Finally happy!

6 I finally found a nursing job that I love! I worked on a fast-paced cardiac step down unit for about a year and half after graduating from an university with my BSN. I was miserable and became clinically depressed. My job made me have major burnout. I was even considering throwing out my nursing career and starting over with something else. My job was insanely stressful and many of the staff were not supportive. I had a good friend that got a job at a psych hospital and she would always talk about how much she liked it. In nursing school we took a tour of this hospital, but I never thought I would ever work there. The stigma that psychiatric hospitals have is difficult to change. Anyways, I applied for a job and got it. I have been here about 2 months now. My job is pretty low stress most days and the patients are generally compliant. I absolutely love my job and am working on getting my NP in mental health.

Share your stories/comments about your nursing job that you love.
YEAH!!!!!! I'm so happy that you are loving your job!!!!!

Nursing is such a BEAUTIFUL thing!!!!!!!!!!!

That's fantastic! Congratulations on finding exactly what makes you happy!! These are the posts that encourage my dream of becoming an RN! Every nurse I speak to LOVES their job

That is wonderful! I hope to be able to say the same thing someday myself. I am so happy for you

Congrats! This post just inspires me to not to give up on pursuing that job that I know I will love.

I am so happy for you. Sometimes we have to try different things before we find what we love. Take care, and all the best.

That's wonderful! I also have a story where I have found a job I love. I work for a telephone triage after hours company. Its very low pay and no benefits absolutely none. But I am doing what I love. We triage for peds, family practice, OB, and internal medicine docs.I thought about starting my own company in my own town, but the two practices turned it down for now. I'm very happy where I'm at anyway. The only thing that would make me quit is the money.

I started off on an LTACH unit (sort of a long-term tele/ICU stepdown unit with vent wean, wound, and dialysis patients). After the first six months I was REALLY not enjoying it...all I wanted to do was work in surgery, which I had been wanting to do since school. Even though there were hiring freezes all over the place, I got into surgery through a connection and left my unit after about a year and three months.I just passed my 1 year anniversary of working in the OR and I still LOVE it! There are still bad days of course, but a good majority of the time I enjoy what I do. It is interesting, challenging, and also rewarding without a lot of the physical and emotional strain that comes from working on a regular floor. I still learn something new every day, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to say that my job is fun and I look forward to going to work.

I know what you mean. I graduated during the hiring freeze too and could not get hired at any local hospital. I went to work at a SNF with a rehab side and HATED IT!!! I worked there for almost a year before I got hired at the hospital that I really wanted to work for. I have been on a very busy MED/SURG unit there for about a month and a half and am LOVING IT!!! I love the 12 hour shifts, the people that I work with and the interesting cases that we come across. We get everyone there: pre-op, post op, pregnancy, psych, young and old. I learn so much every day! I am so glad that I made the move when I did. I was getting seriously burnt out at the SNF. I had migraines every day and could not enjoy my time with my family, since I was stressing about the next shift.

Thank you for posting this! It gives me some hope. I currently work in a low acuity ICU, been a nurse for 5 years. After a car accident that I was out of work for 2 months, going back made me realize that it was just the type of nursing I was doing that I am just not happy with. I got a transfer to behavioral Health, and start on the 22nd. I am hoping I will have the same experience as you, where I can say I love my job once again. Thanks again!!

Good luck to you! I never thought I would enjoy behavioral health/psych nursing!

You have given me encouragment, i work at a place where its dog eat dog, some of the staff members are not encouraging, high stress, depressing, i just feel emoitonaly drain some days. I hate when some of the nurses who consider them selves experience (5 years exp) try and talk down to you. I dont enjoy what i do anymore, my goal was to stay there for 1 year for the experience and I have done that. Now im looking to transfer within the hospital.