Slower pace nursing?

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 18, 2005

I think perhaps "slow paced" environment is not the best term to use. In LTC you generally don't have acute situations requiring all out life saving measures going on as frequently as they do in the hospitals. In an acute hospital a patient's problems are going to be attended to as rapidly as possible by a large staff of people. In LTC the problems do not usually require that intense a level of attention although things do have to be addressed rapidly. LTC, generally, doesn't have the same huge staff of many different healthcare disciplines around either. A lot of services done in acute hospitals (EKGs, labwork, x-rays) have to be called in on a case by case basis in LTC.

The work load and stress is equal, just of different types in each setting.

Hope that helps you.

SmilingBluEyes · Aug 18, 2005

Are you interested in bedside care or would you prefer care management or administrative type work?

SmilingBluEyes · Aug 18, 2005

and I do agree; don't be quick to believe any area is "slow paced"------there are just different things to do in each area. Some are super-high-stress, others not quite as much. But all have stress. All have their bad points, if you will.

rogramjet · Aug 18, 2005

I like the slower pace. I'm a Diabetes Education nurse. I see 4-5 Outpatients a day for at least an hour at a time. I teach a three day class once a month. This is why I went to nursing school and I have no regrets at all. I do not miss the inpatient environment. The activity, stress, and working nights did not get along with my own diabetes. One of the wonderful things about nursing is that there are so many different areas that you can work in. We are no longer just hospital or Dr office employees anymore. There is pretty much something out there for every personality. I really like spending time getting to know my patients. Working in a hospital, they are discharged and gone, with me, I am one of their main contacts, they call me with their problems and I try to help. It is wonderful when a patient comes back with normal blood sugars and feeling great. It makes you feel like you are making a difference in people's lives.

Some days are very hectic and it can get frustrating dealing with some of the Drs but I love what I do. It is not for everyone, but it is what I enjoy.

SharonH, RN · Aug 18, 2005

There are lots of jobs that are slower-paced in nursing. I used to work in pre-admission testing in the hospital. We basically collected histories on patients going to surgery, and performed phlebotomy and venipuncuture. There were times when we were super busy but it never reached the stress level of the floor. And there were hours when we did absolutely nothing. We didn't take appointments, patients just came when it was convenient for them. I actually left because we were expected to look busy when there was nothing to do. It was silly.

Currently I work in employee health in an office building. We are usually busy in the mornings when we schedule our physical exams and in the evening, we don't do much at all. We get walk-ins and have to respond to the occasional emergency but we still have hours and hours to read and relax. I chose that job because I am working on my master's and I needed to have time to do my schoolwork and still spend time with my family. I do all my schoolwork at the job. And believe it or not, the pay is better than the hospital.

CHATSDALE · Aug 19, 2005

as has been said 'to each their own' everyone needs to work at a job they enjoy and sometimes it is not this or that but that they move through different areas of employmnet as it suits their own changing lifes styles...

it is the old story about kissing frogs until you find a prince

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2005

I worked for awhile as a telephone advice nurse for a large medical insurance company. I did it because my back problems had gotten worse and had circulation problems in one leg after phlectomies to remove varicose veins. It was a large office with rows of cubicals. Each cublical had a computer station and some reference books. We wore head sets and received calls from an automatic answering system. As we spoke with people we were documenting what they were telling us and what we were telling them on the computer screen in front of us. This was pretty much a no-pressure job once you got the hang of how they wanted the calls handled. When the phones were quiet we could talk among each other very easily. Surprisingly, we had a couple of nuts who would call on a regular basis that no one wanted to talk to! Pay was $23/hr and that was 2 years ago.

A nurse I worked with for many years went to work for a company that specialized in auditing hospital bills for insurance companies and lawyers who were preparing lawsuits. She would go to medical records of various hospitals with her authorization to see a chart. She would go through a chart from page 1 to the end and keep a running list of doctors orders and procedures that had been done that would have been billed. She then compared these to the bill to see if there were any overcharges. She said it was a little boring, but she had a company car (yes!) and also didn't have to wear a uniform.

