Early burn out

Nurses General Nursing

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Maybe Im just getting cold feet because I find out soon about acceptance to nursing school but anyways...Im wondering if anyone went into nursing with eyes wide open and still thought it would be a good fit only to find out it wasnt.

Ive worked as a CNA in LTC and on a med surg floor so I *THINK* I have a good idea of what to expect as a nurse. I have family members and friends who are nurses/nursing instructors/nursing students they all seem very happy with their choice and have shared their personal experiences so again..I feel like I know what to expect and I think nursing is a good fit for me. BUT I also feel like other areas of healthcare would be interesting and rewarding as well...

I read so many posts on here from nurses that are unhappy after just a few years and wishing they had never done it and are jumping to other areas of healthcare such as PT OT ect. So I wonder if these are nurses who had a good understanding of what the reality was in terms of patients/management/hours/stress or if nursing is just so draining that even the ones who knew what to expect and were somewhat prepared still find themselves burning out early?

If you havent felt burnt out early on..why do you think that is? Is it because of where you work? Coworkers? wanting to be a nurse no matter what?

I just want to make sure that Im prepared ... ive been working towards this since I was 18 and now that its almost here Im scared I guess. :rolleyes: I hope I havent become a student who has glorified nursing into something that its not..and then realize I've put in all this time to find out it wasnt for me after all OR get burnt out after a couple of years.

sorry this was so long. If you read it and find the time to post a reply THANK YOU!

Specializes in ER.

LTC and med surg wasn't my thing. Maybe you'll find out if won't be yours either. Always know that there are other aspects of nursing out there - family practice, home health, hospice, ICU, PACU, endo.... cardiac.... the list goes on. Sometimes you have to deal with what you're offered right out of school then work towards what you really want do do and where you want to be. We all have to have a good foundation and often times you gain quite a bit working med-surg right outta school.

Im interested in everything from OR to Womens health =) so I'm excited to see where I find my niche at!

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
I 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.

You are doing fine and are right to explore all of this. It leads to you going in with your eyes open.

I truly have experienced that for ever unhappy post I read here, I talk to a real life nurse who is realistic and mostly happy in her profession. Most of them have never heard of AllNurses.Com. ;) They are busy living their lives and don't find themselves seeking out support online. At least not at this time. I am sure everyone at some point is happy to find a place like this. Where it can be hard is as a new, idealistic nursing student or nursing-student-to-be. I was the same. Now that I am within 9 months of graduation, I see more reality and am glad I had this place to balance my expectations.

Until I joined all nurses I had no clue how many were unhappy or the stuff that goes on with management and co workers..because all of the nurses I know say how much they enjoy their coworkers and work place..sure they all have their bad days..but not one has told me "run far away from nursing" and the more "burned out, hate nursing, ect" posts I read the more nervous I became.

I think its like you and others suggested...that the unhappy ones post the most..so thats the majority of what you see.

Specializes in i pull sheaths :).

I have been a new nurse for less than a year and was a tech in CTVU for 4 yrs. I got burned out in my last semester in nursing school. All I did was breathe nursing! I was so tired of it! So tired of it that 4 wks into the 4th semester, I was ready to quit. But I pulled through and graduated. Then couldn't find a job as a nurse for a month and half. (couldn't get one at my current hospital because of new management and diff policies and a bunch of bologna) ugh!

FINALLY got a job on an interventional cardiology floor that is extremely busy: 5-7 admissions a night! We have had 4 new grads leave within 6mths of their hire date. Reason being is management and the overtime. (I was thrown immediately into overtime when I finished my orientation.) 4 days a week, 13 hr shifts, night shift, and extremely understaffed can cause early burnout. You think nursing school drama and stress is over when you graduate but then you get a RN job and its a whole new drama and stress. You deal with patients and their care and their family drama and your co-workers drama and your personal issues and stressors. And you are a new grad and trying to make new relationships with others. It is unbelievable!

