so burned out

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2008

You need to change jobs. The burn-out rate in psych is really high - always has been.

And :flwrhrts:

Jules A, MSN · Sep 14, 2008

I am so sorry you have gotten to this point although I understand completely as you could have been describing most of my work days. How long did you love this job? Is there any chance you just need a nice, fun vacation to recharge your batteries? If not and you really are done please find another job asap. Nursing is really flexible and there isn't any reason you will be stuck in med surge. Good luck.

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Sep 15, 2008

You might try working with adult psych patients, or try night shift. You probably won't get 5 patients max anywhere in psych, but some psych jobs are not as busy as you describe or as dangerous either.

aloevera · Sep 16, 2008

I would get out of that situation for now, you can always return later...try something else....the areas are endless.....

Good Luck....I feel for you, sounds just like many a day I had when I worked on Youth Services.....(I lasted about 6 mo.)

njmonsterboi80, BSN · Sep 18, 2008

I worked in a similar situation right out of school for 1.5 years. I liked the excitement but it was way too exhausting and dangerous. I switched to a strictly voluntary setting at a university hospital and the staffing is much better. Its not without its challenges, but when I go home I dont feel dirty, exhausted, and fearing I might not survive the next day. So, if you feel that it isnt for you, you can chalk it up to a great experience with very acute patients and move on. Although I have to say that now I work with much more axis II patients, but if its only 5 or 6 of them and medically stable it really isnt that bad.

I graduated nursing school one year ago and started working in psych upon graduation. No med surg for me!!! (although I question that decision daily). I really thought had I worked med surg I would have quit nursing immediately. I hate anything medical and have a very weak stomach. I've always been facinated by the mind, so psych seemed like the perfect fit for me. I work with children, ages 4-18. I work Monday-Friday with all my weekends off (seems like a dream job right????) In the beginning I really loved my job...Now, things have changed drastically. I dread even the smell of that place. In the past month I witnessed a doctor being seriously harmed ,so much in fact, that he now wants to install plexi-glass and recently was bitten by a patient to the point where he broke my skin. Not to mention the swift kick to the leg I suffered. Besides the physical harm, there are staffing issues...I'm usually assigned 10 patients daily and I rarely get but 5 minutes with each patient(if I'm lucky) because my day is spent in meetings with parents, charting, passing meds, orders, phone calls or my favorite..dealing with a borderline who sucks the life right out of me (as you can see, I have very little compassion anymore). Not to mention the parents of these children...95% of these parents have caused these children to be the way they are..then they complain about everything we try to do. DONT THEY REALIZE WE ARE THERE TO HELP???? I dream about a job where I don't fear for my safety daily, where I'm not giving a 4 year old Abilify because he was sexually abused and now his life is a mess, where I'm assigned 5 patients at the most and I can actually talk to them!!! Sorry, but has anyone ever felt this way, and what have you done to regain that compassion. I have become numb and that has always been my greatest fear as a nurse.

peoplenurse rn · Sep 18, 2008

I worked adult psych for over 7 yrs. There is a high rate of burnout and injuries. I loved psych, but you usually need to take a break from it and do something else. It took several years of working in other nursing areas, but I think I could go back and work psych again. Good luck to you in whatever you decide!!

Mish56, BSN, RN · Sep 24, 2008

awe, Edison, I so feel for ya!! Been there done that! However....I'm still in psych 30 years later. But REALLY, I remember I felt that way when I left my first job after 2 years (private hospital, long term by today's standards) with young adults age 18-30. One patient tried to kill me (or herself) at least once a week. I ended up working at a state hospital for a few months (it was a total piece of cake job), out of the field for 6 months, then back at a university hospital, where I'm back to working currently.

Here's what helped me survive

1). Use your vacation time. We earn a lot of it in acute care for a reason. Take at least one week off every 4 months, NO EXCEPTIONS! We need to re-charge our batteries and get perspective.

