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.
try Same Day Surgery and work in Pre-Admission Testing or Pre-op. You may find you like it. Do not spend the rest of your career life hating what you do.
Have you thought about becoming ba practice manager? I live in Kansas&I work as a float medical assistant for a hospital & also as an MA for a dermatology clinic. Most of my practice managers are RN's or have their BSN&they love it. I know one manager in particular didn't want to do pt care anymore, so she just went into management. I'm going to nursing school&I would like to be a practice manager also. I'm not sure what the requirements are if you're in a different state, but it would be something worth looking in to. You can also try being a QA (Quality Assurance) nurse also. Hope this helps !! :)
Have you thought about becoming a practice manager or quality assurance nurse? I work as a medical assistant & I'm in nursing school also. I've been an MA for 5 years. I love pt care, but I'm getting burned out also. When I get my RN, I want to be a practice manager for a clinic. I live in Kansas and I'm not sure what the requirements are, especially if you're in a different state, but it would be something worth looking in to. I hope this helps !! :)
Hi OP. I have been a nurse for 14 years of which 5 was bedside. I currently work in device design but have had a variety of roles in the pharmaceutical industry. All I can offer is to try other units and get at least 2 years hospital experience then look to industry. There are a lot of opportunities for a BSN out there but as a hiring manager, I require the 3 years hospital experience.
Hi OP. I have been a nurse for 14 years of which 5 was bedside. I currently work in device design but have had a variety of roles in the pharmaceutical industry. All I can offer is to try other units and get at least 2 years hospital experience then look to industry. There are a lot of opportunities for a BSN out there but as a hiring manager, I require the 2 years hospital experience.
It's hard to get to know the job in six months. I didn't like nursing either when I first started but I changed departments a few times and found somewhere I like to be. If you get the opportunity try ER. It's fast paced and the patients are not there long before they are admitted or sent home. It is a completely different work environment from the floor. As far as your BSN you can get an MBA in business admin and work "upstairs" in the offices. Or look into legal nurse giving lawyers advice for legal cases. Lot of opportunity out there just do some searches for it.
I work in an ICU that accepts new grads, so I see this from time to time. They go through about 20+ weeks of training and then decide nursing is not for them after they've been released from orientation. Honestly, some of the best nurses in my unit today, were train wrecks fresh off of orientation. Acute care nursing is not for everyone, but only time and experience will tell. Filtering through a high stress environment takes practice, and there's no timetable for how long it will take for you to learn how to deflect the negativity that you'll be bombarded with daily.
Luckily, your BSN has many uses. If you find acute care is really not for you, start shadowing other departments. (E.g., case management, radiology sedation, dialysis, bariatrics, geriatrics, pediatrics...all the other -atrics)
Actually that's not true per say. When you work L&D you have mom and baby to take care of in labor and sometime you could have 2 moms and 2 babies to care for while in labor. Most of thetime anymore which so many obese and unhealthy people it's a med Surg floor but the women are pregnant. There are high risk patients who are on high risk medications, anything bad can happen in a heart beat and you also have to circulate when there is a c/s. If it's a stat or who have a preterm baby it's even more stressful. Babies do some crazy stuff while in utero and sometimes babies and moms can die. Sometimes you have to take care of moms who lost their babies in utero and help deliver dead babies. It's not all fun and games that people think. It's a very stressful job.
Have you ever considered correctional nursing? It is much less stressful than a hospital position, but you still get to do some pretty interesting things. I have been doing it for a few months now and really enjoy it! The pay is much better than hospital positions as well, at least in my area.
You're not alone in your feelings! Many many of us go through this- you have to find an area that fits you better. For the sake of experience and future prospects, try to stick with nursing for a while. Maybe try an urgent care clinic, an outpatient clinic (LOTS to choose from- regular Dr. office, foot/ankle, spine institute, specialty clinics- cardiology, endocrinology, etc), same day or ambulatory surgery center, endoscopy, school nurse, even moving to case management or oversight/risk management. You can definitely incorporate a computer degree and work on the computer side of the mefical community. I have a friend that got a VERY high paying job working for Elsevier (which you may know, does a lot if online things for nursing programs). She works solely on computers/programs, but got the job because she has a nursing degree.
Think about what drew you to nursing initially, what passion drove you to go through the schooling? See if you can find a position that capitalizes on that passion and you will find a job you love.
LOADS AND LOADS of nurses *HATE* inpatient care like Med-surg, ICU, etc (including me!) But don't give up on nursing. There's a reason you wanted to do it and there IS a position that will be a great fit for you. There's way more to nursing than inpatient care and it's perfectly fine if that's not your area.
Don't give up on nursing yet! It sounds like hospital nursing is not a good fit for you, but there are so many different types of nursing you can do outside of the hospital setting. I know how it feels to be burnt out. I felt the same way after 6 years of hospital nursing. I discovered my niche was home health. Entirely different experience from hospital nursing and I actually enjoy my work! If I were you, I would stick it out until you have 1 year acute care experience and then see what opportunities outside of the hospital are available in your area. Most "good" non-hospital jobs require a minimum of 1 year experience. You worked too hard to get that RN license to give up this quickly! Hang in there!
I am an RN case manager in a community health center. I was hired as a new grad. I work normal hours, have weekends, and paid holidays. I absolutely love it. I do a lot of co-visits with the providers and we work as a team to come up with the best treatment plan for the patient. I do a lot of health education, and also do a lot of triage over the phone or if patients walk in. The majority of our patients are medicaid or uninsured, and have a lot of barriers. I provide case management for these patients but also get to keep up with my basic nursing skills from time to time. I honestly don't think I could ever go back to bedside patient care, I've been so spoiled!
Ginny954
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try Same Day Surgery and work in Pre-Admission Testing or Pre-op. You may find you like it. Do not spend the rest of your career life hating what you do.