Early burn out

allnurses Guide · Apr 10, 2011

I think any major life decision leads to this kind of nervousness (ever heard of "cold feet" prior to getting married?). It is good you are evaluating things.

I guess I would only offer you two observations.

The first is that unhappy people are a lot more vocal than happy people. Not too many of people content in their lives feel much of a need to spend time on a bulletin board and when they do, they aren't complaining. Proportionally there are much fewer happy posts. Most people who are content don't need advice or support so they are comparatively fewer in representation here.

The other is that you are looking at all the right things, asking all the right questions. Of course you know there are no answers, so the best thing you can do for yourself at this point is trust yourself and go forward with it firmly in your mind that you CHOSE this, worked for it and are capable of dealing with whatever comes, be it good or bad. The reality will be somewhere in between the two. And if it should for some reason lean hard in the "bad" direction, look at all of us 30 and 40somethings and even 50 somethings who are recreating ourselves now. You are not stuck in any one profession forever. Just you have options now, you will have options in the future too.

Best of luck to you.

footqueen · Apr 10, 2011

I went back to school in my 30's to become a nurse. I worked the floor for 4 yrs, never really loving it, but I wouldn't have changed it. I learned so much that I don't think I could have attained anywhere else (assessment skills, time management, familiarity with meds/labs/procedures, etc). However, after 4 yrs of "waiting to love it", I finally left acute care and am now LOVING my job working with diabetics and the elderly.

So, there are so many possibilites out there if you feel like you haven't found your nursing niche.

Good Luck with your nursing career.

Chin up · Apr 10, 2011

Nursing Is what you make it. I did not burn out till the 20 year mark. I loved it for a long time. Around year 15, I got restless, but doesn't everyone? I too am surprised at the number of young nurses with burnout. I don't know If it is because of the change in the field, or if it is the nurse themselves. I have to guess some of both. People have different work ethics, than when I got into this business. Women were just flooding the workplace and we felt content with our crumbs. Women today, know more, want more and expect more. Our profession will have to change to suit this new demographic. It should too. More and more is placed on us, education, responsibility, workload etc...until we become an equal opportunity profession, there will continue to be burnout and discontent.

mama_d, BSN, RN · Apr 10, 2011

I've been doing this for over a decade now and no burn out yet. :)

Of course there are nights when all I want to do when I get home is get in a hot bubble bath and chill out. Unfortunately, due to staffing issues, that's been happening more often of late.

The people I see who seem to be the most burnt out (on my floor at least) are those who really struggle with handling their pt load...ones who seem to be in a place where they just aren't ready for yet, or just can't manage despite all the time they've been doing it. So I think that a poor fit with the area a person is in is a big contributing factor, from my perspective at least. Lord knows it's a challenge to find your niche though, especially in this economy...most of us are lucky to just have a job. I think that the current difficulties with finding employment are just making it worse...one nurse who hates acute care nursing may be stuck there, while the LTC nurse down the street hates her job and would love to switch spots. There's just such a lack of mobility now that's it's making it beyond difficult to try other areas out.

Another huge factor seems to be management...if I would have stayed at my first nursing job, I'd probably have ended up in the news for assault. To this day I truly believe that my manager at that job had borderline personality disorder. She thrived on causing tension between staff members and had the gift of being able to escalate a situation from perfectly fine to flaming anger. Where I'm at now we had a manager for a while who really undermined our unit by seeking out reasons to reprimand the best nurses on the floor, who also tended to be the most vocal about issues that were arising that were affecting morale. If it wasn't for my rockin' co-workers I probably would have ended up leaving...luckily she left after only a couple of years in the position.

Which brings me to my third reason for potential burn out...sucky co-workers. I really feel that you should be able to expect that a majority of the people you work with have your back and are there for support when you need it. I can't imagine working somewhere where that wasn't the way it was. There are a lot of posts on here by nurses in that kind of situation, and it really makes me feel blessed to have the people I do with me at work. Heck, I'd even work LTC if I could have them with me there! (Nothing against LTC nurses...but thank God you all are willing to do what you do b/c I sure don't want to!) If you're in a place where there's not a good support system amongst staff, where do you go when problems arise? Who do you have to fall back on? That feeling of being alone, with all the responsibility we have, must be overwhelming to those going through it.

