Hello, I’ve been visiting allnurses for a long time and love the info I find on here and I’m in need of some advice. I’m a newer nurse who graduated in December, after graduating I accepted a days position on a cardiac stepdown unit. I’ve learned so much and am thankful for this opportunity but I haven’t been happy at all. My unit is high stress, high patient turnover, many of my patients are unstable and going into V tach/V fib, having chest pain etc.. I get so burnt out because I never get time for a break, and when I do I’m constantly getting calls from doctors/families, I just never get a second to breath. I go home in tears more often than not and I just feel crabby and not myself both in and outside of work. I truly admire the nurses I work with and all they do but I just don’t think bedside nursing is something I can see myself doing for much longer. I have an interview coming up at a nights position at an inpatient behavioral health facility split into an adolescent and adult unit. I’ve always had a passion for psych and loved learning about it, I did my mental health clinicals at this facility and enjoyed it but didn’t get to do or see much as a student. I truly do think I’d be happier there, I’m not looking for “easier” and I’m fully aware no nursing job is easy, but not having to deal with unstable medical patients or get treated disrespectfully by family members is a plus for me. I just want to be able to say I love what I do. My two biggest questions are: Do assaults from patients happen often in psych facilities? This is one thing I’m nervous about. And also, if I ever decided in the future I want to transition back to medical, is 6 months RN experience enough? (I do have 4 years CNA exp in acute care as well). I’m not sure what my long term goals are, but I have considered studying psych more if it’s something I really enjoy. I’d really love to hear from nurses out there who switched to psych, are you happy with your decision? What’s a typical shift like for you? Thanks. 🙂
