Discouraged by Nurses who hate their job

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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So I am VERY excited about nursing, I will find out in two weeks if I am accepted into the RN Program. It really interests me and seems like something I will enjoy. The only thing that bothers me is EVERY nurse I have spoken to tells me they hate their job and if they could take it back they would have went into a different profession. They tell me not to do it. Has anyone else come across this also? It really does bother me, it's discouraging to hear people who have the job I am so anxious to have speak so negatively about it. :confused: I want to become and RN and eventually go back to school for my Bachelors or Masters, possibly become a Nurse Practitioner. Do any RN's here have any input on why you like or dislike your job? Thanks for any info!

Specializes in Home Health Care, case management.

Do not be discouraged, it's a matter of calling and what you are looking for. I have been a nurse for over 30 years and I went into nursing initially to please my parents, but I ended up finding my nitch in nursing. I developed an aspiration to work in administration and teaching in Nursing. I never liked the clinical setting; so I went into home health and worked my way until I became a Regional Director. I love my job and have loved equally the different hats I have had to wear along the way as a nurse. I can see the good that I am doing by teaching other nurses and by seeing processes I put into place actually work for the good of all. My advice to you: Search your heart,what is it do you really want out of life and go for it. Nursing is diversified, you can choose whatever field you like.

Best wishes to you

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
if they are unhappy then they probably make the wrong career choice. that doesn't mean you will. i've met both nurses who love their job (including np's) and some who hate it. just because they hate it doesn't mean you will. everyone is different.

hating (or being unhappy in) your job does not necessarily mean you made the wrong career choice. it could be a number of other things: burnout (which, if you take care of yourself, is usually temporary), a bad manager, a management team who recently started worshiping the press-gainey gods, one rectal sphincter or a chronic patient who is poisoning the whole unit, a newfound intolerance for your chosen shift, you're precepting an orientee who either knows everything or just isn't catching on, a nagging back or knee injury, a new dress code or dozens of other temporary or fixable reasons.

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Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
I am a RN (BSN), and I graduated from nursing school in 2003. I had a similar experience during my nursing clinicals, and while working as a new grad. I would hear and observe nurses who weren't happy with their work. I personally feel that I chose the wrong profession. Let me clarify, the other nurses' attitudes did not influence me. I just found working on the floor to be fast paced for me. The floor did not allow me to use my strengths, which are my attention to detail, and overall being thorough. I tried school nursing, but that can be too slow at times. I would not discourage anyone from being a nurse, because there are so many specialities, and the pay is good. Perhaps, I can still work in nursing, once I find my niche.

If you are detailed oriented , nursing research may be the best arena for you ? and you are right , there are so may areas and specialty. I did not stay long in med surg-----It was more of a assembly line for me, only you are dealing s/ peoples lives.........real nursing ( time to care emotionally as well as physically) is not possible in the way they staffed these facilities...... they might as well program a robot , because the staffing is so tight , you can barely extend any emotional support....just go in and out and barely a how are you , to the patient. It is not the fault of the nurses ----it is the admistrator of the facility that makes this wonderful profession into a manual labor.

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Specializes in NICU & OB/GYN.
If you are detailed oriented , nursing research may be the best arena for you ? and you are right , there are so may areas and specialty. I did not stay long in med surg-----It was more of a assembly line for me, only you are dealing s/ peoples lives.........real nursing ( time to care emotionally as well as physically) is not possible in the way they staffed these facilities...... they might as well program a robot , because the staffing is so tight , you can barely extend any emotional support....just go in and out and barely a how are you , to the patient. It is not the fault of the nurses ----it is the admistrator of the facility that makes this wonderful profession into a manual labor.

Hi MaritesaRN...sorry to spin off this thread but I read your post and I related to your comment about the assembly line. I more or less had that same observation when I had my clinical rotations on med-surg too. Everytime I would mention this, others would tell me it's just b/c I was a student. I don't believe that and am determined to find an area(s) that offer the "real nursing" like you mentioned. Perhaps you would have insight to share??

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Specializes in psychiatric, UR analyst, fraud, DME,MedB.
Hi MaritesaRN...sorry to spin off this thread but I read your post and I related to your comment about the assembly line. I more or less had that same observation when I had my clinical rotations on med-surg too. Everytime I would mention this, others would tell me it's just b/c I was a student. I don't believe that and am determined to find an area(s) that offer the "real nursing" like you mentioned. Perhaps you would have insight to share??

Of course I would love to share! My student days were hectic, but loved it because my instructors were truly helpful and not playing the power game as some instructors do. I was not happy in med surg. because I really did not have time to really talk to my patients. It was just too busy and my interaction w/ my patient was based on hello how are you? ...I'll be back . I was not happy w/ this. I felt like somebody told a lie on us about this. the hospital is staffed in a way where you have tiem to hang an iv , run to another room for a piggy back , get back to the othe room to change some diaper or clean bottom, etc....it does not stop and when you look at the clock, you are 3 hours passed your lunch time.

I went to psych. I was always perplexed and curious in this area, but then by accident got into the private insurance as a medical reviewer or what they call now as a utilization review. Now you might do well in this area, since you will have the nursing knowledge to apply. Nursing is good ....pursue and finish this , and with this behind you, you can work in the fraud dept, review dept, quality mgmt ---you do not have to work on the floor w/ this position. Hopefully you will find your niche, but one have to be trying it on for size before you can decide that it is for you. No matter what , your degree in nursing will serve you well, in whatever specialty you decide to go.

