I have been a nurse for almost five years. I’ve been in every job possible; nursing homes with 22 patients and paper charting, rehab facilities with 24 patients on EMR on a tiny laptop dragging that stupid 500 lb med cart everywhere, not having all meds in the cart, and having to go all over looking for supplies, yet having to pass meds on 24 patients in two hours (ya good luck with that!)
I have been bullied by old lady nurses telling me to “get a thick skin, stop asking stupid questions, and figure it out yourself!” (Yes an older nurse of 30 years said this to my face!) To make matters worse, I spoke to the DON in the same facility and asked her how I was doing in my job (I thought I was catching on and doing pretty good) and she said “go back to your nursing books, learn how to do an assessment then come back when you learned something!”, and was fired on the spot.
I have worked in “world class care” hospitals working day/night rotations on two 12s and two 8s (starting at 11p - 7a?Thank you, next) I worked another straight night hospital and was told that I don’t have good critical thinking skills, while I run around with my head cut off caring for only 4-5 pts as the 20 year old new grads sit around on their phones all 12 hours and chart the entire shift.
I still don’t feel like I can do this freaking job or feel like I may kill someone! It all sucks to me. Why did I ever think I could do this and become an OR nurse someday? I regret every single day that I didn’t get out after first semester (but I didn’t want to show my kids or my husband I was a quitter!) My first year of nursing I had four jobs as mentioned above, and said screw this - I’ll never make it. I went back to HR and office administration and felt the pull back to nursing a year later. I landed a job in another state working primary care as an RN and I was dang good at it. I was the happiest I had ever been in any job! I was rooming patients, giving injections on my own schedule, assisting doctors with procedures. I loved my job and my coworkers but I still had my sights set high that I could be a good hospital nurse.
Here I sit after spending 10k$ of my own cash on my stupid BSN and graduating last May with honors and no job to speak of (yes I apply to all sorts of RN/BSN jobs and go to lots of interviews). I was unemployed all of last year because I moved back to my home state and left my awesome primary job that I loved (why why why???). No one is going to hire me without much experience for the last five years. I don’t list all the jobs I have worked for two months here, three months there, etc, so it looks like I haven’t done anything or learned jack except my primary care gig for a year and a per diem position that I don’t even get approved for!
I can’t keep flip flopping from admin to nursing so I am currently studying to get a medical assisting certification so I can work in the primary care environment (offices in my town require a certification and don’t hire RNs as MAs)making $10 less an hour than regular nursing jobs in these god awful facilities and understaffed hospitals. At least I will have A JOB. I should have just been a medical assistant all along and saved me and my husband tens of thousands of dollars.
I want to know if any of you will take the time and tell me your nightmare story or a story that started out bad but got better.
Do you also regret becoming a nurse? I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading.
I am sure people would quit if they could but they have bills to pay and no I don't condone being a mean nurse, or a negligent nurse. If people who hate their jobs can do them without it showing than its whatever.
Have you considered home health or hospice? I agree with Hoosier_RN, it is all about finding your niche. A co worker once told me, "The only time I felt like I really made a difference in someone's life was while working hospice."
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
Overall I don’t regret becoming a nurse but there are definitely constant ups and downs; during each shift sometimes! I have helped people recover from serious conditions and watched them walk out the doors looking like a whole new person, comforted people in very hard times and even been invited to funerals of patients who didn’t make it. But I have also been kicked, punched and screamed at (and had a large pitcher of juice thrown at me... twice!). As others have said it really depends on finding a specialty that works for you based on your personality. Some people love fast paced environments with high acuity patients and others like more stable patients, some like outpatient or jobs with no patient contact at all. There are soooo many options once you have the nursing degree. I am also trying to leave the bedside for mental health reasons but I still want face to face patient contact so I’m looking at pre-op and outpatient infusion. Good luck and don’t give up! Hope you find something you enjoy
I went Into case management and when I tell you I absolutely hate being a nurse ? going back into patient care next weekend.. I cant take another minute of case management!
As the old saying goes 'don't throw the baby out with the bath water!' Same applies here. I once felt just like you and was ready to walk away from nursing too. I went as far as researching and applying for other skilled trade programs and that paid way less. At the time I saw no other options and thought nursing just wasn't for me after all. I was initially afraid to challenge myself to try something different, fearing I might fail. That was until a really cool and unexpected contract gig landed into my lap. It was very daring to give up my floor job for it, but glad I took a chance. I came to realize there were a world of other job opportunities in nursing I had never considered that would better fit my personality and skills. That was about the 4 or 5 year mark when I felt this way, now 10 years have passed ?. There are plenty of options in nursing. You don't have to stay bedside unless you really like direct patient care. Unless your diehard for working in a particular area of nursing, I think most nurses will tend to move around a bit until they find their 'niche.' Sometimes it is as simple as just needing to find another place to work that is safer and supports your development as a nurse, or maybe it requires getting a certification or going back to school. So maybe first sit down and reflect on what you personally want out of your career, consider your personality, skills, and think about what you'd like out of a 'dream nursing job.' Then, do some more research and see if another area or place will fit you best. Also, don't be afraid to try something new before throwing in the towel. You may be surprised to find another world of opportunities open up.
