Burned out, Hate nursing

ThursdayNight, CNA · Oct 2, 2020

12 hours ago, Nash32222 said:

Been a nurse since 2007, hate nursing. Tired of the BS, micro managing and clicky Co workers.... Get tired of people saying " you make such a difference" that only goes so far with all the BS you have to put up with:

1. People not in the trenches making up new rules all the time.

2. Jerk co coworkers that have to play their little games. Working short handed.

3. Power trips by people in management that are poor managers. ( but if you stomp around like they do, you get written up, they do it---no problem)

Fed up, tired of it all. Getting close to retirement age, take it day by day, don't know how much longer I can hold on.

NURSING SUCKS.

Sucks compare to what?

JKL33 · Oct 2, 2020

Get out. Or at least change course in some way.

Seriously. If you are fed up then you need to work on plan B pronto.

JKL33 · Oct 2, 2020

3 hours ago, ThursdayNight said:

Sucks compare to what?

Why does it have to be compared to something?

It depends on what is important to the person making the statement. I would say it sucks pretty bad for 1) lack of autonomy 2) general disregard by superiors 3) constant meddling endured in the role

There are a lot of jobs one might consider worse, but nursing is also positioned interestingly in that one must go through a lot of education/training and hoops in order to qualify for the entry level position where it's rather likely that #1-3 above will be encountered. On the other hand, a lot of the jobs I'm guessing you could point to as being worse do not require the investment of time, money and dedication to begin with.

Just as a basic example, I don't know a real ton of other baccalaureate-prepared "workers" who punch a clock every day and are subject to being told that they might work here or they might work there, maybe at this time or maybe at that time, where the employers' interest can fairly be said to be directly opposed to the duty of the worker.

Before the rebuttals start, I think we can agree there are a lot of things worse than the best nursing jobs.

RNperdiem, RN · Oct 2, 2020

When you reach this point you need to make some big changes. Start with a new job?

speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Oct 3, 2020

On 10/1/2020 at 4:20 PM, Nash32222 said:

Been a nurse since 2007, hate nursing. Tired of the BS, micro managing and clicky Co workers.... Get tired of people saying " you make such a difference" that only goes so far with all the BS you have to put up with:

1. People not in the trenches making up new rules all the time.

2. Jerk co coworkers that have to play their little games. Working short handed.

3. Power trips by people in management that are poor managers. ( but if you stomp around like they do, you get written up, they do it---no problem)

Fed up, tired of it all. Getting close to retirement age, take it day by day, don't know how much longer I can hold on.

NURSING SUCKS.

Believe it or not, there actually are better jobs in this field. I managed to get out of a terrible job with poor management and lousy coworkers to go to a relatively low stress job with good coworkers. I am in an area of surgical nursing where I can stay busy and do my job but it’s a laid back kind of busy. As far as management goes, I am generally pretty happy as long as I am left alone to do my job.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Oct 3, 2020

Not the best of times to make a change, but change you must. I found my dream job at 61. You can too. Put yourself out there and see what is available.

Best wishes.

Davey Do · Oct 3, 2020

On 10/1/2020 at 3:20 PM, Nash32222 said:

Been a nurse since 2007, hate nursing. Tired of the BS, micro managing and clicky Co workers.... all the BS you have to put up with....

..in order to just do your job!

I hear you, Nash, and empathise with you. Maybe it was different when I got into nursing some 37 years ago, or maybe I just lucked out, was trained and employed at a facility that possessed relatively high standards.

There has always been the BS, micromanaging, and clicky Co workers, but more recently, these conditions seem to be uncontrollable. I became an LPN in 1983 in order to try out the waters, so to speak. Seven years later, I got my RN.

If conditions were as they are now, I seriously wonder if I would have stayed in nursing.

On 10/1/2020 at 3:20 PM, Nash32222 said:

Fed up, tired of it all. Getting close to retirement age, take it day by day, don't know how much longer I can hold on.

When I was able to retire, I refused to take any more BS and called management on blatant infractions of the Code of Conduct, Policy & Procedures, and misinterpretation of State Laws & Statutes.

I lost my job by being terminated over trumped up charges, but kept my integrity, and lived petically ever after.

