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Setownsley, Yes you are definitely not alone. I also have had to go on medications for migraines due to night shift (and I feel also due to stress). What kind of pediatric floor are you on? Do you feel like there are other nurses on your floor who feel similar to you? I wrote this post back in August, now it is mid February and I still feel the same way. Certain areas have gotten better of course, but I still feel that I am not meant to be a bedside nurse. Soon I will be beginning to look for other jobs, so I have just been praying for clarity and guidance!

Hello! I need some help/advice. I am a peds RN at a Children's Hospital and have been working for about a 1.5 years. I work night shift and it has taken a huge toll on me. I have had to go on prescription migraine medication and recently have been having increasing difficulty sleeping. It's also at times made me somewhat depressed. My contract is over in June, and if a day shift position has not opened up, I am not sure I can physically handle being on nights any longer and will probably have to leave. I really enjoy peds, so I was hoping some of you had some ideas/options on areas to go into that included peds - such as clinics, outpatient centers, school nursing, PACU ?? Those of you who are pediatric nurses and work outside floor nursing - I would love and appreciate so much to hear about what you do and how you like it! Thank you!

Thank you all for responding. I appreciate the feedback so much. I am going to try and stick it out and complete my contract, but I am considering going part time mainly because night shift is seriously affecting my health. I cannot wait to find my niche, and I hope that I find it sooner than later!

Thank you all for the feedback I appreciate it so much! Everline, it makes me happy to see nurses feel the same way I do about the floor and left for somewhere outside the hospital. Could you tell me where you have worked outside of the hospital and more about what you do in public health? I have definitely done some brainstorming and will continue to do so about my job because I want to make sure I leave this job knowing why I left so that I can thrive better in my next job. Thank you!

Kingusia, Do you feel like the PACU is quite different than bedside nursing? I have also thought about PACU but have been told that its very similar to ICU setting and I have not had ICU experience. Other than NICU but I don't get very critical babies.

Hello, I am in need of some encouragement/advice about where I stand right now with my job. I graduated nursing school in May 2016 and have been working on a general pediatric floor in a Children's Hospital for 1 year and 2 months. This job was my first choice and I felt so blessed and lucky to get the job, and initially I was super excited about it. Very quickly after beginning orientation I began to realize that bedside nursing wasn't for me. There are so many aspects about the job that I don't like, but the 2 main things that I don't like are 1. how much anxiety I get before going into work each time and 2. being so busy that my phone is ringing off the hook, running non stop, and RUSHING to get everything completed, all which makes me feel like I can't be the nurse I want to be and unable to do my job throughly. Other smaller reasons are the 13 hour shifts and working nights has taken a toll on me. The times that I am not running around like crazy, I enjoy the job more because I feel like I can check on my patients and complete tasks without being stressed about other things weighing on my shoulder. I have a 2 year contract and truly want to complete my contract on this floor because I am not one to quit and I know I will feel accomplished when my 2 year mark comes. One thing I have found interesting is that in this hospital we get pulled to other floors and a lot of the time its going to the NICU. I actually enjoy working in the NICU more than my own floor. I realize we are given the easier babies, but the NICU is 10x more structured than the floor, and I feel like I am making more of a difference in the NICU. I am very discouraged because I feel like I am the only one who doesn't "love" their job at this Children's Hospital. I am a very efficient person and I desire to be the best nurse I can be. I am going to stick this out until my contract is over and see where I stand, but my questions to you guys are if I don't like bedside nursing... then is nursing even for me? Do I not have the right personality if I have a lot of anxiety and worry with this kind of job? Where are some areas that you think would suit me better... or have suited you better rather than bedside nursing? Have any of you left bedside nursing for a clinic job or school nursing? I am shadowing a school nurse next month and have also thought about looking in to pediatric clinics. I have also thought about public health, but I don't know very much about it. Any advice, encouragement, personal stories are appreciated! :) Thank you!!

Hey guys, I am a new grad RN working on a general pediatric floor in a Children's Hospital. I have been working for 6 months now - 3 months on orientation, 3 months on my own. I got hired on the floor that was my first choice, but the entire transition from being a student to working in a hospital has been very difficult for me. I knew it would be hard, but it has been much more of a struggle than I was expecting. I was hoping to love this job, and unfortunately I do not. I don't hate it, but I definitely don't love it. Very quickly I learned that I am not sure if the hospital environment is for me. There are a ton of things that I dislike about the hospital environment and only a couple of things that I do like. Before I come into work I am super anxious, and most every single time I am driving to work I am either crying, praying, or usually both. I dislike the unpredictability - never knowing what patients I will be assigned to, never knowing what will happen, the fast-paced environment (I like fast-paced, but not to where I hardly get to sit or think), the numerous amounts of medications we administer and being expected to know and monitor all of the possible side effects when there are always new ones I've never heard of, how we can be pulled to another floor such as the NICU or PICU whenever we have not been trained for that type of acuity, the large amount of employees because it feels not much like a "family" atmosphere, the "12" hour shifts when really it's 13-14 hours, families asking me questions that I rarely know the answer to, the importance of charting literally everything you do to protect yourself, all of the responsibility we have for each of our 4-5 patients can be very overwhelming...also a huge thing is that I am very much of a "what if" person. For example, if a family member asks me a question or tells me something they are concerned about, I will over analyze it and think "what if I told them the wrong information", "what if this happens or that happens because I did/didn't do this or that". It's like... am I too much of a worrier to handle this type of job? I am an organized person and time management has not been very difficult for me, it's really just the large amount of responsibilities we have during our 13 hour shifts that makes me so stressed out. I very much care for all of my patients and I want what's best for them. I absolutely desire to be the best nurse I can be and I want to make a difference. But I truly sometimes dread going to work and am wondering if a different type of nursing job would be better for me. So with all that being said, I was wondering if there are any nurses out there who felt this way at first, but things changed after giving it a year or so? Or if there are nurses who felt this way who decided to go a different route that turned out better for them? Also, if anyone has suggestions on various jobs that may be less stressful than the hospital, I would love to hear about them. I have thought about doing school nursing, or just simply working in a clinic. I would love to work with one doctor, and be that specific doctor's nurse, but I am not sure if that job exists anymore with RNs? Thanks in advance for your feedback :)

