Taking patients

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Apr 23, 2019

Taking patients? That's what we sign up for when we walk in to work.

Sounds like a different specialty would help you find your will to nurse again.

Nurse Kyles, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2019

It seems like you need to change things up by switching specialty. I would suggest looking into pre/post ambulatory surgery.

Sour Lemon · Apr 23, 2019

On 4/20/2019 at 8:44 AM, meg5 said:
Would love OB but I can't seem to ever even get a call back.

Are you putting "old and tired" on your resume? That could be the problem.
But seriously, you've got to take patients before you give them ...some areas just have higher turnover. I don't always see that as a positive thing. It depends on who is coming and who is going.

Davey Do · Apr 23, 2019

1 hour ago, Sour Lemon said:
Are you putting "old and tired" on your resume? That could be the problem.

Yeah. Don't use "rode hard and put away wet" either.

Five years of nursing and you're "old and tired"?

That must make me "ancient and dead".

meg5 · Apr 23, 2019

I became a nurse at 40. I have worked in healthcare 27 years. I have 5 daughters, 2 grown. I may not be old at 45 but I feel old. I talked to the nurse manager said I am working myself doing everything and need to delegate more but we are often short staffed. I am working myself to death, I guess. I don't know. I take care of my patients as I would my own family and I am aware of what I signed up for as a nurse and as far as taking patients, I just meant maybe if I didn't have 7 patients for 12 hours it would not be as physically demanding. I did not mean that so literally. Floor nursing is hard, I was venting after a very hard week.

brownbook · Apr 23, 2019

Apply to other units, not just OB. Any way what appeals to you about OB?

Free standing ambulatory surgery units are a great place to work. Or the pre op or discharge surgical unit within your current acute care hospital.

_firely · Apr 24, 2019

You all are doing what needs doing. Still you can work hard in life or work smart. There are hospital units that I bet pay twice what you make and you only have one to two patience that require very little care. Do research. Ask around. Move.

Davey Do · Apr 24, 2019

5 hours ago, meg5 said:
I became a nurse at 40. I have worked in healthcare 27 years. I have 5 daughters, 2 grown.

Just to compare notes, I became an EMT at 22- 40 years of healthcare. One reason I did not become a parent was because I wanted to devote my life to my calling: helping others.

Being good parent is a full time job in and of itself, and I have the utmost respect for my sistren and brethren who work in the medical side like med surge ICU, ER etc. etc. I really & truly mean that. My wife B works IMU and I am amazed at that which with she has to deal.

Oh- BTW: I was lying about my reason for not becoming a parent. Really, I'm selfish and I didn't want to have to put up with a bunch of little mini me's. I wanted to be able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

Mini2544, ASN, RN · Apr 24, 2019

On 4/23/2019 at 11:33 AM, Nurse Kyles said:
It seems like you need to change things up by switching specialty. I would suggest looking into pre/post ambulatory surgery.

My suggestion exactly! I have been working as an ICU nurse and recently switched to an outpatient surgery center. It is like heaven compared to working with critical patients in a hospital. The pay is more as well, which i guess depends on what area of the country you live in.