Return to bedside part time - or not?

[Peachpit]

I currently work a M-F position in an occupational health clinic. The job is 20 min. from my home, clinic hours are 7:30 a-4:30p, benefits, because of company size, are high priced insurance and 5 hours of PTO a YEAR.  I work alone in a small, cement block, windowless office 95% of the day. There are no other on-site nurses. Unless someone is injured (which is rare) or needs something for a headache or muscle ache, I sit. The job, while not difficult, is extremely boring and tedious which makes it stressful - though I know some may not understand that.

I have an opportunity to return to a part time beside position 2 nights a week. I have some say so over the nights I would be scheduled and better benefits. No call is required, no mandatory overtime. The unit is well staffed and stable and offers an extensive orientation program. The hospital is about 45 min to an hour (depending on traffic) from where I live. I would have more time off overall with this position and can drop from FT to PT but still have a FT salary because of the rate of pay plus the differentials. It ends up being not much less than I am making now. 

I don't have kids or commitments that would make working nights or having to sleep during the day if needed an issue. My spouse is hoping I will move to the bedside position so we will have more time to spend together and do things other than rush over the weekends to run errands etc

I know some bedside nursing is the same as it's always been but I know there have been a lot of changes too. I have not worked bedside in 5 years though I have been in direct patient care (wounds, IV's etc) in an outpatient setting up until this occ. health position. 

My conflict is, I'm not sure really LOL. It would be so wonderful to not have to work FT, to be able to spend time w/my spouse, or go to a museum during the week or whatever without feeling like all I do is get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, run through the weekends. I guess it's mainly I'm nervous about going back to the bedside overall.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

Sounds like there are enough positives to the new job that it's worth a shot. The downside might be that if you don't like it, you're not likely to get your old job back- (but it doesn't sound like you really want it), for someone that's probably a dream job. I wouldn't do very well in your current job, either, hope the new position works out great for you. 

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

It would be better than dying of boredom! Even if it doesn't work out in the long run you will get your skills up to date which will open up a lot of future opportunities.

[VCinVA]

I say go for it! I was doing case management for over 5 years and returned to ED nursing and so far it's a great change. I have a 1 hr drive each way 3 days a week, I'm actually less stressed than my remote desk job. I got great orientation and all my skills came back pretty easily. I was very nervous starting but it all worked out. I'm loving the extra time off to just rest, travel or whatever. 

[TinyDancer01]

I just left a school nurse job that was 20 min away and super easy schedule with summers off and all holidays and snow days ets. I finally landed in a nice small school with a nice staff but in my soul I was miserable. I loved the kids, the fun celebrations, the low stress etc but I was so so tired of the same situations, feeling so bored, burned out on all of it after years of the same old things. I didn't really feel like a nurse. More like a social worker who gets everything dumped on but then not all that respected at times because what teachers want teachers get.
 

So after doing this the past 15 yrs, I decided to return to the bedside on OB. It's a 45 min drive and nights. I was so scared of regretting it, feeling overwhelmed, not being able to keep up, etc. I must say I'm LOVING it!! Working just three days a week I don't constantly count down until the next day off. I feel like I have a lot more free time and I love having days off in the middle of the week. I'm making so much more money and I'm learning so much and I love that I'm no longer bored. I'm using lots of nursing skills I haven't gotten to use in a long time. 
 

 I'm still in orientation on days but I'll be moving to nights in a few weeks so I'm not looking forward to the jet lag that's going to bring. However many of the nurses on nights have been there over 20 yrs so I feel if they can do it I can too. If I don't love it I know I can eventually get back to days. 

I say go for it! Even if you end up not liking it, at least it will open more doors to something else!  I wish I'd have done it sooner honestly instead of letting people talk me out of it because I had such a "cushy" job!

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

TinyDancer01 said:

I just left a school nurse job that was 20 min away and super easy schedule with summers off and all holidays and snow days ets. I finally landed in a nice small school with a nice staff but in my soul I was miserable. I loved the kids, the fun celebrations, the low stress etc but I was so so tired of the same situations, feeling so bored, burned out on all of it after years of the same old things. I didn't really feel like a nurse. More like a social worker who gets everything dumped on but then not all that respected at times because what teachers want teachers get.
 

