RN at a loss as to what to get into next

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

Hello everyone, I'm an RN with a BSN, and I'm a little tired of doing skilled-type nursing for now (IVs, G-tubes, caths, etc). I like wound care, but every wound care job I've seen in my area also requires that the RN do the med pass (which would include IVs, etc). I've worked in management as a nursing supervisor and also as a nurse manager, and those jobs were great, but I'm in the process of moving to the South (Nashville), and most of those supervisory / management type positions are in Assisted Living. I'm fine with ALF as I also love working with memory care and the elderly in general, but I've found that those jobs are mostly for LVNs.

Any suggestions? I'm at a loss as to what I should do. I'm burned out by skilled nursing, and I don't want to work in a hospital. My last position was in community nursing at at ADHC where I worked with the elderly and mental health clients. Would appreciate any suggestions anyone can give me. Thanks!

[panurse9999]

Its whopping fun to come on here and vent, because we cannot do it at our workplaces. I've been burned out of nursing for 20 years, but I have never taken it out on a patient. Not once. I've left the field and had to return under financial duress. I wish I never went into this. Get a non nursing job for a while if you can. I worked in retail, made squat, and actually the drama level was almost as bad as nursing. Not worth it.

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

Thanks! I do love working with patients, just not the floor nurse type stuff, and med-passes, etc for now. I'll keep looking. Thank you ?

[Golden_RN, MSN]

What about an educator position, either in SNF or acute care? It is such a great job!

Also, a friend of mine works in a wound care clinic for a big HMO. I don't know how common these types of clinics or jobs are but it sounds great.

[Asystole RN]

My wife works for an insurance company and I work in a corporate setting. Look at wound care companies, they are always hiring nurses.

[2Ask]

Are you completely ruling out a hospital? Hospitals have wound care nurses that manage the complex dressings with wound vacs, they assess and prescribe wound care for pressure ulcers and manage the dressings for some of them esp those with mist therapy, and they manage and teach new ostomy patients dressings and enterocutaneous fistula dressings (long and complex dsg change). At a former hospital they did unna boots, not at present hospital- unna boots are only outpatient management.

They do not pass meds- only wound care.

[VegGal, BSN, RN]

Your suggestions have all been wonderful, and I'm going to look into each one as those are all things I'm really interested in - becoming an educator, wound care position with a wound care company and in a hospital setting (previously when I said I didn't want to work in a hospital setting, I meant I didn't want to do bedside nursing).

Thank you so much everyone!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

On ‎5‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 12:48 PM, panurse9999 said:

Its whopping fun to come on here and vent, because we cannot do it at our workplaces. I've been burned out of nursing for 20 years, but I have never taken it out on a patient. Not once. I've left the field and had to return under financial duress. I wish I never went into this. Get a non nursing job for a while if you can. I worked in retail, made squat, and actually the drama level was almost as bad as nursing. Not worth it.

This just isn't helpful. PAnurse9999, I am sorry you are so burned and bitter, but advising others to just up and quit nursing completely because you yourself have lost faith in it absolutely lacks in critical thinking and compassion for others.

I hope you get some help for this, as it is obvious based on all your posts over the past few days that it is eating at your soul. There are many of us who have thrived in nursing and done well, not because we had perfect work places or because we are "drinking the Kool-Aid", but because there are ways to work in the current system and slowly, slowly, slowly enact changes, manage stress and compartmentalize.

You have a lot to offer, but you say you are done. There is nothing wrong with being done. However, it is not okay to drag others down with you. Either help people swim or go ahead and get out of the pool. Shouting "Yeah, this is all water and I wish I never got into the pool, because all people do is shove you under! You are going to drown eventually! All it is in this pool is drown drown drown and I wish I never got in! You should get out as soon as you can!" isn't true and isn't helpful. It is a broken way of thinking. We all chose to get in the pool and we can all choose to get out of it any time we want. The OP and many others here are looking for methods to swim, not quit.

I do wish you well. You sound absolutely tormented. I hope you find some peace.

[Golden_RN, MSN]

16 hours ago, 2Ask said:

Are you completely ruling out a hospital? Hospitals have wound care nurses that manage the complex dressings with wound vacs, they assess and prescribe wound care for pressure ulcers and manage the dressings for some of them esp those with mist therapy, and they manage and teach new ostomy patients dressings and enterocutaneous fistula dressings (long and complex dsg change). At a former hospital they did unna boots, not at present hospital- unna boots are only outpatient management.

They do not pass meds- only wound care.

This is a great idea too. Wound Ostomy Continence nursing is always something I wanted to do, too.