One year in and I just do NOT want to do it anymore. I went to PRN status because I just did not want to be full time anymore. I have 8 more months and my BSN will be complete.
My fiance and I plan on marrying at the end of this year and we want children. I have to work, but I just pretty much hate bedside and I do not know what I can do.
I love the people and the problems that need to be solved, but there is just something else that makes me hate bedside and I am not sure that I can pin point it. Maybe it is the confused patients who try to get out of bed but can't walk... sends my anxiety level through the roof. Or maybe it's the guy with a chest tube and wants to pull it out so he can "go catch the bus"... he's crazy.. the anesthesia got to him. I just can't take it. Last night i had a 68 year old lady who could not keep her hands off the call bell. I undestand it was probably because she was anxious about being hospitalized, but I could NOT get my work done... I was ready to poke myself in the eye with my pen. She just kept calling for no reasons. It was so terrible.
I plan on going to grad school in fall of 09, but I am not sure what for.
I guess my question to all of you is... what else can I do besides bedside?
Any ideas? What might I want to do my grad work in? I almost feel hopeless and I question sometimes whether I should have done this:(
It is a very difficult profession. with med-surg being the hardest, IMO. I will say that it takes time to get used to it. I think the first year out is the hardest with so much to adjust to while you are learning the craft. But it does get better.
If you do look for a job in another area, ask about how admin/other nurses support you. Every area has it's problems, just find the challenges you deal with more easily!
Just remember the same patients are in the system if you are an NP, so that is not an easy fix to get you away from your current situation. You may interact with them differently, but there are still vast challenges.
Nursing school does not prepare one for the reality of nursing. Nursing is no longer a science, but a freaking maze with time bombs at every turn.
My advise is to try the OR. You do not have to spend much time with the patient because they go to sleep, and family cannot go beyond the double doors. You do have to put up with self-appointed God like surgeons, buy they usually run out of the OR as fast as possible.
Nursing school does not prepare one for the reality of nursing. Nursing is no longer a science, but a freaking maze with time bombs at every turn.
My advise is to try the OR. You do not have to spend much time with the patient because they go to sleep, and family cannot go beyond the double doors. You do have to put up with self-appointed God like surgeons, buy they usually run out of the OR as fast as possible.
Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.
Although I don't work it, I'd suggest Neonatal Intensive or Neonatal Progressive Care. The weights won't hurt your back when you turn them and they pretty well stay put in their isolettes. Sometimes I find that a shift in the Progressive Nursery is just what the doctor ordered, feeding and rocking, feeding and rocking the feeders & growers. Get my baby fix and tuning up for the grandchild that's on the way
i am a new grad RN but worked as a cna for a long time. i am in orientation on a postop- surgical floor where the the pt turnover is very high. the little sweet old confused lady down the hall. wow!!! i had her tonight all i can say is whew!!!! (bedalarms, sitters, constantly sprinting down the hall to check on her) 1 pt. seemed like 3 dude!
I can completely sympathize with your problem. I have worked in LTC at the same home for 6 years. I am currently a LPN and will graduate from RN program May 09. I do know that I'm staying where I am for the remainder of this time becuase of tuition reimbursement, and they will work around my school schedule (plus I work dayshift). I have been told that I will only have an increase in pay of less than $1/hr. They will consider me a new grad with no experience, not necessarily fair for all of the years I have been there.
That being said, I understand the dementia pts climbing out of bed, falling, mental, you name it we have it. Our facility will literally take anyone that is paying. I have been hit, kicked, bit, and a little bit of everything else. I cannot take it much longer, plus the required work gets more, with more difficult pts, and less staff.
I too am researching different areas of nursing to enter after finishing the RN program. I have never done med-surg, but feel that I have experienced this by working in the LTC/Rehab that I am currently at, it is not your typical "nursing home" setting. I do plan to go ahead and finish my BSN, immediately following the ADN.
