Burned out?

Sparrowhawk · Jul 7, 2011

I think being on days and having a normal sleep schedule would prbly help you, nights depressed me and made me hate nursing too.

Unfortunately, the glitz and glamour and expectations we have when we graduate are crushed very soon in nursing...Burned out? No I don't really think you are...cynical a bit maybe...I think you just need a change of scenery.

Me.I'm cynical...I don't expect anything from anyone or anybody because crappy is just the way life is. I don't expect to be happy anymore.

happy place · Jul 7, 2011

Can you switch to a different specialty?

nightengalegoddess · Jul 7, 2011

Hi Ms. Lady! Change of scenery before anything drastic. There is an old idea which my partner reminds me of a lot...also a nurse. There is a specific amount of time that any nurse becomes competent in whatever area she is working. When this time comes up, she starts to see the negatives much more easily and notice the innadequacies of everything. Supposedly, this is when one must change course so as to learn something new and thus be new herself again. Supposedly, the studies on this topic state that this is the way to avoid burn-out.

As for worrying whether you did everything, or if the patient is ok while you have gone home.....just do your best! You do your best, clock out, and let God take care of the rest. We facilitate healing but God, or whatever you wish to call it...(if Athiest...than...coincidence or chance ).....that is what makes the final decision.

If you've ever seem my posts, I have great inner struggles as well; but find that forgetting about the 12 hours when I go home is the best. Or else, I spend all my free time worrying! And what is a profession worth if it brings money but no peace? Lack of peace is not worth all the money in the world.

And yes, maybe a change to days would be better; although the social stressors on days are horendous! I just started nights for the first time ever...the change has been good for me...

As far as more education....that will free you up to do so many more things in nursing and give you the option of getting away from the shift work. Options are what we need when we feel trapped. If you have the option of working shift, or having a nice clean nursing job...you will be much less prone to burn out.

I personally have spent the last 6 years raising my child and working at the bedside. I've wanted to go back to school all that time but couldn't really spare the energy. Now that my son is 17 I can't wait to start my classes. Because I know I never want to be that bitter, angry older nurse who makes her co-workers miserable because she hates working at the bedside so much. I always think..."why don't you just DO SOMETHING ELSE"? instead of taking the whole team down with you?.

Change and education! I think all professions worth having must have a measure of this in them....Blessings!

nightengalegoddess · Jul 7, 2011

PS, as for Sparrowhawk...not expecting to be happy anymore; there is wisdom in that!!! Excpectations get us into so much trouble in this world! If ya don't expect to be happy, than you can't really be bummed when you aren't! I like that! My son has a saying, "It's a really good day when nothing really (*&^^$ happens and when you aren't sick"....and he seems to be pretty satisfied with stuff most of the time. Don't know how he figured that out with me as a mom! Thanks Sparrowhawk. that was pretty good!

netglow, ASN, RN · Jul 7, 2011

You are smart OP, and that is the problem, and, I am not trying to be snarky. I had an instructor mumble that at the end of my last semester in nursing school, she pretty much said, "Those of you who strive to be your best, who have earned the best grades, who, as new nurses study at home after work to keep learning and be the best nurse you can, will be the first to leave nursing. Those of you who are not, and did not, and have no inclination to, will be content to stay". We all did a collective gasp. But, turns out she is 100 percent right.

Maybe now you can open yourself up to other things? Have one foot in nursing and the other out? If pondering going back to school, why nursing? I'd get a degree in something else, why would you put more money in nursing? IMHO, makes no sense to me unless you are fabulously in love with the profession.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jul 7, 2011

It concerns me when someone doesn't expect to be happy. If you don't expect it, how can it happen? Sometimes we can set ourselves up for unhappiness with that kind of thinking...

Nursing isn't always negative, and for some it's usually positive. It depends on where you work and what job you're doing. I think if you're dis-satisfied, you should think about changes you could make, and make them, either in nursing or outside of it.

To those of you who are feeling this way about nursing or other things, I'm sending lots of emotional support and hope things get better for you soon!

