"Itchy feet"

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Greetings All,

Well, here's my dilemma. I have worked in hospital now for over 5 years as a RN. The first almost three in med/surg, the last 2 1/2 in OB. I love OB. And yet I am starting to get, "itchy feet". Although I certainly haven't seen/experienced everything in OB, I am starting to get an attitude of, a birth is a birth, even though it always has the potiential to go bad at any time. I have been toying with the idea of going to ER. I really love learning and like the idea of having a broader knowledge base where as in OB, I feel limited. Maybe I just need to hang in on the OB-like I said, I do love it. ???? Any idea's, suggestions or experiences? I would appreciate imput.

Thanks

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

The great thing about nursing is that you can move about and if you don't like get, go back. Follow your heart and your guts. Sometimes we jump out of the frying pan and into the fire and need to jump back in the frying pan after getting burned. But that's part of learning and taking risks.

Find out what the qualifications are. Our ER requires a critical care course or critical care experience.

Good luck!

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Like lovewhatido, I have itchy feet. I think nursing is so diverse & interesting that I would like to hop around and try different things each year for a few years. I don't want to be a flake, but I want to learn and experience new things.

I told this to my nursing instructor, who frowned and said that I can't switch jobs like that. Her reasons were that I wouldn't get hired b/c specialties are too different & don't accept transfers.

Her answer made me sad. It also made me skeptical because I rarely believe anybody who says "You can't." Please someone say that it is possible a nurse can work in very different specialties (eg. OR & Psych) in her career and be happy.

Please don't clip my wings. Help me fly.

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Caroline

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I work in OB too. I'm not tiered of it but a few months ago I was working PRN (with full time hours) on L&D but needed to get FT status to get benefits. I ended up getting a FT L&D job but also applied for a few PACU and Cardiac jobs. I was turned down for all the jobs outside of OB. when I asked why, I was told that they didn't feel that an L&D nurse would be able to care for critical patients lol. I didn't actually interview for any of them so they just drew there conclusions from my resume and experience. It made me laugh. People really have no idea what OB consists of, I guess.

I think you should apply for an ER job. If you end up not liking it you know you can always find a job in L&D. I'm sure makeing the change will be challenging but thats what it sounds like you are looking for.

Just be prepared to encounter the misconception that your L&D experience is all holding babies and fetching water.

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Originally posted by PlanetCaroline

Like lovewhatido, I have itchy feet. I think nursing is so diverse & interesting that I would like to hop around and try different things each year for a few years. I don't want to be a flake, but I want to learn and experience new things.

I told this to my nursing instructor, who frowned and said that I can't switch jobs like that. Her reasons were that I wouldn't get hired b/c specialties are too different & don't accept transfers.

Her answer made me sad. It also made me skeptical because I rarely believe anybody who says "You can't." Please someone say that it is possible a nurse can work in very different specialties (eg. OR & Psych) in her career and be happy.

Please don't clip my wings. Help me fly.

---

Caroline

Caroline,

As with almost everything in life, there are two sides.

Side one: YES, YES, YES you can work in totally different specialties during your career. I have worked in several myself. The NICU babies are my first love, and probably always will be, but I like to "shake things up" every now and then to avoid boredom and/or burnout.

Side two: It is generally NOT a good idea to change every year. (Though, a lot depends on who you interview with and his/her attitude). Some managers feel uneasy about investing in a nurse without experience in the specialty, ESPECIALLY if that nurse has a history of changing every year. After all, it is reasonable for them to assume that this nurse is likely to change again after a year, and all the resources they use in orienting this nurse would then be down the tubes. This is especially true in critical care, where it takes at least a year for someone with no prior experience to become halfway competent. Just something to consider.

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