I love the paperwork, completing forms, assessing, problem solving type things that nurses complete more than the bedside care. Sounds pathetic doesn't it??? Does anyone have suggestions? I've considered case managment for home health, insurance, or something like that. How do you get into this kind of field???
Jakey's Mom, I don't think you sound pathetic at all. I also love the problem-solving and assessing and thinking part of nursing. Bedside care is not as satisfying to me as I wanted because there is no time to think or plan, and because I feel like a puppet on a string. I do talk to families and patients and try to be empathetic, but every second I'm doing it my mental clock is going "tick tick tick" because I know that relating to people is not free time, but will be made up by having to stay overshift to do the things I "should" have been doing when I was talking to my patients. And every year the choppy nature of bedside nursing gets harder to handle. For instance, you plan to pass meds, you need to pass meds, and you get so many calls and demands etc. from families, staff, patients, doctors, that you cannot even think rationally about what you're doing, let alone get it done. And then there are the end-of-shift admits and problems that hit me like a bomb virtually every time I work. I can't help but feel I would like more structure, or at least fewer problems to fit into the unstructure.
There are a great many types of Nursing to choose from. Start exploring.
Poke yourself in the eye with a pen? Wow, that is a unique approach to dealing with frustration if ever I heard one. Someone as creative as you will have no trouble finding your next job. :chuckle :lol_hitti :rotfl:
There are lots of specialties out there. Plus, you're only 1 year in, and that first year can be hell. Don't give up yet.
Also, never poke yourself in the eye with a pen..poke someone else if you need to, but you have to look out for yourself first..:)
Nursing school does not prepare one for the reality of nursing. Nursing is no longer a science, but a freaking maze with time bombs at every turn.
My advise is to try the OR. You do not have to spend much time with the patient because they go to sleep, and family cannot go beyond the double doors. You do have to put up with self-appointed God like surgeons, buy they usually run out of the OR as fast as possible.
I also say try the OR, but not because it's easy. There are just different stressors. But, if you work with a good team, it is fantastic. You have one patient at a time, most of the surgeons I work with are nice, and surgery itself is interesting.
It's weird but I find that the surgeons aren't as arrogant in the OR..they know we can make or break their case and it's very teamwork centered. I'm on a first name basis with most of them(except the ones old enough to be my parents, just can't do it)and we invite each other to parties or for drinks at the bar down the street. Most days, I love my job. Oh, and the above poster is right-minimal interactions with families, which is awesome, LOL.
I think almost any kind of nursing has it's own unique sets of challenges, and we all get frustrated. Have you looked into home health? The pay is decent, you have some flex with your hours and you have a caseload you manage, but not everyone is on you @ the same time . I personally love it!
I am a new grad on a med-surg floor and absolutely dread going to work. It seems I cry going to work and coming home and occasionally there. Everyone says it'll get better but I'm starting to think it won't. I don't know where I fit in in nursing. I love the health field and love learning about different disease processes and medications but am not loving patient care. Any suggestions? I'm about to just give up.
Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab, Psych, CV step-down.
I was in the same position and switched to home health about 6 mos ago and love it. I too use to dread going to work and now don't actually mind it that much. A lot more paper work than bedside, but a lot less stress and a lot more flexibility.
Wow, that is a unique approach to dealing with frustration if ever I heard one. Someone as creative as you will have no trouble finding your next job. 
:chuckle :lol_hitti :rotfl:
. I personally love it!
nursesforchange
6 Posts
It is a very difficult profession. with med-surg being the hardest, IMO. I will say that it takes time to get used to it. I think the first year out is the hardest with so much to adjust to while you are learning the craft. But it does get better.
If you do look for a job in another area, ask about how admin/other nurses support you. Every area has it's problems, just find the challenges you deal with more easily!
Just remember the same patients are in the system if you are an NP, so that is not an easy fix to get you away from your current situation. You may interact with them differently, but there are still vast challenges.