jpicurn

I think the areas are vastly different, and would not be comfortable as a peds RN going to post partum, or vice versa. I would also worry about cross contamination; as a new mom with a newborn, I wouldn't want a nurse that just took care of a pneumonia, RSV kid the day before....it just seems unsafe. Those would be my concerns, but as far as learning new skills and tasks, peds is great for that and it is fun and patients are usually doing well, so it makes it nice. Good luck to you, I know it is difficult being cross trained to areas you don't love....our sister units were always peds, PICU, NICU, and I am not a fan of NICU at all....we would take "feeders and growers" mostly but it is still not my area of expertise and it was a little daunting, to say the least. ?

I agree with a lot of the posters listed here. I have been a nurse for over 23 years; when I started, fresh out of school @ 21 years old, I was going to "make a difference!" Earn a decent living. Travel. Be a blessing to others. Nursing takes it's toll on your professional life, personal life, and aspects you never consider...I cannot even tell you how many Christmas dinners I missed with my extended family, or birthday celebrations, baby showers, weddings, and funerals. I can tell you I have missed my kids sports events, concerts, and some field trips. I have juggled and struggled and cried buckets of tears on my way to work because I could not do it all. Or on my way home from a shift because a child died and now I need to go home and wrangle my own family out the door to work and school and it doesn't seem right or fair.... It has been a mix of joy and pain, to say the least. But overall, I have had some wonderful coworkers and teammates that I love and miss dearly. I have had some awful ones too, ones I do not miss and that clouded my vision of nursing and care. I have worked in lots of different areas of nursing, from adult hem onc and hospice, to peds, PICU, and pediatric surgery preop and PACU and adult surgery PACU. I have taught nursing, fundamentals and pediatrics, clinicals and online. And now, I have *landed* in public health nursing. I don't know that I would recommend nursing, or what I would say, but I will admit my lovely rose colored glasses have come off over the years. When I see my students, eager and excited, to learn about nursing, I am both reminded of where I came from and where I am now, and what a journey it has been. I am not discouraging, but I am realistic.... That being said, there are always "places" for nurses, and jobs, and you can find, and something you can do. So I usually tell them some version of that. I have been able to work nights when I had young kids at home, weekends when I needed to be home more during the week, days when I needed some weekends and nights off, and have flexed my schedule all around to suit my family, and most jobs don't have that. Nurses in general are usually overworked and overtired. Either from work or home. I did 20+ years of hospital nursing, never calling in sick, always coming in early and staying late, and at the end of the day....truly....nobody cares. It's that simple. I did not get a grand finale, a final bonus, a "hey you will be missed!" email, nothing....I put in my notice when I had enough, and got some nice texts from coworkers, and poof....I was gone. And that is pretty heartbreaking, but only to me and my family.

I was super happy to read this! I recently left hospital/bedside nursing in December 2019. I started orientation with the health department as a public health nurse, working in immunizations and TB testing. My orientation was due to finish in June 2020. Once this all hit, our clinics closed, my orientation was suspended, and I spent a panicked week worried about income loss, jobs, and what would happen. They then called us back to work phone banks, call patients, and provide some telephone guidance, and for that, I am grateful. BUT.... There is a big huge part of my nursing soul that feels guilty every day. Every.single.day. When I hear from former coworkers, friends, and everyone I used to work with. When I see the news. When I drive to my office job and plug in my list of patients and start my day of phone calls and check in's and data. I feel like I should be doing "more" and I was always the nurse who came in early, stayed over, and worked extra. BUT.... I am also reminded that for 20+ years, I was frontline. All the time. So my job change came at the right time for me. It's hard. I totally understand, and I miss my friends. :(

Thanks for the replies ..... To further answer some questions, I am working part time currently (two 12 hr shifts) but working full time hours most weeks. My home life is busy and I have two teenage sons who are in sports and school activities, and I am usually pretty busy at home on my days off. I never felt this way about nursing prior to taking this job. I worked in a level one trauma hospital PICU for over 13 years, and had lots of stressful patients and families, but a wonderful team of nurses and docs to work with. I would cry over losing patients, or having bad outcomes, or feeling down when we admitted kids into hospice, your normal "triggers". I would eventually dust myself off, get out of the funk, and work hard. I felt like nights and weekends and holidays were my trigger to find a new job, because I had been working off shifts and missing out on some things @ home so I wanted better hours. This job has been....challenging....from day one. It's like being in high school but worse. It has every variety of patient and shift, and I like that. Some of my coworkers are amazing, and I've been trying to focus on that. But it's hard. I don't feel "home" and I don't feel valued, and I work hard and try to be a good nurse every day. But other people have complained that our PACU is "toxic" and "catty" and the environment is just insane to work in. I have been making the best of it for over two years, and most days, I get to my car and just cry because I don't want to go back. I am now fighting insane traffic (welcome to days!) both ways sometimes, and when I get home, I have missed a lot with my family and feel guilty. It is not an option for me to quit entirely, unless we want to sell our house and cars, and I like part time, although financially, we have been needing me to work more and more lately....so I don't know what the answer is. I have anxiety nonstop, I don't sleep the night before my shifts, and when I have asked my primary doctor, I am usually told, "It's normal, you're a busy working mom, this is life these days!" I get it. Thanks for listening. I hope things get better soon. I just wish I had some answers.

