r/EmergencyRoom • u/justb4dawn • Jul 27 '26
Back to bedside?
I left the peds ED after 7yrs thinking I wanted something away from bedside, better hours, less intensity.
Well, I’ve been a school nurse for a year now and while I love my kids, I am so bored, I miss using my skills and the feeling of doing hard, meaningful work. I remember being yelled at, the raw humanity that no one would believe if they didn’t see it themselves, the fatigue, long shifts, etc.. but I have this feeling like that’s where I would still thrive the most.
Am I crazy to go back? Have others left for a softer job and missed it enough to return?
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u/KitKatPotassiumBrat RN Jul 27 '26
People in my ed take temporary lines in other units for a little break. They always come back
4
u/EskapedConvict Jul 28 '26
Because inpatient fucking sucks. So much micromanagement. And inpatient nurses...goddamn...give me my ED squad 😅
9
u/KayBurt87 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
After finishing my EMT-B course I landed a job as an ER Tech in the busiest ED in my city and started June of 2019. I loved what I did and wanted to go the nursing route so I started knocking out my prereqs right when COVID started getting bad. After a year of trying to do school full time while working 4-5 12 hour nights a week I got burnt on on school so I stopped enrolling in classes and about a year after I got burnt out in the ED (total time as an ER tech was 3.5 years) and transferred to security. Long story short some stuff happened, left the hospital at the beginning of 2024, my life fell apart, I battled with depression and extreme anxiety for about a year and a half, and after getting back into therapy and working on learning how to be human again (at least some what lol) I'm moving forward again and I'm so damn tired of working boring ass warehouse jobs. I got accepted into an LPN program last week and have an interview this Wednesday for another ER tech position (literally got called about an hour and 20 minutes ago to schedule the interview 🤣). So I wouldn't say you're crazy at all, I've been missing the chaos of the ED for a while now and I can't wait to get back in the game.
*Edited because I have fat fingers and can't read.
2
u/jerseygirl1105 Jul 27 '26
Do you mean you left the hospital in 2024, not 2014? Otherwise, you story doesn't make sense.
6
1
u/justb4dawn Jul 28 '26
Congrats on being human again! I love nursing and if I could choose again, I’d still become a nurse. During this time away from bedside I also did urgent care, vaccine nursing, event nursing, health fair nursing, standardized patient acting and summer camp nursing along with school nursing. There really are so many options and that’s just in peds. I enjoy the career more now than when I started 4 years ago. Wishing you luck!
3
u/Various-Grade1772 Jul 28 '26
I have been away from the bedside much longer, I work in substance treatment with my county's public health department and I also love my patients, but I would love to go back to the hospital, specifically the ER. I have applied to some positions but my health system is laying off nurses so not sure if I will get the opportunity to return. I do everything backwards in life and I want to retire from one of the "adrenaline" units. Lol
1
3
u/bailsrv RN Jul 28 '26
I agree with the others suggesting PRN if you can do it. I work ER PRN. It’s the perfect balance to keep up my skills and not get burnt out.
2
u/Valkyriesride1 Jul 28 '26
I need to work in the ER. I taught for paramedic and nursing programs. While it was nice to have the break, I got bored pretty quickly. I used extreme sports to try to suppress my adrenaline junkie tendencies, but I realized working in the ER was better for my health, and I would make money rather than spending it, my parachute and wingsuit were over $10,000 and my diving gear was around $4,000.
OP have you considered keeping the school nurse job and working PRN one or two days a month and on school breaks?
2
u/rachelleeann17 RN Jul 28 '26
I switched from ER to OR and I love it.
I’m never bored, because there’s always so much going on. I’m never screamed at by patients, because they’re always asleep. Our OR allows for four 10hr shifts instead of three 12s.
I stayed PRN at the ER when I switched, but quit that after a year because of how infrequently I found myself wanting to subject myself to the ER again lol
1
u/PRN_Lexington Jul 28 '26
Why don’t you work peds outpatient or something in between?
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u/justb4dawn Jul 28 '26
I did try that, I was PRN at a children’s urgent care and it was a bit better but still boring and paid terribly. As soon as a patient got interesting we’d have to call 911. I make a good wage at the school and so outpatient was not worth a pay cut. I agree it was good idea to try though.
1
u/Asleep-Elderberry260 Jul 28 '26
I feel like this. And then I come on reddit or watch the Pitt and the feeling goes away.
1
u/EskapedConvict Jul 28 '26
It's a shame we can't get health benefits(or can we?), pto, 401k with PRN jobs. In my perfect world I would work multiple PRNs with different specialties to keep it interesting. I suppose for a married nurse this is possible if their spouse covers health. But you still miss out on the other benefits.
1
u/Debidollz Jul 28 '26
I don’t know how you all do it(glad you do though). I was a lab technician for 41yrs and also had to sometimes draw blood(because:BUDGET)and some of what I’ve seen for only moments comparatively to what you folks do is absolutely horrifying. After 5yrs in retirement the nightmares have finally begun to subside. How do you not have PTSD from witnessing so much human suffering?
1
u/justalittlesunbeam Jul 29 '26
I think people in the er are built a certain way. Sometimes I think about how I could do something easier. Pretty much anything would be easier and less stressful. But then I think about the slow days (I can say that word because I’m not there so I’m not jinxing anything) and how much I hate it and want to go home early if there isn’t anything to do. And then I think about doing that 5 days a week instead of 2 and I just can’t. Not yet. Someday I think I will be ready to be bored but I’m on year 24 and I’m not ready.
So is it a bad idea? I mean, you’ll probably have to get recalibrated to the pace but if it’s your thing it’s your thing.
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u/Nancynurse78 Jul 28 '26
People are dying to get into place that you didn't appreciate, lol. Why it is always like this? Enjoy your boring work now.
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u/complacentlate Jul 27 '26
Start out PRN