Finally decided to quit nursing

Nurses Professionalism

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Hi everyone. I have been a nurse for over 7 years and for the past year I have debated getting out of the profession for good. I had just finished the week long hospital orientation for a new job and was to start clinical orientation Sunday. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon I was having big doubts about the job, then I realized that it wasn't the job itself that I didn't like. I hate hate hate being a nurse. I called the unit manager on her cell phone Saturday afternoon and told her my decision and that I would not be coming back. I am scared to death because I have no income at this point but at the same time I have a sense of relief and peace about the whole situation.

You know what's really sad? There are so many new grads looking for a job, or just a chance at being a nurse, and they cannot catch a break. And here we have so many nurses who are unhappy with their jobs, and yet feel as if they don't have any other options. It's really sad. And I already know some nursing students right now who will be in this same mind frame within the next ten years. They absolutely hate clinicals and 75% of what comes with nursing, and yet they're still in school. Do what makes you happy instead of looking back and feeling as though you have wasted so much time. Life is too short.

Thumbs up to you and a high five, OP. I have been a BSN/RN for 6 years now, and done bedside, case management and public health. I HATE all of it. The last 3 years I've really spiraled downward into total hatred for the job. I'm cursed with being really good at it - I'm always a patient favorite, and have never received a bad review. But I'm so over it.

I'm starting a new job in two weeks doing case management, and have already decided if this doesn't re-ignite some hope and passion for this profession I'm done. I'm gonna try for a year, and if I still hate it, I'm headed for grad school to teach nursing. I had an awful nursing school experience -and if I can do anything, at least I can help avenge my experience by being a good teacher.

Why do I hate it?

1. The obvious: the health care system is broken. Horribly. And I'm sick of being a part of it.

2. The bubble is going to burst, folks. Nursing salaries are going to take a nosedive. Of this I am certain.

3. The quality of schooling and therefore quality of nurses is in the gutter. I can't believe some of the people I have worked with. How the hell do half these dopes graduate? They can't spell and can't speak clear English. I don't get it. I don't want to be lumped in with people like that.

4. I have worked with "under-served" populations for way too much of my nursing career, and their sense of entitlement and demanding services they don't need has embittered me and ruined my faith in this profession forever.

5. I like animals and machines more than people.

One other thing. It's so sad how we who hate nursing & want to leave have to keep that such a secret, or that ANYONE is shocked by something like that. Nursing is just a vocation, an occupation, a profession. No profession should completely define a person. YOU ARE NOT YOUR JOB. You are a human being, first and foremost. Nursing is not the noble, altruistic, self-sacrificing job it used to be. Sorry, Charlie. Florence Nightingale is DEAD.

Some people end up hating it, just like some accountants end up hating their job. A nurse leaving the profession really should not be judged so harshly, it doesn't mean she's an uncaring, cold, uncompassionate person. In fact, it's probably the opposite. Too many nurses who hate it STAY in the field and make everyone's lives - their co-workers, bosses, patients, and their own - MISERABLE. So kudos to those who bail when they know they need to. I wish you all the best of luck.

My thoughts exactly. And people complaining about this post are obviously not nurses.

Hi! If you really felt peace after the phone call you probably did the right thing for you! Myself I have a love hate relationship with nursing, there are so many places your basic degree can take you! I bet if you can figure out what your dream job would be, you can find a version of it in nursing! That's where I'm at! getting ready to write the next chapter!!! Good Luck !!!

Specializes in Gerontology/Home Health CM, OB, ICU, MS.
I love what I do for whatever it's worth. I have bad days and frustrating days but overall I do love it. It's just not for everyone, you know? And it's a demanding enough that it's a really rough job to do if you're not enjoying it.

STAY in nursing - you are stronger & tougher, & have a love of service which is unusual in modern culture. That's the reason you're not finding too many people like yourself. Please don't follow the crowd - be your wonderful, positive, tough self - I believe it's a pretty rare gift.:hug:

Specializes in Gerontology/Home Health CM, OB, ICU, MS.
Question to all who ended up hating nursing- did you guys hate nursing school? Were you CNAs first? I'm 25 and I'm a senior in my program and I've been doing patient care washing/changing dressings/doing meds for 8 years and I absolutely love it and I'm wondering if I'm being Naive in believing this is my calling?

Maybe I haven't felt all the pressures of being an RN? I've worked weekends/holidays and worked so short staffed I've had 18 patients I had to give meds to and help with hygiene, and worked with some real "characters" and I still couldn't picture myself doing anything else. I've been mandated to stay 32 hours straight before...But, I've heard from nurses my whole career in the health care field that they wish they chose a different profession and this is scary to me-I can't tell if they ever loved working under pressure/ caring for people/ taking abuse from co-workers. I know things aren't like they are in school when you're out in the real world, but I'm hoping what I've expereienced is even a small representation of what nursing will be like...

Hey - I want you to be MY nurse. We should have nursing leaders like you :yelclap:

Hi! If you really felt peace after the phone call you probably did the right thing for you! Myself I have a love hate relationship with nursing, there are so many places your basic degree can take you! I bet if you can figure out what your dream job would be, you can find a version of it in nursing! That's where I'm at! getting ready to write the next chapter!!! Good Luck !!!

