When you hate your new job...

[SunshineCamo]

I recently started working in a remote monitoring center of a hospital. The pay was too good to pass up, but I've quickly grown bored with the job. I miss the patient interaction and using the hands on skill. In this new job my interactions with patients are few and far between and very limited.

But I took the job thinking ahead to when I eventually finish nursing school and hopefully being able to transition easier into that job. But I'm already finding myself dissatisfied with the hospital life. Which has got me second guessing my entire career goal at this point.

I was going to become a murse, get my Bach, commision in the guard to finish my last years and life that life. But since I'm already finding the hospital gig boring, I'm wondering if becoming an RN is a mistake. While not in my area, there area some well paying departments in Florida that I could invest time/energy into getting hired and maybe be happier overall.

 

[VentMonkey]

I was in a similar boat, worked as an ED tech at a trauma center for 6 months, didn't like being "couped up" in the hospital, and admittedly, being around some of these patients for more than a trip to the ED at a time.

I went ahead and took some nursing prereqs as well, didn't care for those, so off to paramedic school I went. That said, it's ultimately up to you what you feel will give you the most fulfillment. Lots' o' luck.

 

[NysEms2117]

I went ahead and took some nursing prereqs

nursing ethics didn't happen to be one of those right?? I now have a kryptonite lol.
Back to the Op, remember you can still do EMS type stuff while an RN, granted you'd have to suck it up in a hospital for a few years, but remember there are CC rigs for transport of critical care patients(CCRN), Flight nurses(CFRN *i think*). However as vent said, money is not always king. Yes i get it there are bills to pay, mouths to feed, but it doesn't do you any good if you wake up and say "holy crap yet another day of work". Nursing also may be a lot different then being an ER tech(i think is what your job is now?) Currently i'm in nursing school to do some of the above (CCRN way down the road). I'm an EMT-B atm, bachelors in other fields, getting my BSN atm.

 

[mgr22]

To the OP, is it hospital life you're unhappy with, or the monitoring job itself? I've never done it, but I imagine most of us would find sitting around, watching EKGs boring. That doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how you'd feel about hands-on patient care.

 

[MMiz]

I took a job for a 35% raise because it made the most sense on paper.

I hated the job and loathed going to work each morning. One of my biggest regrets was not quitting sooner.

I took the pay cut to return to a job I found exciting and rewarding. Five years later, I'm happy with my decision.

Good luck!

 

[Carlos Danger]

Working as a nurse is very different than sitting in a chair in a room starting at monitors all day. Just because you don't like one doesn't mean you won't like the other. I always say that probably the best thing about nursing is that there are so many different things you can do.....including EMS. I can't think of another role that provides so many career options and so much flexibility.

That said, the one thing that I've never liked about working in the hospital is being stuck inside all day. And I'm not getting used to it. But if that's the biggest downside to a career that I otherwise enjoy and find rewarding, I'm pretty lucky. The time I spent cooped up the OR helps me better appreciate the time that I do have outdoors.

Also, regardless of your field, work is work.....it's great to have a job that you like, but it doesn't necessarily have to be funnest time of your life all the time.

My advice would be that before you go any farther, spend some time shadowing nurses who work in several different settings. If you really can't see yourself being happy doing what they do, then there's your answer.

 

[Akulahawk]

OP: carefully read what Remi wrote and take special note of this:

Working as a nurse is very different than sitting in a chair in a room starting at monitors all day.

I'm both a Paramedic and an ED RN. When you're looking at monitors all day, it does get very boring because you're just looking at monitors all day and not seeing the actual patients. Working with the same generally stable patients all day, every day gets boring too. That's why I'd hate being a Med/Surg or Med-Tele nurse. I'd still get VERY well paid to do the work, but I'd hate it.

I have worked in the ED for a little over 2 years and I've rarely seen the outside world when I'm working. Trust me, when you're in a very well-lit area, noon looks just like 3 am. I don't like that aspect of things, but it's fun balancing the needs of 3-4 patients all the time instead of one at a time for short periods of time. Once I get into transport nursing, I'll LOVE that because all I'll have is one patient at a time. Sure, it'll be intense because it'll often be ICU-level care, but... that's the trade-off. I've got a couple more years (at least) before I feel ready for that.

Your remote tele job is a means to an end. Keep the end of the tunnel in sight and you'll be able to do more than you realize.

