Burned out and hate nursing

multi10 · Apr 30, 2013

OP, It depends on what sort of person you are, and only you can answer that. Do you prefer to be active and running around during your 8-or-12 hour shifts (if you stay in bedside nursing)? Would you rather be more stationary and intellectual?

Do you want to be behind a desk most of the time or on your feet? What sorts of interactions do you want to have with others?

Would you like to travel? You can do that.

Now that you have 4 years' experience, you can choose what is right for you. You can basically write your own ticket.

doomsayer · Apr 30, 2013

Work in the OR. The clients are asleep- and the atmosphere is very supportive of the staff needs :)

tewdles, RN · Apr 30, 2013

You listed most of the reasons that I have NEVER worked M/S.

It sounds to me that you have your mind made up, although M/S does NOT represent nursing as a profession, that nursing is not for you. Too bad since you have considered this career choice for a long time and have invested a good deal of $$ and time.

All of the things you have listed can be fixed by changing your specialty.

What DO you want?

believe17 · Apr 30, 2013

Oh geez. I'm currently going to school for nursing and many people are telling me not to get into that field. Ive always thought I wanted to be a nurse but I'm hearing more and more people complain about it and saying to stay away from it. What do you suggest?

LocaW8ta · Apr 30, 2013

I was hired with very little nursing experience and was trained. I just happen too live in a city that has a phase 1 research facility. Not all cities offer places like mine. I do want to remind the OP that there are so many specialties out there that are nothing like a M/S floor and enable you to have a life outside of work.

LocaW8ta · Apr 30, 2013

I've been wanting to do this forever but all the positions seem to require experience. How do you break into this field?

I got into the field by applying after seeing the listing on Monster. I was skeptical but have found that I love it. It doesn't leave me emotionally and physically drained, yet I am still being challenged. Research is very unique. When I was hired, I had no research experience at all and very little nursing experience. The place I work at has 3 locations: Pittsburgh, Vegas and Houston.

Nurse2BeInGA · Apr 30, 2013

I'm a nursing school hopeful and after reading this thread, I'm not as excited at the prospect of nursing! I am just wondering if any of you have done or considered the outpatient setting? It seems the hours are better and you might not feel as much like a servant. Also, smaller clinics may have less politics (or maybe more?). Just wondering what your thoughts are on that.
Also, I am between nursing and doing some sort of therapy, like MFT. Do you think both inevitably burn you out? Thanks for any insight! I really value nurse's honest opinions.

When you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. However, when you find a job you hate, every day is long and miserable, even if you are the one to make it that way. Don't allow the experiences of others to skew you from what you really want to do, but if you are having serious doubts, you probably should decide on another career before you invest a lot of time into nursing.

OCRN3 · Apr 30, 2013

I think many ppl got into nursing for the wrong reasons. That's why we have a lot of un satisfied ppl. They make nursing out to be a field where nurses are super Heroes and that we make so much difference.

The reality is that nursing is a very sacrificed field. Nurses in bedside work weekends, holidays, miss a lot of family events to be in the hospital taking care sick ppl. They have ungrateful and abusive patients. They get hit and spit on. It's something that not many ppl are willing to do, yet some of us still do it.

It's not wrong to want to choose a steady career field where pay is decent, at the end of the day, if you are not happy, then it doesn't matter. Life Is too short to live un happy. I honestly don't think there are perfect jobs, but better jobs. Maybe nursing is it, maybe it's not. Keep searching and you will find your niche. You have to be patient and look. Even if it means job hopping for awhile. Just my opinion...

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

GoalsInTransition · Apr 30, 2013

For those of you interested in research nursing, many universities (tied to hospitals) have a fair amount of jobs in this category. They are often willing to train you in research-related skills if you bring your RN skills, some enthusiasm for the patient population/condition being studied, and a good attitude. Yes, the pay range may be slightly lower (though this is not always true), but you will find intellectually stimulating work, a great schedule, and often colleagues who truly care about their work-- and are not burned out.

I would be happy to answer specific questions via PM.

FuturePsychNP · Apr 30, 2013

Since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to help people. I wanted to heal. Now 4 years out of nursing school, I HATE nursing with a passion. I am a med/surg nurse with a BSN.
Reasons I hate nurses (in no particular order)
1. Most days I feel like a pill-pusher. I don't feel like I make a difference.
2. Doctors feel they are perfect.
3. Patient satisfaction scores.
4. Patient sense of entitlement. (see #3)
5. Family at the bedside dictating what they want...like I am their personal servant. I have to comply (see #3).
6. Lack of appreciation mized with how much more work can they give us.
7. Nights, weekends, and holiday. I don't want to give everything I've got only to see no return in work satisfaction.
I don't want to be a case manager. I don't want home health nursing. I really want to be outside of the hospital. Quite honestly, I want to be away from people. I would be quite content to work on a computer and have email interactions. Preferably work from home. Any suggestions?

