For Burned out nurses who are leaving the profession...

nurse441 · Dec 26, 2009

I have been a nurse now with my BSN, for a year and a half. This time has been spent in the ICU. The words baptized by fire come to mind.:angryfire While I have a great staff, manager, and mentors to back me up, the work is very demanding. The patient load is also very demanding. And then mid year $2.50 an hour for critical care gets cut. I make $21 an hour, working weekends, holidays, getting exposed to many germs, and diseases. Yelled at by family b/c I did not bring their comfort measures only mom her vitamin?? All the while I have a critically ill pt next door. All I can say is I can't wait to get my MSN and teach nursing. I have no clue how you other nurses spent 20 + years at the bedside, Id rather gouge my eyes out, oh and then for those who feel a real nurse has med surge experience... I think I'd leave the profession completely if forced to work med surge. Nursing school was great, but they forgot to tell you what nursing is really like in the real world. My goal as a nursing professor is to teach my students real world nursing and cut the stupid crap of case studies and nursing diagnosises out, b/c that stuff doesnt exist in the real world of things.

i agree with you. can you elaborate on the real world nursing?, or what they failed to teach you in nursing school?

jrbl77, RN · Dec 26, 2009

I suffered a bout of burnout this past summer, crying at work, not able to focus etc. I took 7 weeks off and sought treatment for depression and got counseling. I am now back at work and things seem to be going well. I plan to work until I am 55, about 18 mos- and then take whatever pension I can and go from there. Everyone that I talk to that has been a nurse for 30 plus years says the same thing- it isn't the same as it used to be. I believe in treating pts and families as I would want to be treated, but it isn't always fair. A critical pt needs me now and a glass of water or finding your tv remote aren't critical issues. Too many people are mistaken that nurses make big bucks and therefore can be treated badly. For me, I am phyically and emotionally tired of all the giving. I feel that I have given my 20, 30, 40 and part of my 50's to the nursing field. I am not interested in going back to school at this point and don't have other job skills. For now, the job that I have seems to be okay, the other staff are friendly and the adm is good. I just hope that I can follow my plan.

SoundofMusic · Dec 26, 2009

I'm not leaving the profession, but I'm enrolled in a program to become a FNP. I will stick w/ bedside until I am done w/ this program and then kiss it goodbye forever.

What makes it hard? I'd have to say the number one thing is the management. They don't care if you are short staffed, being overworked like an animal, getting no break, dealing with beligerent techs and/or support staff. They will NOT back you up in front of patients a lot of the time, and they continue to allow administators and the powers that be to constantly increase the amount of documentation and nit noidy tasks required on the job. Add to that they act like a bunch of self centered "ME" girls most of the time -- if they are out on the floor, they're chattering and laughing, sipping their coffees in their pearls and high heels while you are still wondering if you've got feces left on you somewhere, or have just been abused in some way by some family member, doc, or perhaps dietary aide. The other part of the time, ours are just usually in their back offices, laughing, going out to lunch or pointless meetings, again sipping coffee or designing silly flyers for the breakroom. Many managers are also very short on praise, long on criticism, and are continously scolding the staff for one petty offense after another. It just gets OLD. My husband is a military officer and I SOOO wish on some days he could come in and teach them a thing or two about managing people and what good LEADERSHIP really is.

We have a couple who are pretty supportive a lot of the time, though. Many of them also try their hardest to make me happy w/ my schedule. I'm not saying all of them are bad -- but as a whole, they just either need to train these individuals better or give them the proper power, None of them seem to be advocates for nursing -- rather just advocates for administration or their own self interests. But, I do believe THAT comes from the top down.

And now we get to our fellow nurses. Many of them also "have my back" and I could not get by without them. I really love some of them like sisters. Many others need psychiatric help, it seems. I just cannot see myself working amongst some of these creatures for the next 25 years. I think I'd have to scratch my eyes out first. I attribute it to being like dogs that have just been so abused for so long they have just lost their sense of humanity. Many of them can take a good day and just ruin it w/ their attitudes and actions. I feel sorry for many of them, though, who are and will be trapped in this riduculous system.

And lastly, the wonderful ungrateful American and also non-American public that uses our healthcare system I just don't even know what to say. None of them get what we do, who we are, and we are absolutely at their mercy w/ the customer satisfaction culture that has invaded nursing. Doesn't matter what you actually DO for them, just that you document it, and make them happy during their stay -- whatever it takes, usually none of it having anything to do with actual good clinical care. I am thanking the Good Lord that I am getting out of acute care in the future. I want to be in primary care so I can prevent people from having to be hospitalized.

I hope it all changes someday, but it seems the admin types really have a vice grip on it all. We new grads come in idealistic and saying we'll change it, but you just can't seem to fight it. I don't know what it will take. Perhaps the new health care rules will affect it, but I'm not sure it will usher in anything necessarily BETTER. Just different.

DoeRN · Dec 26, 2009

I am not burned out yet but I know how I am. I am going back to school so I can have other options so when I reach that point and I know I will I can do what makes me happy.