Specializes in Hospice/Infusion.
Hi! If you really felt peace after the phone call you probably did the right thing for you! Myself I have a love hate relationship with nursing, there are so many places your basic degree can take you! I bet if you can figure out what your dream job would be, you can find a version of it in nursing! That's where I'm at! getting ready to write the next chapter!!! Good Luck !!!

Where did you end up going?

I would have strongly urged you to set up a plan before quitting. Giving in to an impulse to just quit, with no notice, makes me wonder if there's something else going on. Have you been screened for depression or ADD or something else that could be under the surface? Even with the medical experience of your career, it's different when it's YOU, and you might not notice the signs.

Sometimes hating your (fill in the blank) isn't always about (fill in the blank), it's about the state of your own soul. Sometimes there's dissatisfaction that will only be resolved with a change in yourself. Some people bail out on commitments of various kinds, enter new ones and bail on them, and don't realize they're needing to change themselves, not their circumstances.

I'm not saying for sure that that's you. But I'd be really alarmed if a friend or loved one bailed on a career with no notice, and I'd look for a way to ask these questions.

Yeah, maybe nursing was the problem. But I think you'd have been better served with a more rational approach to your career change. You've invested a lot in nursing, and you might have been able to turn it in a direction that you found gratifying, if you'd talked to, say, a career counselor first.

I mean, you probably feel good NOW, but if down the road things aren't falling into place you might really regret the way you didn't just quit, you burned bridges. Not just with this employer, but maybe with potential future ones. And not just in nursing. Anyone who wants to hire you is likely to call this last employer for a reference. Suddenly bailing is not going to look good.

Sorry I can't be more supportive. I'm not jealous, honest, even if this looks like sour grapes. I don't plan to be doing this work when I'm in my 60's, but I don't yet know exactly which of several directions I will choose. I'm thinking.

by healing soul : i finally left nursing after working for several years as a cna.

honey, i don't mean to pick on you, but what you left was being a cna. it's not nursing. it's not right for you to say you "left nursing". you were never in it.

but i wish you luck in whatever you are doing now.

Specializes in ICU, Telemetry, Stepdown.

Wow, lots of comments! I agree with the first 3 of 5 on Why I Hate Nursing! Let's just say there's sometimes a huge language barrier between myself and some of my coworkers, due to heavy accents. But, a lot are indeed good nurses.

While I don't despise Nursing, as the interviews go by without any offers and the weeks pass quickly, it is only pulling me further and further away from this profession. What once was a competition with other RN's less than a decade ago for 2-3 job positions, has turned into a fierce environment for being the "chosen one" among who knows how many? Nursing has many positive points, but it is certainly not a glamorous profession to fight over! I did become a nurse because I do love Nursing and I am not in it because being an RN will make me rich! Farthest thing from the truth, but maybe if you put in >84 hour work weeks.

I never intended to do Nursing until I retire, but these days I cannot stand to think of myself here in the same spot 5 years from now. Yes, the economy is to blame for many things, but the healthcare industry is crumbling quickly. The money for it is just simply not there!!!! Will it grow on trees magically? It is eventually going belly up-challenge me if you think otherwise! We have some of the best technologies in the world, yet so much money is wasted on "full work-ups" to CYA if you care for the patient and also end of life ICU care. That is not touching the fraud and abuse of gov't funded

programs and also the wrangling by insurance companies to slip out from paying certain charges citing "incorrect documentation".

While we all are aware of the typical job issues causing difficulty: short staffing, rude/inconsiderate doctors, demanding families, emotional stress and other job headaches, those are things that I have just accepted as the job of Nursing. It has been that way for decades and I don't think it will change in the next 50 years. Maybe things will improve slowly, but at a turtles pace!

My issue is being show the door quickly, as I am not the "perfect candidate"! No one is perfect! It bothers me very much that hospitals feel free to impose as many qualifications as they can to find that "one, perfect candidate" and shut the door in the face of so many many qualified people (like yourself and myself)! But, gotta have the best of the best of the best of the absolute best staff! Meanwhile, the rest of the great, overqualified nurses work where they can and try to hang on. Sorry if our only wish isn't to be in charge and to cement Nursing's future! I may be quite jaded, but without healthcare as it is today, I do not see a strong future in Nursing for anyone. Yes, the world needs nurses and always will, but as the money well dries up, who will be taking a pay cut? Us!

I am actively trying to get out of this profession. It is a shame too, because I feel like I have wasted my entire university career for a degree in this profession. But, the bills must be paid and I have little choice until I go back to school. I may have to survive on pennies later on, but at least I will find my happiness down the road. That beats all the job hazards, abuse, and stress of this profession!

Specializes in SICU, CCU, MCU, peds, physician's office.

I had been struggling with not wanting to bedside for a long, long while. I have been an icu nurse for 8 years and just could not do it any longer. My family suggested to try travel nursing so I didn't have to deal with the politics. That was no help. I came back home and tried to take a staff job ( the one I quit) and it still didn't settle right. I ended up taking a cath lab job and must say I am happy now. I am still using my license and had no problem getting a job after leaving that one abruptly. Honestly, it was an HCA facility with a bad reputation so no one really thought twice about it. Granted, I can never work for HCA again, but I have worked many HCA facilities and that isn't breaking my heart at all.

Specializes in SICU, CCU, MCU, peds, physician's office.

I will also add that I have went back to school to finish the MSN degree that I never finished at the urging of one of the cardiologists that I work with. The stress of bedside was just too much for me and have one patient at a time works much better for me.

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