Where do I go from here?

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I am a fairly new grad RN...I have been working as an ER nurse in a trauma center and I hate it. I don't like the high pressure high stress environment. I have been in patient care for 5 years and I feel burnt out. I don't have the patience for all the BS- bring me another sprite, I need a 6th warm blanket, we've been here 30 mins already... how much longer until we are discharged, etc. There are also a lot of catty people in my dept and I feel terrible every day that I go in. I think I just hate being a bedside nurse but I don't know what else to do. What else can I do with my degree that isn't direct pt care and how do I get there?! I feel so lost. I love science which is part of the reason I went into nursing. I like learning about the body..how things work and how we fix what's broken. I also like computers.

Any advice is welcome

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I have just started a new job and transitioning from LVN to RN and feels stressed out. To add I had to move out of state to get a job and feel like this new job is overwhelming and people are out to do me in. Any advice?

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Specializes in Allergy and Immunology.

May be you could try research nursing, legal nursing (may need more certification and experience though), drug rep, nurse consultant, spa nursing...just to name a few.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I understand your frustration. Patient care in any "episodic" setting (ED, clinic, etc) tends to be focused on amenities if the patient does not have any serious/immediate health problems. Of course it's dissatisfying because we want to be nurses, not hostesses or waitresses.

Are you eligible for an internal transfer to another area? If so, maybe that would be an option. Your employer already knows that you have a good work record - I'm sure that they would be very interested in keeping you on staff rather than losing you!

A longer term solution? Look at obtaining credentials that will help you move into a specialty area. Since you like working with the computer systems, you may want to look at Clinical Informatics which is a rapidly expanding area right now. There are certificate programs if you don't want to invest in an MSN just yet.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
May be you could try research nursing legal nursing (may need more certification and experience though), drug rep, nurse consultant, spa nursing...just to name a few.[/quote']

A new grad is not going to get hired into research, legal, or nurse consultant. You might be able to get hired into spa nursing or as a drug rep however you run the risk of having difficulties if you ever want to go back to acute care. What about school nursing? What about a clinic? You sound like like someone that might want to look into an NP program, but for that ER experience would be invaluable

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A new grad is not going to get hired into research, legal, or nurse consultant. You might be able to get hired into spa nursing or as a drug rep however you run the risk of having difficulties if you ever want to go back to acute care. What about school nursing? What about a clinic? You sound like like someone that might want to look into an NP program, but for that ER experience would be invaluable

Hi Christine,

You make a very valid point, I am curious though, may I ask why you say "A new grad is not going to get hired into research, legal, or nurse consultant."

I am studying now for my ADN (after being a 2nd career student-B.S. in Finance) & I have the fear of experiencing what the original poster is currently going through, and i KNOW i love the research/science aspect of things (including diseases & our physiology). However, before I get in to deep (as the original poster), I want to start in the right direction.

Elaborate for us please.

Thanks :-)

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

Hi Christine,

You make a very valid point, I am curious though, may I ask why you say "A new grad is not going to get hired into research, legal, or nurse consultant."

I am studying now for my ADN (after being a 2nd career student-B.S. in Finance) & I have the fear of experiencing what the original poster is currently going through, and i KNOW i love the research/science aspect of things (including diseases & our physiology). However, before I get in to deep (as the original poster), I want to start in the right direction.

Elaborate for us please.

Thanks :-)

Because employers are going to want to see that you have some sort of a foundation to build on. Research is not a novice nursing level skill.

Also, I am thinking you are going to have an easier time getting hired into research someday if you get your BSN

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