I hate being a nurse

msrosebud28 · Oct 26, 2011

Yes...Definatley have another job before you resign .....take it from me....that's not a good feeling....cause I've been there and done that....but yes if you are already stressed from home life then add the stress of nursing especially, bedside nursing....and it will suck the life out of you and your genuine Spirit!= not worth it.....find your niche.....nursing is so flexible which is one of the reasons why I became one....I am resigning from my med/surg job tomorrow I got a job offer in home health with a $6 /hr raise....and yes I've heard bad things about it also, but I NEED a slower pace for my stress level and my chest pain...lol...(really not funny but it's my coping skills)....and the raise will also help my family too....keep the faith up! it will come, you have experience now....the doors should open faster...market yourself.....and always remember to put a smile on.....even if it is fake...it will still make you feel better!

Shutupntakeurmeds · Oct 29, 2011

I hear ya. I worked as a CNA all thru school. Worked fri sat sun 12's then school all week. Finally got my degree and worked in a hospital. Hated it. Finally landed a job doing wound care visits. I worked about 4-5 hrs a day and was bringing home about 4k a month. Great job but like all things it came to an end. I now do shift work home health which isn't bad but not very stimulating. I'm going back to school next year to start an engineering degree then I'm going into the oil business. New fields are opening up in that industry and it's going to BOOM here inthe states!!! I'm done with nursing as I've been at it in one form or another for almost 10 years. Good luck!

TriciaJ, RN · Oct 29, 2011

I loved med-surg nursing but hated the way it ate my life. No breaks, constant interruptions and a snake for a nurse-manager. No time or energy to have any kind of a life outside of work. No camaraderie with coworkers; too busy trying to get caught up.

Now I work per diem in a clinic. Pays a pittance and requires a commute but I LOVE it and thank my lucky stars to have found such a fun job. There are things I miss about med-surg but I love having my mind and body back.

Kashia, ASN, LVN · Oct 30, 2011

Reason I became a nurse : to help others. To fulfill a calling and purpose.

Reason do not like anymore: A demand to filter everything I do through the eyes of profit, politics, personalities.

Right now: agency nurse jumping from one dysfunctional assignment to another. I do not go to my shifts feeling this way

but leave my shifts questioning...

Tears fall when one is not willing to become complacent in a world increasingly demanding that we

conform- regardless of the circumstances. :yeah:

Tears are water. Water is a powerful force. It cuts through.... creating its own path. Thats awesome!

jaiirish · Oct 30, 2011

I'm totally new here, but it seems like one of the great things about nursing is the adaptability of the career. You have so much knowledge when you're a nurse and there are so many different areas to branch off into. Good luck!

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2011

No desire to be in a committee or such. that is shoved down out throats non stop in the quest for magnet journey!!!! ugh. don't care. i prefer to go in, do my job, go out. i dont know how some of my coworkers have the motivation or desire for the endless committees and meetings.
We have a falls committee and I heard they spent a week going over what type of falling leaf and what color to make it to put on the doors! Too funny, what a waste of time, but I guess you could look at it as easy money, if money was your motivation. Me I think it was a ridiculous waste of time! We don't need falling leaves, we need enough staff to keep patients from falling out of bed!

sweetnurse63, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2011

I've been a nurse for 18 years, part of that time was on a med/surg floor. Hospital nursing literally almost killed me mentally and physically. I don't know why I ever went back to it. I tip my hat to any nurse that can handle it well. I wish I could. Now I suffer from depression and bipolar type 2 that I think was exacerbated/or brought on by the severe stress I suffered as a floor nurse. I got out of it and now work in home health, but I feel ruined. Take my advice, if you are not happy, find something else in nursing as soon as you can, before it's too late for your mental health.

