Any SugestionsHello everyone, I need some help deciding what to do with myself. I am currently a RN, but absolutely HATE bedside nursing. I have only been a nurse for 8 months and know that I cannot do it much longer. Any suggestions for a good field to get into? A little background: I have worked in the same hospital, in different positions, for the last 7 years. I have my Associate degree currently, but have almost completed my Bachelor's (I will be done in May).
I REALLY know how you feel right now, trust me. I know that with your BSN a lot of pharmaceudical company's will hire you to do research also check with big insurance company's like United Health and Blue Cross. You could do case management also.
Hey there, I know how you feel. But given that you've tried this field for the last 8 months and have hated this position, I want to know what is it exactly that ticks you off? Knowing what you dislike about this job, will enable me to pinpoint what area will suit you the most. Most of the RNs that I have worked with are tired with "the system" (i.e. overworked and underpaid). If that's the case, switching hospitals would do little to change that since it's pretty much the same case everywhere. Even working in a hospice or in a nursing home / assisted living, the system is a bit different, but you still have that to deal with but to a lesser degree. If you just hate working as a 'bedside' RN assisting patients, then consider CRN. I know it's an entirely different ballpark, but here, you're involve with research and cutting-edge technology & medicine. There's less patient interaction, but you're still in the science field. Hopefully, you're still interested in the science field. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Good luck to you!
You may want to try the IT (aka: Computer) Department at your (or another hospital). Nurses that have tired of bedside nursing sometimes move into a Clinical Analyst role. You'd be supporting, building, troubleshooting issues with the hospital software. (Example of different vendors: Meditech, Epic, McKesson, SMS, Cerner). It's usually a 9-5 type of role, and normally you'd have to rotate on call responsibilities. There's a decent demand for this type of job now, and will be in the future. You'd need to like problem solving, training others, being a liaison between the IT folks and the clinical folks. Good luck.
congratulations on (almost) completing your BSN. Hang in there until you have a year's experience. Nursing is a wonderful profession as the opportunities are endless! Perform a self assessment: Do you like hand on care? Do you like reading charts? What shift do you like? Are you a leader? Do you like tehnology? After you have done some self reflection, start crafting your resume, highlighting your recent acute care experience, your new degree and your desire to move into whatever area you decide. Try case management, administration, clinic work, home care, supervision or look outside the hospital to insurance companies, physician's practices, visiting nurse, consultant; the possibilities are endless! Don't give up on nursing. Use your experience as a foundation for the next step. Ask yourself where you would be happy and go for it! KTW Health Careers Mentor PS: This would be a great discussion on the nursing message boards! I encourage you to post to the link below: http://monster.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=mstnursing KTW Health Careers Mentor
Thank you everyone for your responses! My problem is further complicated by the fact that I am moving out of state in May due to my lease ending and WV not being a place I want to stay. I won't have quite a year of experience, but I am hopeful that I will find a job anyway. A few of my friends have suggested hospice/home health care due to the autonomy and the fact that it is not bedside nursing. I have also been contemplating a switch to correctional nursing so hopefully I will find 1 of these fields are willing to accept me.
Correctional nursing and home health are very different! If you want your independence, home health is great! Most agencies do require a year of Med/Surg experience (but 8 months may suffice) as your assessment skills are important! Correctional nursing takes a special person, but may be right up your alley! Let us know where you land! Good luck! KTW Health Careers Mentor Pharmaceutical cos would love your background, at least per what I see in the local (Boston) job market. Also have a friend who went to law school after she burned out on nursing; don't know if you'd be up for the agita of that path, but it's a highly employable combination. Also, insurance industry also looks for nurses; the assumption is that there will be familiarity w/coding, diagnosis/fraud, etc. Good luck! I am confused by what you write. Why correctional nursing if you are burned out by bedside nursing? Correctional nurses are even more overworked, and even more spread thin according to what I have heard. And, unfortunately, until you have your BSN, and/or your year of experience, your options are not as vast. Why would you let your lease being up, make you move to another state?? Surely there are other places to live and other jobs in the community you are in? Unless u are considering your social life or something, or being with a significant other, that's a whole different situation. I have to say that if you are burned out after only 8 months, how will you feel in another 8 years? Pretty much nurses, you assess, plan, intervene, teach, etc, no matter what specialty you are in. Home health will have you driving everywhere, but you are still right next to the patient intervening, and helping them regain or maintain health. It just sounds like you are doubting wanting to be a nurse possibly, things may be better when you have your BSN, but they may not be. What are you prepared to do to find the right job fit? What made you get your associates in the first place? And please don't say "money", because then you really do sound like you are in the wrong field. I have to agree with someone else who mentioned IT nursing? Do you like travel? What about traveling nursing, if you feel like moving now? Would you welcome new challenges daily or every few months, or would that disorganize you? I was pretty much offered an IT job traveling with a large computerized med record vendor, but because this was only 9 months after I finished nursing school, I chose to listen to what all my nursing professors had said, in that I needed that year of experience before I make any big decisions. I cancelled my last interview with the IT company, and said maybe at a later time. I am now reapplying myself to bedside nursing. I am not sure I am in it for the long haul either, but I know that I need to plant my roots before I can grow branches. | |
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