CONTINUED IN WHAT IS THE MAJOR REASON Why are they all leaving?

Nurses General Nursing

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What conditions would cause so many nurses to leave? Our ER has been losing friends fast. Why is there such a large turnover in nursing? I'm going to school, yet I talk to many RN's who are looking for a new career!!

I went to RN nursing school at 50yrs of age. (I'm 54)

At this time I'm a Telephone triage nurse and love, love, love it!

I was a CNA 33 yrs ago at a large hospital.

I naively thought things were the same.

Not!

Gone were the orderlies who used to help us lift.

Now it is a very lucky day if you have a CNA at all to help.

Heck, you're lucky if you just barely have enough nurses!

I couldn't believe all the insane charting that now has to be done to CYA!

Long long hours.

I loved the patients.

Shame things have changed so much.

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Specializes in Elderly Rehab.
This is so very true. I don't know what's happening where you are but in Australia, there is very much a head-in-the-sand approach to the looming nurse shortage. They can't go on importing nurses forever and not enough new nurses are being trained to replace those who retire. Almost half the nurses in this country are aged 45+ (me included) and it's predicted that 100,000 nurses will retire in the next 15 to 20 years. Nowhere near that number are being trained.

I guess they'll do what they always do and wait until the drama unfolds and then say, "but no one told me".

I trained at my local university, last March, 240 students passed their nurse training at that same university, there were just 20 jobs available. Rumour has it that next year, the student nurse intake will be reduced from 2 a year, to 1 a year.

'spose me and mine will just have to move to Australia.

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I trained at my local university, last March, 240 students passed their nurse training at that same university, there were just 20 jobs available. Rumour has it that next year, the student nurse intake will be reduced from 2 a year, to 1 a year.

'spose me and mine will just have to move to Australia.

Give it a shot, if you really think you'd like it. I know nothing about how the immigration rules might apply to you but nurses are really in short supply here.

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Someone else touched on the answer to why we are leaving the profession.

Five little letters: JCAHO.

This organization has made life a living hell for nurses. The ridiculous mandates in documentation wastes more time than it is worth.

Every year there's a new mandate; pain control, safety, etc....along with new hoops to jump through.

They mean well, but they have no idea how their idealogic nonsense impacts real patient care. ("Show me that the pain med you gave was effective in 1 hour." It wasn't. This patient will NEVER be pain free and we will NEVER make them happy!!!!!! Is there a care pathway for FF PIA?)

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BTW, I most always take a lunch break; it may not be 30 min, but I do make sure I eat, even if it's already 3:30 pm and I've been at work for over 8 hours with 4 more to go.

I just hand my beeper to the charge nurse and say "I'm going to eat".

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READ BELOW..........This may cause even MORE nurses to consider leaving the profession, myself included..............

Nurses Stunned by Criminal Charges

Madison, WI -- The nursing community is stunned by the Department of Justice (DOJ) decision to pursue criminal charges against a nurse who caused an unintentional medical error.

Upon hearing the news of the July medication error that took place in

a Madison area hospital and resulted in the death of a patient, Wisconsin nurses responded with an extreme sense of sadness and empathy for the patient's family. Nurses' thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the family.

The decision of the DOJ to charge a health care professional with

criminal charges sets a precedent in Wisconsin and may have broad ramifications nationwide on how safety concerns are addressed within the health care industry. An outcome may be the exodus of health care professionals leaving their career or deterrence of individuals entering the

profession, knowing that any medication error or patient injury could

result in prison time as a felon.

The Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) opposes the DOJ decision to

pursue criminal prosecution for unintentional medical errors. The Association

believes that existing regulatory agencies that include the Department of Health and Family Services and Department of Regulation and Licensing can appropriately address and apply necessary sanctions and monitoring systems to promote quality of care and patient safety. In egregious cases action by the DOJ may be warranted, but this is not the case when an unintentional medical error occurs.

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No doubt, nursing is an extremely demanding profession, even as its rewards are exceptional; however, as I have worked in several career fields, I have seen high turn-around everywhere. I have certainly been guilty of moving on, more than once.

