Which Nursing Jobs are the Least Stressful?

[LeLeeFNP]

Okay so I know that I may get a bunch of responses that I am not looking for with this post, but I wanted to get opinions about nursing jobs or specialties that are not extremely stressful. I am aware that nursing is a stressful profession and everyone experiences some deal of stress on any job, however I currently work in critical care which is downright physically and mentally exhausting. I am looking to move into a specialty that doesn't require so much physical labor as well as a slower pace, and patients with lower acuity.

I am not interested in Medical Surgical nursing, as I already tried that and did not enjoy it.

Thanks in advance for all of your opinions!

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I thoroughly enjoyed my 5 years as office nurse to an orthopedic surgeon. Of course, there were stressful times (try running an office schedule while 2 hours behind!), but no one's life was at stake. That, to me, was a relief.

However, office jobs are difficult to obtain - not all that many MD's continue to hire nurses. Ambulatory Surgery Centers may interest you...lots of positions within an ASC (pre-op, PACU, post-op).

[himilayaneyes]

I would suggest working at a MD's office or becoming an employee health nurse. You could also look into an acute inpatient rehab facility...it's more intense than a SNF from what I'm told, but the patients aren't acutely ill. You could also try becoming a post-partum care nurse in OB. I'm a tele nurse and floated to OB a couple of times and found it pretty easy going...and the staff got to sit down a lot more than we tele nurses do. You could also try home health for an agency or hospital...low stress. Good luck.

[winter_green]

public health nursing

[brownbook]

Another vote for ambulatory nursing. The patients are baseline healthy (or else they would be done in an acute care hospitals OR). The pay is great, the hours are great, closed weekends and holidays.

[sunnycalifRN]

I'd suggest endoscopy clinic.

[brownbook]

Sorry, should have said out-patient ambulatory surgery nursing.

[50caliber]

Post partum has to be the easiest nursing job in an acute care setting. Everybody is young, healthy, and happy. Famili members will do most of the care.

[themoreyouknow]

Post-partum nursing/Mother-baby unit is definitely the least stressful job I have ever had! :) Everyone is healthy and happy (for the most part!)

~Sherri

"The new nurse thinks like a mom. The experienced nurse thinks like a lawyer."

[letitbe_lindsay]

Not technically nursing experience, but I'll give you a story to illustrate what other people have been saying about post-partum.

I was a tech in the float pool at a hospital for two years. Generally, being a tech in the float pool means you get to go to the busiest, most understaffed, most undesirable units to work on and are generally given the most difficult or time-intensive patients. Every night I worked, I would have 16-18 patients and I would not sit down.

One night I had the good fortune of being floated to the post-partum unit. I had 6 patients only (amazing!), and essentially all they needed were vitals and water refills. I remember this time fondly as it reminded me of that one episode in Grey's Anatomy where Christina goes to the dermatology floor and discovers residents who get raspberry water and hand massages at work.

I'm not saying it's not work--every nursing job is work. But I had at least two RNs tell me that night, "this is where us old nurses go to die."

[Divergirl]

If you are an ICU nurse, you might consider the PACU. You would still be able to use some of your critical care skills but it tends to be a less stressful environment. The PACU is known as the "ICU graveyard"

[KateRN1]

Whoever said home health nursing has obviously not done it. The stress is quite a bit different than inpatient settings, but I can assure you that it is plenty stressful. Patients and physicians call you at all hours, you rarely get a real day off, spend most of your day running between patients and criss-crossing town, and then have a load of paperwork to do when you get home.