CONTINUED IN WHAT IS THE MAJOR REASON Why are they all leaving?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Utilization Review.

What conditions would cause so many nurses to leave? Our ER has been losing friends fast. Why is there such a large turnover in nursing? I'm going to school, yet I talk to many RN's who are looking for a new career!!

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

It could be any number of reasons, but it is a common problem in nursing, as you can see. I have been an RN for 1.5 yrs, and am becoming very suspicious about this, as well.

Common reasons nurses leave jobs

-better opportunities elsewhere. nurses (including myself) are always on the lookout for better pay, working conditions, ect.

-managers/admin that are impossible to work for

-unreasonable/unsafe work loads

just to name a few

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Let's see, some of the things I can think of right off the bat are: poor working conditions, low pay (when you consider the life and death responsibilities involved), horrible hours, incredibly unsafe patient to nurse ratio's, the impotence of not being able to effect change.....I'm sure there are many, many, other reasons but that's what came to mind first.

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Well, when you don't even have time to use the bathroom and you have to stay 2 hours over to get your work and charting done as recently happened to me on an evening shift, does that tell you anything? Of course, since I didn't have time to use the bathroom, I didn't get my half hour meal break that I don't get paid for to begin with. I asked about signing for no meal break and was told you have to call the supervisor and fill out some PTO form, and I'm sure you get flack for that from the manager so I didn't even bother, since if no one else does it, it looks like you have a problem.

So much responsibility and liability and you don't have the time to do the work properly because of the staffing and nurse to patient ratio.

This is a new job for me, working prn, and this is my last nursing job, I decided I would give one more nursing job a try and then that's it, I'm doing something else. It's too soon to tell yet, but when you find yourself working only what you have to to fulfill your committment instead of what you wanted to before going in, that's not a good sign.

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Just to touch on a few things the last person commented on...

Take a bathroom break. I know this many sound tough, but YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE of YOURSELF TOO. Unless it's a life or death situation, I am sure the patient can wait a few moments while you use the restroom. Same for eating, you should take at least a 15 min. break to sit and eat a sandwich. You are no good to your patient and fellow staff members when you are tying your legs and about to fall over from low blood sugar. That helps no one. YOU HAVE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS FOR YOURSELF. I have read on this board where nurses take care of everyone else BUT themselves. Yes we are in this to help people, but we have to remember to help ourselves too! You just have to make the time. Period. If the other staff members give you a bunch of junk over taking a 5 min. bathroom break or 15 to wolf a sandwich... get out. I am sure there are other places to work where employees are valued. It may be a challenege in the nursing industry, but I am sure decent places do exist. Stand up for yourself. I will. I have read that is one of the traits of nurses.. that many don't stand up for themselves. In the end you have to NURSE yourself too.

Good luck and hold your head high.. because YOU are worth it.

Thanks to all the nurses!!! E

:w00t:

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Just to touch on a few things the last person commented on...

Take a bathroom break. I know this many sound tough, but YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE of YOURSELF TOO. Unless it's a life or death situation, I am sure the patient can wait a few moments while you use the restroom. Same for eating, you should take at least a 15 min. break to sit and eat a sandwich. You are no good to your patient and fellow staff members when you are tying your legs and about to fall over from low blood sugar. That helps no one. YOU HAVE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS FOR YOURSELF. I have read on this board where nurses take care of everyone else BUT themselves. Yes we are in this to help people, but we have to remember to help ourselves too! You just have to make the time. Period. If the other staff members give you a bunch of junk over taking a 5 min. bathroom break or 15 to wolf a sandwich... get out. I am sure there are other places to work where employees are valued. It may be a challenege in the nursing industry, but I am sure decent places do exist. Stand up for yourself. I will. I have read that is one of the traits of nurses.. that many don't stand up for themselves. In the end you have to NURSE yourself too.

Good luck and hold your head high.. because YOU are worth it.

Thanks to all the nurses!!! E

:w00t:

No one is going to do the work while I am gone if I insist on taking and do take a lunch break, and then the work is that much further behind and I am that much later getting out, no thanks.

Show me a place in med surg that is any better!

It's easy to say do this, do that, but you are not the one there, I am!

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Just to touch on a few things the last person commented on...

Take a bathroom break. I know this many sound tough, but YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE of YOURSELF TOO. Unless it's a life or death situation, I am sure the patient can wait a few moments while you use the restroom. Same for eating, you should take at least a 15 min. break to sit and eat a sandwich. You are no good to your patient and fellow staff members when you are tying your legs and about to fall over from low blood sugar. That helps no one. YOU HAVE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS FOR YOURSELF. I have read on this board where nurses take care of everyone else BUT themselves. Yes we are in this to help people, but we have to remember to help ourselves too! You just have to make the time. Period. If the other staff members give you a bunch of junk over taking a 5 min. bathroom break or 15 to wolf a sandwich... get out. I am sure there are other places to work where employees are valued. It may be a challenege in the nursing industry, but I am sure decent places do exist. Stand up for yourself. I will. I have read that is one of the traits of nurses.. that many don't stand up for themselves. In the end you have to NURSE yourself too.

Good luck and hold your head high.. because YOU are worth it.

Thanks to all the nurses!!! E

:w00t:

Also, are you even an RN? It doesn't look like it by your profile. If you're not then I don't think you can comment on the situation.

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After all these years, I'd like to have a job where I didn't have to worry about anyone's urine, bm, cardiac, or pulmonary history - plain and simple.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
Just to touch on a few things the last person commented on...