Soooo true inthesouthrn; I am getting ready to leave LTC and Night shift because it is affecting me in a negative way. I need to see what else is out there for me to do as a nurse. I want to do more patient teaching and utilize some skills, but I need a nice pace so that I will not be burned out. I know I am going to have a large pay cut, but I need my life back and I refuse to go into 2012 feeling like I feel now. If it is to be, it is up to me. :nurse:

SJE RN · Nov 7, 2011

I need to vent once again. So my hospital has come up with this stupid rule. The tech's are not allowed to do vital signs, fingersticks or EKGs. I work on a step down telemetry unit (get all the thoracic, CABG that are stable). We are always short staffed that I get 8 patients where I should only be getting 5-6. We have a good for nothing union. The tech's walk around making $18/hr for doing nothing but cleaning pts. I'm so frustrated. With the economy it's difficult for even experienced nurses to land a job elsewhere. I'm so grateful for a job but I don't want to lose my license. I'm not even kidding...the other day one of my co-workers wet herself cause she couldn't get to the bathroom in time...her patient's vent machine alarm kept going off (pt needed to be suctioned immediately, pt was in really bad shape coded 2x on her). The other day the ICU was packed so I ended up getting an ICU patient with 3 admissions. I threw a fit had all of administration come down and still nothing was done. I wrote to the CEO of the hospital and the union (my response "you did an amazing job, thank you"). Is all this worth it? I'm just hoping its not like this at every hospital. I'm starting to apply to other places. Hopefully something will work out.

dpiana · Nov 8, 2011

There is a fullfilling life as a nurse away from the bedside. Clinics, school nurse, healthcare sales, blood bank, skin bank, Red Cross or anyone of the non profit healthcare org, maybe policy or grant writing....the field is wide open...start expanding beyond the bedside.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2011

Add me to this list. I have a year in and i hate it more and more everyday. never liked it much to begin with. those of you who say, "after 25 years , you had enough" 25 years? you should get some sort of medal for that! wow. i feel like this job consumes my whole life. rotating schedule, holidays, weekends, nights, days, days, nights, sleeping away everyday off to "catch up". i don't have any passion for nursing, and look at my friends in other careers and wonder if i would have been happier doing something else. all everyone can see from the outside is the money/bennifets etc. no one wants to hear the reality of NO BREAKS, or rare breaks, no aides, short staffing, the high stress of the job, even without factoring any of the above. all they think is that it is grey's anatomy and handing out pills. ahhhhh( what a rant)

luv2sim · Nov 9, 2011

SJE RN -

I don't have a good suggestion for how to fix your current situation (other than the ones already mentioned by others on finding another area of nursing to get into) - but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you're going through such an agonizing experience in your current position.

I'm sure the response from the CEO did not feel helpful for the dangerous situation you found yourself in during your shift.

I've also heard about various places no longer allowing techs to take VS, EKGs and BG's - their reasoning being that if the techs don't convey the abnormals in a timely manner, the patient can have a bad outcome, etc. But you're right, if they take that away from the techs, then how else will they balance the load of work - and how can it be manageable if you get more patients than is safe?

Please look out for yourself, and let us know how things progress for you.

SympleebrwnRN, MSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

Hi SJE RN, I'm probably a little late but after reading your message I felt compelled to respond. I feel like we're in the same place. I've been an RN for 3 years and i'm at the point where I can truly say that I HATE NURSING!!!! All of my friends think that i'm well compensated for what I do but I think the complete opposite. I feel that we're basically getting paid to watch our health deteriorate while helping others get healthier. Initially I was just like you, a sponge waiting to be soaked by the wealth of knowledge that nursing offered. Then I realized that I was a human punching bag literally (because I have been punched, bitten..and the list goes on). My unit is also frequently understaffed and despite the fact that we do have ancillary staff with specific duties I always end up doing their work on top of my own.

I decided to apply to NP school and will be starting in January as an OUT more than anything. I want to get out of bedside nursing so bad that I can taste it. Yes there are patients who are pleasant and drama free but more often than not many of my patients are neurotic, obsessive compulsive, demented and out right rude which makes that 12 hours even more unbearable. Who would have known that my career would be mostly comprised of me spending time with people/patients that I just can't stand. Because I'm not one to complain and be complacent I figured going back to school would be the best way to empower myself. I say all this to let you know that you're not alone and the feeling is undeniably mutual!!!