Do you know of any nurses that left nursing?

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I am thinking about it. I feel like I have aged soooo much since becoming a nurse. Especially the past couple of months. Also, I have GI probs because my nerves are shot (diarrhea every night, minutes before I leave for work), and I sometimes feel my heart race when I am at work and one of my coworkers is communicating with me in a aggressive or passive-aggresive manner. Fine lines are starting to surface, my feet ache, and I am mentally exhausted.

Been thinking about becoming a Paralegal. My friend works as one and absolutely loves her independence. As a matter of fact, I think I am jealous of her! Sure, lawyers are cranky 99% of the time, but cranky/grouchy is better than passive-aggressive, bitchy, and manipulative! She spends a lot of her day working from home, or in the legal library. Ahhh.

Or I have been thinking about court stenography. Big bucks, sans cattiness, for the most part.

Or........A dog groomer. If I choose this route, I will open my own biz.

Or Paralegal/court stenographer AND dog groomer.

So, have you, or do you know of anyone, who said bu-bye to nursing and went back to school to pursue something else? DO they have any regrets? What type of work did they pursue?

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A co-worker left to attend school to become a dental hygienist. Better hours and better money here.

Several people I went to school have quit. One started a home based business (don't know doing what), one went back to Uni for a completely unrelated degree, and a third just plain old quit and went to work in Home Depot because the hours were better and she could afford to.

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Yup...some staying home, some opened their own business such as coffee shop, antiques stores , pet supplies/groomers. Many who change jobs often and many who only work per diem in nursing.

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

I know of nurses who "married up," meaning they tied the knot with partners who earn large salaries such as physicians, lawyers, business owners, etc. These nurses tend to become stay-at-home spouses.

My friend was a social worker and case manager before she became a nurse (she has a B.S. degree in public health and social work). She says that she'll return to being a social worker and case manager if nursing burns her out.

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Well, I don't know any "nurses" (RN's/LPN's) that left the field. However, I do know aids and techs that have left and honestly don't blame them. Some of the working conditions they were in aren't... that... great.

But I will recommend you strongly take a look at your pros and cons here. Do you REALLY want to quit this field? Do you have a solid plan for the future? Why do you want to quit? Will something else be more rewarding? (I don't wanna know, just questions to ask yourself).

Some of things you're telling me about come with the job and something you'll have to work through! Of course, I don't think your GI problems comes with being an RN (gosh! I hope not *ponders*).

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Raindrop, I hope you find some peace in your decision. As someone who worked in the legal field for over 20 years, it can also be very stressful but if you are lucky in finding an attorney or team that you can build a good repore with, you will probably enjoy it. I, for one, had a "dream" job for the first 16 -1/2 years, then relocated out of state and it was down hill from there! Really soured me about continuing my legal career, so here I am going to nursing school! I wish you luck. Attorneys can be very aggressive / passive aggressive! Stand your ground! :)

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Specializes in Government.
I know of nurses who "married up," meaning they tied the knot with partners who earn large salaries such as physicians, lawyers, business owners, etc. These nurses tend to become stay-at-home spouses.

Yeah, that's about half of my nursing school class! Seriously. The rest became financial planners, sell real estate, reverted to their prior career (we were all second degree-ers) or retired. I'm the last RN standing.

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I've also had an ex-nurse tell me she'd rather work at a Home Depot than return to bedside nursing.

I'm a nursing student who loves the material I'm learning about in nursing school - it's very interesting and useful! And I'm doing very well in it grade-wise as well.

But.... I hate clinical. I like interacting with people in general; but constantly implementing procedures on strangers I'm not sure is my thing, alas. And when I hear that the ratios go upwards of 7 pts per nurse on a med/surg ward, and beyond, I gulp!

Or do all nurses feel this way initially and just get over it? I'm wondering if I'll be one of those nurses who reverts to her prior degree. (Marrying up - ha! I wouldn't mind that, but don't think it's in the cards.)

I don't want to contribute to the nursing shortage, of course... But maybe I'll use the degree (MPH) to help fight the whole ethos of hospitals-run-as-businesses that is ruining bedside nursing. Would definitely improve the public health, to get the nursing work environment improved, even if it means hospitals have to close beds.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.
I am thinking about it. I feel like I have aged soooo much since becoming a nurse. Especially the past couple of months. Also, I have GI probs because my nerves are shot (diarrhea every night, minutes before I leave for work), and I sometimes feel my heart race when I am at work and one of my coworkers is communicating with me in a aggressive or passive-aggresive manner. Fine lines are starting to surface, my feet ache, and I am mentally exhausted.

Been thinking about becoming a Paralegal. My friend works as one and absolutely loves her independence. As a matter of fact, I think I am jealous of her! Sure, lawyers are cranky 99% of the time, but cranky/grouchy is better than passive-aggressive, bitchy, and manipulative! She spends a lot of her day working from home, or in the legal library. Ahhh.

Or I have been thinking about court stenography. Big bucks, sans cattiness, for the most part.

Or........A dog groomer. If I choose this route, I will open my own biz.

Or Paralegal/court stenographer AND dog groomer.

So, have you, or do you know of anyone, who said bu-bye to nursing and went back to school to pursue something else? DO they have any regrets? What type of work did they pursue?

I tried to get out of nursing awhile back. I was so incredibly burned-out. I was having trouble sleeping, always under stress. My BP was up, but since I had no health insurance, due to very few health care employers providing insurance, I was just ignoring it. I had a headache almost constantly. The house physician was constantly pissing me off by sniping about how terrible we were.

Getting out of nursing was not a success for me. Nursing skills don't seem to translate well into the world of business. I may be able to do meds and Foleys in my sleep, but most bank customers just aren't going to need that kind of skill. I tried to emphasize the "customer service" skills I had learned in my years of nursing, no dice. I tried banks, bookstores, etc. Not one callback. Partly that is because we're considered "overqualified", as most employers think you'll probably quit in a few months and go back to the hospital/NH. I actually thought about going to get an Associate's in Legal Assisting (I am working on a BA in English, looking to eventually enter law school.) Anything to get me out of 8-16 hours of day of being screamed at by patients, other staff, physicians, family, and administration when I was already swamped.

Eventually, though, I hired on with a plasma center, and it is the best nursing job I have ever held. I work out of an office; I make more here than I ever have; I actually have insurance, retirement, and stock options, and the work is so much less stress. I've actually taken two semesters off just to work. I didn't completely escape from nursing, but I did get out of in-patient care, and I am never going back. For me, that's good enough.

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Different people...different responses.

In every field there are pluses and minuses.

I guess you have to ask yourself...if the minus colum is greater than the positive...its time to leave.

Why not try something else....like home health?

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

I worked with a nurse years ago who quit one year after graduating from nursing school and went to work as an airline stewardess for one of the major airlines. It was a shame, for she was an outstanding nurse. But, like many others, she quickly burned out.

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Of course, I don't think your GI problems comes with being an RN (gosh! I hope not *ponders*).

well, if the only time one has diarrhea or one feels sick to the stomach is before having to go in to work..............................

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