What might I be doing wrong?

[bikegal50]

I have been a nurse for just about 40 years. I spent the last 34 years working in the same small hospital, mainly in the ER. There are things I loved about my job (my patients especially), although I also felt frustrated with the whole state of healthcare and electronic medical records. (How many times did I see nurses paying more attention to the computer screen than assessing the patients?) The hospital I worked in closed fairly suddenly without much warning. Now I am on unemployment (who would've ever thought that would happen?) and not sure what to do. I want a different kind of job where I can truly "care" for my patients. I have applied to numerous hospice jobs and have not heard a word. I have excellent references from people who work at these places. My other dream is to start my own business. I am a bit frustrated with the situation. It has been 2 months since I lost my job. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I wold not necessarily chalk it up to age. Your resume will reflect 34 years of experience, but you COULD be the ripe old age of 54.

The OP has 40 years of experience and worked at the last hospital for 34 years.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

You are all wonderful to take the time to answer. Your suggestions are good. I have applied to home health. I am polishing up my Spanish as that is always an asset, too. I also applied to be a hospice volunteer to get my foot in the door. I think I will go around and try to hand in my resume to real people, even though I have already submitted them on line. (sometimes that feels like a dark nebulous hole in the ground.)

And, yes, there are red signs all over town about the darned hospital. Maybe you are my neighbor??

My business has to do with serving healthcare workers. I have seen many good nurses not know how to really care for themselves and I want to provide them a place to be cared for themselves-bodywork, nutrition, cooking, reiki. Anyone have any thoughts about that, too?

Bed and breakfast for nurses? A self help book, a blog.....or teach a class at your local adult ed/community school regarding this. You could branch out to the local elder services as well.

I think home health is a wonderful idea. Another thought is that if the Department of Mental Health has transitional, half way, residential treatment houses or facilities in your area--this may be what you could be looking for.

Best wishes to you!!

[ceccia]

My business has to do with serving healthcare workers. I have seen many good nurses not know how to really care for themselves and I want to provide them a place to be cared for themselves-bodywork, nutrition, cooking, reiki. Anyone have any thoughts about that, too?

i like that idea! I think the next step if you're serious about pursuing this, is to narrow your focus and get more specific. Make an actual business plan.

Where might you offer these services? Would you be more like a life coach/wellness coach and take on individual clients, or would you market your services to hospitals and healthcare companies as a wellness-based program? (if the latter, you'll definitely want to base your sales pitch on the fact that research shows preventative wellness programs lead to improved health outcomes and thus would help the company's bottom line. )

What about starting a wellness program/workshop series for nursing students at a local college/university? Get to your target demographic early and get them started with positive health and stress management habits *before* they're thrown onto the floor on their own!

or would you focus more on the nutrition/cooking aspect, i.e. starting a meal delivery program! your clients give you their likes/dislikes/allergies/wants, and you prepare nutritious meals and deliver them. that would be an awesome idea for nurses and other healthcare workers who often do long shifts and/or get home at odd times and may be too tired for anything but the microwave.

or would you focus more on the bodywork/reiki side of it? (& again, how will you market? Seeing individual clients in your home or theirs? Contracting with local healthcare organizations to provide services to their employees?)

Who can you network with? Make a list of all the potential connections in the industry that you might have. Everyone. Even if you haven't talked to someone in years or don't think they can help you; just brainstorm and let the ideas flow. You can edit the list later.

Think simple at first. As simple as you can make it. Low start-up costs. You can always branch out and do more after your initial idea is successful.

[Anna S, RN]

With your experience, you would be a wonderful asset as a travel nurse!

Ever considered traveling?

[grudgrime]

Without seeing your resume it is hard to say. Do you focus more on your skills (the ones you are expected to have) or your strong points and accomplishments. Did you personalize a cover letter stating your desires and what makes you the best candidate for that position? If not you may want to try that.

[Emergent, RN]

I have been applying for Per Diem jobs and just landed two of them. I want to go part time where I'm currently working. Per Diem is a good way to get a foot in the door and try a facility out for size. I, too, am 'over the hill'. ;-)

Everyone is working around my schedule, I just got the call today about the second Per Diem and they are going to wait until I'm done orienting at the first one. My manager told me that I can reduce to 2 shifts a week in Sept.