Unsure of My Next Move

[missnursingstudent19]

Hi! I started out right out of nursing school on med surg floor of a hospital. I worked there for 7 months before Coronavirus hit. At that point my manager granted me a leave to figure out what would be best for me and my family. I tried to come back to the job after my leave, but due to low census my manager didn’t have room for me on the schedule so my leave was extended. I couldn’t afford that so I found another job on a progressive care unit at a different hospital and I’ve been there for 8 months now. The thing is, I have been working with mostly the elderly population for my entire nursing career so far. I really always dreamed of finding a job working with babies, children, or pregnant women. I’ve also come to realize lately that I would rather work at a clinic or a doctor’s office - especially a pediatrician or OBGYN. I would love the normal business hours and not working holidays or weekends. I am also not physically strong at all and don’t feel as effective as a hospital nurse because I struggle a ton to life patients and often don’t have much help due to short-staffing. What I’m trying to figure out is when would be the right time to apply for  jobs and make this career move. I’m also wondering what the cons would be to working in a clinic, health department, or Dr office setting. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Davey Do]

29 minutes ago, missnursingstudent19 said:

 I have been working with mostly the elderly population for my entire nursing career so far. I really always dreamed of finding a job working with babies, children, or pregnant women. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Basically, I began my career working in psych nursing but "really always dreamed of" working in medical nursing. In working as a professional, only about 15 of my 41 year career was in medical.

Why?

Because every dang time I went to medical nursing, I was always pulled back into psych for one reason or another. I could go into great detail, but we're not here to talk about my history. We're here to talk about you, missnursingstudent, and the advice you requested.

That advice is: Allow The Fates lead you where they may.

Once I allowed The Fates to lead me, I more or less flowed with the current. Although I wanted medical, The Fates said, "No-psych!" and there I stayed for the final 21 years of my nursing career.

Good luck to you, missnursingstudent!

["nursy", RN]

There's never a "bad" time to apply, just go for it, you have nothing to lose.  The cons to working in a clinic/Dr office are not cons, if that's what you really want.  The pay may be lower.  If ten years from now you want to go back to the bedside, it may be difficult, but so what?  Whatever you want badly enough you can work to achieve it.