Unhappy in “coveted” outpatient job

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Backstory to my dilemma:

Starting working as an RN on a specialty unit at a hospital. 9 months into that job I was offered a FT position at an outpatient center that I had worked at in previous years. I took that position and went PRN at the hospital. I had been on nights (which I hated) and the promise of normal M-F daytime hours sounded like a dream for my family. On top of that, full time at the center only required 4 days a week...total bonus since most outpatient jobs are 5.

Fast forward 6 months and I absolutely dread going in each morning. I find the work incredibly monotonous. I feel completely bored and unfulfilled. 90% of the nurses I work with are 25+ years older than me and are not team players/constantly complaining/just generally over their jobs and waiting to retire. I feel like I am sometimes taken advantage of because of my age and the fact that I used to be a tech there. The pay is much less than I make at the hospital. The hours are sporadic (you can work 3 hours in a day or 10, sometimes I don’t even get all my hours for the week etc). Getting time off is a nightmare because we don’t employ that many staff nurses and the PRNs are unreliable/all have other jobs. FT staff are expected to work their day off/basically be on call if coverage can’t be found in PRNs. Also it is a long commute for me.

I know that these types of nursing jobs are “holy grail” jobs for most .... no nights/weekends/holidays/ only 4 days a week... and I know I was very fortunate to have been hired into one during my first year of being an RN. These points make me feel ungrateful and bratty for not being happy with it. It also makes me question if I am making a mistake by giving it up, despite all of the reasons I listed above.

I suppose I’m just looking for some outside perspective as I know I have a very poor attitude towards the situation right now. Maybe I just need to adjust my thought process and be grateful for this job that I know plenty of others would love to have? Or do I follow my gut and just keep this as PRN and go back to the hospital FT?

Thanks in advanced for any insight.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.

Teamwork and relationships between coworkers can really make or break a job. I work in stepdown and find it quite stressful sometimes but I stay because my coworkers are so wonderful. We all help each other, get along and pitch in when someone has a crashing patient or busy day.
Other departments have reputations for bad teamwork, bullying, favoritism, cliques, etc. I would love to try postpartum but that unit is famous for their drama ?if your coworkers don’t treat you well and you don’t enjoy the job, I think it’s fine to start looking for other jobs. Did you like the bedside? Maybe there is a bedside day shift position. Just take the time to think about what matters most to you, the job, the coworkers, the schedule, etc. I write pros and cons list and priorities lists. Good luck!

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18 minutes ago, Dani1951 said:

I know that these types of nursing jobs are “holy grail” jobs for most

Eh...more like they are a holy grail to one person and to another they are a hot poker to the eye.

If you are one of the latter, look for something you would enjoy more. You're early in your career...it seems like there isn't a ton of benefit to be reaped from enduring the misery.

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You've ONLY worked two different areas as a RN. There are ONLY about 1,000 different areas/types of nursing jobs.

Just start looking and applying for a different job. Even if you start out nights, positions will open up for a day shift.

Your current job sounds like a hot poker in the eye to me.

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Looking to hire RN for Full Time position. 4 Rostered shifts per week, you will be required to work additional days as required. Exact hours per day decided on the day anywhere from 3 -10 hours daily. It is preferred that staff use holiday pay to make up pay on weeks when hours are below FT, with this in mind holiday requests will generally not be approved. Unpaid on call is required.

In line with these incredibly flexible hours and only 4 scheduled days per week, pay will be several dollars per hour lower than any local inpatient position.

OP, I rewrote your job description for you. Seriously!!! Reach out to your old job and enquired about going back FT and then hand in your notice at this place. Hopefully your old job can work with you to get you a day shift.

This is not a "coveted job" this is the workplace equivalent of an abusive relationship so please end it!

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Stop beating yourself up for not being "grateful" just because someone else might want that job. You're not someone else, you're you. If it's not for you, no harm, no foul - you were SMART and kept your foot in that other door, so you can go back to your hospital job. Right now it's like saying, "Well geez, having my feet in a fire really hurts, but other people with really cold feet would be grateful for the warmth, so I shouldn't complain." Don't discount how you feel. Just fix it, it's within your means. ?

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I totally agree with OP, I took an "outpatient" urgent care position and it was not what I was expecting. Nursing community makes outpatient out to be so great, but in reality, unless you've actually worked outpatient or know what it's really like, be careful of the hype. The work is monotonous and I miss the camaraderie an inpatient nursing floor has. Also miss the interaction with different clinicians and interdisciplinary team. Time seems to move so slow, but I manage to still work my *** off, if not more at urgent care. The icing on the cake to all this is I make LESS than what I was getting inpatient.  

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.

If you arent happy, change it. 

I worked in hospice and the work was amazining. Co workers were the equivalent of 'you arent cool enough to sit with us"

I would get dragged over the coals for something I had done (moving a patient who could be moved without a sliding sheet because they were in so much pain I didn't want to move them if more than I had to) and then see a nurse in the cool clique do exactly what had done and no problems were had

It was so unhealthy for my sanity I went '*** it I'm done" and havent looked back.

Its more than acceptable to change your job and look out for your mental health OP

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You can't paint all outpatient areas with the same brush. I work in an ambulatory center with a terrific group of co-workers, respect from the providers plus our patients are so sick we are able to keep up our skills without any problem. Ours schedule is 4 10s, no weekends, no holidays. The stress level is still there as we do have a certain level of autonomy and we wear a lot of hats but we do work with other disciplines and community resources so we aren't so isolated. We have occasional monotony but usually a patient needing an RRT or code takes care of that pretty quickly. Most of our patients are nice but I'm grateful that I don't have to deal with some of them for hours on end. 

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Specializes in Cosmetic RN.

It does not matter if someone else would think this job is great.. it matters if you think the job is great. What you are looking for is permission to be happy. Well I give you permission to quit the job you hate and find a job that you love. I work in outpatient care in a specialty that I absolutely love and and I get paid more than I did in the hospital.. however I work 5 days a week and I do miss those extra days off.... working in the hospital would be terrible for me . You have to do what's best for you.. and free up space for someone who will love that job.

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