Feelings About Having to Leave Nursing...

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Hospice, Adult Med/Surg.

I have decided that it is probably time to give it up. I don't want to, but I don't see that I have a choice. I have been an RN for almost 20 years. During that time, I have taken years off to care for my kids at home. The last time I worked for any amount of time was in 2004. Since then, I have kept up my CEUs and taken an RN refresher course. I also got a job in a LTC facility a few months ago that I could not handle physically due to some physical limitations that I have. I have had disc surgery on my neck twice in the past eight years. At this point, not only did the surgeries not really help the situation, but if I flex my neck for longer than a few seconds, I get a screaming headache on the right side of my head that will last for at least two days that OTC pain meds can't touch. In doing my three hour med pass at the LTC facility, I would have to flex my neck for hours, hence the HA pain, and I had to give up the job. I have since applied for countless hospital positions, thinking that it wouldn't be quite as hard on my body--since you get to sit down at least some of the time and no three hour med passes-- and because that's where my 10+ years of experience lies, and all I get is no response, or polite emails or letters telling me that the position has been filled by someone more qualified. I have also applied at dialysis centers, nursing agencies, etc. to no avail.

Under those circumstances, I am thinking that it is time to just give it up and hang up my stethoscope. I don't have my BSN or any administrative experience, so a nursing desk job, at least in my area, is out of the question at this point (not to mention that I would constantly be flexing my neck to look down at paperwork or whatever-I can hardly stand to even sit and read a book at this point), and I can't afford to go back to school to get my BSN. Have any of you had an experience such as this? How did you cope with it? I feel useless, washed up, and unskilled to do any other kind of work. It's so frustrating! I am planning on becoming a hospice volunteer who goes to visit hospice patients in their homes to keep them from being lonely and to try to cheer them up a little bit, and orientation for that starts in January. That will help with the feelings of uselessness, but it's not really the same. DH has a decent job and we have rental property, so I don't absolutely have to work as a nurse or starve and I feel very blessed and relieved about that, but still...it's disheartening.

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I don't find the employment situation to be hunky dory either but unfortunately I have also found that it is impossible to get work outside of nursing. Also, I have no husband to depend on, so I have to keep trying although I get deeper in debt because I can't work steadily. If I had known it was going to be like this I never would have gone into nursing. It has been a financial losing endeavor from the beginning.

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Specializes in Hospice, Adult Med/Surg.

I'm so sorry that you are experiencing this too. When people go into nursing, it's not only because we want to help people but also because we are hoping for some kind of job security. This economy has ruined nursing for so many people. I hope things turn around for you very soon.

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Tough, but if you really can get by without working like you said there are other things to do. Keep looking, maybe something will come up that accomodates your problems. Good luck, I am hoping you do an update.

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

I was pretty nostalgic when I left carpentry to go into healthcare. It was not a change I was making eagerly, and working in a hospital was just kind of a fall-back position that I didn't think would last more than 2-3 years. I'd been self-employed for most of my career, so I thought proving that I could work for someone else and show up for a steady job might improve my prospects of finding a better job down the road.

Lo, and behold! I loved my new job, and especially the interactions with patients. So I went to nursing school, and here I am. Days like today, just being indoors is a big plus, and especially around the holidays, getting a paycheck every other week is pretty nice. In home remodeling, a lot of people aren't really looking to start a project between Thanksgiving and New Year's, so I still haven't learned to love Christmas.

I gotta admit, during the first nice days of May, I get a little twinge as I think about being out in the sunshine, sawing boards and pounding nails. It was a pretty good life for a number of years. Part of me will always think of myself as a carpenter, and my nursing career is just a product of poor planning for retirement. But another part of me takes a certain pride in saying, "I'm a nurse." And while my present occupation has its drawbacks, they're less a hardship than the drawbacks of my previous occupation would be at this stage of my life.

I'm not necessarily endorsing that you need to give up nursing. That's a call only you can make. But if that's what you decide, life will not end. Once a nurse, always a nurse, and just as I still "measure twice, cut once," I seriously doubt you'll ever be able to reach across a sterile field. Like sepsis, nursing gets in your blood, and the lessons you've learned will no doubt serve you well in any endeavor you may undertake.

So take heart. A year from now, you might just be walking out of your workplace thinking, "Hey, I don't have poop on my shoes!" And probably feeling a little sorry for your peers who don't know that's something to be grateful for.

Best of luck, wherever your road leads.

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Specializes in LTC Family Practice.

Have you tried insurance companies or insurance investigations? There are jobs out there for people with nursing backgrounds...don't give it up.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.

The hospice volunteer thing could work out into a hospice nurse job, too. Maybe keep that in mind

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Specializes in jack of all trades.

Home health visits on a per-diem basis may be a route to consider. Do to my medical issues thats the route I'm in process of taking. Took about 6 months to find the job but I found it. :)

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I agree with the posters above. The hospice volunteer thing might develop into something down the road. Keep your eyes open and an open mind and you might find an opportunity in the hospice/home health/geriatric care management arena.

There is a growing need in our society to have knowledgable, caring people to help with the management of the care for people at home, managing chronic illnesses, helping with some basic needs on a part time basis, providing respite for full-time caregivers, etc. It's a growing domain of nursing. You might find yourself in a position to be very helpful to some families -- and get paid for it. It might not be a conventional type of nursing role, but it would be nursing much like nursing was in its early days -- before everyone needing nursing services were put in the hospital as inpatients.

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Hospice, Adult Med/Surg.

Thanks for all of your thoughtful replies. I have considered that the hospice volunteering may turn into being a hospice nurse for the same company, so that is one reason why I want to do it. Mostly though, I think it will get my mind off of my own problems, which are considerably smaller than finding oneself at the end of one's life like the hospice patients that I will be visiting. I have thought about home health care, but I don't see any jobs posted for it in my area.

Thanks again for the kind thoughts and suggestions. :loveya:

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I'm heading into my 20th year as an RN.

I have a spinal cord injury due to a congenital degenerative condition in my spine complicated by an assault by a patient. (*whew* that is a mouthful.)

A huge surgery in 2004 made it possible for me to walk again, unfortunately the results weren't lasting and I'm back using a wheelchair more than 50% of the time. I am still able to make full time money by working two jobs, one of which is a home health job with a huge amount of flexibility in scheduling.

I'll be honest, from what you describe of your condition I don't see any good work around for you. I want to give you the 'you can do it' pep talk but in truth, even the most sedentary of jobs is going to involve some neck flexion. Home health could be something you could do to work around it. I'd suggest a smaller, private agency as they (in my experience) have more flexibility.

Getting the BSN will also open some doors, don't discount that route due to costs. I'm half way done with a little known online program that costs a fraction of the 'big name' programs. It happens to be a local (to me) school and is very well regarded in my area, it has the added bonus of 'meshing' with another (local) school's Masters program.

I'd suggest checking with schools in your area with a BSN program to see if they offer it online. My student loans for my 2 year program are less than my ADN cost 20 years ago.

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Don't depend on job listings to indicate available work in home health. Most of them don't advertise. Just get a listing from the phone book on online and visit them one by one in person with your employment paperwork. I do this and get hired on the spot. They either will, or won't have work for you.

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