My advice is TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!! Even though I work shifts back to back, every morning I play Super Mario Bros on Wii (lol :). And learn to say 'NO' and know your limits. They still try to call me in even though I am already working 4 shifts. The first year to year and a half is going to be h*** and very hectic. It will calm down,I promise. It feels good though when it hits you "jeez I am a nurse!" good luck to you sweetie

It'll be worth it. My sister-in-law is a nurse too (she's who I got the inspiration from) and we don't know what else we would do if we weren't nurses. Not only a stable salary but lots of friends at the hospital to support us since we're both divorced single moms now.

Specializes in LTC, Med-Surg, IMCU/Tele, HH/CM.

This is just my opinion and is not meant to offend anyone. Also these thoughts are mainly about first-career young people, and things I've seen on a first-hand basis.

Many of the young people that leave nursing don't know what they are getting into before they go into the field. 'The nursing shortage!' and 'job stability' and 'good pay' are all that people see. When I was in nursing school the ones that didn't make it were those who had never been a CNA, and took the attitude of "Cleaning a patient? That's not my job!".

When I was in nursing school I had more than one young nurse in the clinical setting tell me they were just in it for the money, the stability, because their parents told them to do it. You have to want to become a nurse for the right reasons! There are nurses that roll their eyes when a patient shuffles slowly, or complain when someone needs pills crushed and put in puree, or calls every hour for pain medicine because it really does hurt.

If you look at the younger generations, the way that people were raised . . . kids that never had to do chores, ones that had a maid growing up, kids who didn't need to get a job until after they graduated from college. Information at the touch of the fingers -- people who've never walked into a dusty library and hunted through the archives in the basement for information. Life for kids, including my generation, has just gotten downright easy for many (though not all).

Of course it's not just ONE thing that makes people leave nursing.

But I think that a lot of younger people are just not prepared for the reality of life. I am young but I had to work for every scrap I've had since I was 13 years old and I have friends that I went to nursing school with who didn't know how to pay bills when they graduated! Had never had a job, not even babysitting or mowing a lawn in the summer.

And if you can't deal with just living life independently then how can you deal with a career helping other people live their life?

Actually, out of the 13 people that were in my graduating class in 2008, less than half are employed as R.N.s at this moment in time. . .One is not working and in school to become a nurse educator after traveling the world and never working on the nursing floor. Another decided to become a lawyer after a year or so. Another girl I graduated with decided to be a stay-at-home mom and maybe go back to school for library science. And another is going to some theology school, one runs a daycare. Oh and I should mention that there is even one person who thought that being an RN was too stressful and let her license lapse so she can work as a CNA in a group home.

Nursing is a hard job. Sometimes you really have to look deep to find the rewards in it. The people that can find meaning in this job, that are strong enough to deal with odd shifts and long hours and being on your feet all day and cleaning up a mess. . .and there will be moments that we all say "I hate my job". I have. But there are moments that I LOVE my job!

As long as the good outweighs the bad, that is what keeps me going, along with the knowledge that I am doing what I've always wanted to do. Help people.

P.S. I read in a newspaper article recently that in corporate America the average "successful" person works 10+ hours a day at the office and then goes home and answers emails and phone calls into the night! Add to that the stress of deadlines and productivity and so on. . . .nursing is stressful, but so is any other job! The staffing issues, the nurse/patient ratio -- only one thing can change that and you guessed it, it's YOU! Nurses! We need to have a loud enough voice that change is created.

if i may---i thought i went into nursing eyes wide open. i worked at a nursing tech for many years to see if nursing was for me. then ileft that job b/c i didnt like what i saw nurses putting up with! then i finally took the plunge got my degree.

i ahve been at this gig for 4+ years and like another poster said i am "waiting to love my job" mostly i walk around amazed that anyone enjoys floor nursing!

i think it is a job akin to torture or indentured servitude. now i feel stuck and i am waiting ot take the leap back out of nursing. to me NO job is worth the stress, the odd hours, the sacrifices, the anxiety attacks and the threat of litigation looming always--NO job. just my :down::igtsyt:

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