What are my future options as a psych/addiction nurse?

[rkstjohn]

I have been a nurse for almost a year. The first 6 months I was on a very rough med/surg floor at a well known hospital. I saw new grads not caring about their patients anymore before they even hit one year and I would say 90% of the nurses on that floor left as soon as they got their year because it honestly was that bad.

I left at 6 months because I was so fried, burning out and very depressed. I had major life stressors during this time (divorce, suicidal teenager, special needs teenager and two kids flying the coop plus dealing with personal trauma) and the added stress of being a new nurse was making me darn near suicidal. I took a great job at an addiction/rehab and it’s easy. I got a big raise too. It’s boring and now I am wondering what I am doing because there is no challenge in it. I feel useless and directionless.

My question is whether working in my current field will still count as experience if I ever want to find a case management or work from home job. It supposedly counts as working in a hopsital with acute care patients but honestly it’s not. Are there jobs with Insuance companies or any work from home jobs for nurses with a psych background? If not I may be looking at another line if work. I’m so disillusioned with nursing and hospital jobs that I don’t think it’s worth my mental health to ever go back.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I was offered a case management position due to having psych experience. Try dialysis.

[Davey Do]

2 hours ago, rkstjohn said:

I took a great job at an addiction/rehab and it’s easy. I got a big raise too. It’s boring and now I am wondering what I am doing because there is no challenge in it. I feel useless and directionless.

My question is whether working in my current field will still count as experience if I ever want to find a case management or work from home job.

It sounds like your adrenaline rush stimulators are at bay, rkstjohn, and a little homeostasis takes some getting use to. A lot of us have addictions to problems because we need the gifts of solutions.

Hopefully, others with work from home experience, like been there done that, will chime in and give you some info.

Regardless, it sounds as though you've been through the mill and the best to you in your endeavors, rkstjohn!