[firefly49RN]

I am so burned out ,I'm toast.My retirement date is Dec.1,2010.Can't wait.Right now I'm trying to save all my sick time so I can retire even earlier.Anyone else outthere "toasted".Would like to hear from you,nice to know I'm not the only one out there.How are you dealing with it?

[ingelein]

Nah,we all love our jobs, you are the ONLY one! ONLY KIDDING! See the threads titled , "Why are they all leaving ?" and the thread titled, "Hey managers !Whats up with the weeding out of good nurses?" I hope the years go by fast for you so you can enjoy your retirement, Im out of it now ,but I actually think that 27 years of that abuse gave me PTSD.

[Dixielee]

I am working as hard as I can to pay off bills so I can get a job out of nursing. I am still 15 years from retirement age (at 67), so I have a ways to go, but I can't keep up this pace and with this crap for too much longer.

We are going to a computerized charting system that will slow care to a snails pace. Taking care of the patient will be incidental, as long as we take care of the chart. One long time ER nurse, who I respect greatly is leaving because of it, and I am not far behind.

We were told that computerized charting was never designed to improve our speed or help us take care of our patients, it is strictly to make the charts look better. Sorry, I did not sign up for this.

Nope, you are not the only one on the downhill slope of this thing. I hate it for the new nurses. I am rooting for them to make some positive change, but I am tired.

[Epona]

Yikes! I am scared!! I have heard a lot of horror stories about nursing!! I am starting RN school in Jan. I just put in my two weeks notice at my job. When school is done I will owe THOUSANDS back. Ugh. How terrible is it really?? I hope to work in my docs. cardiology office.



Epona

[rtin05]

Epona, I am with you. I will be graduating in May from the respiratory therapy program. I had started nursing school before deciding to finish respiratory and now have the opportunity to go back and finish up my nursing degree by Dec. 2008. I have always wanted to be a nurse and tried to get into a program but missed it by a few points so I went into RT. Then I transferred out to another school and thought I would try nursing school again so I got in but left after the first semester to finish the RT thing since I only had a year left. Now they tell me I can come back in and finish but I am torn over what to do. One day I think that I am definately done once I graduate in May but then the next something tells me to finish nursing. I have read many horror stories on this site to the point that I am almost convinced that I don't want to finish it. I do come here to find out what it is like from other nurses and I am glad to see some of the stories but it does make me think do I really want to do this. Best of luck.

[JenNJFLCA]

I have been a nurse for 2 months and I can tell you now I will not be working in a hospital for the next 30 years. There are so many things you can do as a nurse. Working in a hospital on the floor is just a small piece of the pie. I am "serving my time" for a few years, and that will be it for me out there on the floor. Sad, huh?

[Drifternurse]

Originally Posted by Epona

Yikes! I am scared!! I have heard a lot of horror stories about nursing!! I am starting RN school in Jan. I just put in my two weeks notice at my job. When school is done I will owe THOUSANDS back. Ugh. How terrible is it really?? I hope to work in my docs. cardiology office.



Epona

Well, nursing school IS tough--by far the toughest thing I ever did! You have to be SURE this is for you because you live and breathe nursing continuously for 2+ years. I did find that doctor's office nursing was the easiest nursing for ME; sure there are stresses in all the specialties but the work days are usually Mon-Fri with decent hours and usually holidays off--that was MY experience anyway. Best of luck Epona!

[imenid37]

Firefly. I feel toasted after amost 20 years. Sometimes, I don't know if I can last another 25 + more. Heck..by the time I get there retirement will be at age 80! I am 41 now. Hang in there and try to just get through it. I know I dread it when a lot of our seasoned nurses will retire in the next few years. They are great..but they have earned a nice stress-free retirement. It must be hard to have to cram your head full of all kinds of things that are really difficult to learn (new computer systems, etc.) and know you will only use them for a little while longer. This is not even thinking about all of the physical demands of this job.

[mom and nurse]

Honestly - I have been a nurse for two years in a hospital and whether I feel burned out varies from day to day. Management has done a good job of decreasing our patient loads so I can see more light at the end of the tunnel.

If I have a nice patient load (nice families...stable patients). I have good days. If I have a rough patient load (families on the warpath.....unstable patients)..... I may have a rough day and come home mumbling to myself...and planning my escape from hospital nursing......but not from nursing.

Either way. Hopefully I wll be able to leave hospital nursing one day. I'm working on my Masters Degree right now........

Nursing is flexible with various opportunities. Sometimes its hard to discover your exact fit. There are happy nurses out there who love what they do every minute of the day...... I know they are there....and some are even doing hospital nursing.....

[firefly49RN]

unfortunately,i am the average age of the nurse in the US today--49,. the year 2010 will see a lot of changes in health care due to a mass exodus of nurses due to retirement alone.I worked the floors about 5 yrs. , the next 16 in critical care.At present i work in the OR and have i found i sweet spot. After all those years in ICU, this place is a piece of cake.For the first time i am working with nurses that have NEVER worked anywhere but in the OR.They think they have it bad,ha,ha,ha,etc.I don't even have to have ACLS anymore,Anesthesia runs the codes.I highly recommend the OR,had to learn a lot of new things but still not as stressful as ICU, and as for the surgeons,simple, SHOW NO FEAR.Most of them are full of it anyway,and i am usually taller than them anyway which helps from a psychological standpoint.Just remember, any day is a great day when you aren't at work!