Stress or Burn Out?

Nurses Stress 101

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Specializes in ER.

I don't know if I am stressed out about several close calls patients attempting to kill themselves in the past two months and the lack of sitters in the ED or if I am just burnt out from trying to get my BSN asap while working at a new job. I just want to quit my new job because I don't see anyway this is safe due to the lack of staff.

Supposedly they are changing us to 1:4 but I don't see it happening for night shift because they are only adding a day shift nurse. So how will be able to have 1:4 when we already cannot handle the amount of patients we see when we're at 1:5? I don't believe that we will change. They hope the extra day shift will help pump out the other patients to free up night shift but I don't it'll happen like that.

I am applying for another job in the system closer to my home but I just don't know if it'll be any different at another hospital since it seems like all hospitals are trying to cut back on nurses. The last job I had the RNs floating to all units including labor and delivery and psych.

I am going to go part time in the mean time.

I think you're probably taking the right steps. Even if the new job ends having a lot similar problems to your old one, sometimes I think it's easier to deal with a new load of crap than it is to deal with the same load of crap you've been putting up with for years.

Specializes in ER.

I'm seriously considering leaving nursing and going to a different field. I'm out of shape but I'm thinking about going for a position as a police officer or maybe even on a fire department. That's how bad it is.

But right now I'm going to start applying for other nursinh positions closer to home.

Specializes in ER.

I feel better now that I talked to two people at work. One told me that this happens every six months. Staff leave or burn out and so there is barely anyone there. he went as far to say he doesn't introduce himself to new staff.

Another told me that she wouldn't work in those conditions and even backed me up when I was slammed.

I feel like a failure still for wanting to bail. However I look at myself and realize I've aged just from the stress of working.

Specializes in ER.

I want to quit nursing really bad now. I am looking at taking pay cut in order to do it.

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