How do you do it

First of all I would like to say that I congratulate hospital nurses that have been at the bed side for 5, 10 or more years. If I was a billionare, I would give every nurse a bonus of appreciation for what you do. I only have a year of hospital experience in orthopedic/med surge as a RN, the rest of my experience is mostly LTC. I love interacting with my patients and making them smile,but there were times that I just felt overwhelmed, especially when we worked short. All of the days were not stressful and the good days along with days off helped me to cope, also, most importantly prayer that God would cover me, my patients and my license. So, now I am in need of employment and I am thinking about signing up with an agency that mostly have hospital work available. I believe I can do it but I still have some reservations. So many nurses stay at the bedside in the hospital for years and I say to myself,"I wish I could be like them". I know that I am a good nurse, but I sometimes display a lack of confidence and it is noticable at times. I am in my forties and I really want to find my niche, some people have suggested hospice because of my personality and soft voice, All I know is that I want to make a difference in someones life, I know that nursing can be stressful, but also it can be rewarding. Please share with me how some of you keep from being burned out or give some suggestions. Thanks
Hospice is a great field, but I think the idea of the 'soft-spoken, gentle' hospice nurse leads to lots of hospice nurse burnout. I work in hospice and it is a tough job and it takes a tough person with the ability to set solid boundaries and not get too attached most of the time. I have patients I really bond too, but the few nurses I have seen that were gentle and soft spoken were eaten up by this job in less than a year. I am not always confident, but the key is to act like you are. It may help you to practice in a mirror, with your family. I think if you know how to act confident about what you do know, and act confident when you need to ask for help, you can hang in there. Confidence comes with experience also. Good luck, hope you find something you love!

Quote from sweetnurse63First of all I would like to say that I congratulate hospital nurses that have been at the bed side for 5, 10 or more years. If I was a billionare, I would give every nurse a bonus of appreciation for what you do. I only have a year of hospital experience in orthopedic/med surge as a RN, the rest of my experience is mostly LTC. I love interacting with my patients and making them smile,but there were times that I just felt overwhelmed, especially when we worked short. All of the days were not stressful and the good days along with days off helped me to cope, also, most importantly prayer that God would cover me, my patients and my license. So, now I am in need of employment and I am thinking about signing up with an agency that mostly have hospital work available. I believe I can do it but I still have some reservations. So many nurses stay at the bedside in the hospital for years and I say to myself,"I wish I could be like them". I know that I am a good nurse, but I sometimes display a lack of confidence and it is noticable at times. I am in my forties and I really want to find my niche, some people have suggested hospice because of my personality and soft voice, All I know is that I want to make a difference in someones life, I know that nursing can be stressful, but also it can be rewarding. Please share with me how some of you keep from being burned out or give some suggestions. Thanks

Thank you ErinS and Highlandlass, you two sound like great nurses and I thank you both for your words of encouragement and great advice, you all are right, I need to work on my confidence even when I am around more experienced nurses, it is so good to learn from them.