Skilled nursing RN....need to go back to acute care

[JnwRN]

Hello I'm an RN for 4 yrs now. I started out on nights in ER for 1 yr (I also was nurse tech in ER for 1.5 yrs in nursing school) then found a dayshift opening on the Skilled nursing unit in the hospital while on maternity leave (i had to have days for the baby) I went to the interview was told I had the job & told it was nothing like a nursing home (I didn't have a clue!!) So I basically hated it to the point of tears for so long......then got more used to it. I don't feel like it's my calling, and I long to do so much more with my career. I was accustomed to using so many skills...now I do alot of paperwork. So I've had a couple of interviews in different departments but nothing went through, then I realized I'd never be happy until I got back to ER. I've now been told that it's hard to get off our unit b/c the other parts of hospital think the skilled nursing unit is a bunch of idiots...& that the manager is an idiot (can be at times) but we're not all idiots. I don't really know how to get out of this perception. I don't want to slander my unit during an interview to get a job b/c I do love my co-workers & the unit is not all of what people think. But I feel the fire for something much more & need help!!!! any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

[romie]

Try getting into Telemetry. I understand that it is the "gateway" unit. According the credentialling center, Telemetry is considered to be a critical care area and it can be a lot more challenging than ICU at times because of the high patient loads and high acuity. It really requires a broad spectrum of skills beyond Med/surg (drip titration and EKG interpretation) but is way harder than ICU because of the time management issue.