Take a bathroom break. I know this many sound tough, but YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE of YOURSELF TOO. Unless it's a life or death situation, I am sure the patient can wait a few moments while you use the restroom. Same for eating, you should take at least a 15 min. break to sit and eat a sandwich. You are no good to your patient and fellow staff members when you are tying your legs and about to fall over from low blood sugar. That helps no one. YOU HAVE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS FOR YOURSELF. I have read on this board where nurses take care of everyone else BUT themselves. Yes we are in this to help people, but we have to remember to help ourselves too! You just have to make the time. Period. If the other staff members give you a bunch of junk over taking a 5 min. bathroom break or 15 to wolf a sandwich... get out. I am sure there are other places to work where employees are valued. It may be a challenege in the nursing industry, but I am sure decent places do exist. Stand up for yourself. I will. I have read that is one of the traits of nurses.. that many don't stand up for themselves. In the end you have to NURSE yourself too.

Good luck and hold your head high.. because YOU are worth it.

Thanks to all the nurses!!! E

:w00t:

I have had people tell me this too and it sounds nice in theory... you know, the patient's not dying... take a break.

Yeah okay, last night I had no patients on the verge of death BUT I had two who were getting blood transfusions, two who needed extensive dressing changes, several who were painful, lots of scheduled meds to give, orders to note off and other tasks to attend to. I did not stop and sit down until the final hour of my shift and then only to chart quickly for 15 minutes before hitting the floor again. There literally was no time. Telling me to take time doesn't solve the problem. We're too loaded down. Period. And a person can only take so much of that before they start questioning "Is this the kind of job I want for the rest of my life?" Funny, I just started another thread (before seeing this one) about being a new grad and wanting out of hospital nursing...

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No.. I am not an RN YET. Will be starting school in Jan. and I look forward to it. I do not work in a hospital, BUT do work in a TV newsroom where I am the "brains" of the operation and run the newsroom. All the stories that get on air.. I make happen. All feeds, live shots, stories, VOSOT's etc. Yes.. I do not deal with sick or dying people directly, BUT I do deal with people shouting over the phone that their holding on for one more day then going to slit their wrists (had that today and was trying to calm her down over the phone as she was sobbing uncontrollably)... or a mother crying on the phone that her child has been abducted... and yes.. I get calls from family members screaming over the phone line that their house is burning down. I can hear the Moms shouting at the kids to get out... get out!! So nope.. I am not a nurse, but do deal with what you could classify as emergencies on a daily basis. Do I take hour breaks.. No.. do I take half hour breaks.. No.. but I do take 10 min. breaks to go to the bathroom and call to tell my folks I love them... do the Producers get ticked... yes.. too bad.. they get over it. I HAVE to use the bathroom. I HAVE to eat. So no, I am not a nurse yet, but will be one someday. And I was complimenting nurses, saying they should try and take BASIC care of themselves while on shifts... no one is saying yack on the telly for a half hour or take smoke breaks every hour. Going to the bathroom and eating a meal are basic every day bodily events and it does not take being or not being a nurse to know that. If you don't take one, you are only hurting youself.

Also.. I have heard nursing in hospitals can be rough.. why not look around then. There are plenty of nursing opportunities in the field of nursing. Hope you find your niche and your happiness!! E

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Specializes in Critical Care, Cardiothoracics, VADs.

I don't understand this at all. Perhaps we are lucky in Australia, but having breaks is mandated by law. People cover your breaks. You get a 10 minute teabreak and 30 min lunchbreak you HAVE to take. I don't understand how people can do an 8 or 10 hour shift without getting to the bathroom! Then again, we have mandated nurse-patient ratios, including med-surg wards, so perhaps as I said we are just lucky. There is no way I'd work in that situation.

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No.. I am not an RN YET. Will be starting school in Jan. and I look forward to it. I do not work in a hospital, BUT do work in a TV newsroom where I am the "brains" of the operation and run the newsroom. All the stories that get on air.. I make happen. All feeds, live shots, stories, VOSOT's etc. Yes.. I do not deal with sick or dying people directly, BUT I do deal with people shouting over the phone that their holding on for one more day then going to slit their wrists (had that today and was trying to calm her down over the phone as she was sobbing uncontrollably)... or a mother crying on the phone that her child has been abducted... and yes.. I get calls from family members screaming over the phone line that their house is burning down. I can hear the Moms shouting at the kids to get out... get out!! So nope.. I am not a nurse, but do deal with what you could classify as emergencies on a daily basis. Do I take hour breaks.. No.. do I take half hour breaks.. No.. but I do take 10 min. breaks to go to the bathroom and call to tell my folks I love them... do the Producers get ticked... yes.. too bad.. they get over it. I HAVE to use the bathroom. I HAVE to eat. So no, I am not a nurse yet, but will be one someday. And I was complimenting nurses, saying they should try and take BASIC care of themselves while on shifts... no one is saying yack on the telly for a half hour or take smoke breaks every hour. Going to the bathroom and eating a meal are basic every day bodily events and it does not take being or not being a nurse to know that. If you don't take one, you are only hurting youself.

Also.. I have heard nursing in hospitals can be rough.. why not look around then. There are plenty of nursing opportunities in the field of nursing. Hope you find your niche and your happiness!! E

No comparison! If you have not worked on a medsurg floor as an RN then you do NOT know what we are talking about, and you are in no position to offer advice.

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