Lovely_RN, MSN · Dec 26, 2009

My honest feeling about bedside nursing is that it's like a bad relationship that everyone makes you feel guilty about wanting to leave. I love the nursing part of nursing but that's not enough to make me accept the abuse.

tencat · Dec 26, 2009

I think a lot of burn out could be avoided by supportive administration and managers. I don't know if becoming a manager kills good intentions, or if good managers are pressured to get out due to being concerned with their workers and not as interested in the bottom line. I'd sure like to know why the worst idiots tend to become managers and the good ones bail out of it. I've had good managers, but they don't last for some reason. It just seems counterproductive to me to not try to find out why people are unhappy and try to find ways to minimize the unhappiness. Do the managers feel they have no true power? I've thought about going into management, but I don't want to become like most of the mangers I have had to suffer through....

nurse441 · Dec 26, 2009

new grad here.. i'm getting nervous reading this thread :barf02:

sometimes I feel like fresh meat not knowing what i'm stepping my feet into. i just turned 24. hrm...

sometimes I wonder how come nursing professors never wanted to go back to bedside, and they truly never explain the reality of it all.

maybe in nursing school, I have this delusional world of happiness. patients being grateful 70% of the time, preceptor/ instructors holding my hands every single minute, family members being so kind giving nurses flowers..

lol maybe i am delusional...

MedSurgeMess · Dec 26, 2009

new grad here.. i'm getting nervous reading this thread
sometimes I feel like fresh meat not knowing what i'm stepping my feet into. i just turned 24. hrm...
sometimes I wonder how come nursing professors never wanted to go back to bedside, and they truly never explain the reality of it all.
maybe in nursing school, I have this delusional world of happiness. patients being grateful 70% of the time, preceptor/ instructors holding my hands every single minute, family members being so kind giving nurses flowers..
lol maybe i am delusional...

Sorry, kiddo, that is very delusional. Most patients and families are hateful, they have the gimme-gimme attitude, and don't care about what you can teach about staying well, and usually never get flowers, and preceptors are there to guide, not hand hold. Docs are usually rude, and coworkers can be catty. That being said, if you can ignore these horrible flaws, then you'll be okay. Some people do want to learn healthy living ideas, and some work environments are very supportive, and some docs are very nice and willing to teach. Just make sure that you have a strong self esteem, because nursing isn't for those who are easily run over, especially if you're in the wrong area. Good luck though!

zenman · Dec 27, 2009

All I can say is I can't wait to get my MSN and teach nursing. I have no clue how you other nurses spent 20 + years at the bedside, Id rather gouge my eyes out, oh and then for those who feel a real nurse has med surge experience... I think I'd leave the profession completely if forced to work med surge. Nursing school was great, but they forgot to tell you what nursing is really like in the real world. My goal as a nursing professor is to teach my students real world nursing and cut the stupid crap of case studies and nursing diagnosises out, b/c that stuff doesnt exist in the real world of things.

Hopefully you will learn that case studies are great way to teach. With case studies you can experience patients that you might not see for years in real life...or ever. We use them in NP school and we used them when I was in business school. Nursing diagnosis, on the other hand....

I survived 37 years in nursing (clinical, educational, management) and will finish up as a psych NP next year. I never intend to go back to the bedside. :smokin:

Jacklyn · Jul 4, 2011

I left the profession after ten years. Most of my experience was Intensive Care. I suffered sever burnout and was completely unaware of the signs and symptoms. My marriage, my family, and my health was affected. I felt like a bird flying out of a cage when I finally found a situation that allowed me to step out. I worked part time in an outpatient setting for awhile but just as the other nurse noted....you still have stresses of various levels no matter what area...it is still nursing. It is and will always be a very stressful work environmnet and with profits and big business running the show...longer hours/shifts, a faster pace, and heavier patient loads make it unbearable. There needs to be awareness of compassion fatigue straight out of the gate, shorter shift availability, and nurse advocates who promote wellness and professionalism within the field. I doubt I will ever return to the nursing field unless I am forced by circumstances...but I do use my experience and skills to volunteer and will always be thankful for the opportunity and job security I had while I was raising my family.

Jacklyn · Jul 4, 2011

I was in healthcare ten years. I had worked at the desk as a unit clerk prior to nursing but it wasn't until I was carrying the responsibilities of a nurse that I fully comprehended the nature of the work. Even as an extern you deal with the patients but you don't see the relational issues with patients, patient families, physicians, and ancillary departments. You simply don't know...until you know.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 4, 2011

I'm still a RN but when I tried to explain to a non-nurse (and the daughter of a RN) why nursing is so difficult and unlike any other job, & why it's so difficult to change bad/dangerous/bullying nursing practices the work place (I was explaining re people not checking dangerous meds b4 giving them, leaving people with infected sinus sounds to basically become infected & rot, & how I always seem to be arguing with these people to try & change the system), and was told:

"Oh you nurses just exagerate! It's like any other profession - you go in there to change it! You get problems in any job, but you just have to be tough and stick it out." Non nurses - and even some nurses - don't get it, and I'm tired of

trying to be an advocate and stand up for patient rights, when the CNs/NUMs couldn't give a c**p about backing up their staff.

My old boss contacted me the other day re admin/coordination work in a hospital & I told her I would gladly get out of nursing to take it, so she's ironing out the details for me. I will probably do odd shifts to keep my hand in, but I've tried to change the health system - thru various means FOR YEARS - and the policitians don't give a hoot re health systme problems, and the public in Oz don't care about our problems either - until, funnily enough - they or a close family member/friend - get really ill and have to access the health system.

Yep, I'm done fighting now, though I'll never let my professional standards drop. But I'm giving nursing one more year & if this doesn't work, I'm pretty much GONE. It has been one unending struggle after another.

BTW, I know many senior nurses who got out of nursing - and their lives have changed for the better in so many ways.

PS: also the ones I know who stayed in bedside nursing for 20 years or so, their marriages all disintegrated, their kids are pretty much estranged from them, & they all wished they'd got out of beside nursing sooner. The shiftwork stuffs u & ur family up no end.