The above nurse got tired of that job after awhile and went to work for Hill-Rom. When hospitals bought new beds from them she would go to the hospital and demonstrate and teach the staff the features on the beds and how to use them. Another company car. She some times wore a uniform when she went into hospitals for demonstrations, but most of the time didn't.

A couple of years ago when I was working as a medical coder there was an RN with her own office who was the liason between the office and the ER doctors who worked the many ERs the company contracted with for service. Her job was pretty much educating the doctors on how to document their ER dictations so the company would be able to bill for all charges due and get their maximum reimbursement. Nice job. Office dress. You'd never know she was a nurse by looking at her.

These kinds of jobs are out there, but you have to really look for them. My friend was just sick and tired of the nasty doctors and the stress of the hospital. But to her credit she worked with me for 5 years. The billing company nurse said she took that job to get out of the stress of the hospital.

busykim · Aug 21, 2005

As said in other posts there are all types of jobs out there. I work in the ER (very stressful) and also for 2 private practice Dermatologists. I love the variety of both jobs. My derm job is sooooo not stressful, just busy. I mostly laser there and assist in lipo. I love both my jobs and am thankful for both the experiences. I also have a friend that works for a county agency and manages cases for disabled infants. She works part-time and loves it's pace also. :) Kim

jalicia912 · Aug 22, 2005

What I find nice about nursing is that you don't have to stick with one particular area of healthcare, you can try several.

I started as a CNA in LTC in '99 and the patient ratio was bearable. I decided to further myself and become a nurse because I really enjoyed that setting and I wanted to make more of a difference so to speak. I returned to the same LTC facility as a nurse. By just 1 yr. the ratio was horrible for all staff. I passed meds until I puked and did treatments all day. I did not feel fulfilled and I knew my poor patients didn't either. I knew I had to try something else or just reconsider my career in nursing.

A girl that I graduated with came contacted me and was very persistent that I come work with her. I decided to give it a try and I still work there. I am a hospice nurse in a 6 bed residence for a non-for-profit agency. The patient ratio is magnificent, although sometimes you have very high aquity patients, and it varies on if I have 2 or 6 patients daily. I also feel fulfilled and I feel my patients are too before they die. What makes me love it the most is that it is the holistic nursing that we where allways taught about. I try to fulfill their every need and strive to make my patients comfortable. It is much easier to do in this setting I find. I don't run into walls or have to fight about care issues. I believe I have now found my calling and I hope you find yours. Good luck.

I just suggest looking for the values that are important to you as a nurse and try to find an area that fits you the most.

leo_bsn · Aug 22, 2005

I like the slower pace. I'm a Diabetes Education nurse. I see 4-5 Outpatients a day for at least an hour at a time. I teach a three day class once a month. This is why I went to nursing school and I have no regrets at all. I do not miss the inpatient environment. The activity, stress, and working nights did not get along with my own diabetes. One of the wonderful things about nursing is that there are so many different areas that you can work in. We are no longer just hospital or Dr office employees anymore. There is pretty much something out there for every personality. I really like spending time getting to know my patients. Working in a hospital, they are discharged and gone, with me, I am one of their main contacts, they call me with their problems and I try to help. It is wonderful when a patient comes back with normal blood sugars and feeling great. It makes you feel like you are making a difference in people's lives.
Some days are very hectic and it can get frustrating dealing with some of the Drs but I love what I do. It is not for everyone, but it is what I enjoy.

Hi there,

I am wondering if you have a Master's degree? I would love to go into the education/non-bedside aspect of nursing - what opportunities are there for new grad BSNs?

BETSRN · Aug 22, 2005

Hi there,
I am wondering if you have a Master's degree? I would love to go into the education/non-bedside aspect of nursing - what opportunities are there for new grad BSNs?

The same opportunities that are there for everyone. As new grad (BSN or not) most jobs want you to have had some hospital experience. Book learning is a whole lot differnt than the real world, so to speak.