Unsure on what to do next? School, field, travel

Published

Specializes in Psychiatric.

Hey guys! I was unsure on which forum I should post this in so my apologies if this is not in the correct place. So I have been a nurse for going on 3 years now, and I am just so lost on what is best for me and where I should go from here. For background, I worked med-surg/ortho my first year out of school to get some medical experience. While I did not hate the job, it was not my passion and I always knew I wanted to end in psychiatric nursing. I took a psych position close to home a year after working med surg. I initially loved it, but as time went on, we became more and more short staffed and the patients became more and more violent, leaving me beyond burnt out. I left my staff job to venture the world of traveling after a year.  I am on my second assignment and so far I am really enjoying travel nursing and all the freedom it is given me. It has allowed me to pay for grad school out of pocket, save for a house and retirement, etc.  Now that being said, I live in a rural town in Indiana where there are not a lot pf psych opportunities anywhere near home. Unfortunately, I am not able to venture too far out due to personal obligations. This drastically  limits my job opportunities as well. I am currently working 5 hours from home and it has been really hard being there and home half the week. I am also in school pursing my DNP-PMHNP. When I am home, most of my time is spent doing schoolwork which has been very hard on my family. I have considered possibly going back to med-surg for a year or so to refresh and then doing med-surg travel as there are a lot more opportunities close to home. Not to mention the pay is much better as the travel pay for psych can be pathetic. I have also been looking into aesthetic nursing. I have always had a passion for all things skincare, fashion and beauty and feel aesthetics would fit me well. The issues is, there are not a lot of aesthetic opportunities around here and it would require me to commute for a couple hours each way. I have spoken to several aesthetic nurses and each of them have encouraged me to get training through the National Laser Institute but the course they are recommending is 16k+!! I would not mind getting that training in the future but I feel like that is way too much money for me right now as I am already paying a chunk for grad school. I have also been considering dropping out of school or switching to the FNP program. I feel like all I have done so far is do petty assignments and have not actually learned anything. I also feel like getting my PMHNP would be very limited and I am worried I will become burnt out on psych again and then be stuck. While going back to staff is an option, it would be a major financial blow and there would be no way I could pay for school out of pocket, save enough to buy a house in the next year, or save a nest egg for retirement. I am just so lost on what is the best move for me. I am only 25 so I know I don't have to have it all figured out but I would appreciate any advice from you guys!

 

 

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