Burned out!!!!!!!!

Glory2b · Oct 20, 2010

I have to say that I have reached it too! I have been a nurse for 15 years and am BURNED OUT!!! I went into this field feeling so wonderful that I get to help sick people and get paid for it and now I just get so anxious and worked up on days I have to go in because I am so tired of people and their "red carpet syndrome" and "mememememe syndrome" and "addictions" and not addictions to narcotics but to "my way right away" and the all time favorite "Im the only patient you have itis".....and other reasons of making possible mistakes and malpractice and "sue happy society" we live in. I have moved around in my position alot in order to keep things fresh and interesting and to avoid the politics on a floor for to long. I have a goal to just do this part time in the next few years...I know this sounds horrible but people have burned me OUT!! I believe that I have to keep my focus of why it is I do what I do but even that doesn't work and I start to think that maybe it is time for me to move on and do something else BUT I sure don't want to go to school.....I do feel a bit stuck but possibly taking a "part time" hiatus in order to distance myself for a while.....I know this post is old but just wondering if anyone still comes through and reads it and has any further "fresh" ideas or input?!

BeanTrees · Jun 16, 2011

This was not a good thread to read as a pre-nursing student, who is feeling burned out and discouraged already! I'm elbow deep in ridiculous school applications, feeling completely hopeless, depressed and lost. I feel like even if I get in to a program, I don't know if I'll have the brains to finish and become licensed; if I DO survive the program, then I'll likely never find a job and have huge loans to pay off; if I do get a job, I'll probably be such a non functional nervous wreck that I'll get fired for some silly mistake anyways! I just want to hide my head in the sand and cry.

FLmomof5 · Jun 16, 2011

well, if you look on pg 2 of this thread, dated: jan 22, 2009, 08:47 am, i was a pre-nursing student just like you.

i have graduated and passed the nclex and since my final it contract ended, i will be starting my first rn position next week. i cannot say if i will burn out like the posters on this thread, but, i also hope that my experience in life will give me less reason to be unhappy about the position.

i am a very strong willed person who has spent my life beating the odds. i can only hope this continues.

in many of the ns threads, you will see horror stories of nursing instructors and preceptors @ clinicals that made a student's life a living he//. i never saw any of that! i love our instructors and the clinicals were wonderful and all the nurses made us feel like we were benefitting them not hindering them.

the internet provides a slice of life. many folks who need to vent will do so here, so you may see more positive than negative.

keep the faith and do what you feel is your direction in life! good luck to you!!!

joanna73, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2011

Unfortunately, this work has become more about the papers, and less about people. That I really dislike.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 17, 2011

Emily, you must work at my hospital. We have a new nurse manager who is hell bent on writing everyone up for patient complaints. We no longer follow the policies, we must kiss up to the patients and make them happy at all costs.!

UGH!

We can all thank the administrative dumba$$es for coming up with the nonsense idea of referring to patients as "customers"

I can't stand it.

BeanTrees · Jun 17, 2011

Thanks for your supportive response. Unfortunately, I am with a rather non supporting partner, and come from a family that seems to have little faith in whatever I choose to do. I'm rallying for myself at this point, but some days it isn't enough. I'm just now walking through the toughest part of my path to nursing - the part in between clear steps, where bailing out becomes a dark figure in the corner, and a temptation when things get truly rough. I know I'm not going to give up, but this summer is going to be just brutal. Today I was at the bottom of the well. Tomorrow has to be better.

Paramedic851 · Jul 24, 2011

I worked at a facility that made a big deal about how often patients were calling to complain about lost or "stolen" items.

Cash, Jewelry, clothing... you name it. If the patient complained, the hospital would foot the bill.

To reduce this problem, they decided it was a good idea to mandate that the nurse take a complete inventory of the patients belongings upon the patient entering the room. We had a to enter each item of clothing into a the computer and then on admission or discharge, explain what happened to those items!

What I want to know, is how this changes anything. Just because I made a nursing note that a patient had a shiny watch on his wrist. It means that the patient must not have lost it or had it stolen? It's just another example of wasteful and pointless documentation!

Can you imagine ever leaving your watch in the bathroom of a grocery store then calling to demand that the store replace your lost item!!!! ITS INSANE!!!

Nursing destroys your soul!

I hate my job and can't wait to move on.

I am working on my NP and can only hope that it will be a little better than what I put up with now.

Paramedic851 · Jul 24, 2011

I have no problem treating patients like "customers" or "clients"

I do feel bad when I know patient's got sub-par service for whatever reason and then I watch them march out of the ER to drop $70 on their mandatory co-pay!

But it makes me angry when I see people who have medicaid in the ER for nonsense, with a mere $8 co-pay that often goes uncollected. Especially after they have been abusive and demanding, as if entitled to my service. The irony being that my 60 hours a week of highly taxed income is subsidizing their entitlement!