So after doing this the past 15 yrs, I decided to return to the bedside on OB. It's a 45 min drive and nights. I was so scared of regretting it, feeling overwhelmed, not being able to keep up, etc. I must say I'm LOVING it!! Working just three days a week I don't constantly count down until the next day off. I feel like I have a lot more free time and I love having days off in the middle of the week. I'm making so much more money and I'm learning so much and I love that I'm no longer bored. I'm using lots of nursing skills I haven't gotten to use in a long time. 
 

 I'm still in orientation on days but I'll be moving to nights in a few weeks so I'm not looking forward to the jet lag that's going to bring. However many of the nurses on nights have been there over 20 yrs so I feel if they can do it I can too. If I don't love it I know I can eventually get back to days. 

I say go for it! Even if you end up not liking it, at least it will open more doors to something else!  I wish I'd have done it sooner honestly instead of letting people talk me out of it because I had such a "cushy" job!

Was it hard to get a bedside job after being in school nursing for so long? What was your previous experience that perhaps helped you get back in?

VCinVA said:

I say go for it! I was doing case management for over 5 years and returned to ED nursing and so far it's a great change. I have a 1 hr drive each way 3 days a week, I'm actually less stressed than my remote desk job. I got great orientation and all my skills came back pretty easily. I was very nervous starting but it all worked out. I'm loving the extra time off to just rest, travel or whatever. 

 

You did not experience any difficulty going back after 5 years out of bedside care? Was getting the ED job difficult or was it your old employer and that is why it was so easy to go back? 

[TinyDancer01]

Curious1alwys said:

Was it hard to get a bedside job after being in school nursing for so long? What was your previous experience that perhaps helped you get back in?

Yes and no. I did apply to several OB jobs and had a few interviews before I was finally offered one. I did have about one year of OB experience 30 yrs ago which did help me get on OB just because so many people train and decide it's not for them so it helped they knew I liked it. I went back to med surg over 10 yrs ago for a year and I didn't have any problems doing that. None of our new grads in the area have any trouble finding jobs usually in the area they want. I think it helps there are so many positions open. Also there are several nurses on our unit my age or older so I think that helped as well. However it's been hard for me getting used to acute care having been out so long. Even the new grads had recent education and clinical experience where I have not so simple things like working the vital signs machine, IV's and tubing, etc I felt so lost for a while but I have caught on quickly. Plus things are just SO different from when I was on OB in the past from all the fetal tracing to procedures. Everyone seemed to expect me to not need as much training because I've done it before but it's all so darn different that even though I'm off orientation I'm still not super comfortable. 

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

It sounds like you really want to do it and it sounds like it's right for you. Go for it!

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

I had an occy health job that wasn't anywhere near as quiet as you describe, but still had certain periods of very little to do. In those periods I surfed the net, I read, but yes that's gets boring after a time.

There are initiatives you could take to make your job more interesting. I launched health promotion initiatives into good practice to avoid musculo-skeletal problems due to poor posture at at the workstation,  breast cancer awareness, colon cancer awareness, blood borne virus awareness, smoking cessastion and alcohol awareness - with varying degrees of success (alcohol, colon cancer and musculo-skeletal troubles really got people's atttention). If you can enlist the help of outside specialists all the better. Take the service out to the workers rather than just waiting for people to drop in. Occy health can be very proactive and dynamic with a little imagination. 

That said, you sound like you've had enough and want to get back to the bedside. I've also been there and really, you re-adapt to the bedside in  no time. Especially as you say there is an extensive orientation program. I did find that no longer being restricted to office hours made life easier (appointments at the doctor, dentist, bank, not having to do grocery shopping on a Saturday, not queueing for the cinema because it's only Tuesday afternoon etc.) If you really want this - go for it. 5 years out is not long. Clinically you'll be OK. 

Good luck.