I will swear by (but probably can't spell it right) L'Occitane hand cream, it is pricey but worth it! I buy it on amazon every few months and keep it in my work bag.

Hi all, I have been struggling a bit lately. I have been a nurse for a long time (20+ years) and have worked in many areas throughout my career. I currently work in a PACU and have "tried" to love it for over two years. It's hard. I don't love it, I am constantly hating both my commute (over one hour in am's, 45-50 min home) and the job, and have lost my passion for nursing in general. I am very kind and a very organized and thorough nurse, but the job is just that....a job. And one I hate. I am also a nursing instructor and that is hard and stressful, and don't want to teach full time either. I went to bed crying again last night because I just want to do something meaningful and I don't mind if it's working as a bank teller, working at Kohl's, or a desk job somewhere. My family life is busy and hectic, I enjoy being outdoors, reading, and cleaning on my days off, and I have plenty of friends and family. I just don't feel like my husband understands, most of my friends are not in healthcare, and (on paper) this should have been my dream job! My schedule is not terrible, I have some flexibility, but nursing hours are unlike other jobs and I am tired of missing events at home and tired of all of it. Should I change hospitals/jobs again *preferably closer to home* or just hang it all up and try something else entirely? I don't want to continue to complain and do nothing; I would rather be the change and maybe find something that will bring some joy? I don't know what to do. Money is important, and being at the top of the pay scale is nice, but I am very underappreciated, overworked, and overwhelmed. I have applied for and received offers for school nursing, which I have turned down because of the hours worked vs. salary. I don't know that Mon-Fri is right for me after so many years of shift work and 12 hrs/10hrs/8 hrs scheduling, but I am willing to try anything. Is this normal? Or should I just plug along? Thanks for listening.....

"Wait, did you say my wife is in the hallway? So is my girlfriend!" DUM DUM DUM.

We used to get raises anywhere from 2%-6% depending on the year from 2000-2008. From 2008-2012, we had pay freezes and no raises, no bonuses, no extra anything. In 2013, we got a one time "bonus" depending on your hours per week worked, mine worked out to be $285 after taxes. We got a 2% raise in 2014, and 2% in 2015. They are currently discussing RN salary at my hospital, and likely doing another 2-3% raise in the fall this year. As an adjunct clinical instructor, I have been pretty stagnant for the past two years, and it was just announced they are doing a 5% salary increase this fall.

1. Night shift, no matter how long you have worked it, even your entire career....is not normal. 2. Getting on the phone=guarantee call light going off in 3....2....1.... 3. A "q-word" night will always be followed by a non-q word night. Always. 4. Your favorite coworkers always have your back, and working as a team on nights is the best. 5. Nursing is not for the weak.

"ANOTHER raise this year?" No, you're too kind!

A family member armed with a laptop and "Dr.Google."

I have worked peds for 12+ years, and we all wear colorful, fun prints, and cartoons, and I like it. That being said, my first experience as a nursing clinical instructor (in pediatrics) and having an evaluation done, I was marked down for wearing my Dora the Explorer print scrub top with matching pink scrub bottoms. Both of the senior nursing staff evaluating me said I looked "unprofessional" and although my student/teaching interactions were stellar, I was a little bit upset with the comments regarding my uniform choice.

I have no idea why you would want to do this; I am trying my best to get out of working nights and bedside and INTO school nursing, not for the hours or pay, but so that my schedule will align with my life better! I have been part time nights and part time days for the past ten years; it is only getting harder as I age to flip from days to nights to being at school events for my kids, etc. Lack of sleep has made me a real #itch at home, and that is getting worse as I age....I used to be "okay" with my 4-5 hours of sleep between shifts, cooking dinner before I ran out the door, and making sure all is taken care of at home and work. Now I want to kill my neighbors dog for waking me up, I am groggy more than I am awake, and when you add in PMS/pre-menopause, I either feel like crying or stabbing someone on a weekly basis. So yeah....I cannot fathom one single reason to do this. Wait. I can. It's money. That is literally the only thing that is holding me in my two current positions.