FWIW, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I became a nurse. I'm one of the lucky ones so far I guess...still enjoy my job, no matter how bad it gets sometimes.

CNM2B201? · Apr 10, 2011

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I guess I just needed a little insight about the high amount of burned out nurses. 9 years of working and planning for acceptance to nursing school and being so close to that...has me second guessing and just over thinking..making sure all this time spent is going to be well worth it. Worst fear is going through school and getting "burned out" quickly like so many others.

Katie5 · Apr 10, 2011

You're getting cold feet not burned out.

It will pass, if it's reall what you wan to do, of course.

CNM2B201? · Apr 10, 2011

You're getting cold feet not burned out.
It will pass, if it's reall what you wan to do, of course.

I realize IM getting cold feet...but part of that reason is because of everyone saying they are burned out after 1 yr..2 yrs..3yrs..

Scarlette Wings · Apr 10, 2011

nursing is a very emotionally charged profession. it is a career where you see people at their weakest and most vulnerable. such raw emotions in the patient brings out their most base and intense coping mechanisms. it is also a profession where a mistake or even a lack of timely judgement could cost someone their life or limb. it demands/requires every aspect of your being. the healthcare worker must always be giving even when they feel empty and "give out." thank yous' are few and far between most of the time, and the value of being a healthcare provider usually has to be intrinsic and within the person.

that said, burn out may also be called topping off or reaching the highest potential you have in any one area. nurses often return to school or transfer to other units or try other fields of nursing in order to avoid the feeling of burn out. i used to think it was abnormal to "job hop" or transfer around a great deal; now i see it more as the normal course of things. i think it may be the nature of the beast so to speak. imho anyway. moving to another area or returning to school challenges and reignites the spark of the caregiver within and i think that it is just fairly normal.

Katie5 · Apr 10, 2011

I realize IM getting cold feet...but part of that reason is because of everyone saying they are burned out after 1 yr..2 yrs..3yrs..

Do you let others be a deciding factor in your life's decision?

Or do you weigh the pros and cons and find your truth?

It's your call to make.

taalyn_1, CNA · Apr 10, 2011

went into it with eyes wide open. Knew what to expect, sister and friends are nurses, I am a CNA. BUT yeah nursing school is rough. I am seriously burnt out, but I definitely will carry on because I love it. Nursing school is preparing you for NCLEX, the real "hell" starts when you get thrown to the wolves so to speak, but I think if you love it, you love it regardless of the stress. I am tired of studying, tired of almost impossible tests, Im tired of waking up early for clinicals then staying all day doing CNA stuff that I dont get paid for, Im tired Im tired Im tired LOL, but in the long run this is what I want to do with my life and its going to be great in the end. Good luck to you and just be prepared to be burnt out, its a fact of nursing, but is a workable situation if you remember why you went into this profession in the first place.

CNM2B201? · Apr 10, 2011

Do you let others be a deciding factor in your life's decision?
Or do you weigh the pros and cons and find your truth?
It's your call to make.

I think that my post would be weighing the pros and cons dont you??? Trying to understand why so many nurses are leaving the field early is necessary I think..otherwise Im sure if I came back here in 5 yrs and said "oh i cant take it anymore its nothing like i thought" there would be a ton of ppl jumping on the "did you research..ask questions??"

Yes I absolutely let other peoples experiences and advice become a factor in making decisions...no matter what decision (unless you just know everything about everything) you are going to consult SOMEONE..an online forum, your grandmother, a friend, a co worker, internet search engine...the list goes on and on. You act as if Im asking a silly question ....I think its an appropriate question that a pre nursing student should be asking.

This post was not asking if I should be a nurse or if others think I should be a nurse..this post was to ask about WHY NURSES LEAVE THE PROFESSION SO EARLY. My "cold feet" are after reading quite a few "i hate nursing" posts and wondering why so many hate it...is it because they lacked experience in any healthcare setting and had an unrealistic view of what nursing would be....is it coworkers, the workplace, management that make nurses want out as fast as they got in? Is it the type of floor they work in..the list goes on and on...

If its simply because people go in with an unrealistic view of what their nursing career will be like...that is much different than nursing being a high stress job that can be too much after awhile.