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:(
Specializes in Psych, Chem Dependency, Occ. Health.
I have been an RN for 6 years and I recently left the bedside, never to return again as a floor nurse. I tried a few different areas but the day to day stress of the job just wasn't for me. I tried the PRN deal too. So I completely understand where you are coming from. I have decided to go the Family Psych NP route and feel real good about that choice. If floor nursing is not for you, it isn't, there are so many other options out there, explore them and good luck!
Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.
I am completely lost. I don't know what to do anymore. I hate nursing. I applaud everyone that can do it, I just can't and I can't figure out why. I loved the science/health classes in school but once clinicals started I hated going. I then started on a med-surg floor, hated it, quit after a couple months and moved to take a job at another hospital. I still am not happy. I hate everything about it. I don't know if its just the hospital setting or if I'm just not cut out for nursing. I've been trying to look for jobs outside of the hospital but I'm having trouble finding them. I'm not sure where to start looking or what to search for. I love the idea of nursing but I feel like I'm not the "patient care" type person. I am so confused. Any suggestions?
Mel, you are ME. I'm not kidding - I was you after graduating nursing school and beginning work at our local hospital on the L&D floor - A dream I have had for many years. I was totally overwhelmed at the hospital. Overwhelmed about everything, but mostly about the oppressive nature of the hospital. They cared far more about charting exactly.perfectly - I mean, they were ridiculous about semantics even though I was charting correctly - than they did about me being a good nurse and teaching my new mamas how to breastfeed or care for their babies. They could not have cared LESS if these women knew how to care for their babies after they left the hospital. I would get yelled at (or reprimanded) because I took 20 minutes to teach proper breastfeeing to a brand new mother who really wanted to feed her baby the natural way. It was completely ridiculous. I have to admit that I was very blessed in that my husband has always been the primary breadwinner and I was able to leave the job before finding another. (Mostly that was because I was on nights and I was NEVER sleeping. I felt like I would die, or accidentally kill someone from my lack of sleep). And like you, I hated everything about the hospital and was devastated because I thought my nursing school degree and all that work I'd done had all been for nothing.
But I got on the phone and called everyone I knew with any ties to health care and asked around. I found out that Maxim was hiring flu shot nurses so I did that for about 3 months over flu season. I got online and found listings for local PRN nursing jobs. I got hired as a temporary occupational health nurse for our local Target distribution center, who was hiring their entire force and needed help with drug screens and physical abilities testing. I did that for about 2 months until they were fully hired and didn't need me anymore. I asked the father of one of my son's friends (who is a family practice MD) if he needed any PRN work at his office and he did. So I did that and am still doing that. I heard of a PRN opening in the Endoscopy unit at a local gastroenterology practice in my town and interviewed and got that job, so I've been doing that for a year now. And I just recently got another PRN job at a huge local family practice office and I will be doing that (lots of Peds, which is new for me - I am learning so much). So now with 3 PRN jobs, I am working as much as I'd like to (or as little, depending upon the week). The flexibility is amazing and works so perfectly for our family. If we need to be away for a few days, I block out that time and I don't have to work (of course I don't get paid, but it works out great for us). I wouldn't do it any other way.
I didn't mean to get off on the PRN thing. What I've been trying to say is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK IN A HOSPITAL TO BE A REAL NURSE. There are so many private practices that hire RNs. Most specialty practices (Dermatology, GI, Plastic Surgery, Cardiology, etc) hire RNs and their hours are infinitely better than working in the hospital. The full-time nurses at the Family Medicine place work 4 days a week and every 6th Saturday half-day. Never any holidays or weekends except that one half-day Saturday every 6th week. They get there at 8:00 and are home by 5:30. The stress level is about 1/10000000th of the hospital, I can assure you.
There IS hope, I promise. Put your resume in -everywhere- including large factories who need an Occupational Health Nurse, all the specialty practices in town, pain clinics, Family Medical practices, home health agencies, hospice, etc. Hospice has a nursing position where the nurse visits patients at their homes. You would have about 5-8 patients per day - and you do quick assessments, vitals, check their meds, bring them refills, ask about any problems, etc. I would love to do this someday for the sheer autonomy of it. But right now PRN is the ticket for me. I wish you the best - and if hospital nursing isn't for you (like it wasn't for me) - do not give up! There are so many more options out there!
WyndDrivenRain, BSN, RN
250 Posts
I have been an RN for 6 years and I recently left the bedside, never to return again as a floor nurse. I tried a few different areas but the day to day stress of the job just wasn't for me. I tried the PRN deal too. So I completely understand where you are coming from. I have decided to go the Family Psych NP route and feel real good about that choice. If floor nursing is not for you, it isn't, there are so many other options out there, explore them and good luck!
Sue, RN