For Nurses Quitting Nursing

[The_Optimist]

Nurses give up too easily!

I hate nursing!”

This is not what I expected.”

I wish I had never gone to nursing school at all...”

And whatever else popular refrain there is. So you graduated nursing school and started working, only to discover that nursing isn't exactly what you thought it would be, or your cup of tea. And your next plan is to bail out of it, right? Wrong!

Where, is your backbone of steel?

So nursing is not your cup of tea or what you thought it would be, that's okay. But, do you allow your blood, sweat and money go down the drain without an exit plan. No, you come with a strategy of how to make things work for you.

You refocus and remind yourself that nursing is only a job, and one that you would need to do well, ( as with any other job) to deserve your pay. And then you work at it- give it a little time to be absolutely certain, that it is NOT what you want and THEN come up with an exit plan of where next you want life to take you.

Be sure to be frugal and save up while working on your exit strategy and this time, network, network network, in the potential career path, that you would like to go on. You don't want to get a rude awakening when you have a repeat. Peace :)

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am entering my 11th year of nursing. However, I cannot blame the newer nurses in the ranks who want to bail during the first couple of years. No amount of research can prepare some people for the ugliest shades of this career.

I do concur with your advice to give it some time before making a hasty decision. Nonetheless, after several years in a few different specialties, an individual usually has an idea of whether he/she wants to be in nursing for the long term.

Finally, I think it takes a sharp, introspective person to realize that a particular career pathway might not be the most suitable fit. While it would have been nice to figure this out before investing time, money and effort into becoming a nurse, it is still not too late for most people to change their occupational circumstances.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Thanks OP - great insight into a perpetual problem.

IMO, this is probably the rationale for continued emphasis on the importance of "the calling". The strength of this internal motivation is greater than external motivation sources (salary, flexibility, etc) and therefore much more likely to be sustained despite the reality shock of actual nursing practice.

[Soliloquy, MSN, APRN, NP]

I agree with TheCommuter. I don't think it's "copping out" all the time because someone decided nursing isn't for them. New nurses, young people in their 20s, people change careers all the time and it doesn't mean they're anything "bad" or lacking a backbone. It's just not for them and I wish people would be more supportive of other's desire to change instead of constantly judging them for doing so.