Not Happy in the Acute Care Setting

I have been an RN for all of two short years, and I can 100% say that I am not interested in the hospital setting. I have always wanted to do public health, but those jobs are not the easiest to get. I had an interview for a correctional nurse job in April and was hired for the "outpatient clinic", it sounded good but I did not want to accept the pay cut so I declined. But now the job has posted again and I'm considering going for it again as a way to get my foot in the door of public health nursing. My dream is to work in the county health department and the corrections job is also a county government job so I figured that would get me one step closer to the health department. Also, the corrections job would remove me from the acute care setting.

Thoughts?
I think a pay cut is always worth it of you'll be happier at the other job. It's horrible to go to a job you despise. Good luck.

I guess you would have to look at your budget and figure out if you can take care of yourself on the reduced income you would receive at the new position. I think it's always a great thing to have a job you feel passionate about, and if you can swing it financially, why not? The other option to consider would be taking on a second, per diem position on the weekends if you need a little extra help filling the budget gap.

It may be a pay cut but they may have really good benefits to make up for it.Money isn't everything.Go where you'll be happier and less stressed.