stressed..other nursing options??

r0b0tafflicti0n · Mar 26, 2009

this may sound stupid, but have you tried your employee health.. what the other thing i am thinking of?......you go and talk to them for free and they help you with exactly such issues and stuff.....gosh darn it...its a private employee thing. like kinda a counseling type of thing, but they can if you want them to talk to you and your manager or whomeever you wish to see if you can all figure something out to help you. EAP, i think its called... cant think of what the heck it stands for...was a long day today,, can ya tell?
gl!!! i hope things get better!!
-H-RN

EAP (Employee Assistance Program).

Try getting a job at a doctors office. It's boring as all get-out. I'm counting down the days to when I can quit. . .

LovePurple · Mar 26, 2009

I'm working on the whole dr's office thing, but seems like the majority of them around here are only hiring MAs or LPNs. I'm going to keep looking though...

ThanksForAllTheFish! · Mar 30, 2009

LovePurple - how's the Job Search going?

TX_TeleRN · Mar 30, 2009

so I only have a couple weeks left on orientation.. things are decent, but I'm getting so stressed with the responsibility of people's lives in my hand that I'm starting to have panic attacks before work! Tonight I even had to call off because I just couldn't get myself calmed down, and the idea of going to work like that made it even worse! Not to mention the nights are killing me ... and my body is not adjusting to this. I feel like I'm MUCH more comfortable at a desk! Not messing with the unexpected at work! What is a less stressful job... that I can do day shift on?
Any suggestions about other options for nurses??

Bedside nursing is not for everyone. I, for one, cannot see myself doing bedside nursing forever, and yet I think I'm fairly good at it because I communicate well with people.

I was originally hired to work nights along with another classmate. I have a very supportive manager and she took both of us off orientation at different times per our "readiness." Fortunately, my boss allowed me to stay on orientation almost as long as the other new grad because I didn't feel ready. Also, one of my biggest concern was whether I could switch my sleep cycle back-and-forth to work nights. By the end of my orientation, my unit had an opening for day shift and my boss allowed me to switch into day shift. I'm sure this was after my preceptors agreed that I could handle the day shift load. This was a big anxiety reducer for me. :yeah:

My classmate ended up quitting After months of unemployment, she accepted a job in a rehab unit as a bedside nurse on days, but I think it is a better fit for her because these patients are stable, therefore less anxiety for her. :up:

I've been out of nursing school for only 2 years, and this was a career change for me. It was EXTREMELY scary and challenging for me when I went off orientation. I was nauseated and lost sleep before going to work, but I think for many new RNs that's the routine. So take a deep breathe and reflect on each day to see what caused problems for your shift/anxiety. After doing that for a few shifts, I found that TIME MANAGEMENT was my biggest issue b/c I struggled to get my tasks and charting done AND clock out by 7:15pm. I was constantly clocking out late (usually 8:45pm or after 9pm). How did I fix this? I asked other RNs how they managed their time, tried their routine, and saw what components worked/didn't work for me and incorporated it into my own routine. Now? I leave at most 15-30 minutes late instead of the after 9pm as before. So... reflect after your shifts to see what was good and what was bad to help you reduce your anxiety.

Do I still get nervous of the unknown? Not as much. Why? I'm on a telemetry unit and after a while, you get the hang of the population. At times, I get cases that I'm nervous about because I had not treated such a diagnosis before. But that's what charge nurses are for. I just let the CN know after getting report that I may need help with that case because of XYZ and they say, "OK." Instead of getting anxious though, I approach these cases as a new learning experience to break the monotony.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Other more experienced RNs and CNs are there to help you during your shift. They may not have the time to do things for you (and you shouldn't expect them to!), but they are there as your resources. :nurse:

With the economy today, it is unsure as to what will provide you with job security. If bedside nursing is not for you, look into other avenues/niches of your interest. Are you good with computers? If yes, perhaps look into computer charting development teams. Or if you're good with starting IVs, join the IV team at a hospital. Or become a PICC nurse, home health RN, educator, diabetes teaching, clinician, nutritionist, research, insurance companies, school nurse, etc. Or you can pursue a MSN and go into teaching others to become an RN.

IF you can tolerate working as a bedside nurse for a couple of years, I think the experiences will make you a better teacher/researcher/developer, should you pursue these avenues... My :twocents: !

Good luck!

Ruffles 1 · Mar 30, 2009

I think that every nurse who has worked the floors, has had these same issues. I feel that it is because most nurses are required to work 12 hour shifts, I feel this is unnecessary. I feel this leads to more burn-out, no time with your family, more anxiety for the nurse and her family. How can we take care of patients when we are so stressed? Until management figures this out and more nurses say no to 12 hour shifts the stress will remain.:yelclap:

LovePurple · Mar 30, 2009

LovePurple - how's the job search going?

well so far decent. I've sent out numerous applications the past week and a half and met with a couple of people. Of course, the name of the game IS experience. I'm hoping to have something by the end of the week, but I do have one thing that concerns me. It seems like all the places that will hire "new grads" are places with a high turnover rate and very understaffed... which then continues to lead to a high turnover rate due to an even more stressful environment with the new nurse having too much to deal with and much too soon. I'm just hoping to be able to avoid that ... although don't know how good that'll work out...