If healthcare is a product, as all my administrators want me to believe. Then we should expect consistency and fairness for the consumer.

It does not take a genius to realize that health care fails miserably at living up to any kind of uniform standard.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 24, 2011

i worked at a facility that made a big deal about how often patients were calling to complain about lost or "stolen" items.
cash, jewelry, clothing... you name it. if the patient complained, the hospital would foot the bill.
to reduce this problem, they decided it was a good idea to mandate that the nurse take a complete inventory of the patients belongings upon the patient entering the room. we had a to enter each item of clothing into a the computer and then on admission or discharge, explain what happened to those items!
what i want to know, is how this changes anything. just because i made a nursing note that a patient had a shiny watch on his wrist. it means that the patient must not have lost it or had it stolen? it's just another example of wasteful and pointless documentation!
can you imagine ever leaving your watch in the bathroom of a grocery store then calling to demand that the store replace your lost item!!!! its insane!!!
nursing destroys your soul!
i hate my job and can't wait to move on.
i am working on my np and can only hope that it will be a little better than what i put up with now.

what i understood was that if the patient couldn't document having a shiney watch on admission, then he probably didn't lose it in the hospital and it wouldn't be replaced. good idea, actually.

Paramedic851 · Jul 25, 2011

I have no problem with taking inventory when the patient CAN'T do it for themselves. That's being an advocate and the morally correct thing to do. I have no problem with a policy that requires that I look out for the patients best interest when the patient is incapable of doing so.

My problem is that the policy dictated that EVERY patient coming into the ER competent or not should have a full inventory completed in the computerized charting system.

I don't know about anyone else, but I would be insulted if I came to the ER and a nurse asked me where my wallet was and how much money I had in it.

That's like treating me as a criminal before you have even taken a full health history!

Even in the instance of demented patients brought to the ED by family. If your family member is being admitted to the hospital. Why would you not take the time to gather valuable belongings and keep them safe? I have actually said to people, would you like to take this home until your father/mother is discharged? and had the response, No you can keep it here. Without even realizing that what they are actually saying is... that's to much trouble for me, I would rather make it your problem.

Perhaps I am being to judgmental but I have a real problem with people pushing their responsibilities onto an already overburdened and dysfunctional health care system.

And just to be clear... I don't take issue with a family who is genuinely overwhelmed by the emotional stress of an ill loved one. I would do anything in my power to ease that stress, because I understand that human experience. What I am talking about is the nonchalant folks who act as if they are boarding their dogs in my hospital. Merely paying the kennel to walk, water and feed. This is the minority, but the hospital should not encourage policies that rewards their laziness.... and that's my issue.

MissBrahmsRN · Jul 25, 2011

we have to do the same thing with valuables, when they come to our unit from ER we have to dig thru their crap & log all of it, how much money, cell phones, undies covered in blood & cut off (who would want to keep those??) etc. we say it came with them from the ER and it's all bedside. it's doesnt make a damn bit of difference though, all they have to do is call management, complain that staff in the hospital "stole" it or "lost" it and then the unit just replaces it without question, because (i quote upper management here) "it keeps our patients and families happy and coming back to us":uhoh3:

Paramedic851 · Jul 26, 2011

It's funny you say that.

"it keeps them coming back to us"

As if someone is really contemplating where they should go after flipping their car on the highway.

They go wherever the ambulance tells them is the best facility. Trust me, seven years of being a medic on the ambulance. I don't think more than 2% actually insist on going to any one hospital after I tell them. XYZ is the best place for cardiac care, or QRS is our highest level trauma center. WHich is the way that it should be.

Furthermore, the reason those people "keep coming back to us" is no more complicated then the fact that we give them what they want. So if the plan is to entice people to return by paying for their "lost or stolen" items, because ultimately the hospital will generate more revenue this way. Then why waste time/productivity making me inventory items that you plan to replace regardless of what documentation exists? Whats more, is don't give me a guilt trip about how much money the hospital losses every month because of these complaints! You are the ones that want these people coming back!

When I was a teen, I worked at a fast food chain and I won't say which one. But we had a family that would come in every single week. Order a meal, then complain about it to the manager. They would get a coupon for free drinks or whatever and we would see them the following week. It got to the point where one of our servers actually saw them pluck a hair out of their head and put it in their food, then complain about it. When she told the manager, guess what he said. Basically, the free soda he was giving them every week meant 1. they did not complain to upper management and 2. the company was still making a profit despite some free drinks.

So there you have it. The complex psychology of customer satisfaction and the bottom $line$... being injected into the delivery of medical care. The only problem, is that wasting my time makes someone who is needs my attention wait that much longer! and it boils my blood!