IS the hard truth for most nurses definitely new grads is that poop cleaning and urine collection RN jobs are all that is open?
Pretty much bedside care, running around like a chicken with your head cutoff.
I don't think ICU solves the issue either.
Definitely thinking about different degree, since experience is the only way to open up other nursing positions, but I am not about to work bedside for 10 years. I would rather go back to school.
I have a couple of months of bedside experience so is there anything else I can do besides bedside care? If not I have no choice to move on.
There is no way I can pursue marriage a family by bringing home income this way. Just not going to happen.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
The "hard" truth for you, may mean, nursing is simply not for you. Doesn't make you a bad person, but you have to ask yourself WHY you chose a career where intimate care of human beings is involved. Search/dig deep and try to figure that out. And then make a plan.
Something just occured to me: I have known people, mostly think of former school classmates, who were going into nursing to "save the day". You know the ones: they think they will be saving lives every day of the week in dramatic, exciting ways, and people will fall over themselves to offer respect, admiration, praise for their skills. PLEASE no one slam me for this, but this attitude has mostly been coming from men, in my own experience. Women, I have no doubt must also be represented in that group, it's just in my OWN experience, it's been men.
Something so "manly" about jumping in and "being all medical"? I don't know, honestly. The ones who only want ED/Trauma/ICU because they see that as more important somehow than "just" med-surg? Again, only guessing. Can't know, never asked one of those idiots who came across AS idiots just why
But maybe that's where the OP is coming from: he anticipated being more "important" than he actually was, he wasn't saving anyone, he was "only" doing ADLs. Even if that wasn't the truth, if that's how he saw himself...."wasting his time" by wiping butts when he could be out there solving medical mysteries if only someone would ask him to consult?
Go figure.
I think there's something to this. Some people view nursing as being some sort of pseudo-doctor, but with less schooling involved. Nursing always has and always will imply care. Besides the occupation, nursing can also refer to nursing someone back to health, or feeding an infant. We often care for the helpless, the infant-like, and that involves wiping butts.
Nursing's gotten more technical as time goes on but it will always emphasize patient care. If you don't see that as important in its own right and want the glory of bringing people back to life on a regular basis, maybe being a paramedic would be more up your alley. Although I'm sure there's still more poop involved in that than one would expect.
I think one thing that makes it easier starting out in nursing and then transferring to your preferred area is entering nursing school as a traditional student. I had zero real responsibilites while in school. I just talked to a nurse who went to a women's private college at 18. We both went straight from HS and graduated well before having kids.
I did my tough 1st year without having to juggle kids. I was young, no major responsibilities and I could sleep as needed, none of this interrupted sleep that came later.
This is irrelevant to the OP but I think starting out in nursing with other responsibilities has to make it more stressful on average.
You guys are being extremely harsh. This is supposed to be a support group and rather or not you all agree with what she is saying you are still professionals.
What, pray tell, is a "poop cleaning and urine collection RN job"? Do you work on a C-Diff unit where your only function is to send stool samples all day long? Or do you work in a poop bank where people donate stool samples to be used for fecal transplants? If not then I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is a horribly inaccurate description of your job.
I am laughing so hard at this I can barely see, picturing the poop bank.
I have worked at the bedside for nearly 30 years now (oncology, telemetry, med-surg , peds and hospice ) and just recently did not get a charge nurse position. It seems that the powers that be love a paper-mill. If you want to do something different than bedside nursing I would consider working on a masters or practitioner degree ASAP and doing clinical ladder program at your hospital. Also, being actively involved in committees and letting your manager know that your career goals include moving onto a management position eventually.
You people make me laugh. We were all told that nurses have so many opportunities outside of bedside. Lets all stop pretending that the OP is an bad person for being honest, shall we? Why are there so many people on this board so ready to jump down a persons throat for lame reasons like being honest about how one feels about bedside nursing. OP-look into school nursing, home health, clinic work...there are other routes that might work for you. And don't let any of the negative people on this board deter you from a different path in nursing. Good luck!
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
The "hard" truth for you, may mean, nursing is simply not for you. Doesn't make you a bad person, but you have to ask yourself WHY you chose a career where intimate care of human beings is involved. Search/dig deep and try to figure that out. And then make a plan.