Help...back from Iraq and miserable

Nurses General Nursing

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I completely agree with all of you. I am in a different situation. I was deployed to Iraq and came back to start up my nursing career to finally get some experience ( i was deployed right after graduating from school). I have reached burnout and have only been a nurse for a few months. I just do no want to do it. I do not enjoy bedside nursing at all. I like being able to help people, but not at the expense of myself. I have come back home to freedom to only find that I am giving up my life yet again...and this time it is for nursing. I know that I should work for a year in nursing to at least get more experience so that I can find that better job. You can't find your niche in nursing if you do not have any experience to offer...it's a catch 22. If I do decide to just take a break from nursing all together, than I will probably not be able to come back into nursing because the window has closed. I would not be considered as a new grad, and my options would not be promising at all. I am just down and out....what to do :( Thanks for listening everyone...I have so much respect for all of you nurses that have stuck with it! How did you did it I don't know!:uhoh21:

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Please contact your nearest VA and get some assessment. Many of the returning vets are having a hard time - very understandable too. There is only so much of YOU to go around. Please take care of yourself.

excellent advice. Please, please get evaluated and counseling if needed. And thank you so much for your service.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, DOU.
Thank you all so much for your advice...I can't tell you how appreciative I am. I will be getting some counseling and see what comes from that. It is weird, I thought that I could just swing back into things once I got home, but the world has moved on without me including my nursing classmates. I just want to get a low-stress, 9-5 (I am tired of not having a normal schedule) job right now and work on setting some roots first before I go into nursing. I don't have enough right now to give back to my patients....and their safety is number one! I just pray that it won't be too difficult to come back with such a large gap from being out of school and no experience. Anyways, thank you all again and bravo to nurses!!!!! What would this world be like without us!

Kmftiko,

Thank you sooo much for all you have done. With regard to that "gap", don't worry about that right now. IMHO, it isn't as important as your personal wellbeing. So, take as much time as you need.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

I just wanted to add my thanks for your service. Take care.

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Specializes in Home health, Med/Surg.

kmftiko-

I had a large gap in between graduation and getting into hospital nursing. My mother died of colon cancer 4 months after I graduated from nursing school and I could not deal with acutely ill patients. I got counseling for the grief and went into private duty home health as my first nursing job. I loved it and stayed with the same pt for 4 1/2 years.

When I decided to go into med/surg to try out hospital nursing no one in my area would hire me. I moved and took an RN refresher course and had a job less than a week after finishing the course. You can take a break, re-group, go into a less stressful job and return to acute care when you are ready. I did it!! I am still in med/surg and loving it.

I also thank you for your service to our country. Best wishes in finding the best job fit for your current needs.

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Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.

kmftico- first, THANK YOU for your service... my fsil just came back too... and although he keeps telling me he is fine, i can still see some "issues" floatin afournd in his head!

the wonderful thing about nursing is that you have so many options open to you... and the climate is not so much the "do med surg first" that it used to be. I agree that some counseling might help, and finding a lower stress job for now is a great idea... not sure what you like but go on monster or career builder .com and see what is available in your area... then apply for several and see what fits!

best of luck... my thoughts and prayers are with you. Mary

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Welcome back and thank you. I didn't have a smooth time when I returned from time in Vietnam many years ago but you do work through it. Yes the world did change while I was in the service but just realizing it is the first step in reintegrating yourself from combat zone to "civilian life".The VA can help. Curious as to what your military specialty was, could you use that as a basis for anything in civilian life? Do you have continuing committment with reserves/guard at all? Becoming an RN in the military isn't a bad deal and you can get some excellent further education also. True there is a risk of re deployment somewhere.

Any profession should be done because it is right for you to do; not, for example, in Nursings case I am doing this for the patients.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I think that you need to take a break for yourself first before you evaluate nursing as a career. You just served in a tense area, and I don't know what you experienced, but, the culture there is a far difference to what we are accustomed to. During times of war, I would imagine that you may see suffering worse that you could have ever dreamed possible...the needs of people are so great!! If you can take a leave of absence, or maybe leave bedside nursing for another area, such as community nursing; you may have a healthier prespective. And, there is nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with much at this time. The same as all others, I say 'thanks' for being there.

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Specializes in jack of all trades.

Dont forget in when you do decide to return to work. If you apply for the VA system, VA nursing homes, any state or federal job have your DD214 available and ask for Veterans Preference. They are pretty much the only ones that use it anymore. I put it on my applications and most employers never have a clue I was prior military much less use vet pref. I know I applied for correctional nursing it has Vet preference listed to claim it along with my application and resume. Hopefully the info I sent you on the VA system will help you out as far as your medical. Since you do have a service connected injury then you are entitled to it all including the compensatory aspect of it. Dont let them put it on the back burner and find out years later like I did lol. But that was a nice check they had to put in my pocket later when I did find out :) You would be using the South GA/Florida VA system where you are located and that's the same as I use.

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Specializes in everything but OR.

What specialty are you working in??

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Thank you all again for your support and guidance. Just to answer some of your questions, I actually served over in Iraq in the field of Finance, which had nothing to do with medical. I was so down and out just coming out of school. But, I do not regret any of it! Currently I work on a medical-surgical floor at a teaching hospital that in the scheme of things does not seem so bad. It is chaos and everyone seems to be stressed to the max, but I do not feel that there is alot of backstabbing and for the most part the managers are not that bad. They were even going to extend my orientation. The hospital is not bad at all. But it is a hospital, and there just seems to be too much liability and not enough control over anything. It was just a wake up call. I don't feel that the university really prepares it's students well enough to the reality of it all!

*Sigh* I do know one thing and that is I love this country. We have it so good here!!

Thanks again!!!!!!!

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I want to THANK YOU for you service to our county.

Please just take time for yourself and get registered with the VA and get help if you need it. You just return from a extremely stressful environment and then went to work in a stressful environment. Please take care of yourself.

My son just returned Wednesday and I would advise him the same.

Take care and agian thank you! You are an American Hero!

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Dear kmftike,

Thank you for doing a difficult job in an honorable way. I agree you need and will benefit from counseling. You may find the answer to your question with the VA regarding employment too. Please let us know how you are from time to time. I hope you will not be offended if I add you to my prayer list. Blessing to you and your family.

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