Wondering if I did the right thing

[NurseAimee]

I am a new nurse, still have that brand new smell :) Anyway I spent many years in college to become a psychologist and then towards the end (after BA degree but before MS) I decided to become a nurse. I wanted to work with the whole person. So now I am a nurse and I went into an intensive care type position and I'm starting to worry that bedside nursing is not for me. Too much to remember, so many things that could go wrong at a moment and I feel that I am just not retaining enough information. I don't know how to handle this. I do not want to disappointment myself and my family by giving up but surely I can find other things to do in nursing. My fear is that bedside nursing HAS to be done for a little while at least before you can go on to do other nursing things. Is that true? Is there such thing as a nurse that doesn't ever do bedside nursing?

It's not that I don't love my patients, don't get me wrong - it is just so much to remember and I feel so dumb on most days and yes I'm still learning and I'm in orientation so I know that gives some leeway there but I don't feel like this is a long term thing, I don't feel like I would be happy doing it for a long time and I'm afraid I will burn myself out before I get to move to a different thing in nursing.

I've thought about doing psych nursing but truthfully the only psych type of nursing around my area that I know of are inpatient treatment and I've done clinical experiences there - its a scary place. Not sure I'm ready to give up feeling dumb for feeling afraid for my health and well being :)

So, I've read a lot and browsed and figured I'd start out my post here. I will continue to read more and hopefully will find much more career advice in this forum.

I do love being a nurse I just want to find my niche, if you know what I mean? I'm sure everyone has one!

[HealthyRN]

I went through a similar period when I first became a nurse. The transition from student to nurse can be very difficult, so the feelings that you are having are normal. I would recommend finishing your orientation and giving yourself a few months off of orientation to reevaluate your feelings. It is often said that it takes at least a year for a nurse to feel comfortable in a speciality setting, especially one like the ICU. If you are still feeling as though you absolutely cannot stand it after a few months out of orienatation, you could approach your manager about transferring, but I would recommend sticking it out if you can. I started out in the ED and jumped ship after 10 months. I REALLY regret leaving before my year was up and now I'm starting all over again in med-surg. So think very carefully beforing making any decisions.

It is true that you usually need acute care experience before obtaining a non-clinical nursing position. I do know of nurses that never did bedside nursing and started out in a clinic setting or home care, but they are few and far between. Also, you have to understand that a decision not to do bedside nursing will affect your future career opportunities. For example, what if you decide that you want to advance your education and go back to school for NP? It would be difficult to find an NP job with no acute care experience as an RN. Usually the value of an RN outside of acute care is based on the skills that an RN gains in the acute care setting.

Many people (myself included) struggle to find their niche in nursing. It doesn't happen instantly or even within a few years for most of us. Hang in there!