an acute care floor. I enjoy doing the skills and I even enjoy the really intense stuff like rapid response and code situations if they are not on my patient. I just hate making the judgement calls and trying to think of every possible situation for my patients. I'm looking for input from some of the less well known (or not well known to me anyway) areas of nursing. I would like to still have some patient contact and would like to still do the skills as that is a lot of the meaning of nursing to me but maybe not such an acute setting where I have such high stress and liability. Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone ever "shadowed" a nurse in a different setting to see if you would like that before trying to get a job?

I am a nurse on a very busy inpatient med-surg floor with quite acute patients. I have been in this job for about 6 months and just continue to wonder if this is what I should be doing. A little background: I actually graduated with an ADN and worked in LTC while finishing my BSN for a year. I knew LTC was not what I wanted but it was what was available at the time while I was finishing my degree. When I finished my BSN I moved 8 hrs away from friends or family to get this job. The area I was from was not hiring new grads and my LTC experience didn't count. So I am now here with no friends or family and I am miserable. I know that the first year of nursing is always hard but I think I made it even worse for myself by moving so far away from everything I knew. I don't know what to do now. My goal when I moved here was to put in 2 years to get experience and confidence before trying to find a "dream job." I just don't know if I can do that anymore. Through school I had several jobs all lasting right around a year. When I talked to a nurse recruiter before taking this job, I was told that I should really stay in this job for at least 2 years to prove to future employers that I am not a "job hopper." I thought I would be able to do that but now 6 months later, I don't even feel like myself anymore. I do nothing but work. When I get home from work, I have no one to help me get my mind off of work. I'm an anxious wreck all the time and constantly feel like I'm just trying to hold myself together to get through the day. Even my days off, I am constantly thinking about work. I know that having friends in the area would help but that is easier said than done. I am not a very social person and making friends has never been easy for me. I feel like I can't talk to my family about my situation because I don't want them to know how miserable I am. I am really struggling to decide what to do to make myself more content with life. Truly this job is probably one of the better ones judging by the jobs I have read about on here. The floor I work on is very used to new nurses and there are several other new nurses that started around the same time I did (fortunately the ones I have talked to don't seem to be as unhappy as I am). There is a lot to learn and all of the staff is very helpful and supportive. Of course we are always short staffed but we all do our best to help each other out. I do rotate shifts which I am sure is not great for me either but it's not really an option right now. I have no aversion to going back to school but I don't know what I would do. I've thought about teaching or CNS in education but I feel like I should have more experience before doing that. I'm not sure what to do now to make life more bearable. Do I move back closer to where family and friends are and risk that putting a stamp on me that says I am a job hopper? Do I just stick it out and chalk this up to making me a stronger person? Do I go back to school? I really thought I liked nursing when I was in school and although I was anxious and nervous, my instructors told me this would make me a good, thorough nurse. I frequently wonder now though if I made the wrong decision. Any words of wisdom, encouragement, or just plain comfort would be much appreciated.