I've been an RN for 6 months working in acute care. After working for 6 months I'm dreadfully burnt out. Nursing is not what I thought it was. Nursing school just prepared us to do nursing tasks but it didn't show us the real world behind the scenes of nursing. Dealing with admits and discharges and orders upon orders and providers losing temper always stressed running from room to room having IV bags passing meds on time cleaning up a bed fast patient and falling behind providers yelling because they orders Stat labs an hour ago but I didn't see them because I was busy with another patient. I can't deal with that type of situation anymore and I'm just burnt. My family has seen a drastic change in my demeanor and have noticed I've been depressed and quiet and not who I used to be any more and frankly it's because of this job.
Not just that but I'm really just tired of the whole bedside / direct patient care. Techs never doing their part so I'm picking up all their tasks at the same time while they text on their phones in the utilities room.
I'm not really sure where to go now or what to do. I've had multiple panic attacks prior and during work due to the stress and responsibilities bestowed upon me. Nursing school never prepared us for this and I had no clue this is what nursing was so now I am regretting entering the field.
I'm in debt nearly 35k for school and Idk what else I can do with my BSN. I really want to go back to school and go into telecom or computer engineering where the level of responsibility is not as high and the stress level is at a minimum.
Any advice at all? I really been thinking about this for a few months now and I just don't like bed side/ direct patient care at all. Idk if I should try and find an outpatient position or something that doesn't involve doing bedside nursing care. Or if there is something else I can do with my BSN.
Nursing is not the problem; it is the field that you are in (acute care). One of the great things about nursing is that it has several fields to go into (for example, teaching, research, school nurse, CNL, etc.).
Yes, usually after at least a year of acute care, all those great jobs MAY be available. OP has 6 months and what sounds like severe anxiety.
I'm an Urgent Care nurse and I love it. The hospital setting didn't do it for me. I still see patients and work 3 12-hour shifts. I see a variety of conditions so I feel my nursing knowledge and skill set it still solid.
Definitely take heed of other's advice and look into a clinic setting before quitting nursing altogether.
i worked in a very non traditional nursing job in a cardiac specific industry for many many years and LOVED it.
there are a TON of non traditional jobs out there that don't involve direct bedside care. every pharmaceutical company has openings for drug reps. there are catheter reps, sales, chart review for insurance companies, utilization review, research, and so many more i can't list.
don't leave nursing. find your niche within it. i was not crazy about bedside nursing either, and when i was in nursing school i actually sat down with my parents and told them that if i was destined to be a bedside nurse, i didn't want to even be a nurse! i got my previous job after about 18 months in bedside nursing and i loved it. i left that position to return to APRN training and will soon be done and will be a provider. good luck!
I actually really loved L&D and mother baby when I was in nursing school. However I'm a male and I figure it would be pretty hard to get a L&D position and or mother baby position as a male. But yes I did think about OB when I was job hunting after I finished school because I really liked it.
What is LDRP ? Never heard of it.
Sone women are a little apprehensive when they find out they have a male nurse, but most of them end up loving them. It might be a little tough to get in, but it's worth a try. I even know a male nurse midwife who's very much loved by his patients. LDRP stands for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum. It's just one floor and the nurses float from one area to the other. So one day you can be in L&D, next in postpartum and the next a scrub nurse on a c-section. Never boring!
Your feelings are completely normal. Many nurses come out of school feeling overwhelmed and get burned out. Med/surg units are tough. I knew that I did not want to do med/surg despite all the advisement that I should. Don't give up and you have to find your niche. I would say apply to positions that interest you no matter how little experience you have. Some nursing managers will see your potential. I found a nursing manager that hired me on L&D as a new grad and people said no one would. Anything is possible if you try. I'm pretty sure you worked very hard to get your BSN so don't let anything come between all your hard efforts.
