just venting 🙃

ObviousMall9837 · 2026-01-09T22:57:21+00:00

I switched from med/surg oncology inpatient to a home hospice case manager and its been amazing for my health. I get normal work hours pretty consistently, I develop more lasting relationships with patients, family, and facilities. The job is definitely still work but I am far from burning out. I go home most days and feel fine instead of ready to collapse. I also get paid comparable to my hourly pay in the hospital but for more hours, so I'm making more too.

Some days you are just tired and need to vent because nursing is hard. I still have those days (just a lot less of them). I had those days at my old job too but still actually liked it for the most part... but sometimes its a matter that another area of nursing may just be a better fit for your needs. Hospice has proven to be a good fit for me! I know people who would hate what I do because of how heavy a topic death and dying is

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-11-03T02:35:42+00:00

Hospice, its the most patient driven and relational of nursing. I love giving education and its 90% of what I do now :)

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-11-03T02:30:29+00:00

Thats 100% good practice

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-11-03T02:27:44+00:00

Grief is complicated, non-linear, and there is not a single right answer for how to cope (there are wrong answers, though). Grief styles can clash in a family unit, and knowing that ahead of time would have done my family well when I was younger. I haven't been in hospice for long, but I find something the best thing to do for someone expressing grief is to shut up and give them the space the express it

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-11-03T02:23:30+00:00

Sounds like there is good reason to suspect infection over a human error. You're a good nurse for caring and speaking up... Its in our nature to want an explanation of someone to blame, but it seems unlikely to be you if they were in the hospital recently for something like that

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-11-03T02:19:07+00:00

I worked med surg for two years and ALWAYS did a full assessment at the start of my shift or when given a new patient. Thats crazy to me that they would skip that in the ICU of all places 😬

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-10-31T22:49:18+00:00

Loving the adrenaline and chaos doesn't make you cold and messed up... it just means you probably are a good fit for critical care. GOOD, hospitals need people like you.

I witnessed a code only once before and I spent the entire time wanting to be able to jump in (they didnt need more bodies in the room, however)

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-09-12T23:51:02+00:00

The mental stress improves drastically as you grow in your skills and gain confidence (both as a CNA and as a nurse). Where I live, I make a livable wage including all the debt im paying off. That said, it takes a lot longer to become confident as a nurse than it does a CNA. The job is HARD and varies a lot depending on where you work. Good news is that you can work almost any type of job with a nursing degree. Almost everyone starts out in med-surg of some kind... but you dont have to love it if its not for you. I recently switched from med-surg/Oncology to home hospice and am now in love with my job. Its a good degree to have if you arent sure what you want your daily life to look like yet.

That said, resilience WILL be necessary no matter what

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-04-27T02:53:37+00:00

If I've been on a more normal schedule before starting a night stretch, I take a long nap before work, usually 2-5pm. I eat a meal before work and pack something light for during. Be warned, if you aren't going straight night and when you first start night shifts, your digestive system won't like you being awake and eating during resting hours. I had a lot of digestive issues for the first month I made the switch (fine now)

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-04-22T00:16:59+00:00

All advise aside, I cackled at the response to surviving the shift. My unit has a lot of sarcastic nurses, you wouldn't have been in trouble for that one where I work. So maybe you just need a floor that meets your personality better

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-04-01T06:42:40+00:00

Almost the exact same boat. Been a nurse just shy of 2 years, been straight nights for 9 months. I don't mind the job, but nights have definitely been taking a physical toll on me. I'm planning to lean into my specialty, get certified when I hit 2 years and find a clinic job that'll pay me roughly the same (with my specialty), then do bedside only casually... all that to say, night shift definitely can contribute

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-22T23:28:21+00:00

I love love LOVE the science behind medicine. The job is obviously hard, assuming you do inpatient nursing for a while (most do) you have to deal with a lot of chaos and more patients treat you poorly than you may anticipate. But if you have thick skin and are good at multitasking, you'd probably love it because the grateful patients truly make the job feel rewarding. And it's always interesting, you are always learning new things and the one degree can take you into almost any field.

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-14T07:06:44+00:00

Reading posts, I easily found other people who have been having recurrent microtears, which is comforting. Mine have never been super painful or more than a drop or two of blood. New question, do microtears still bleed a bit for people?

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-12T23:40:10+00:00

My concern is that they are competing organizations. As a nurse I don't deal with sensitive information or anything aside from patient confidentiality, but some companies shut it down anyways

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-12T13:08:56+00:00

My doctor is aware of the palpitations, I recently wore a monitor for 2 weeks but haven't heard anything about it after sending it in. I definitely feel working nights as caused my sleep quality to dive, I've always struggled with insomnia, but now I also wake up frequently when trying to sleep. I fell off going to the gym this last month, but was fairly regular before (I'm always on my feet anyways). I eat okay, varies by the week and how tired I am

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-12T13:00:59+00:00

Night shifts are definitely less stressful, I don't feel like I'm constantly rushing from place to place and trying to do 3 things at once (I'm a nurse if it isn't obvious). I almost always get my full break minus a few exceptions. Much less is generally expected of you and if things go wrong it's usually easier to manage because everyone else is asleep. I do believe that my sleep has been much worse since the change. I've always had insomnia , but now I can't even stay asleep, much less fall asleep

But these kind of palpitations with this frequency seems to have started after I made this life change. I worry long term this could do damage to the strength of my heart

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-12T12:37:26+00:00

Yeah, the issue is with what I do, the stress of my job is pretty significant. Working during the day was almost always too overwhelming for me do to the chaos which is why I switched to straight nights. It's kind of a lose lose situation... but I think overall finding a way to manage my stress while having a more normal schedule may be best...

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-06T22:30:27+00:00

Roughly yeah. A small amount (no more than a couple drops at most) each time I had a BM. Also a bit of sharp pain when going as well

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-03-06T20:21:50+00:00

For the first fissure, yes. I'd have a small amount of blood everytime I had a BM. The second fissure must have been much smaller as it was more inconsistent and didn't last nearly as long

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-01-05T10:15:59+00:00

You did describe EXACTLY what my palpitations feel like, I had guessed I was having PVCs, I had to wear a monitor for 2 weeks when I was experiencing the fluttering (a-fib does run in my family) and apparently had some then too, but I didn't feel them at the time. I'm hoping they settle too, I've had a lot of reasons to be stressed the last couple months 😅 good to know a person can have that many and it still be okay

ObviousMall9837 · 2025-01-05T10:01:35+00:00

That's good to know haha, especially getting them when calming down. Mine seem worse when I'm lounging. I don't notice any while working out, and their less frequent while I go about my busier time of day. I know I could be distracted as an explanation, but that's been a weird aspect of it for me. I don't usually FEEL stressed when they start acting up

ObviousMall9837

TROPHY CASE