Thank you NICUNurseEliz that was very encouraging :) I appreciate your response!

Hey guys, I'm a nursing student and will be graduating by May with a BSN. I am very interested in working in pediatrics, but I feel like I am most comfortable with adults - because of the majority of lectures, labs, and clinical being within the adult world. I also have been a nurse tech on an adult Ortho/MedSurg floor for about a year and a half, so I am even more familiar with adults. With that being said, I'm still more interested in working in pediatrics and get excited thinking about how I could work with kids. But I also get really nervous and scared, because I am not as familiar and feel like I could make a mistake. The age range makes me a little nervous too, with caring for babies, toddlers, and elementary age children... all having different vital sign ranges, etc. With adults, its usually plain and simple... 12-20 RR, 60-100 HR, you know what I mean. I guess my question is... Should I still go for it? Do you think orientation will make a huge difference in how I feel now and how I will feel afterwards? Orientation should be around 8 weeks or more. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! :) Thank you!

Hey guys, I am a nursing student graduating in May with a BSN. I am stressing myself out because I am totally unsure of where I want to start my career, I know the hospital I will be working at due to a scholarship commitment, I just mean that I do not know what floor to work on. What type of floors are good to start out on that you can develop a great background? I am trying to figure out whether or not I should start working on the ortho floor that I work on as a tech, but part of me is interested in the newborn nursery or L&D, and also there are many floors that I have not really experienced such as the ER, or PACU, or NICU, I've only experienced OR once.... I feel like I have not truly discovered how many areas there are to go into. I wanna be happy with where I work (who doesn't) and I am terrified I will make the wrong decision. If I start out on a med surge type floor, is it difficult to transfer over to another floor that's nothing similar? For example, moving from an adult orthopedic floor to the newborn nursery? I have been told that once you are in the hospital's system, that it is not hard to transfer floors if there is a position open. Any advice would be much appreciated!! :) Thank you!

I just wanna say that you are not alone when you say you feel like you are going to hurt the patient, make the wrong move, or not catch something you should've. I too have anxiety about those things. I am about to graduate with my BSN in April and every once in a while I honestly think "what am I getting myself into?", or "what if?" this or that. It is not all bad that you worry about those things, being cautious about what you are doing as a nurse is what would make you a great nurse! There are so many nurses out there (unfortunately) who are not cautious, and may only do the bare minimum during their shift. But you, you obviously would not do the bare minimum. If you feel like nursing is not the right career because of how anxious you get, then that's fine! But also do NOT let it make you feel like you can't do it, because again, you could be the nurse that pays closer attention and gives better care. And also, you may not be a Christian, but if you are, the Holy Spirit will help you through your shifts and help you on whether something is not right. Praying to God that the Holy Spirit will guide you and lead you as a nurse can make a huge difference. So to wrap that up, you should definitely take care of yourself and your anxiety FIRST and then if you feel ready, I think a person who cares like you would make a great nurse

Hey guys, I am a nursing student graduating in April 2016 and will be working at a hospital for two years due to the scholarship I have with the hospital. I love the hospital and it has a great reputation, but the more I'm learning about floor nursing the more I wonder if I would like different options better (after I finish my time at the hospital) My question is what are the pros and cons of working on a floor in a hospital versus a doctor's office, clinic, or other specialty area that isn't a hospital? Thanks! L

clbrown84, yes I was an alternate for all 3 campuses. I ended up getting accepted into the Lawton campus, but decided to attend a different nursing school!

I emailed one of the nursing advisors, she told me and I didn't even directly ask what number I was haha, which is nice because I was curious too. Do you know that for sure about my place changing? I'm worried that my final transcript might move me down a little, not much because my overall GPA and everything is basically the same, its just one certain class that I didn't do as well as I had thought. Did someone from OU tell you that the spot your in may change?

Hey guys! I just found out what alternate number I am. But I am curious if after sending in my final transcript if it will change what number I am. Do you guys have any idea?