 

[Qulevrius]

Generic bedside nurse, critical care nurse, flight nurse, ICU/PICU nurse, forensic nurse - these are just a few of the doors that will open to you once you graduate and pass your NCLEX. And if that's not enough and you need more autonomy, go for a Master's and become an NRP. The good thing about higher education is that the toughest part is the Bachelor's, higher degrees take shorter time.

 

[MonkeyArrow]

I have worked in the ED for a little over 2 years and I've rarely seen the outside world when I'm working. Trust me, when you're in a very well-lit area, noon looks just like 3 am.

Truth. That's sometimes part of my opening spiel to patients. "Wow, this is the first time today I've seen a window; I never knew it was raining out there."

But yes, ask if there is a possibility of rotating through tele and having your shift broken up into blocks to break up the monotony. Also, view this as an opportunity to get paid very handsomly while having tons of study time/down time to do whatever.

 

[SunshineCamo]

Thanks for some perspective guys. I did have a chance to float to a floor and see what the RNs are actually doing and I was relieved. I think I'm still heading in the right direction. It's just the job is terrible lol. When I took the job it was described as they float a lot and help everywhere. What I've come to understand is that's what the manager of this section wants to happen, but most of the departments don't call us to help very often (despite us all being paramedics here, some departments think we're monitor techs and not able to help). And the manager frowns upon doing homework at work, but it's not a hard and fast rule. It's another thing to deal with.

Now that I'm off the ledge, I see that this is something I'm just going to have to get through.

 

[Akulahawk]

Thanks for some perspective guys. I did have a chance to float to a floor and see what the RNs are actually doing and I was relieved. I think I'm still heading in the right direction. It's just the job is terrible lol. When I took the job it was described as they float a lot and help everywhere. What I've come to understand is that's what the manager of this section wants to happen, but most of the departments don't call us to help very often (despite us all being paramedics here, some departments think we're monitor techs and not able to help). And the manager frowns upon doing homework at work, but it's not a hard and fast rule. It's another thing to deal with.

Now that I'm off the ledge, I see that this is something I'm just going to have to get through.

Sounds like you've managed to get some exposure to a different area of nursing than you've seen before. You should try to get some experiences on other floors and specialty units if possible. I say this simply because each area has it's own culture and idiosyncracies. I work in the ED. This area is suited to nurses that tend to have a bit of ADHD. They can hyperfocus if necessary but switch from task to task and reprioritize their tasks SQUIRREL!!! Last night I started off taking care of a patient on a hold and 3 medical patients. The only constant I had last night was the patient that was on a hold. I ended up taking care of 3 chest pain patients, a distal radius fracture patient, a couple of respiratory distress patients, and the tempo varied from being incredibly busy getting someone on monitor, starting an IV line, getting & pushing meds, and having another patient show up minutes later needing the same "stuff" to just sitting and watching those patients very closely because we're waiting for meds to kick in or labs/imaging to result... and sometimes I'll get an "inpatient" that's held in the ED because there aren't any available beds in the hospital itself for a while so suddenly I become a med/surg nurse on top of an ED nurse or I'll have an ICU hold patient...

In an ICU, often things appear to go at a slower pace but those nurses are very detail-oriented and know their patients so well that often when something changes, it's caught fast and often early. There are usually few true surprises in the ICU because of this attention to detail. Those nurses also know their meds very well and can often figure out how to balance several drips all at once. They monitor and become familiar with equipment that I'll rarely see in the ED. There's usually a very specific flow and routine to this. A med/surg nurse that is used to keeping a routine and getting into the "details" of their patients would probably do quite well in the ICU whereas I might have some difficulty because my routine is basically keeping the chaos at bay, or at least surfing it so I don't drown in it.

Moral of this story: get some experience in other areas of the hospital and you'll probably find that some area just seems to call your name and you'll be willing to tolerate certain things simply to be able to scratch that particular itch.

 

[EMS Pursuit]

Could you try to meet the ER staff while working at your hospital? Maybe a lateral transfer as an ER tech would bring more excitment to your daily routine and you can still study for the RN route. Hospital monitoring sounds tough day in and day out but the ER has something new every day.

 

[phideux]

I work in a trauma center ER as a Paramedic. We float and do all sorts of stuff. We have Tele-Techs too. When they call in sick, and we have one who is sick alot, I get to sit the Tele room. I feel like I'm in jail. The only good thing is it's night shift, after the 2300hr folks go home I can turn down the light and hit Netflix.
I could not do the Tele-Room as a regular job.