paulamac

The question is in reference to a nurse nearing retirement in a few years and with back problems, etc which makes it difficult to continue floor nursing, lifting/moving patients. School is likely out of the question as it wouldn't be practical at this stage. Suggestions of some sort of desk job or light physical duty is what I had in mind. Thanks.

Anybody have a suggestion for an aging floor nurse who is tired and can't tolerate being on her feet for 12 hours anymore. Something slower paced or possibly a nursing job in a non-patient care area. Send suggestions. Thanks.

Thanks. I will look into the staffing firm. That's a good idea. I hate the thought of calling and setting up interviews, etc. I am thinking I may go check out Home Health or Hospice. I love nights and I'd have to change to days but so what? At this point, I'm ready to make a change and sacrifice something for a little break - at least 30 minutes for lunch! HOHO. If you have other comments, don't hesitate to post them. I'm open to all suggestions.

Hey! Why does it say that my age is 30 next to my post? I am over 50! Whoa! This site strokes the ego.

I am a nurse of less than a year and already feeling burned out. I dread going to work. I am a floor nurse on GI/urology med-surg; we also get some overflow from ortho. I love the people I work with and they are very helpful; however, I typically have 7 patients (the nursing home crowd for the most part), usually the majority of them are "poopers", MRSA, TPN, blood, pain meds Q2hrs X several patients, and I am run ragged. We often have only one tech who is so busy I feel guilty asking for her help. I go home trying to remember what I forgot to do. Often I only have time to pass meds and change dressings and leave with patients upset because they feel they didn't get good care - and they truly didn't because there was not enough time even though I feel that time management is one of my strong points. I am not lazy, simply overworked. I have to escape. The mental stress, not to mention the fact that I physically don't get a break, (sometimes not stopping to eat or pee the entire shift) is killing me. This is a second career and I'm no young chick. Can't keep it up. I'd like suggestions on where to go from here with my one year of nursing experience. I was an administrative assistant in a large corporation for nearly 20 years prior to nursing, directing a staff of about 30; I really love paperwork, have no problem with sitting at a desk. I also directed up to 300-member theatre productions for several years so have experience in managing people. I'd love to do research or work with clinical trials, etc. but don't know where to start to find a position such as this, if they exist. Can anybody help? Another problem in applying for a job is the fact that at my hospital, we don't do IVs or draw blood, so I don't have those skills. It makes me feel totally dumb to apply for a job when I can't do these things. We have IV team and phlebotomists who do this and I need to learn but the hospital doesn't offer any options. I feel like an RN should be able to do this, but opportunity to learn is just not available where I work. Thanks.

I am a nurse of less than a year and already feeling burned out. I dread going to work. I am a floor nurse on med-surg. I love the people I work with and they are very helpful; however, I typically have 7 patients (the nursing home crowd for the most part), usually the majority of them are "poopers", TPN, blood, pain meds Q2hrs X several patients, and I am run ragged. We often have only one tech who is so busy I feel guilty asking for her help. I go home trying to remember what I forgot to do. Often I can only pass meds and change dressings and leave with patients upset because they feel they didn't get good care - and they truly didn't because there was not enough time even though I feel that time management is one of my strong points. I am not lazy, simply overworked. I have to escape. The mental stress, not to mention the fact that I physically don't get a break, (sometimes not stopping to eat or pee the entire shift) is killing me. This is a second career and I'm no young chick. Can't keep it up. I'd like suggestions on where to go from here with my one year of experience. I was an administrative assistant in a large corporation for nearly 20 years prior to nursing and I really love paperwork, have no problem with sitting at a desk. Patient care is not something I must do. I'd love to do research or work with clinical trials, etc. but don't know where to start to find a position such as this, if they exist. Can anybody help? Another problem in applying for a job is the fact that at my hospital, we don't do IVs or draw blood, so I don't have those skills. It makes me feel totally dumb to apply for a job when I can't do these things. We have IV team and phlebotomists who do this and I need to learn but the hospital doesn't offer any options. I feel like an RN should be able to do this, but opportunity to learn is just not available where I work. Thanks.

I have two totally unrelated questions. 1. What parameters do you use when holding medication for high blood pressure? At the hospital where I work, I continue to get different answers from different personnel. Apparently there is no official policy and doctors, charge nurses, etc. disagree. 2. I work on a med/surg floor and have learned lots of different procedures; however, RNs do not draw blood or start IVs. The IV Therapy Team does it. I have never drawn blood and only started 3 IVs in school - just enough to pass the practicum. Anyhoo, I intend to apply for another position after a couple of years experience. I will likely need these skills then and wonder how I'm ever going to get them. Any suggestions? Thanks. New RN

The one I'm talking about is Emerald Coast Hospice. It's relatively new, I think.

Hi. I am gathering information about two potential employers: Hospice out of Dothan, AL (I live in Pensacola, FL and they have an office here as well) and Gentiva Home Health. Does anybody have experience with either of these? If so, please tell me how it is to work for them, the pay rate, schedule the patient load, etc. Also, what kinds of skills are used in this type of nursing? I'm a new nurse, second career, with nearly a year of experience working nights on a med-surg floor at a local hospital. I like the work but 8-9 patients is not do-able and I can't keep up with the stress of it longterm. I don't feel safe or that I'm doing a very good job of caring for patients, so I'm outta there asap, although I hate to leave the support of great friends I've made in other RNs. Please advise if you know anything about either of these two agencies. Thanks. PM

I will graduate in May and in June I'll be 53. I stayed home with my kids when they were little. Then I worked for the school district in administration for 17 years. Burned out and decided to try something new. I figure I may work as long as 12 years, get much better pay and enjoy totally different work. There are still some of my best friends who I know think I'm crazy. Even one of my sons, who is a mother hen, and a physical therapist (so he knows everything about the medical field) tried to gently talk me out of it. Told me it would be hard and the work is not easy, blah, blah, blah. I don't care. Many people get lazy at this age and just want to stay in their rut, working, eating, sleeping and watching tv every day till they die. I applaud you! Go for it. School, although frustrating at times, has been rewarding and I feel great about getting my degree. I am not dead yet! Don't listen to negative talk! I still pray often to ignore the nay-sayers, move forward and make a difference. You're never too old. Paulamac