Bold. I feel ya. I'm about to get flamed, but since we're sharing our feelings here goes...

I don't care about #4 so inherently I have little concern with #3. Unlike most other staff, I don't leave a room asking, "May I get you something" for I am not a servant. I've actually told patients that they were monopolizing my and my staff members' time. I generally say, "Ok, well, see ya later." Most people seem fine with this, and if they're not it's not going to hurt them to not get some juice or whatever ridiculous whim they want. I didn't know nursing involved this. If I had I assure you I wouldn't have done it. Unless a patient is unresponsive, I really don't address the random people milling around in the patient's room (#5) beyond saying "Hi, how are ya?" I'll tell them what's going on, sometimes what I'm doing, and I'm cordial, but I really don't care if the family member is hot, thirsty, wants a pillow, etc. I generally don't make a special trip for their desires. About now many of you are up in arms shouting revoke his license, fire him, lynch him!!

There really is nothing about in-patient "care" that I care anything about. Someone has to do it, but I don't want to. Yeah, someone will chime in here with something absurd like "How can you not care for your patients?!" Well, friends, it's not that I don't care. I just don't have any desire to be their butler, waiter, etc. I didn't know beans about nurses when I got into it and was led to believe nursing was a physiological, medicine giving, assessment making, chart writing line of work, and I was ok with that. I'm interested in mental health, and after reading this many will gasp!

Yes, I'm great with sitting down talking (like doing that) and doing the variety of things we are taught as mental health providers to do (I'm in a psych NP master's program), but I'm not at all interested in going back and forth between people laid up in bed defecating on themselves, giving them juice, talking them into swallowing some pills, and not pulling their IVs out particularly when I have other matters to tend to, i.e. assessing, documenting, getting the meds in, and "monitoring." Honestly, I wanted to be a mental health provider capable of doing mental health assessments, having a knowledge of the physical body, doing the therapy time/reimbursement/employer policy permitting (many psych NPs dont do this), and prescribing. Sans medical school, psych NP was the route to this so I got into "nursing" to be a mental health provider. The nursing indoctrination, traditions, theories, and history are great, but I don't personally and individually ascribe to them.

So RN1023, you're not a lone. Many thousands of nurses are in your spot. I can name at least a dozen identical to you at my workplace. Many are obligated by whatever reason to work there. I wanted a job I could do while I was in school, however, I'm resigning (on good terms) soon to engage in other pursuits. This area of nursing isn't for you. Even the ER is starting to see #'s 3-5 take hold there also and that's probably the least nursey area from my experience. This job isn't for me either, and I recognize that so I'll be stepping aside to let someone inclined to enjoy and vigorously pursue these things as I shall not.

CrazyCoconut · Apr 30, 2013

Another way to look at things.

For those thinking about entering nursing, just follow what your heart says and not what other people or even the media says. (The media over-hyped nursing to a large extent, now everyone and their mom wants to be a nurse). Research your career well....

For those of you who are in the hospital setting, remember that the hospital is a business. That's all there is to it. For those who are unsatisfied, just think of all the other people who are unsatisfied - the unemployed nurses, the ones willing to fight each other for YOUR spot. Or the nurses sending thousands of applications out and getting little to no replies. They're hungry. Just food for thought. It's grim but it's reality.

FuturePsychNP · Apr 30, 2013

Look for a job that has a more competent manager. A good manager makes all the difference. Based on my many (many, many, many - etc) years of experience I have come to absolutely believe that nurses don't leave jobs, they leave managers. Conversely, a really great manager can make even the toughest environment a very satisfying place to work.

There's a lot to be said for this, and I identify, from personal experience, what a good manager is. This doesn't apply to nursing. Prior to being a nurse I was a manager in another state government capacity, and when I took over I had a sneaky staff that liked to hide, stay quiet, duck and run with little efficiency. The guy I replaced was a genuine donkey's rear. I've met him. In time, I got my people productive and happy at work. Some would listen to music while working, the women were doing potlucks, and I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. People knew when they did wrong I'd use our required system of progressive discipline as that was my duty, and I used it. However, once the matter was said and done people went back to seeming happy. My secretary even gave up anxiolytics while I was there, lol.

My managers in my current nursing employment are really nice, accomodating, warm people, and my direct manager has a great personality. Where they fail is leadership by email, letting people come in late without saying anything and similar instances (because they do it too), and telling a "peon," if I may use that term to tell the rest of us what we should be doing instead of telling us themselves. Sometimes this has to work. Messengers have a place, yes, but don't need to be used all the time.