So many times, we hear nurses talk about advancing in their careers and just overall wanting to leave traditional bedside nursing. While I’m all in for continued education and ultimately following your heart, the topic of surviving and making the best out of your career as a bedside nurse is not talked about as much as it should be. Every nurse must start somewhere. You can’t become an NP, CRNA, etc. without some sort of bedside experience, so why not milk the game as much as you can before transitioning into your next phase of nursing? And let's face it, not every nurse wants to expand their career, so finding new ways to love bedside nursing is essential.
One of the most if not number one thing that drives people out of bedside nursing are the feelings of being burnout. So, we ask ourselves: “If I can’t leave bedside nursing, how can I combat burnout while still working?” For me personally, I can honestly say in my three years of nursing, I do not have feelings of burnout. At times do I feel tired and need a vacation? Hell yes, and I do just that! Take your PTO, it's yours. I have set vacations days in place pretty much for every season. Even if it's not a full week or two, have those random days during the week off. But more importantly, I don’t have feelings of burnout because for the most part I have worked on units that I have picked and enjoyed working on. The quickest way to hate your job is to work on a unit that you dislike or one where you feel overworked. I know some people will disagree with that statement, especially because nursing in general can be a heavy-duty job. I have worked heavy-duty units before, such as med surg/ortho, but overall, the unit was great. I loved the people I worked with and that made coming to work a little easier. Although that unit was not my number one choice, I knew about the unit, the manager, the nurses, and PCT’s who worked on the unit prior to me accepting the position, so I knew what I was stepping into. Do your research before taking a position. If you ultimately end up not liking the unit or type of patients you work with, try to transfer. That is one of the awesome things about nursing, there’s so many different specialties and units. This led me to leaving med surg to an area I found more desirable, Pediatrics!
Okay great, you left that dusty unit and are now working in your specialty of choice. Now what? Get involved in your unit! Try taking a charge nurse position if that’s something you’d like to have experience in and join a committee! I know what you’re thinking: “Like girl you want me to do more work?” YES, I do. Being a charge nurse adds a nice little incentive to your check and you learn a lot and great to add to your resume. Furthermore, every hospital has committees, but until I got to my current employer, I never thought to join one or even realized the benefits that come with it. Remember how you said you wanted to become a CRNA? Or YOU over there who said you wanted to become a nurse practitioner? Most of the advanced degree programs are competitive as shit to get into to because they take a harder look at your educational background and experience. They want to know what extracurricular activities you do within nursing and what sets you apart from the next applicant. Get a head start on your long-term goals and join a committee. Not only does it look good for your future endeavors, but it allows you to expand your knowledge, right in your realm of expertise. For instance, I am on the Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) committee at my job. It’s great because not only will it look good on my resume, for evaluation purposes, and clinical advancement programs, but it helps me with being able to do my job better! I work with chronically ill children who are on ventilators, so it’s great to learn more about the different ventilators since we work with 3 different kinds at my job and it aids with protecting my patients from infections. Additionally, investigate possibly becoming a “champion” for different equipment or procedures. I always say if you can teach something to someone else, it helps improve your own understanding in the process. Most hospitals have clinical advancement programs that rewards you in a yearly bonus, all are great things that can usually be used towards that.
Did I mention bedside nursing will get you lit? Let them pay to add more credentials to your name baby! Gain enough experience to become certified in your specialty. Personally, that is on my goal list to become pediatric certified and add CPN to my name. I know they also have this for critical care and even med surg. Do your own research and get certified! Along with specialty certifications, there’s PALS and ACLS as well. Stay with an employer long enough to have these things paid for. You’re working hard for these billion-dollar hospitals, let them pay you beyond your paycheck. Those credentials will go wherever you go! Also, check with your institution, for “paid educational days.” At my current institution, I can attend different nursing educational seminars. This is at my own leisure and must not interfere with my scheduled workdays. I’m able to attend any seminar that I’d like, and if it pertains to my current position, my employer pays me for an 8-hr “workday”! Not only is it a great way to make some extra money, but its educational of course and a great networking opportunity! Since we’re on the topic of getting paid, this brings me to another point, asking for raises when the time comes. All the above can be used for clinical advancement programs as mentioned, but also bring up all these things you’ve been involved in at evaluation time, ask for a pay increase and negotiate pay. Closed mouths don’t get fed!
FLOAT POOL, because it’s so underrated. The average nurse will shy away from this type of position because it requires you to work multiple different units at any given moment. Although, if you’re one of those people who hasn’t quite found your niche in nursing, this is a great option. You get to work multiple different units and learn so many different things, while getting paid a pretty penny! You make more money, you never have to worry about staying somewhere you dislike, and you learn A LOT! You can tailor this to your speciality, some people float within the different ICU/PICU units or some people float amongst general floors. Another great option is replacing your full-time position with registry. Yes, I said work per diem! Registry automatically makes more money than staff nursing, why? Because they aren’t required to work full-time hours. BUT contrary to that, many registry nurses still can punch in full-time hours and get paid way more for it because there will always be a nursing shortage, remember that! On the flip side, know your limits and do what’s best for you, because with registry you don’t get any perks such as benefits. Individuals must purchase insurance through an outside source or if their married, or under their parents insurance etc it works out perfectly because they can go under their insurance. If leaving your full-time position isn’t the option for you, work registry/PRN at another facility and make that money! Oh, and don’t be afraid to work a little OT at your primary institution. Set boundaries while still getting PAID!
My last and favorite part of bedside nursing, is becoming a travel nurse, which is a goal of mine! Travel nursing is still considered your average bedside nursing job, you just make more money. WAY more! I'll say it again, there will always be a nursing shortage, these hospitals are willing to pay a nice amount of money for us. I know this a hot topic right now because of the pandemic, but travel nursing has been around far before now and will always be. I'm not going to discuss crisis assignments right now, because some things differ, just speaking on traditional travel nursing. You must have at least 2 years of experience in the specialty you want to travel in, you find a recruiter and travel to any state you'd like and get paid, like paid, paid! What's there not to love, you travel the world, while expanding your income. Love to see it! You can even travel locally, you don't have to leave your home state. In the past I saw a lot of people who were single or younger doing travel nursing, whereas now there's a lot of married individuals and even parents doing travel nursing. So it's very flexible. Pro-tip. Work a registry job in your home state, as your full-time gig and then do travel nursing at your own leisure! It's no commitments & get you more money!
I hope all this information has been beneficial to you, please share and send this blog post to a friend! Before you decide to ditch bedside nursing, make sure you get the most out of the experience first. Happy Nursing!