In our PICU, winter/RSV/resp season we see lots of babies. Most of our patients are under a year old at any given time; that being said, spring/summer, we see lots of traumas and teenage girl overdoses. So it's always a little bit of everything. In our hospital, we are "partner" units with pediatrics and NICU, so we can get pulled/floated to both depending on census. In the NICU, we most often get feeder/growers who don't have an IV, aren't on oxygen, and very few meds. On peds, everything is fair game. PICU is rewarding and you get to see and do a lot. I have learned a ton by working here, and every day, I see or learn something new. Almost always. So that part is good. I am to the point in my career where I would relish a little boring now and then, and in the PICU, there is nothing boring and nothing stress-free. GL!

I am wondering the same thing....I have done nights for almost ten years now, and not sure if I would enjoy a regular schedule. I like having some days off during the week when husband and kiddos are at work/school, to get the errands done, and get a small window of time to myself, those days I enjoy eating lunch all by myself while I read articles, or reading a few chapters of a book when I have downtime.

Hi! I am a peds clinical instructor, so here are my helpful hints... Brush up on pediatric meds and doses, and know how to calculate a safe dose for the basic peds meds (Tyenol, Motrin, antibiotics are big ones). Know/review your peds vitals normal values, and know when to grab a nurse or your instructor if you have a question! Understand that you will have an audience (besides your faculty) while you do EVERYTHING in peds. There is usually a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt/uncle with the child, so be prepared to explain what you are doing and why. Come with a positive attitude and eager to learn. (Even if peds isn't for you, you can learn how to do a quick assessment or a full set of vitals on any age child, which can be helpful.) Have fun and enjoy your rotation! :)

Hello to all, I am looking for some guidance/help with my experience and possibly interviewing for a school nurse position.... I am currently a PICU RN in a suburban hospital, we have a small unit (8 beds) and have a fairly high patient acuity and patient population....we have been averaging 6-8 kids since mid-September, both chronic and acute illnesses, and ages from newborn-18 years. I have been working nights here for 12 years, and most of the time, I like my job and coworkers, love our docs, like the patients and families, and feel good as a nurse here. I am usually the charge nurse, sometimes preceptor to new nurses, and a member of the scheduling committee. I have a lot of seniority, get a schedule I ask for 90% of the time, and we work every third weekend. My second job is a pediatric clinical instructor, and I work one day per week with nursing students in another area hospital. I really enjoy my students, I like teaching nursing, and it seems a good fit for me. Not really ready to enter teaching full time (I have had two job offers so far, but both are for med-surg, not pediatrics, and both would be 4-5 days a week of teaching clinicals.) and don't have my MSN, so couldn't do classroom teaching yet. A friend of mine had approached me about a school nurse position in a district close to home, supervising IEP's and working with special needs students (I assume autism, trachs, feeding tubes, etc.) This would be 20 hours per week, and I could continue to teach one day per week or stay contingent in the PICU at my current job, which would be working 3 shifts per month. I have almost 20 years at my current hospital, and I would hate to lose my seniority, my benefits, and my retirement plan, which would "freeze" if I go contingent. I would have to pick up another pension/retirement plan at the new job. On the flip side, I am slowly burning out of peds traumas, child abuse cases, and the constant stress of working with really sick kids and parents, being short staffed often, and leaving work exhausted and mentally drained. Another caveat to a school nurse position would be aligning my schedule with my husband and kids, finally, after all these years. My husband is an elementary teacher (different school district entirely) and my kids are both school aged (one in middle school, one in elementary) and maybe this is a good time to switch? I have worked nights since forever due to my family, and flex my shifts opposite my husbands work meetings, my kids sports, and make sure all bases are covered at home. With my teaching plus working, I am gone 2 nights a week and one full day shift (6am-6pm) and while it works pretty well, it is not perfect and my sleep takes a backseat to cleaning the house, chores, groceries, dinner, kid drop-offs and pickups,etc. Sorry this was long, but wanted a few different perspectives before I decide to interview. I did finish my online application on Friday. I do think it would be a "good fit" job for me, given my history, but I am sure it will pay less than my current position, and not sure what my options would be..... Thanks in advance for listening! Appreciate any/all input! :)

We work 12 hour shifts, so I try to keep mine together as much as possible....2 on, 3 off, 1 on, for example, or 3-4 on, followed by 5-6 days off, depending on weekend requirements, holidays, etc. During the school year, my first night "on" is usually preceded by getting up with my kids at 6:30 am, getting them off to school, doing chores, working out, and sometimes a one hour nap before the afternoon bus stop/homework/dinner routine, then I leave for work at 5:45 pm. So when I am done at work the next morning, I have been up for 26-28 hours straight, and I am DONE. So I usually try to do two in a row max during the week, three in a row if its the weekend. In the summer, without the crazy school schedule, I do 4 in a row all summer, which allows me 10 days off after a four day stretch. If I take a vacation day, I can sometimes do three in a row, 10-11 days off. That works out nicely for us as a family, we have lots of time off to enjoy summer activities.