Yes yes and yes! mtnNurse !!! Thank you for your reply! I also cringe when I hear about someone wanting to go into nursing and tell them not to do it! I also read about that nurse and that Med error. How tragic. We are so overworked in these hospitals with understaffing and high census but in the end, it’s all about the dollar. We don’t have time to actually CARE FOR our patients. N:P should be 2-3:1, not 5-6-7-24:1! It’s insane. That’s why I got out of that environment- it’s not safe for us or the patients. How many times have I read in our board of nursing newsletters about staffing ratios It’s not rocket science. Stop it with “there’s a nursing shortage!” No there isn’t, hospitals only care about hiring less people to take care of more patients. It’s such a racket.
Try looking for a position in primary care. Apply to the medical assisting jobs then tell them you’re RN. They may want to talk to you.
A big part of why I wanted to get into primary care is that I really love working as a nurse in primary. I am not miserable in this environment because I love the patients, that’s why I was drawn back in. I KNOW I’m a darn good nurse. I actually care about them. So many nurses and medical assistants don’t. I get to spend actual time with my patients. I get to educate them and talk to them and learn about them and see them over and over again and watch them progress through their medical issues. When they become well, I know I played a part in that. They appreciate me and I appreciate them because I learn from them! We help each other!
It won’t get any better if there aren’t people in the job who care. And telling others not to go into nursing just because you don’t like it is incredibly selfish. IMO, it’s an extremely rewarding (albeit stressful) profession. There’s nothing wrong with voicing what you don’t like, but don’t discount everything based on your own bias.
Just saying.
I hope things work out better for you in the future.
Maybe you aren’t cut out to be a floor nurse. Look into something like case management or behind the scenes type stuff. I haven’t met an RN who struggled to find a job. Maybe the job market in your area is saturated and a move might be beneficial for you. I’d also reach out to unit managers that have interviewed you and ask them how it went and to give you feed back in the experience. At the end of the day, no one wants to be unhappy in their career. If you have to bail, then do it before you waste more of your time and energy. If you hate it to the point that you detour other people from going into the profession, I don’t know what to say that might help you. I hope that you end up wherever it is that is best for you. Good luck in the search.
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
Not a single day have I ever regretted it. It allows me great schedule flexibility, fairly good pay with the option to always make more money via overtime when I want/need it, and I am fortunate to also really enjoy what I do in pediatric nursing.
I'm sorry that you haven't found what you like within the nursing field. Myself, I've been a dietitian and recently went back for my RN because I wanted to do more holistic care with patients, and am now planning to do my FNP. I never have wanted and never will be a hospital RN. I'm not one for the political BS you see in these facilities.
But I will tell you that another reason that I got my RN was to do consulting work. As an RD, I was able to fill some positions, however most wanted an RN. This can be pretty lucrative, and while you're still doing patient education and care, your doing it on your own schedule.
Specializes in NCLEX Prep Expert - 100% Pass Rate!.
Thank you Florida Sun RN for sharing. Many of us share similar feelings. Regret that I became a nurse is not one of them though. By no means have I sailed through becoming the nurse that I am today. I have too been in the exact same place as you - constantly bullied by seasoned nurses, manipulated by horrible nurse managers, physically assaulted by patients, and forced to take mandatory overtime while caring for 24 patients, and overseeing a house of 8 LPNs and 200 patients when I only had 4 months of nursing experience.
There were many points when I considered leaving nursing when I felt powerless to change my workplace experiences, until I went back to school and started teaching and taking agency/travel assignments. I found that the worst part of nursing wasn't necessarily the hard work, but the people who were in control of my workplace experiences:
nurse bullies
terrible nursing leadership
unprofessional coworkers
poorly run facilities
etc.
Rather than letting these things rule my nursing practice and experiences, I removed myself from the role of a staff nurse and focused on becoming a contract nurse - only accepting assignments that were meaningful and fun for me.
I understand that not everyone has this opportunity, especially when they have children, etc., but many cities have local travel opportunities or per diem agency options where you can pick and choose when you want to work, which units you want to work in, and you don't have to get all caught up in the overly political or manipulative culture that many nurses find themselves working in.
Now admittedly, this is not a permanent solution for the global issues that make nursing an undesirable career, but it worked for me and many of my fellow colleagues. Now I am a Clinical Practice Education Specialist in staff development role, as well as a nurse entrepreneur. I enjoy a nice balance of working for a healthcare facility where I can use my experience and skill set to positively impact the nurses and nursing assistants who are still facing many of the same struggles that you've mentioned above, as well as the autonomous role of running my own consulting and content writing business.
I empathize with you. We all do - and I strongly agree that one of the first steps to resolving these global nursing issues is to stick together and support one another. Once nurses (of all experience levels and backgrounds) begin uplifting one another rather than trying to tear each other down, real progress will follow.
Good luck, and regardless of what the future holds for you - you are and will always be appreciated for your nursing skills and service.
AdventureOrNothing, BSN, RN
92 Posts
How terrible! I'm so sorry to hear you're experiencing this. It sounds like hell itself!