So confused...

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Hey everyone,

I need some guidance here. So I have worked in a local hospital on a geriatric psych floor for over a year now. The floor that I worked on had a fair amount of medical issues plus psych issues. I switched to a different job 2 months ago in a child/adolescent psych unit because I thought I really wanted to be a psych nurse (I have a BA in psych and a BSN) but now I am kind of confused. I miss the medical side of things and I am worried that I am pigeon-holed now since being a psych nurse. Also, the facility that I started working for is more disorganized than the other and there seems to be some animosity between management and reg. staff (union hospital). I just am not as happy as I thought I would be. I feel like a made a mistake and I am not sure what to do. Should I try to go back to the other hospital? Should I try a different unit?

Any suggestions would be super helpful. Thank you!

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Anyone?! Please help!

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
Anyone?! Please help!

Stick it out longer than two months to make a better decision rather than job hop. It is not surprising that a geriatric unit has significant medical comorbidities whereas a adolescent unit does not. Work on your assessment and therapeutic communication skills

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If you absolutely hate it and think you can go back to the other place.. GO!! I don't think you'll learn or benefit from a place that makes you miserable. If you're at work everyday miserable, explore other options.

If you hate it, but it's tolerable- maybe try to stick it out longer.. as someone is bound to ask "Why did you only work at this place for 2 months".

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
If you absolutely hate it and think you can go back to the other place.. GO!! I don't think you'll learn or benefit from a place that makes you miserable. If you're at work everyday miserable, explore other options.

If you hate it, but it's tolerable- maybe try to stick it out longer.. as someone is bound to ask "Why did you only work at this place for 2 months".

Agreed. If you are truly miserable, run. If you're not truly miserable, try to stick it out. It is a big change to go from gero-psych to child/adolescent, and it takes time to get used to that change.

Perhaps picking up a PRN job at the old unit might help make this more palatable. You'd still keep your hand in the medical side of things with the PRN 1-2 days a week, while gaining child/addy experience from the new job.

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Regardless of any specialty you go into, there will always be a degree of psych. If this is still something you want to focus on, then it may be your current position that's dragging you down. You could always try a different psych floor or if you want to move to a different specialty area, try it out. there's probably a greater demand for psych nurses though (greater demand for any health care worker in psych in general)...

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Thanks for all your support. I actually just accepted a job offer from a medsurg unit at the hospital I used to work at...completely different specialty I know...but I feel that I really need that experience and that will help open more doors for me in the future.

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