Respond if you found a decent niche after hating your first positions

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I was reading a "help, i hate nursing" thread in the first year forum. these can be depressing and push those who are struggling toward a self-fulfilling prophecy of quitting forever...so...

who among us found a decent niche, or even a "surprised-it-was out there" niche after struggling or even hating hospital or nursing home nursing?

THANKS ALL!

Sterlink

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I didn't struggle and didn't hate my prior positions (ended up hating the job but because of burn out), but I found my niche in home health. I love what I do.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I was reading a "help, i hate nursing" thread in the first year forum. these can be depressing and push those who are struggling toward a self-fulfilling prophecy of quitting forever...so...

who among us found a decent niche, or even a "surprised-it-was out there" niche after struggling or even hating hospital or nursing home nursing?

THANKS ALL!

Sterlink

Hey - when I finished LPN school and passed boards back in 1990, I started working on a med surg unit at a local busy hospital. In our area, LPNs could work in ER only after they had at least 1 yr. floor experience. Well, lets just say that it was a long yr. before I got to transfer to the ER, and there was a waiting list to transfer.

After I got into the ER and orientated, I knew that was the dept. for me. I didn't stay at that hospital forever, but I slways worked ER or trauma after that. I have worked in small rural hospitals and experfienced all staff pulling together to run a code or trauma and and also the large facilities. My personal favorite is the small rural hospital because of the experience I got.

Hope this helps a little. Anne, RNC:paw:

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

After 10 years of ICU, I was bored to death. Have been in the ER for almost 4 years and love it 90% of the time. I thrive on the crazy, chaotic things that happen. I have learned a lot about my capabilities, given that I see the pt before the doc and have to make some important decisions on my own quickly. I also find that I have a much closer relationship with my co-workers than before.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I love what I do. I did hate hospital nursing but not when I first started. Towards "the end" I dreaded going to work, but I'm not sure if it was me or the hospital.

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Specializes in Medical/Surgical/Maternal and Child.

I have always loved nursing and still miss the hands on care and I also miss my patients. But the staffing situation plus a bumb knee forced me to go into case menagement of children in foster care and I truly do love it. Every nurse finds their niche in nursing and makes a difference in peoples lives.

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Specializes in Peds Rehab, Informatics.

I don't know if I got lucky on the first try or what, but I love my job! I know it's not simply the fact that I have a "Pollyanna" type personality either because I hated my last semester rotation on a med surg floor. I almost always get out before 1915 and I always get my lunch and have time to go the bathroom! Everyone is friendly and helpful. I get to spend alot of time at the bedside and even have time for primary care! The other day, I got to give a teenager his first shower in a week! I always thought I would go into PICU but I am so happy to find a small hospital (pedi rehab) that has a great family environment. Even though it is part of a huge system, its size makes it seem kind of far removed from the corporate conglomerate.

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I have tried many areas in nursing; medical, surgical, haematology, drugs and alcohol, geriatrics, post-natal, gynaecology, paediatrics...but once I started working in ED I knew I had found the area I was most suited to. The pace, the chaos, the fun, the comraderie, the variety, and most of all the fact that it suited my personality. It only took 13 years to find my niche :chuckle

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I have tried many areas in nursing; medical, surgical, haematology, drugs and alcohol, geriatrics, post-natal, gynaecology, paediatrics...but once I started working in ED I knew I had found the area I was most suited to. The pace, the chaos, the fun, the comraderie, the variety, and most of all the fact that it suited my personality. It only took 13 years to find my niche :chuckle

Djuana - you read my mind! It takes a special person to be an ER nurse and find some humor in it and enjoy it day to day. I knew I was "home" when I started working in the ER. Anne, RNC

:paw:

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilities.

I worked in medsurg tele as a new grad...HATED IT...now I work with adults with MR in an agency...group homes...as a nurse for 24 long-term clients of ICF-MR facilities...I love my job...except when the pager goes off, like right now =)

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I *hated* clinicals in nursing school - adult med/surg - so at least I knew where NOT to work after graduation. I wound up working in the OR and really liked it there, but had always wanted to work in the NICU, so when a position opened up, I started working there and loved it. I no longer work in the hospital, but those two areas really fit my personality - OR in particular was a great fit for me.

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Specializes in Case Management.

When I graduated in 1980 I worked in the same community hospital where I trained. I worked almost every medsurg level unit and started getting floated to tele. I hated it at first I knew nothing about reading the monitors. Back then it was like see one do one teach one when it came to interpreting strips. I asked for, and received training. They started a telemetry training program just because I asked for it. I loved it for years but then the politics and the back biting became too much to bear! The cliques were so snotty and gossipy.

One day a patient told me he worked for an insurance company and gave me his card. He said "his nurses" liked the job a lot and he paid well. I didn't call him but I started thinking about it.

Then a friend on the IV team told me she was going to work for the largest insurance company in our city, and the light went on. I asked her to keep me in mind and the next thing I knew I was out of bedside nursing and logged into a phone queue.

I found the work easy and the office politics although the same, were not as harsh as the hospital politics.

I began bouncing from one company to another. Various reasons, location, office closing and laid off, one company starting up gave me a wealth of experience giving presentations and developing policy and procedures.

I finally found the job I love. I work with the Medicaid population for an insurance company that sends 30% of their people home.

I now work from my home, and I love it. I make pretty decent money and I never worry about what I didn't get done. It will be there tomorrow!

I work in my jammies, sweats, whatever I please and I can roll out of bed at 5 mintues to 8 and get to my desk in time to start at 8.

I know it is not for everyone. I was never an adrenaline junkie! But it beats shift work, mandatory overtime, short staffing issues and all the other bs.

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