does anyone regret this career?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

just curious.

I regret it every single day. I had good intentions when I started, and I wasn't idealistic either. But it is a FAR worse job than I imagined. I feel like the life has been beaten out of me.

I consider myself a good nurse, and I do give it my all for patients when I'm at work. But I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.

Just wanted to know if I was alone. My family and friends don't seem to understand.

I've been in the ER for 15 years.. I didn't get into nursing because I wanted.. or felt a calling.. I did it because the real thing I wanted was unabtainable.. so that started it rough... and yes.. I detest it.. alot for the reasons others have mentioned.. the backstabbing the numbers game.. the constant sadness and realization that even when I do get to actually help someone.. they are gonna go right back out and do the same again.. the drug abuse.. the lies.. yeah.. even though I'm good at what I do... I feel it has changed the way I look at people.. made it hard for me to trust.. and given me a severe dislike for those who allow things to just keep going cause it's easier.. I have tried looking into other nursing fields.. .. but have discovered that ER is a speality... and hard to get out of.. I would love to do telephone triage.. or on-site nursing.. but I can't seem to break into either of those fields.. but dang I'm gonna try..:) so to answer your question... nope your not alone...

Specializes in Med-Surg Telemetry.
... but have discovered that ER is a speality... and hard to get out of.. I would love to do telephone triage.. or on-site nursing.. but I can't seem to break into either of those fields.. but dang I'm gonna try..:) so to answer your question... nope your not alone...

Hi clbrown - would it be possible for you to do per diem in other fields that might increase your opportunity to break into your chosen fields? Glad to know you aren't giving up!

Wow... I can relate to nearly all of you. The sad part is I just can't imagine doing anything else so I'm back in school for MORE NURSING!! LOL! It becomes part of you and as many have pointed out, there are several areas to try on and sadly it can take years before you find the right fit. Please don't beat yourself up cantdoit! You and the rest of us are victims of an INCREDIBLY flawed system that looks upon us nurses as a commodity, often trying to replace us with machinery (like buying more computers and hiring less nurses). I have hope. At some pint I might admit defeat and realize I'm delusional, but for now my heart is stuck in it (so are my finances!). I vowed to give it my all, move to another state (mine is rotten for nursing) and learn EVERYTHING I can so I can be efficient and safe. Too many new RNs are let loose without the proper education, training and supervision. Poor satisfaction is the result of not having the tools to be successful. WE have a huge responsibility and unfortunately it's up to us to be prepared. Our colleges are not designed for anything other than the NCLEX. Nursing is not a MC test.I doubt any of us really knew what we were headed for. Good for you for reaching out. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Specializes in geriatrics.

I wanted nursing for a long time, and this is my second career. But, I'm realistic. I knew there would be ups and downs. I also know where my strengths are, and areas that I would thrive. I have no intention of ever working most floors, and I knew this for certain after my second year. I think that's the key...to figure out what you enjoy, and where you fit. Nursing provides many opportunities.

Specializes in Med-Surg Telemetry.
just curious.

I regret it every single day. I had good intentions when I started, and I wasn't idealistic either. But it is a FAR worse job than I imagined. I feel like the life has been beaten out of me.

I consider myself a good nurse, and I do give it my all for patients when I'm at work. But I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this.

Just wanted to know if I was alone. My family and friends don't seem to understand.

*Hugs!* :hug:

How about if you try looking for a hospital with lower patient to nurse ratio and going to night shift when it's less crazy (but also has it's own brand of stress)? This is the situation in which I find myself.

So far I love the work itself. I work in a busy med/surg telemetry unit. It's different everyday so there's good days and bad days. I just don't like the cattiness and backstabbing is all (night shift staff is often more helpful but more cliquish). I'm wondering if this unit is the only one like this so am looking around the hospital for openings in either the ER or ICU. Or maybe even in another hospital...

Anyway, I also don't see myself doing this forever. God willing, I may go back to university and become a nurse practitioner, OR I will be able to save myself enough money to have my very own cupcake bakery/cafe! Now that's my REAL DREAM JOB! :p

But I'm digressing....Since you have a year and half (and counting) of acute care experience already under your belt, I would consider that pretty good and may be enough for you to get away from the acute care setting NOW. So start applying to those other positions ASAP like in the clinic or doctor's offices, etc. where it isn't so crazy busy. Or you could try applying as school nurse if you like working with children too. If you want a desk job, nurses are also needed in health insurance companies or as recruiters, or telehealth.

