Why cant i feel content? Career advice please!

[Nire83]

i'm 18 months out of school and i just feel so darn disheartened.

first, i couldn't find a hospital job so i just stayed at the pediatrics office i had been working at as an ma. the whole time i was there i was looking for something *better*. more clinical, to get me onto a hospital floor...etc. the first interview i had "with" a hospital was an outpatient pediatric neurology department, so basically the same thing i was doing in the pediatrics office, only it was affiliated with a hospital. i took a pay cut, moved my whole family, pulled my 5 year old out of a kindergarten she loved and took the job. and i hate it!!!

i have no clinical support, and i'm basically a medical secretary. the doctors don't get along at all and i have already gone through 3 managers. i'm the only nurse in the small practice so i'm not learning anything. my hours are worse than they were at the other job and i am just so unhappy. i *have* to stay in this position for a year before transferring to another position in the hospital, but i honestly don't know if i can last another 6 months.

i have two jobs offers right now and i just need some guidance.

1) i could stay at my current job for another 6 months and then hopefully transfer onto the pedi floor. even though the office where i am working is awful, the hospital and inpatient staff are great. i really love the director of pediatrics and the pedi nurse manager, and they both know me really well. also, my kids go to the daycare here so i am hesitant to move them yet again to another daycare center, which is something i would have to do if i left.

2) is a per diem position on a psych floor. it would be per diem evenings and nights. the nurse manager is wonderful and the support is basically a 180 of what i have now. when i shadowed the charge nurse the other night she basically said "pick my brain, ask me anything, we are here to help and guide you and we know you don't know everything and we would never thrust you into a situation without proper training and support." also with this job i would be cross trained on med/surg so i would actually get my foot onto the inpatient world. i would obviously have a lot of learning to do, which i am excited about, but it does scare me a bit to be starting totally from scratch. also it's per diem so i would have no set schedule, no 401k, no option of benefits. i would need to figure out what the heck i could do for childcare with the kids, but because it is inpatient i would be making a little more money and the evening/night rotation would give me more time with my husband and the kids.

3) is a 20 hour position in a busy pediatrics practice. basically the same thing i was doing at the first job. i feel comfortable with it, i'm good at it, the hours are great for having young kids, i would have a set schedule, a 401k, but i also feel like its a dead end (why do i feel that way?!) once i just stick to pedi outpatient what is the possibility i would ever get in the hospital?!

i dont know what i wanttttt!!! ahhhhh

does anyone have any thoughts or been/there done/that advice?!

thanks in advance!

[AZMOMO2]

I limited advice to offer, but I feel your frustration. I have the same issues, took a pay cut for a job change to gain more " experience" and have less than I did with a population I am not fond of " parents "

So anyway, the PRN position if you could also fit it in with the 20 hour office job you could work out if you can do both.

Good luck!

[RoyalPrince]

I would stay on with your present hospital, and transfer as soon as you can in a year, as you stated both pedi managers know you and are great people

[wldcard]

My personal opinion would be to stick it out for another 6 months to get the job on the peds floor. If you can, hedge your bets and ALSO take that per diem job on the psych floor as it sounds like a great possibility for experience but maybe not so much for a full time position.

I am in a job I despise right now, but I just have to stick it out until January when I will be quitting to start my accelerated program. I am a career changer and work full time in corporate IT right now. I completely understand your frustration with your current job but if there is a light at the end of that tunnel that could lead to a great position I would stick it out.

[MurrR]

I feel your pain. I'm at a job I don't particularly care for right now because I need the health insurance. It sucks to feel stuck some place you don't like. My advice would be to stick it out *if* you can and transfer, because that sounds like a solid track and even if you learn nothing else you learn what you can do when you're put in a bad work situation.

Otherwise I'd be tempted to take the Per Diem position if I were you. Gets you your experience, you get cross-trained, you'd get good support and training, charge nurse seems awesome. Who knows, could work out into a full time job on its own or open doors to other positions you wouldn't be considered for now. If you're not getting enough hours, you could hire on with a per diem agency to fill in the rest of your schedule. A lot of per diem nurses do that - and agency pay is frequently higher than standard pay.

[nurse.sandi]

Keep your head up. Stay positive. Keeping looking. It will work out for you when it is right. Try and find a few good things about your situation. There are a lot of people out of work who probably want your job. Things will get better. Good luck.:)

[missmun52]

If possible I would take the per diem position and keep your current one with hope that you can transfer in 6 months or the per diem would lead into a full time position. With small children you need your benefits and no sense going into a dead end job.