Really unhappy in new clinic job. Should I go back to the hospital?

[j8810]

Hello fellow nurses. I could really use some advice.

A little over 2 months ago I decided to take a job in the clinic in Internal Medicine. It's 8-5, M-F, no weekends, no holidays, and every other Monday and Tuesday off. I made the switch for multiple reasons. I never saw myself as a bedside nurse long-term. My husband will have a M-F job when he graduates with his NP in May and I wanted to be on the same schedule as him when he gets a job.

Despite the better schedule (and better sleep due to being on a regular schedule), I have been so stressed out since switching. This clinic job was not what I expected it to be. Since the first week or two I knew it wasn't right for me, but decided to stick it out to see if it got better. The training was disorganized and I felt like I was on my own to figure things out. The department I work in has had a high turnover rate lately and has had to deal with being short staffed, so that probably doesn't help. Even though I've settled in a little bit, I still hate it. It doesn't fit my personality.

Overall, I just don't like the nature of the work I am doing in the clinic. There is very little patient contact. I spend 99% of my time talking on the telephone with patients answering questions, communicating test results, and triaging. I also reply to patient emails, schedule appointments, place orders, etc. I feel sooo burnt out already sitting all day, talking to patients on the phone, doing computer work for 8 hours. There is so much work to do; but at the same time, my shift goes by way slower than it did in the hospital.

I've been a nurse for 4 years and I don't want to keep switching jobs. But it's the worst feeling when you are stuck in a job you hate. I want to find a job that I somewhat enjoy. I want to find my niche. Prior to the clinic I worked in a medical float pool for 13 months. I learned a lot, but working on fast paced medical floors and being floated halfway through my shift wore on me. Prior to that I worked on a specialized inpatient psych unit for almost 3 years. Overall I enjoyed that job because it wasn't as fast paced and I had time to just talk with patient's 1:1. I felt like a counselor a lot of times, which fits my personality. I left that unit because it was my first nursing job and I feared I was losing my medical skills. I also had a bully manager and couldn't take it anymore. She has since left that floor and went to another one.

I'm honestly thinking of going back to my first job on the psych unit in the hospital if I can get a Day/Eve position (it's in the same hospital system as my clinic job). It definitely wasn't perfect, but since working on different medical units and now the clinic, I've realized it was the job I enjoyed the most. I want to have a baby in the next couple of years and want a position where I can drop down to casual for a little bit so I can stay home with the baby (we don't live by family).

Otherwise I was thinking about being a Public Health nurse with the County, but I would be making approximately $10 less an hour than I was making in the hospital. I already took over a $5 an hour pay cut to go to the clinic and I don't want to have to take another pay cut and have to work more hours! Plus when I do want to have a baby, Public Health would not be as flexible. However, I would consider it if it made me happier. The autonomy, education, and 1:1 patient contact definitely appeals to me.

I don't see any other jobs out there that I'm really interested in. It's hard to get clinic positions, so I feel like maybe I should just stick this job out until I can find a better position in the clinic that doesn't involve so much computer work and has more 1:1 patient interaction. It would also look bad if I left this job after a couple of months.

Ugh! I feel so stuck and don't know what to do! What would you do in my position?

[Amistad, RN]

I think your job history is good. You stayed at your first job for 3 years and float pool for over a year. I would not consider you a job hopper by any means. Your broad experience would make you a great candidate for many different positions. I don't think you would have a problem if you decided to leave the clinic job. It is perfectly reasonable if it is not a good fit for you.

I would think very carefully before moving to the public health job. $10 less an hour is a huge loss especially if you want to save up for starting a family. Also, just like the clinic job it may turn out to be different than what you were expecting.

I also left an inpatient hospital job for a clinic nurse position and it sounds very similar to what you are going through. My training was non existent and I didn't even have a 90 day evaluation or any sort of follow up/check in with my manager. We were very short staffed to begin with and then one day a nurse was fired on the spot by one of the more "difficult" doctors. I was getting an impossible amount of triage calls and test results supporting multiple doctors and when I confronted the manager she always responded with "we're all behind, just do your best". I decided to stick it out for a year so it wouldn't hurt my job history and now I am looking for a different job. I also gained ten pounds from sitting at a desk all day haha!

Best of luck and let us know what happens!!

[j8810]

Thank you for your reply Amistad. I feel so much better knowing someone else has gone through a similar situation. I give you props for sticking it out a year. I've barely been able to make it to the 2-month mark! I sometimes play out in my mind how relieved I would feel if I just went to my manager and quit.

I think a lot of nurses have the impression that the clinic is less stressful. It's still stressful, just in a different way. When the clinic is short staffed, there is no staffing department that calls people to come in to work.

I think you're right about moving to Public Health nursing. I don't know if I'd be willing to take such a huge pay cut at this point in my life, especially since I live in a city where the cost of living is higher.

Thanks again for your advice. I wish you luck in your job search!