It can't hurt to start job hunting now because you just never know. It will also make you feel loads better because going through the process of doing so will make you feel more in control of your situation and give you HOPE!

the only regrets i would have is... sometimes the little pains i get in the body and the possibility of being hurt on the job, but other than that nursing is beautiful and wonderful and room for advancement.. but the body aches after a hard shift, uh uh... thats the part i detest... but if u work smart, less likely to get hurt.. but for newbies like myself, sometimes a rookie mistake can happen, though im learning as best as i can from experience, trial and error

Post like these make me wonder why people who feel this way from the very beginning stick with it. I know it's not easy to find a job in any field these days. But I'm wondering if some of you felt this while in school, and thought the feeling would magically disappear once you were really working as a nurse.
Actually , I felt this way in school and it has magically gotten better or at least more tolerable

I used to proud of being a nurse, but regret and disappoint with the experiences I was encounter during my career.

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

Every day.

Specializes in Med Surg.
Actually , I felt this way in school and it has magically gotten better or at least more tolerable

Same here. By the time I was finishing up my ASN program I thought I'd made a huge mistake. Then I got into my final preceptorship and it was like the lightbulb went off--I was doing real nursing, not all the school nonsense. I've loved it ever since.

To the OP--if you're miserable, why not try out a new career? There are plenty of us who chose nursing as a second career. There's no shame in leaving the profession, maybe it's because I've already made that leap, but my husband and I agreed that if I were ever miserable as a nurse and nothing changed that, I'll be switching to something else. Life's too short to despise your job.

Specializes in Oncology, Med/Surg, Hospice, Case Mgmt..
Although I do not regret this career (yet), I'll readily admit that my personality is not compatible with nursing.

I am an introvert who does not particularly like meeting new people, even though I put on the acting game for the sake of my patients. In addition, I am not the type who seeks validation or deeply desires to 'be needed' by others. I also do not have a yearning to help people. In a nutshell, I am a self-centered person with no sense of altruism.

Wow...this is exactly how I feel, too. I am also very introverted and am much better suited to independent working rather than working with a team. When I worked the floor, it was not my dream job. But, I pushed myself through it and now I have a job that does not involve direct patient care and allows me to work independently and at my own pace in a stable environment. The only problem is I never would have been offered the job I have now without the years spent working on the floor. I guess I look at those years as nursing "boot camp". To the OP and other new nurses unhappy in your current position, hang in there because you may just need to find the right job for you.

ETA: For those who have asked about "other areas"- After 13 yrs working in hospitals on Med/Surg, Telemetry, Pediatrics, Oncology and Inpatient Hospice floors, I found my dream job working as a Case Manager for (don't roll eyes, please) an insurance company. It may not be for everyone, but I absolutely love it. Not long after starting there I figured they must have created this job just for me.

Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

I never had a burning desire to be a nurse, I simply needed a major to graduate so I could go to med school. And while in nursing school, I fell in love with the idea they sell you. The time you spend with patients, the difference you make in their lives, blah blah. I went to work in L&D in a very tiny hospital, and I loved it. At first. Then we were sold to a for-profit company. We were assured we were still not-for-profit, but that was only semantics. It got to the point where there was never enough staff or supplies or time. Our unit secretaries disappeared, and then we got in trouble for not answering phones because we did phone triage in addition to all of our other duties. We explained to the DON that was simply could not leave a patient up in stirrups to go answer a phone. So they got us cordless phones. I got really, really sick of having my hand in someone's lady parts and having my pocket start ringing. Then they started asking us to work all by ourselves. No tech, no other nurses, just one person on a unit. Their helpful explanation was that help was five minutes away (one of my angelic coworkers agreed to be on call every single night for these situations) but we argued that if we had a prolapsed cord, we couldn't remove our hand to dial the phone. "Get the patient's family to hold the phone to your ear." Several of us refused to work alone, so we were told we could stay home without pay.

I got fed up and went to school for something totally unrelated. And during those 3 years of grad school, I discovered I really, really missed nursing. So I did travel nursing in the summer, and I discovered that some hospitals treat their nurses with a little more respect (or at least they don't actively try to get you sued and/or kill you.). I took all the certifications for my other degree, but I went back to nursing, in a much better environment. And when L&D began to get absolutely unbearable again (staff shortages, patient satisfaction bullcrap, etc) I went to public health.

I understand how you feel, because I have been there. It sounds like it's more environment than nursing in general. Try a new environment!

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