Who LOVES their job and why?

myoglobin, ASN, BSN, MSN · Jun 23, 2019

Now that I'm PRN and barely working (while finishing my PMHNP degree) I can reflect on some good things about my ICU job that I will miss:

a. The fact that the job was so miserable. Yes, this was actually something of a benefit because it often made all of the other problems in my life: debt, relationships, not being where I want (Kauai), not snorkeling seem "no big deal" because it felt so good to simply "not be at work". I imagine that this is to some small extent how workers at West Virginia/Pennsylvania coal mines might have felt when they were not in the bowels of the Earth. Even if their home lives weren't great it probably felt great not to be in the mines.

b. I miss many of my coworkers. Although,, the for profit company was no doubt a division of Hydra, the workers were by and large some of the best people I've ever had the opportunity to know.

c. The best thing about bedside nursing may be the 12 hour shifts! I've said it before, but if you happen to be lucky enough to live somewhere beautiful or interesting you have four days per week (or maybe three with a rest day) to do stuff that is enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've been in school at least part time for the past 8 years (first for my BSN and now for my MSN) so the off days are eaten up by school work.

d. Also, only needing to worry about scrubs is great. Until, I started needing clothes for clinical, I literally didn't have anything in my closet that wasn't gym shorts, tee shirts, or jeans (and of course many scrubs).

e. My ICU 12 hour night shifts made it very easy to diet. Since I only eat one meal per day, low carb, and then fasted on the weekends (from Friday night to Monday) this was relatively easy at work (and allowed me to maintain my 90 pound weight loss from over 10 years ago). This is much harder (and the three day fast essentially impossible) without the forced routine of the 12 hour night shifts.

f. The "quiet of the night routine". Even when I wasn't working I stayed with the night routine on my days off. This meant that while my SO and son were in bed I could read, study, play video games, workout, and listen to paranormal podcasts. This is much harder on a day routine. Of course as noted above the actual job itself was often like working in the pits of Hades hoping that the Devil was out of town for the week (at least the nights I worked).

JennyPARN · Jun 26, 2019

Thank you, myoglobin. I guess no one else wants to discuss why they love their job, but I appreciate your response. I sometimes have to remember to keep it simple, I am also lucky to work with some amazing people. And wearing scrubs to work is the best. I have registered for some classes this fall, which I think will be helpful. Continuing education makes me feel more engaged as a nurse. Best, Jenny

Golden_RN, MSN · Jun 26, 2019

I love my job in informatics. I'm learning things I never thought I'd learn in nursing. I get to shut it down at quitting time and not think about it until the next day. After working in the hospital/LTC facility, working in an office can be such a joy. I am home at night/weekends.

In the past, I did love my job in LTC. I worked with great RNs and LVNs and once I learned the regulations I felt pretty confident. I really enjoyed caring for the same people over a long period of time.

Cricket183, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2019

I’m loving nursing (at least right now) because I didn’t think I’d ever get to do it again. I worked in inpatient oncology from the time I graduated nursing school until 2008. Unfortunately, I had to leave nursing for just over 11 years due to my own medical disability. I was told by my doctors I’d never be able to return. Fortunately, new treatment options have improved my health, although not cured my condition. I took a RN Refresher course last year and returned to my nursing career on a part time basis just over a month ago. Things have changed in a lot of ways, especially with computerized systems. When I left nursing we were just transitioning from paper to EMR, and now everything is electronic so it’s a bit of a learning curve. But I am having a blast! (I realize I may change my mind when the newness wears off!). The basics of nursing, however, are still the same and that’s the stuff I’ve always enjoyed most.

Forest2 · Jun 28, 2019

I can't say I have loved all my nursing jobs. What I do know is that the culture has a huge amount to do with my job satisfaction. I can do anything if I am set up for success. If I am given the resources to do my job well, then I am happy enough. However, all jobs change over time, what you are happy doing this year, you may not be happy with in 5 years because it changes.

BeatsPerMinute, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2019

I have worked in 3 different areas. There were pros and cons to each nurse job. To focus on the pros:

1. First job was private duty (multiple clients). The job itself was not difficult, and the kids were well cared for (quite spoiled actually, lol). Happy environments and good work. The schedule was ok: varying days, every other weekend. Not too bad as a new grad - many of my new nurse friends were 50/50 or straight nights, weekends, and on the floors or LTC with heavy work involved.

2. ICU was my second job. I did not learn much in my first job and learned ALOT in the ICU and loved it. I like to critically think and know things in depth - pathophys, machines, devices, meds, and to know your patient very well. I'm an introvert and prefer to know 1-2 patients and know them head to toe vs having many patients - meeting many people exhausts and overwhelms me. In dealing with the tough parts (patient death) I had to learn how to compartmentalize (work hard, then leave work at work) and reframe my thinking so that I could deal with the tough shifts in a healthy way, such as focusing on gratitude (ex: instead of getting depressed after watching patients die and their family mourn, I'd focus on appreciating my health, body, fam & friends, life experiences, etc). I grew a lot professionally and personally working ICU. Teamwork is essential as you cannot care for ICU pts all alone. If the teamwork is truly good and people show up to focus on patient care, help each other / has each others backs - the job is great. A team cannot work well together without trust, so if/when gossip and blame rise up => trust breaks. Then it gets really bad in the ICU. I've experienced both.

3. Lastly: recovery post procedure. Low key and good schedule (very little need for weekend and night coverage). It was a relief to have some "normalcy" coming from ICU (which had required constant flipping days and nights). In this unit I meet a much larger number of patients, families, MDs, teams, and in general things feel more ambiguous - both of these things make me uncomfortable, but thats all a personality thing. I find that there's more Type B people than Type A. Working here's a good challenge against my tendencies of introversion and preferences for OCD-like environments. Helps me to grow in a very different way. I do not enjoy the work as much as I did in ICU so I may leave eventually. It's not them, its me, lol.

In my opinion it really is personal preference. Hope this helps! Good luck ?

StrwbryblndRN · Jun 29, 2019

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I've worked 3 different jobs as a RN. 11 Years hospital nights (10 on medsurg), 6 weeks home health and 2 years LTC/SNF.
Obviously the home health job was not for me. But I absolutely loved medsurg. I left and came back to my same job because I realized how I much I loved it. It was busy but that was my favorite part. Not sure why I loved it, just did. I left for a change and at times miss it.
LTC/SNF, I do like but mainly because of the facility. The quality of the facility is high. Ratios are the best you can get and the pay is fantastic. Residents are fabulous. Only down fall is I supervise and miss taking care of people. So when staffing is low and I get to pass meds, I enjoy it. Even when someone calls out it is still a great place to work.