I'll keep you posted though

texasbsn · Jun 3, 2009

hi jjjoy what is healthcare publishing I know I am dreaming of a desk job as well thanks

jjjoy, LPN · Jun 3, 2009

My particular work was with a company that reviews and compiles health care articles for reference for people doing research. The keyword for the work I was involved with is "indexing."

I totally happened upon it... that organization just happened to be affiliated with another organization that happened to forward my resume to them when I was applying for a completely different healthcare-related administrative job. There wasn't much room for growth and I've since gotten a job elsewhere, this time in clinical data management, but it was a good move for me to find work in something that suited my talents and disposition.

Anyway, in looking for "desk jobs", my approach has been to start by looking up jobs on a site like Monster.com using terms for known administrative work... quality assurance... medical records... management... research assistant... insurance claims... and I also peruse the job descriptions listed at local health care related facilities (hospitals, schools, research centers, medical suppliers, insurance companies, etc). Whenever I find a couple of job descriptions that sound sort of interesting then I see if there any words I can borrow for the next search such as specific job titles or job duties. It can be a frustrating process as MANY jobs won't be possibilities... overqualified, underqualified, pathetically low pay... and if you have an RN license, there are often many pressures to take just the kind of job you may be trying to avoid. I really had to put my own sanity first, over other people's dismay that I would choose to NOT to take certain jobs.

SoundofMusic · Jun 4, 2009

I would only have to say, remember that you are NOT alone on a floor. Ideally, you have a charge nurse, a manager or two floating around, and other experienced nurses you can ask questions of. Yes, it is YOU who prepares the meds, so your safeguards there are doing triple checks and perhaps even going back and double checking the ORIGINAL orders to see that the nurses before you got them right. I will do that occasionally if I see something strange on a med order.

You've also got your hospital policies to back you up. If you follow the policies, and document that you did, it is supposed to be on your side -- or so they say.

I often felt the way you did, and sometimes it sneaks back up on me -- but I remind myself that nursing is a team effort and I'm never truly alone on the floor. I hate the way they burden the charge with so many administrative and "customer satisfaction" tasks, because I feel their role is to support us as much as they can throughout the day. If I have ANY issue of patients being rude, violent, I escalate it immediately to my charge nurse. I dont' get paid enough to take abuse of of disgruntled patients.

If I'm unsure of a procedure, you bet your bottom dollar I'm calling my charge to help me through it. So far all of them have been happy to help, if they're not totally swamped. We also have the option of calling a rapid response which is a critical care team that sweeps to the room in less than 2 minutes. If I'm totally alone, I can always call one. Vital signs will always clue you into to something . ..and just looking AT the patient to see if they're responsive, breathing, or struggling, turning blue, etc.

If you work on a floor with no support -- get out and get off of it. New nurses just need support, period. You are constantly learning on the job and even if they oriented you, there will still be a million new issues and episides that you are not familiar with. Find out also who the strong and helpful nurses are and go to them. As them to be your mentor if possible.

I also feel nurses have way, way, way too much responsibility for the pay. It's actually unbelievable what they lay on us and how little these docs seem to even CARE or look at these patients. They seem to come in, sit down, look at numbers, spend maybe 2 minutes with the patients, and they're off. The rest of it is up to us. I can't stand it either. If I thought about it all the time, I'd go nuts. It just seems way too easy for docs and the adminstration to blame the nurses.

Also, as a nurse now for one year, I realize how important documentation is. If there is a problem, document it and what you DID about it. As long as you're doing that, I think you're covered. Bad things WILL happen -- that's all I can say. I mean -- some of these patients are old and their time could come ...but hopefully they're being medically managed enough not to code on you and things should go fine.

texasbsn · Jun 5, 2009

I 100 percent agree thanks

texasbsn · Jun 5, 2009

Hi Texas Tele I also live in Texas .I agree with you I am new and work psy,,it is stressfull.I am currently working on BSN plan to go into nurse educator to be of use.thanks

marie-francoise · Jun 5, 2009

I really do think that the nursing shortage (that was) has to do with these real stresses of nursing. Desk jobs ARE easier, and frequently better compensated. And working conditions in nursing seem to be getting worse (too much charting, number & acuity of patients, higher responsibility burden without the commensurate respect in return, physical stresses, long hours, worry, etc.). And dealing with the general public constantly is no cake walk, either.