Burnt Out, Tired of Floor Nursing

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Specializes in Primary Care.

Hi everyone,

It's been nearly one year on the med-surg floor at the VA. I will tell you that I am SO burnt out. I know I needed this year of experience, but with the high patient loads with each shift and the drama between the staff, and the high death rate, I am just done with this floor nursing. I knew in the very beginning that I would never like floor nursing, but now I'm really disliking it even more. Plus the scheduling is horrible. I have small children and about once or twice a month, I am scheduled for night shift. If I don't have a sitter, then I have no choice but to call in. So, I can feel that it is definitely time for me to change. But with only 1 year of RN experience, what could I possibly change to??? There are not any other open positions right now at the VA. I would like to get into maybe the clinic, but they require 2 years of acute care experience.

I'm just stuck and want out now. I'm so stressed out, I've noticed my family being on the receiving end of my stress. It's not a good thing any longer. I applied for NP school, but in the meantime, I need to work somewhere. Any advice for me in my situation?

Thanks so much!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Look at the career section on the websites of the major insurance companies (Liberty Mutual, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Mass Mutual, Humana, etc.).

Insurance companies hire advice nurses, case management nurses, and so forth. When I read the job description on Liberty Mutual's site, the requirements seemed lenient and they would allow the nurse to obtain case management certification up to 24 months after the date of hire.

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Specializes in Primary Care.

Thank you. I will look into those insurance companies. Any other ideas???

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Specializes in Primary Care.

Please, if anyone else can give me some advice, that would be great. I'm now starting to think about completely different careers at this point, which would be painful to have these student loans I'm paying on for a career I'm no longer working. I am reaching out here before I make a horrible decision.

Thank you in advance.

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Specializes in Rehab, critical care.

School nursing, clinic nursing. Internal transfer within your system for better hours?

With school nursing, don't forget to look into colleges/universities, as well. I had found a school nurse position a while ago at a college, but it was after I just started working somewhere, and.....I feel I look like I'm still in college, so it'd be kind of weird for me at this point lol.

Also, home health can have normal hours. However, ask some HH nurses first since you would have to do paperwork once you got home, and some say the paperwork isn't worth it.

Just some ideas. Best of luck! I work bedside, too, and don't have kids, but can imagine it would be difficult at times with kids.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

1 year of experience is usually the golden mark when changing positions. You don't necessarily need 2 years of experience for most positions.

I don't know how things work in VA hospitals, or if you have to stay within VA system... You can go ahead and apply wherever you want. I don't quite understand what you mean by what you can change into. 1 year experience opens a lot of doors for most specialties. What kind of job or what specialties do you like?

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I'd think long and hard before giving up the benefits and stability of a VA job. Maybe you're just going through a phase?

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You are not alone! I was also burned out with floor nursing. I kept it up for as long as I could before I had to take a week of leave because I was mentally exhausted. Then I was asked to resign, because I was not able to keep up with the workload. At no point were my patients in danger, but I was always at work late finishing charting and did not feel that I could pick up the full load of patients that they wanted me to. It was horrible, and I hate looking for jobs because so many of them are just not for me, but I found a niche in psychiatric nursing. I am also thinking about going into case management one day, but not totally sure about that either. There are a lot of places you can go. My advice would be to stay where you are for as long as you can, as long as you know that you and your patients are safe and that you are not totally losing your mind. Hang in there -- you are not alone!

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Also, I highly suggest seeking the help of EAP counselors and possibly taking some time off to think about what your next move is going to be if you think that things are getting truly bad. For me, it was so bad that I was ducking into the bathroom during my shift every night by 530 or so to cry or have a panic attack, and I cried every night in the car on the way home because of the stress. The job was just killing me. You don't deserve to feel so terrible, and there is help out there. It all started when my best friend who is also a nurse in the same hospital came home with me and we called EAP together. Do not give up on YOURSELF above all things. Be sure to maintain yours and your patients' safety. You may be able to start going to EAP therapy sessions to help you learn some skills to deal with the anxieties you are having, plus they can help you with career advice. You and your career are going to be fine! Not everyone is supposed to be a floor nurse!

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.
Also, I highly suggest seeking the help of EAP counselors and possibly taking some time off to think about what your next move is going to be if you think that things are getting truly bad. For me, it was so bad that I was ducking into the bathroom during my shift every night by 530 or so to cry or have a panic attack, and I cried every night in the car on the way home because of the stress. The job was just killing me. You don't deserve to feel so terrible, and there is help out there. It all started when my best friend who is also a nurse in the same hospital came home with me and we called EAP together. Do not give up on YOURSELF above all things. Be sure to maintain yours and your patients' safety. You may be able to start going to EAP therapy sessions to help you learn some skills to deal with the anxieties you are having, plus they can help you with career advice. You and your career are going to be fine! Not everyone is supposed to be a floor nurse!

Wow. Was it med-surg that stressed you this much? Did EAP help you feel better about this job? And are you still there and coping better, or did you end up quitting?

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Specializes in ED, trauma.

My thoughts are school nursing or a doctors office. I find from your post the patient load, high death rate, and the hours are your biggest hurdle.

School nursing, you'd be doing the same hours as your kids. You'd have all holidays off to be with them. BONUS! :) I know at my old school the school nurse was on a high school campus and all three of her children attended the school, so if ever they were sick, they would go to her, lay down til she got off work and then go home. (she had two children who were pretty sick kids, but managed to keep up with their coursework!)

Then with a doctors office, most patients aren't dying in the office. The hours are usually 9-5, so no nights. You only see one patient at a time, and since they aren't usually on deaths door, you can see them as they come and go thru systematically without feeling overwhelmed by "room 2 needs this, rm 6 needs pain meds, rm 4 needs to toilet, rm 3 needs has been on the bedpan for 30 minutes, rm 1 is having trouble breathing, rm 5 has a new onset GI bleed since this morning - welcome to your morning shift!" ya know what I mean?

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in ED, trauma.

Oh! Also try hospitals that still offer Baylor option. Basically weekends only. (Fri-Sat-Dun every weekend). My friend loves them and it's what keeps her going. She has someone to watch the kids on weekends. And that schedule never changes. She is paid less because she eats up a ton of differentials on weekend that other nurses won't have access to, but it equals out at the end of the pay period.

She actually got a sign on bonus to do it. She is basically a stay at home mon during the week! :) maybe look into that too?

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