Stressed out and Getting Out

[CseMgr1]

I am making the most of this beautiful and unusually cool August morning, by sending out resumes to prospective employers. Why? because the stress level has gotten so bad where I work, that people are actually exchanging fisticuffs with each other. Only two days before, our supervisor had had a staff meeting, to publicly announce her concerns with Upper Management "at all levels"...and to hold an improptu Stress Management seminar. It didn't and isn't working. A co-worker and I aren't even speaking to each other, after I turned her in a couple of weeks ago, for flying into me for "having less work than she did". Give me a break! :angryfire

I don't need this s---. I even applied for positions at Wal-Mart and at another retailer yesterday. I have had enough , and am getting out, while I still have the sanity to do so.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

The key words there are "equivalent pay". Good luck on that! Nurses often forget that they are on average better paid than many other professions. As I've said here before, I often talk to nurses who are looking at my type of job in Community Health. They envy the hours, and the low stress. But when they find out it might mean a pay cut, it is "no way!". You make what you do at a hospital because of the stress and the shiftwork. Most lower stress nursing jobs pay less as well.

[Q.]

As I've said here before, I often talk to nurses who are looking at my type of job in Coommunity Health. They envy the hours, and the low stress. But when they find out it might mean a pay cut, it is "no way!". You make what you do at a hospital because of the stress and the shiftwork. Most lower stress nursing jobs pay less as well.

Yeah, I'm already in one of those lower stress/less pay nursing jobs already. The odd thing is, stress is all relative. As Marla said, sometimes it's just better to be taking care of your own patients and managing your own practice, instead of other things.

But even at the hourly rate I'm at now ($21.80), it seems difficult to find a job outside of healthcare that would pay that rate for what I have to offer.

[CseMgr1, ASN, RN]

Sooo...CaseMgr1...how's it going? We are anxiously awaiting your report on the new job! :)

I haven't heard anything back from the retail job, but I have been hired by a National company to do Geriatric Assessments as an Independent Contractor. As soon as I get enough visits, I am OUT of here! :)

[BeccaRN]

You have stress in all jobs. I was a nurse at a hospital for 2 years and the hours were killing me so I went back to work for a law office. I have been here for 3.5 years and am now looking at getting back in to nursing because of the stress here. My husband just doesn't understand how I can be stressed out being a desk jockey.

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

To SuzyK's question, there aren't a lot of jobs out there with comparable pay to nursing that an RN can slide into. DH makes less than I do and he has a Master's degree in education and has been in his job for 20 years.

I don't mean to be negative, but I've seen so many people go down this path. For some people, a lower stress job solves the burn out problem. For others, they can't fathom the thought of any job with an "RN" involved. Where I live, there just aren't a lot of jobs in the 20+ $ an hour range floating around. Maybe to get adequate pay, you'd need to consider a move.

It has also been my experience that getting an RN does not necessarily equip you for other jobs. I know others disagree with this. I was successful in case management only because I had worked as a case worker before becoming an RN. Office work has skills and annoyances just like anything else. I've seen RNs set out on their own as business people only to realize that their education gave them zero preparation for dealing with business finances.

Anyone looking to leave nursing I think should consider "retooling" and getting additional training. That might maximize the ability to get a decent non-nursing job.

[redheadindixie]

http://www.thezachrys.com/nursing

Your web page is cute.

Good luck...It will pass sooner than you think. :balloons: :balloons:

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I've seen RNs set out on their own as business people only to realize that their education gave them zero preparation for dealing with business finances.

I'm surprised to hear that someone would even consider the financial and personal commitment to self-employment without a good strategy first.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of resources out there for the novice.

Anyone considering a career move has to weigh the consequences and be able to take risks. It's never a smooth transition. I figure once you get through nursing school, clinicals, and work a couple of years fulltime--you can pretty much do anything. I really doubt there's much else that can compare to that kind of job stress--except maybe air flight controllers.

Most people who make a successful transition developed a hobby. For instance, a friend of mine is now a very successful photographer because she chose to take pictures of her pets. She started doing photography of other peoples' pets on the side while she worked, and gradually cut down her hours at one job while increasing the other.

Of course, there was also some real financial homework thrown in there too, but you get the picture.

I think that nurses as a group are taught to let everyone else do their thinking for them in so many negative ways, that we need to realize that we have native talents that can easily transfer to other areas, if we choose to apply ourselves.