The one thing that stood out to me is that you said you are depressed. That is very serious and you need to take that into account. Do not let people talk you into staying with that position if your body is physiologically being affected. Jeopardizing your health is not worth it. Please take good care of yourself and the allnurses community is here for you.
Get an easier job. M-F at urgent care or a doctor's office. Surgery, PACU, Home Health, school nurse, etc. There are a million things you can do as a nurse, so theres no sense in being somewhere you hate.
Burn out is normal- but maybe it's happened faster for you given your tasks (you hate it), demotivated staff and a poor organisational culture.
I only ever did floor/ward nursing as a student and then about 6 months worth during my grad year. If someone told me I would have to do acute (like your job) or any type of floor nursing, or pick a desk job (or any other job for that matter) I would drop nursing all together. You have to find not only your area, but a suitable workplace. I've worked in some places where the actual work is okay- but the staff just drag you down.
That being said, maybe it just isn't for you. I'm in PACU now and it's awesome. I would probably consider HDU or ICU but that comes with night shift. It's okay to be picky if it means your happiness! Good luck :)
OP: you said you're a techy. Look into health informatics or research nursing. I've also considered both. In Australia you need post grad qualifications for this, but that could be a good fit. You could always do a bit of clinical nursing on the side or something?
I would also consider looking into anaesthetics. That seems to be a popular choice for male nurses here (just an observation). A bit more technical based too.
I agree with everyone that 6 MO in is definitely a low period as a new grad. But it's not entirely impossible to know you just don't like bedside care.
Think public health.
School nursing.
Occupational health.
Insurance screenings and case reviews.
You might need to get a full year in before moving on but you can always apply or plan, daydream and hold on
Specializes in Psychiatric nursing; Medical-Surgrical.
Girl I understand. I think it is time you try a different specialty from what you are doing at the moment. I went from acute care General medicine to Psych to change environment for a bit...I am loving Psych (who would have thought). Hopefully you will find what you like....if not you have the option of doing your masters or try travel nursing or move to another city. Nursing is rewarding do not give up so soon.
That actually sounds right up my alley because I'm a huge tech guy. Love working with computers. I've honestly never even seen a job opening here for that either haha. But as I've considered going back to school for computer engineering or telecoms. Nurse informatics seems to fit both worlds... interesting
There are master's programs specific to nurse informatics.
Also, if you look into specific electronic medical records companies, some will hire you as a BSN, to teach people how to use their system.
Another huge thing as of late seems to be medical coding. That is something that is a certification, I believe. And there are many jobs that I have seen for medical coders.
Another thought would be nursing in a non-acute setting--Assisted Living comes to mind. That requires very little to no direct patient care.
And totally off on another vein, master's in education and teach people how to EMR systems?
Regardless of what you decide, sometimes you get right off that a job is not for you. Maybe get a job in a local assisted living, while you are going for your masters in something different.
Huh. I am "only" an ADN and I felt pretty prepared for what nursing really was in the transition from school- floors. Is there that much less clinical time now? We used to come in for report and stay the whole shift.
Yes, there is always a learning curve, etc., but what were you expecting, OP?
I felt like I "had it" after about a year, maybe 2. Give it some time. 6 months is not enough time.
Farawyn, I don't know if this is everywhere but at least the area where I went to school, which was an ADN program, the local hospitals preferred the ADN grads over the BSNs in the area because we got a lot more clinical time. The BSN programs focused more on leadership and community nursing. I can't say that's happening everywhere but it seems to be a theme with BSN programs and they go into "real world nursing" ill prepared. Our instructors and preceptors taught us that school was one thing and real world nursing was another and that we would eventually find the balance. So more than likely OP went through a BSN program that did not give him enough clinical time. I graduated just over a year ago and it's about what I expected it to be. I've also been fortunate enough to work in places where everyone works as a team.
Farawyn
12,646 Posts
Yes, usually after at least a year of acute care, all those great jobs MAY be available. OP has 6 months and what sounds like severe anxiety.