Almost finished and want to quit

misplaced1 · Mar 19, 2009

I met I dont think walmart would let its workers be treated like this by customers. Especially when you have to actually touch the customer to provide the "service"

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2009

Don't quit now. Regardless of what you choose to do in the future, it'd be stupid to quit with only 3 months to go.

You may find another niche in nursing besides hospital work. Maybe you'll end up a school nurse, or a home health nurse, or a public health nurse. You never know. Or you may find your perspective changes as time goes on. Whatever you do - do not quit when you are so close to the finish line. Do not make any hasty decisions while being ruled by emotion.

caliotter3 · Mar 19, 2009

Force yourself to complete your program and obtain your license, then take a break before you make any decisions afterward. You need time to recuperate from this. You may never work in nursing, but it is to your advantage to obtain and maintain the license, as you never know what life will send your way.

Bugaloo · Mar 19, 2009

Actually, at Walmart, if a customer acted like some of our patients do (self-entitled, verbally and physically abusive), the police would be called and the customer would probably be asked to leave or be escorted out of the building in handcuffs.

We, as nurses, are expected to "take it" because they are "sick". Well, on my floor, the definition of "sick" depends on many things. A lot of our patients are frequent flyers who do not take care of themselves, yet demand special treatment by staff. They come in for IV pain meds, period. We have a lot of drug overdoses and alcohol detoxs. We also have the little old people that the families bring in saying, "They aren't acting right", just so that they will be admitted and we end up babysitting them for a month. We have more and more young people with weird stuff they have picked up somewhere. You can never find them because they are always off the floor smoking (in a non-smoking facility).

We get a TON of patients with Altered Mental Status as their diagnosis, yet they have a 10-15 year history of Alzheimer's, dementia-type. I have always wondered how the hospital gets paid for a diagnosis like that.

A huge majority of the public really have no idea what nurses really do. Thanks to television shows and media that represents nurses as "Angels of Mercy" or nitwits, most people just don't get it.

Nursing is a profession, not a calling from above. We are supposed to practice nursing, but the way the healthcare system is set up, we usually are not able to do that.

A lot of times, nurses are taken advantage of. We often stay way past our shifts. We cannot call out without being made to feel guilty. There are not enough of us to take care of our patients. We are not really free to complain about being taken advantage of, because then we are not "team players". We are labeled as troublemakers or shown the door. And God forbid, that you try to go on strike, because that is just not how things are done in nursing. :rolleyes:

Within five years time, I hope to be at least part-time in nursing, if not out of it entirely. I am ready for something else. But for now, for me? Patients are patients, NOT customers. No, I will not be hit, cursed or kicked unless you are very confused. I will not tolerate. If I get hurt, and it is not my fault, you can bet that I will do something about it. I will do the very best I can do in twelve hours with the 8 patients I have, but don't ask me to come in on my day off. The three days I spend at the hospital are enough for me, thank you. And, would it really hurt you to actually pay me for all the years of experience I bring to your floor, instead of offering me a measly hourly rate and acting like I should be happy to get that?

I almost forgot the point of all that. Finish school. Take your boards. Work for a while to see if you will like it. The first year is always the toughest. After that, you may just find your niche! It is not for everybody, but you won't know until you are actually out there doing it. If you don't like it, defer your student loans and go back for something else.

It'sMe, RN, BBA, MBA · Mar 19, 2009

Okay, take a deep breath adn back away from the keyboard. There is a syndrome that a lot of graduates go through that is very familar to this, not just to nursing either. I went through it as a nurse, and then when I got my BBA and then when I got my MBA. I also went through it when I made it to the top of the corporate world and got to call myself CEO. You look around and you say "this is it?" I worked this darn hard and put in this many hours so I could do this? Your joking! Let me run away to an island! AAAcccckkkk!

Take it slow. Finish your work, get your license. Then shop carefully for where you want to spend your first 12 months. Find something that interests you. I started my own business and then found out that working 24/7/365 was not worth any amout of money. So I thought I wanted to go join a big fancy hospital chain and start over. Wrong! Instead I found a little hospital out in the countryside. Sweet people, both staff and doctors. My boss is a saint that fell from heaven. And she is a MSN. I want to get my BSN/MSN (doesn't everyone need 6 degrees?) and she is willing to help me. I think I have found a home and a place I can grow.

You need to find your place and grow. Nursing can be very rewarding if you take the time to find the fit that matches you. It is not always obvious but it is there. Once you find it, you will be very happy you stuck it out.

Good luck!

jjjoy, LPN · Mar 19, 2009

I hear you, Misplaced! I, too, hate the mantra "you need great time management skills" when what it really means is to figure how to "make do" and where you can scrimp because your workload is more than can be realistically done during the alotted time given that health care, by it's nature, is full of interruptions and unexpected demands.

I believe that nursing in many environments these days makes it impossible to fully carry out all job description expectations and follow policy and procedure. "Prioritize" doesn't mean what comes first and then next and then next. It means what comes first and what may never be gotten to at all. It means deciding what policy and procedures need to be followed to a 'T' and which P&P it's best to remain vague on as long as no problems occur. Except that nurses can't admit that some things never get done or don't get done according to P&P.