Conquering Lion · Jul 7, 2011

One of the reasons why I went into the nursing profession is the diversity and flexibilty of specialties available. At the end of the day, the decision is yours but make a list of pros and cons of the current job position you are in. explore other nursing specialties.There are fields like nursing administration, nursing informatics, health information management. With your 2 years of experience, you can pretty much do anything and go anywhere. You already have your year worth of experience. Maybe you could speak to a seasoned nurse that you may trust to ask them how they survived being a nurse for 10-20-or 30 years. I wish you the best in your decision. keep me posted.

EmergencyNrse · Jul 7, 2011

Burnt out after 18 months...? Just 3 12's you say?

I just got done with 10 straight 12's. Not a badge of courage

it's just what is necessary to pay the bills and have a lil' extra.

What's wrong with this next generation? It's a job. It's work.

If it were easy everyone would be doing it.

You should look down deep in your soul and find the reason you wanted to do nursing. If it wasn't to make an impact in the daily lives of those that can't do for themselves it's time to find something else to do.

Sorry for your dilemma...

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2011

I have been a nurse for a year and a half now... I can honestly say I chose nursing as a career back in college because I knew I wanted to work in healthcare and I like working directly with people.
Sadly... after each shift working as a graduated RN, I grow more tired of the profession. Do I still enjoy working with people? Of course. Do I still enjoy feeling like I make a difference? Definitly. But why is it that I dread wearing those scrubs? That the 3 twelve hour shifts feel brutal? That I can't stop worrying "did I do everything right? Is that patient going to be okay?" That I don't want to deal with shift report if it has to be with that nurse? I do work night shift... and I'm working hard to get on to days. Part of me feels that if I can have a normal sleep-wake schedule I'd feel better... but the other part of me notices that days are still 12 hours shifts. Day shift still occurs on weekends and holidays... and day shift has most of the more negative nurses I've encountered. Nursing is a tough field. You have to be able to work with everyone well - the patient, the patient's family, the doctor, the respiratory therapist, the nursing assistant, the secretary... and most of all the nurses.
The problem I'm facing is deciding what to do... I worked hard for my BSN, but frankly, if I can't handle even 2 years, how will I survive 20? My mom says "get your master's and teach!" My boyfriend says "just do what makes you happy!" And I do want to go back to school. But I'm so tired all of the time, and if I'm this unhappy with nursing, why sink myself in more schooling for it? Perhapes I'm burned out on shift work. Perhapes it's the environment working in the hospital and dealing with more acute care that has me so tired... Perhapes I just need a place to express this to other nurses - to just VENT. I'm not expecting pity... I'm just looking to see - is this really only me that feels this way? Is there really anyway to get over this? What has anyone else done? I'm just feeling so burned out...

No, you are not the only one who feels that way. I have been working as a nurse for less than a year and I feel the same way. If I am sick of it after less than a year, how can I last 20-30? I dunno, maybe in 25 years I will still be on here complaining about my nursing job...........I don't know how to get over it. Because when I think of leaving, I would want a job that paid a similar amount and I can not think of any I would be qualified to do. I also consider the years i spent/wasted with nursing school and in nursing and don't wish to go down the same route with something else or blow off all that time to not use my bsn, rn etc............... I don't know what to tell you since i am looking for the same answers.

Biffbradford · Jul 7, 2011

[color=silver]burnt out after 18 months...? just 3 12's you say?
[color=silver]i just got done with 10 straight 12's. not a badge of courage
it's just what is necessary to pay the bills and have a lil' extra.
what's wrong with this next generation? it's a job. it's work.
if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
[color=silver]you should look down deep in your soul and find the reason you wanted to do nursing. if it wasn't to make an impact in the daily lives of those that can't do for themselves it's time to find something else to do.
sorry for your dilemma...

do the best you can in the time you're given and take pride in that. if this is a specialty that you like, try to stick it out. find some good things about it, a reason to stay. certainly, we all have our breaking points, but sometimes you've got to simply work over that hump in the road, then it's easy cruising again for a while. if you're truly at your wits end, then start looking around. don't quit until you've got something else written in ink, it's a brutal economy out there right now.

pale_pilsen · Jul 7, 2011

I wish my previous nursing instructors could read this post. they always seems to say that nurses are in Great Demands and take pride in what we do. But its not always the case from reading from other post. Are they trying to cover up the reality of nursing to their students?