Hello! I am a current PICU nurse, and it is a specialty that is unlike most others...we can see everything from a newborn to an 18 year old in a given shift, and it can be non critical kids (asthma with continuous treatments, doing ok) to severely critical kids (trauma, intubated, multiple drips) and of course, lots of families and visitors to contend with. Our assignments can be one patient to two or three, depending on acuity. The NICU has it's own atmosphere and types of patients and they also have parents, visitors, and anxious family members to deal with, and they can have one baby assignments or multiple stable infants (feeders and growers) within a shift. I think brushing up on basic peds information and having a baseline of vitals for given ages would be helpful. Knowing some of the basic lab values would be helpful to know, as well as the basic pediatric medications that are given within each setting and safe doses. Shadowing nurses and having questions is useful. Good luck and check back to let us know if you like it! :)

It depends on what field you are currently working in, and what your current lifestyle/job is like. Coming from someone with 19 years experience, would I become a nurse again? Maybe. I will say that one of the hardest parts of the job is dealing with non-medical friends, family, spouse, etc. There is no other job out there quite like nursing, in terms of hours, holidays, hospital vs. non hospital jobs, weekend commitments, etc. It has been a challenge for most of my career to explain why I will be working on Christmas, or missing one of my kids birthdays, or leaving a holiday party to drive straight to work, etc. There is not enough money in the world to hand out for all the shifts I am "supposed" to be off at 0730 and leave the hospital at 9am, or all the sleep I have missed by working nights, weekends, holidays, and many shifts in a row. That being said, I tell all of my nursing students that nursing as a career choice is extremely flexible, and can be made to work in almost any situation, and that part is true. I have worked only weekends and been home Mon-Fri when my kids were little; I have worked during the week and taken extra weekends off for life events. I have been able to volunteer at school more than some of the other working moms due to my weird schedule and off hours. I am paid well for what I do and enjoy my job for the most part, most of the time. Good luck with your decision!

I need to add as well... My "dream job" would probably be as a school nurse, or working somehow with kids/teens outside of a hospital.

1) Michigan 2) Work nights in PICU at suburban hospital. $38.32 per hour base/ $1.00 charge pay per hour/$3.00 shift diff nights/$2.00 per hour weekends 2) Teaching job is $31.00 per hour/contact hours per contract 3) COL is medium in comparison to most I think? Property taxes are high in Michigan, so is auto insurance, housing is medium to low

Hi to everyone, I am new to allnurses as a member; have been coming on here and reading for a long time, but usually do not post or submit articles... My big (nursing and life!) dilemma is options for myself in my career and what to do next.... I am currently a PICU RN that works part time nights (2 nights per week) every third weekend. My second job is teaching, I teach pediatric clinicals one day per week and have also taught nursing fundamentals for college students. I have my BSN and enjoy a lot of things with each job.I like both job s, I enjoy the two different "worlds" of nursing, per se, and like scheduling myself for 3-4 nights in a row and having a week off in the summer to spend time with my husband and kids. I do not teach from May-September usually, and it's a nice break. Today I was offered a part time or full time day spot in the PICU, which I have considered on and off for awhile. I have been working there for 12 years, with the hospital for 16 years, and love, love my coworkers and docs I work with.... However, we have been increasingly busy and it's been sometimes hard to juggle the work stress and nights with my family life, along with the lack of sleep, switching to days to teach, and having no time to enjoy life on my days off! I have gained weight in the past five years, (starting to work out regularly again in the past couple of weeks, New Years resolution and all!) I am tired all the time, and it's hard to keep up with my kids schedules, my husband's job and schedule, and have any time left over for me. I have been teetering between a full time teaching job, which would mean better hours, better retirement benefits, and less stress, but would require going back to school for my MSN/MBA/MEd, or should I take a part time days PICU job and keep teaching for now? Or stay nights, which works better for my family and keeps things status quo? It is so hard to decide what to do.... Thanks for listening!