I can't really agree that there is any more discontentment in nursing than in any other fields. I think that the demand for nurses is so high, that a shortage is inevitable and thusly exaggerated. It looks worse than it is for nurses. Overall, I think we are better paid than many other professions requiring similar education/training. And I have never had a job that gave me more satisfaction. The challenge of the job contributes to my sense of accomplishment I am left with at the end of every shift.

Additionally, nurses can move around more freely due to the high availability of positions everywhere. It's a bonus to be sure.

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I entered Nursing after working as A Merchant Seaman in the US Merchant Marine on Large Seagoing Ships so it was quite a radical career change. In the Merchant Marine I made Big Money(as in BIG). To get my Coast Guard Documents for the Merchant Marine, I took a 4 week class and a 2 hour test back then. My first year in the Merchants in the early 70s, I grossed $50,000 that year. Good Money for little education and responsibility. NOT so with Nursing! I have never worked so hard(in nursing that is) in my life for the "Money". Considering the Educational Requirements and Life Decisions in a Nurse's Hands, the pay is extremely inadequate. In my case, Now, I only do Home Health Visits(one pt at a time) as I could never return to Stafffing in a Hospital for any money(maybe private duty one on one OK). I say the Staffing to Patient(acuity) levels are terrible. Floating which hasn't been mentioned is another major reason for Nurses leaving, at least in my area. Safety; personal with lasting back injuries and the increased possibility of contracting Aids, Hepatitis, TB ect. My last staffing Job at the VA I left had me working 2nd shift; I had 20-25 Geriatric patients each evening, all with Dementia, Alzheimers', or Stroke. I had two Nursing assistants to assist me, but they were lazy and wouldn't work. Reported them to management, then they worked even less. I read where some Nurses here had only 6-8 patients. Man, thats a Cakewalk! Try 20-25 Daily ; that's why I left. What is the answer to the problem? Well one large Hospital(jackson memorial) in my City, Miami, has went Union 4 years ago and the Union has helped immensely as far as staffing levels, Safety and Pay raises. I think it(unionized nurses) is the Future of Nursing. Something has to change-all these posts and hardly a Positive so that's proof a drastic change is needed. Left to Hospital Management, they(hospital CEOs)simply will not address the problem! I would NOT recommend, at this time, the Profession to anyone else either,,,,:o

BYW, Nursing schools need to drastically change the curriculm--I spent countless hours on those Care Plans only to find out in real life on the floor they count for little. For the sake of brevity this is but one change needed

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Specializes in Med Surg, Telemetry, Orthopedics.
Ah yes, the million dollar question that employers will find the answer to later when there are not enough of us to do the work on the floors. It will be then and only then they might start to listen (maybe)... Bottom line......MONEY;)

It is so disgusting! I have been an RN for 8+ years on MedSurg and it's the same wherever you go. The hospital management knows why we are leaving! Don't kid yourself that they'll "listen" to us one day! I think until we wise up and stand together to unionize, we will be taken advantage of. They will continue to staff us with skeleton crews and crummy pay until we demand better treatment!

I'm so fried out on nursing but don't know wherelse to go, so here I sit, hoping other RNs in my area will open their eyes that it doesn't have to be this way! :angryfire

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it looks like she is an RN to me. It says RN-ASN on her profile. I understand where she's coming from completely. I'm also an RN-ASN and I've been there exactly where she is, sometimes worse. Sure they made the ratio in CA lower..but the acuty is phenomenal even on a med-surg floor and there is no help..it's total nursing care by one nurse. Fortunately for myself I have attained other transferrable skills and I got out of nursing. I still have my license but I will never practice again by my own choice. It's just too damn scary out there.

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sorry Epona..you're not even coming close to what a nurse on Med-Surg deals with day after day.

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Why I want to quit? All of the above...all the responsibility and no authority to improve the situation. Managers, I think are the main reason...and hospitals that fire the CNA's because of the staffing limits required by law in CA. So I have fewer pts but now have to do the baths and showers! Its idiotic to keep doing it with the responsibility involved. I would never tell my daughter to be a nurse.

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