So...what do you do after burnout ?

Well I'm in a specialty practice and as I sit here on a Monday afternoon at 4pm, realizing that I left my house at 6am and won't be home for another 3 hours specialty might not be the way to go.

I have been in this position for 9 years and will do just about anything to get out of it now - I want 3 12 hour shifts and then clock out and go home.

I'm so fed up I'm almost ready to take an RN position just to be able to give my notice! Ugh!

So, since I have't answered your question but rather added my own woes to it, I will shut up for now.

Sorry, the grass isn't always greener....

I'm in a private specialty practice (owned by 1 MD, and not a corporation), and I love it. I have a 4 day work schedule (2 8 hour days and 2 10 hour days) and rarely stay late. No weekends, no holidays. My focus is allergy, asthma, and immunology. I didn't have much trouble moving into this field from Primary Care, as I worked in laboratory immunology in my previous life before nursing and had some background knowledge. There was still a lot of learning to do, but my boss is very low key and let me take my time. I also have great colleagues who were always happy to answer questions. I love focusing on a narrow range of conditions, and not being all things to everyone. It's not the most exciting job, but it's relatively stress free. I was so stressed out in Primary Care. I will never go back to it.

@BC grad - glad you are happy. I always loved the ER and the chaos and my narrow focus is just driving me to boredom.

@carachel2 - yep except that when I was an LPN I had a gun pulled on me while doing home care so I'm not going to anyones home.

My old staff RN position is looking better and better - lol. Now, if I can just get them to pay me what I make now.....

Trauma-you bring up a good point. A specialty practice can be "boring" if you prefer a large amount of variety. There are days that I think I'll scream if I talk to one more patient with chronic hives. That's why I moonlight 2 shifts a month in an Urgent Care center. It keeps my skills current, and makes me grateful that I don't have to work at that pace full time!