That said, you've made it this far and invested so much time and money already, you might as well finish the darn thing off and get that degree and license. You may never use it directly, but I'll bet the experience and self-insight you've gained will be of great use to you in the future. Perhaps if you allow yourself the option of NOT using the degree, it will be a bit easier to make it through the last stretch. Finishing the program does not mean that you HAVE to make a career in nursing. You might. You might not. One step at a time.

Best wishes.

oramar · Mar 19, 2009

I am almost done with my ADN program and thought I really wanted to do this but have become so disillusioned I am on the verge of quiting with only 3 months to go. I literally have trouble openning a book to study as I feel like I have made a huge mistake. Please take no offense when I say this and do not think I feel I am too good as I have done all kinds of jobs but nursing in most place I have seen so far is abusive. I did not know there was a setting that allowed this kind of treatment by "customers". I dont think walmart would allow their customers to be treated like this. I am starting to feel like I studied hard to work in a sweatshop environment. And the interesting part is that, although I keep my feeling to myself everyone else things it is ok to have 100 patients with 1000 procedures theya re going out for. The students themselves talk about time management as in she just doesnt have good time management skills? What? I was a waitress in many very busy restaurants and when I was younger earned a lot of money in these places with little time to take breaks but it was nothing like this. It seems to me that nursing attracts a certain kind of person to be able to tolerate it and perhaps I am not that kind of person. I love the theory of it and think it could be a great job if nurses were treated as professionals but sadly they are not. Doesnt anyone ever wonder why they are not consulted more when the hospital builds a new wing , buys new software since they are primarily the ones using it. In other workplaces this is typically not the case. I think of my friend that works at the bacon plant with full benes and 15$ hour and no liability. She would never work in the hospital I dont think.
THe saddest part is that I dont think it can be changed. I have never seen a group of people more ready to take the blame for things they didnt do and cant control continue to think its ok to be treated like a unwanted pack mule.
I am sorry if this is a little over the top. I am mad that I have student loans to pay back on this "career"

Wow, you are pretty smart. Most people take a few months to a year to figure out what you know before you even graduate. In a way it could put you ahead of the game. There are a lot of wonderful things about nursing but at most hospitals I have worked I found I was still in the 19th century.

NewTexasRN · Mar 19, 2009

You sound exactly like me whenever I get depressed. It would be a really stupid decision to quit now and I think you know that already. If you're going to pay for a nursing education you might as well have something to show for it. So finish the program. There's a thousand different places you can go with a license. Don't get discouraged. Trust me, I feel your pain. I've wanted to quit so bad last year and I would be kicking myself right now. Just vent, get out of your system and take a break. Open that book and study. We know you can do it! No excuses.

smilealot · Mar 19, 2009

Don't quit! Your so close. Honestly about 4 months ago I went through the same feeling in my program but I kept going and now i am in my last class doing my preceptorship and I love it. I am so happy I kept going.

I know what you mean about time management skills too! I used to work in a restaurant before going in to nursing. As for nursing as a profession.... that is what nurses have been working towards for the past several decades. Its getting better from what i hear and perhaps you could end um in management or consulting. Maybe you could be the one to implement changes in problem areas you see.

AtlantaRN, RN · Mar 19, 2009

Whatever you are going through now is temporary. DON"T QUIT!!!! YOU will regret it! My son quit after the first semester and he surely regrets it now, especially in this economy.

Yes, at times, we are treated like dirt by our patients and co-workers. My philosophy is there are no DIFFICULT PEOPLE, only DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.

I once had a patient that, I swear, you would have thought I was walking into her home with a T=shirt that said "lung cancer," but to her...that is exactly what I represented. The rest of the week, she could forget that she was ill and becoming weaker. But when I would visit, there I was, right in her face.....I embodied her illness. I prayed before each visit for the good Lord to see me through the visit. She was rude, she would show open contempt for me at times (she was the wife of a judge....he was a gem, but she was just so ugly to me).

People will treat us badly, but you don't have to accept it. When patients feel out of control, they take it out on us because we are safe. We won't reject them. That is just my two cents worth.

***btw, I've had a lousy day myself. I work with a home health aide that goes out of her way to contradict me whenever we have a team meeting..........she goes the extra mile in her contempt for me.

linda

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Mar 19, 2009

All the things that you have noticed, and all the above posters are right on. Nursing can be a thankless, slave job. But try to stick it out. There are so many options open to you as a nurse.

You can work in pharmceutical, ortho sales, insurance etc. And all you need to do is stick it out for a year or two and get the experience.

It's true nobody knows what we do, we get hit, spit on, swore at, and management expects us to work miracles with thin air.

But some of us have found great places to work and usually love it.

I have worked in both places I hated and in several places I love.

Currently working with great people and I do feel respected by patients (most) and staff including the doctors I work with.

You have worked hard and have the chance to finish up a degree that can give you a lot of freedom. Don't give up on it just yet.

Remember, the perfect work environment doesn't exist and there will always be obstacles.