"I have just started working in the public health dept (less than a month) and although the pay is considerably less (salaried, so no OT or shift differential to beef up checks), I can already tell I made the right decision. I thought the hospital was where I wanted to be, but something did not feel right. The stress of critical care was too much and the long shifts (12.5 hours) was taking it's toll fast. Now I am Mon-Fri 8-5 with 1 hour for lunch. I live very close to work so I go home and unwind in MY environment. When I get fully trained (it is going to take a year or longer) I will be a functioning Public health nurse with the expanded role. We assess, diagnose and treat all sorts of conditions and do complete gynecoligical examinations (which includes breast exams and PAP smears). One minute I am doing a hearing and vision check on a school aged child, the next I am giving an immunization and doing a growth and development check on an infant, and the next treating a man/woman/teen for an STD. We even joint manage diabetics and HTN pts, as well as TB pts with local physicians. It really is a great job and I am thankful I was given the opportunity. We travel to several meetings and classes every month, so we are not holed up in the clinic every day. I have my own exam room/office which I am in the process of decorating with posters and pamphlets that I think are appropriate for my clients. I even pick out stickers for my kids, and I am becoming familiar with the TB/STD programs that eventually will be my responsibility to run for the county. It is a lot on my plate, but it is different than the daily grind of the hospital. I never thought about Public health and only applied because it was close to my house (the hospital was 25 miles away), I was put off by the pay at first, but realized that the starting pay was just that. I am due for a significant increase already in January and then again once i reach the expanded role status. I will actually be making more at the PH office next year than i would at the hospital (if i worked the same hours). To be fair, I am a recent grad ( one year ago) so new grad pay is what I am basing this off of. For those of you who have worked several years, you would be taking a significant cut). There are awesome benefits for state employees though. We get tons of days off and vacation/ sick time as well. It comes out to about 8.5 weeks off per year. For those of you sick of the hopsital, go to your state job site and search for public health nurse openings. It is worth a long look and I am so glad I did."
Written by CheesyPeach
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