If you still want to deal w/ patients...do home health. At least you will have time to talk to your patient here and still give wonderful care!

good luck to your quest .....you will eventually find it , but on your way finding the quest...do not forget to smell the flowers on the way and live a life while you are on a quest !

God bless you and lots and lots of power to you !!!! and be patient and do not lose faith. Just keep trying the different areas until you find your fit !

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I broke my wrist in my first year of nursing, the emergency I went to at the time, was on strike action, The nurse told me to quit my course, quite adamantly.

I didn't listen, and ten years later I still love nursing, in all the areas I have worked,

I wasn't going to let her life situation, stop me from following through,

Maybe sometimes, you are just more aware of the nurses, that dislike their job, because they make it open,

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I actually got out of nursing because I didn't really enjoy the job r/t the politics. If you could just nurse, it wouldn't be a terrible job. The biggest problem I've seen is being run into the ground and taking a chance to make mistakes and lose your license. I will say that, out of my 16 yr. career, a large percentage of nurses I worked with hated their job. I would try and tell myself that I enjoyed the job and then I'd hang around my bitc@#ing co-workers, get discouraged, and want to quit......it really was discouraging. Even the one's who claimed to enjoy the job did a lot of complaining also and talking about quitting. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a nurse talk about quitting..........:uhoh3:

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Nursing is a very tough job, so if you're going to go for it be prepared to work very hard. I find that my co-workers & I have the most "compliants" about being a nurse related to working crazy, long hours, often working holidays, not being able to take a lunch/break when you want & often not getting breaks. In addition, there is alot of verbal abuse taken from physicians, patients, parents, etc. Those are the bad things that I see in my career, but caring for critically ill patients & making a difference to them (however small) is worth it for me. Plus, it's nice to work 3 12-14 hour days & have 4 days off. Good luck!

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Specializes in Ob/Gyn.

You are talking to the wrong nurses. If one is burned out, get out. There are so many things a RN can do. Whether at the bedside, administrative, research, community health, etc. - the possibilities are endless. I HIGHLY recommend it. I have done community health, LDRP, a touch of NICU III, and now I am also a RDMS (registered sonographer) & work at a hospital-based MFM in a dual role (RN/RDMS, I am a BSN) - love it. Any career is what you make of it. It sounds like you are motivated to pursue advance degrees. GO for it, don't look back, & ignore the nay-sayers!

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Thanks to the OP, and thanks for all the nurses who have offered encouragement. I am 35, with 3 kids, returning to school for my second career as an RN. It is hard enough to balance family, work and school without having to worry that it may all be a big mistake. I feel very strongly that I am making the right choice, but all the negativity is disheartening. It is very nice to hear from those who enjoy their work. :yeah:

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Thanks for all the input. I know there are people like that in every industry but why be so negative!!?? lol I have worked a variety of many different jobs and honestly I have loved almost all of them! I'm not very hard to please and the more I learn about my job the more I enjoy it so I don't think I will become one of those people. I am on the edge of my seat right now waiting to find out if I got into the nursing program which starts this August. Lets hope so!

I totally agree with another post, that, administration, unrealistic expectations in the work load as well as the way things are ran in a hospital/facility can play a major role in how a nurse really feels about his/her job. I worked at a hospital where working conditions were so bad that some of the nurses were taking prozac and other medications just to be able to cope and function in the job and I was encouraged to do the same but my response to them was " I feel that I should not have to take a pill in order to come in and do my job and I felt that if I had to do that, it's time to find another place to work. There are some really horrible places to work out there and as one other person stated, there are some nurses that have really overextended themselves financially and are either stuck in a position that they cannot leave due to no other positions being available or the position may offer the pay needed to keep their heads above water, so they remain there very unhappy and stressed out about the situation and that is sometimes why you hear people complaining and hating their jobs. But if nursing is really what you want to do, you cannot let what you hear totally change your mind about something that you want to do and remember, you have choices and you don't have to put up with anything that you don't want to, you can always move to another area of nursing if the one you start out in does not appeal to you. Keep your head up and go for it, it's a tough road to travel but you can do it, if you really want it. Good Luck!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
You are talking to the wrong nurses. If one is burned out, get out. There are so many things a RN can do. Whether at the bedside, administrative, research, community health, etc. - the possibilities are endless. I HIGHLY recommend it. I have done community health, LDRP, a touch of NICU III, and now I am also a RDMS (registered sonographer) & work at a hospital-based MFM in a dual role (RN/RDMS, I am a BSN) - love it. Any career is what you make of it. It sounds like you are motivated to pursue advance degrees. GO for it, don't look back, & ignore the nay-sayers!

How did you like NICU III? Do most nurses start out in med/surg and then move on to a different field? From what I have heard it seems like most nurses start out in med/surg or stay there. I would love to go straight to NICU :redbeathe but I feel like I need to get the hang of the insanely crazy (from what I hear) med/surg first. I feel like I need to deal the worst part of nursing just to get that experience in before I move on to a better (for me) area. Anyone agree? Do you feel it is crucial to get plenty of experience in other areas first? :confused:

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