2). I, personally have never been able to work with kids (age 4-13), because of the parent factor. It's a family system problem, with the weakest suffering.

3). Look into residential level of care. You actually get to help folks make progress, as they are there with you for a longer stay, less acute. Look into a company like CRC or Aspen Ed. They are money sucking profit companies, but you can have job satisfaction for a year or 2.

4). Think about taking a breather from nursing. It's better to take a break from something you were "called to", than walk away feeling like a failure. Try something like bartending. You laugh? It's the same thing on another level...you give people mind altering substances and listen to them whine about their lives. :smokin: And they TIP you!!

5). If you are going to work with borderlines, read everything Linahan has written. With the Big B, knowledge of development is everything. I have always loved working with them (I know, how masocistic is that!?), but as I understand how they view the world (totally skewed), I am a far more effective nurse, and I take my ego home at the end of 8-16 hours, intact and all LOL!

6). All aspects of nursing have a psych conponent, ED, oncology, CCU...all people would love a nurse who understands their is a human behind the diagnosis, with all the stress that comes with illness, maybe that's your calling??

That's my 2 cents, I wish you the best of luck.....in what ever you choose to do!

luv2yoga · Sep 26, 2008

You might want to give Med-Surg another look. It's not so bad. I work on an adult med-surg floor at a community hospital (maybe the same state as you? Are you in Edison, NJ?) and I rarely see anything that would bother my stomach. No parents to deal with. Most patients are not a problem and in one year, I can count on one hand the patients that I had any fear with at all. And I feel like I've seen many diseases and have many skills. You'd never have 10 patients at my hospital, we only have 4 on days and 6 at night (sometimes 5 with low census). Keep doing the Psych per diem and you can test the waters. I'm in the opposite boat, I'm going to drop to part-time for med-surg and start doing some Psych on the side, at a state hospital. Just for variety.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Sep 26, 2008

I worked child and adolescent psych right out of nursing school. I worked it for a year. I had to move when I got married, and there were no psych hospitals locally. I made the switch to med/surg. It was all that was available. I hated it for a few months, but then it grew on me. I actually like it now. I say make a switch before you are in psych any longer. The longer you wait to switch, the harder it will be to down the road.

Lupinus · Sep 28, 2008

I've been experiencing severe burnout too. I got right out of nursing school and went into psych. I love the people I work with (both patients and employees) but I have become so burned out that I cannot even look at a syringe without getting depressed. Thought about changing nursing fields but every nursing field I can think of doesn't sound the least bit appetizing at the moment. I'm also in school to further my nursing degree but having a hard time even doing that so even though I really really hate to, I am looking at other careers and meeting with a career councilor to figure out if I should be in nursing or if I should be in something else. I have people tell me all the time what a wonderful nurse I am, but it takes everything I can to go to work each day. I'm one of those people that hates rushed environments (which makes me wonder why I went into nursing); I just want the time to sit and properly assess and talk with my patient without pressure... I took a myers-briggs test as part of trying to figure things out and figured out my personality type is INFP.

Anyway, I just had to vent. Hope you find what makes you happy and enjoy work again! =)

mama_d, BSN, RN · Sep 28, 2008

I worked geropsych for almost two years as a new grad. I'm very glad to have the psych background; it makes it a little easier to deal with them on the medical floor. I got to the point where I was crying on the way to work every day, and decided to move on. I worked agency for a while, until I was recruited by one of the hospital systems I did agency for. I wasn't sure if working on the floor in one place was for me, but I'm glad that I did it; I've been there for five years now.

I could never work child/adolescent psych. I'd end up punching some parents in their heads. And wanting to take kids home with me every shift!

You may want to cut down to part time and get a PRN job in a different setting to give it a try. You can't be taking the best possible care of your patients if you're incredibly burnt out. It also sounds like you're not able to do the nurturing part of nursing that you enjoy, a different environment might allow you to get back to that.