I hope the very best for you, Nash.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Oct 3, 2020

Consider if you hate nursing in general, or just hospital nursing, or just your current job. Make a list of what you absolutely need to have in a job, what you want but can live without, and what you can't tolerate. At my current job I'm lucky to have wonderful coworkers and teamwork, and some of our patient population is wonderful to work with, but it's at the point where the cons outweigh the pros in terms of lack of management response to extreme violence toward nurses, always working with no clerk or CNAs, etc.

Yesterday I spent about 40% of my shift answering the phones and getting involved in situations unrelated to my pts, plus incontinent care every 1-2 hrs, and transporting pts all around the hospital. I tried to fit in my actual nursing work in between, and chart after work. After 4 years of asking for a clerk or CNAs or help with transport, I give up. I'm looking into working in an HIV/AIDS clinic. But I know I still want to be a nurse, it's just the hospital environment and current job bringing me down. There are lots of unconventional nursing jobs, like being a nurse writer for textbooks/websites, phone triage, insurance, pharmaceuticals, etc. But if you realize you're totally done being a nurse, that's understandable. I hope you find what's right for you = )

Nash32222 · Oct 3, 2020

3 hours ago, Davey Do said:

..in order to just do your job!

I hear you, Nash, and empathise with you. Maybe it was different when I got into nursing some 37 years ago, or maybe I just lucked out, was trained and employed at a facility that possessed relatively high standards.

There has always been the BS, micromanaging, and clicky Co workers, but more recently, these conditions seem to be uncontrollable. I became an LPN in 1983 in order to try out the waters, so to speak. Seven years later, I got my RN.

If conditions were as they are now, I seriously wonder if I would have stayed in nursing.

When I was able to retire, I refused to take any more BS and called management on blatant infractions of the Code of Conduct, Policy & Procedures, and misinterpretation of State Laws & Statutes.

I lost my job by being terminated over trumped up charges, but kept my integrity, and lived petically ever after.

I hope the very best for you, Nash.

Thanks for your input glad you get it. From what I hear from other nurses in other fields, in other hospitals, etc. The general consensus is: IT all sucks!! They squeeze more and more out of nurses every day, its ridiculous. Mean while those at the time put more $$ in their pockets, ( CEO's), on the backs of those of us in the trenches. If it weren't for the need for health insurance, I would quit right now!!

Davey Do · Oct 3, 2020

You're welcome, Nash.

2 hours ago, Nash32222 said:

The general consensus is: IT all sucks!!

I'm leaning toward believing this is a correct conclusion. Case in point: My wife Belinda worked med/surg at Wrongway Regional Medical Center (WRMC) for about 11 years. I encouraged her to apply at Anomaly Memorial, which had a really good reputation, and is closer to home.

She got a position on IMU about 3 years ago, and unlike WRMC, the facility is nicer and the nurses have what they need to do their jobs. However, like WRMC, the administration makes some imprudent decisions and a lot of the nurses are prima donnas.

It seems to be everywhere.

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2020

On 10/3/2020 at 1:18 PM, LibraNurse27 said:

Consider if you hate nursing in general, or just hospital nursing, or just your current job. Make a list of what you absolutely need to have in a job, what you want but can live without, and what you can't tolerate. At my current job I'm lucky to have wonderful coworkers and teamwork, and some of our patient population is wonderful to work with, but it's at the point where the cons outweigh the pros in terms of lack of management response to extreme violence toward nurses, always working with no clerk or CNAs, etc.

Yesterday I spent about 40% of my shift answering the phones and getting involved in situations unrelated to my pts, plus incontinent care every 1-2 hrs, and transporting pts all around the hospital. I tried to fit in my actual nursing work in between, and chart after work. After 4 years of asking for a clerk or CNAs or help with transport, I give up. I'm looking into working in an HIV/AIDS clinic. But I know I still want to be a nurse, it's just the hospital environment and current job bringing me down. There are lots of unconventional nursing jobs, like being a nurse writer for textbooks/websites, phone triage, insurance, pharmaceuticals, etc. But if you realize you're totally done being a nurse, that's understandable. I hope you find what's right for you = )

You should stop answering the phone, for starters.