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.
Well, you've done about a year right? So then move on. Easier said than done, but you're in a flexible career. I don't know what your responsibilities are, but sounds like you are ready to be out of there.
If you don't like the medical field, nursing obviously is not for you. It takes a lot to be a nurse, if you feel like you are not compassionate anymore and you are not patient dealing with the every day stuff that we have to deal with, I would suggest you find another career that can fulfill you and you can give the best of you. Good luck!
I've yet to work as a nurse (will be graduating in less than 2 months!), but I have experienced severe job burnout in my previous career. I hated going to the job every day for years. When they gave us laptops and told us we could work from home, I thought I'd like it again, but I just wound up sleeping late every day and not doing my work until it was due and then putting more pressure on myself to get in done in shorter amounts of time. The stress was eating me up - literally. I started seeing a therapist for help in decreasing stress. I was having mucus in my stools, and then I developed a severe fissure. There were days I couldn't sit normally in a chair. A rectal surgeon told me it was Crohn's Colitis. He said the symptoms probably flared up due to stress (not that stress can cause the disease, but it can definitely exacerbate it). At 37, I decided it was time to do the only thing that would change the situation, and I applied for nursing school. I spent one more year in that job whilst taking a few pre-reqs at night, then left it altogether in Sept of 2007. Nursing school brought an added bonus: I met a girl in school who also has Crohn's, and she encouraged me to start Remicade treatments when my doctor recommended it. The medicine has brought me a great deal of relief (even though it's extremely expensive and who knows what it's doing to me long-term...)
So, even though I haven't been a nurse yet, my advice to the OP would be to move on if the job is becoming too much for you to take. There's no shame in coming to terms with the fact that what you are doing may not be right for you, and many good things could happen if you look to explore other opportunities. I'm a firm believer in that things happen for a reason, and you can improve your life if you are open to change and pursue opportunities when they present themselves.
Your facility sounds terribly understaffed,i cannot understand why you are assigned 10 patients who are children with this level of acuity,no wonder you and your physician have been injured,you are working in the equivalent of a psychiatric picu and you would never have 10 patients there... i don't think its the fact that it is psych nursing that is burning you out,it is the staffing,you should contact your state board of nursing to find out what realistic staffing ratios are for this age and population,then pat yourself on the back for lasting this long,i have been a psych nurse 15 years and have never heard of such a terrible nurse to patient ratio on an inpatient peds psych unit,it is a lawsuit waiting to happen
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I have up to 14 pts. on our youth unit...am the only nurse but I always have at least 2 MHT's with me.....the therapist is there for most of the shift also...and the doc comes q.d. too.....it works out rather well....
yes, I am back on the youth unit after working on the adult unit for the past few months.....I am just a glutton for punishment, I guess !!
No, I am one that does enjoy working with the children, it is the parents that I have a difficult time dealing with...I must bite my tongue many times so I don't say anything I shouldn't./.....
NewTexasRN
331 Posts
Well, you've done about a year right? So then move on. Easier said than done, but you're in a flexible career. I don't know what your responsibilities are, but sounds like you are ready to be out of there.
-Good Luck