How many RN's have left?

Nurses General Nursing

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I have been reading a lot about RN's leaving their jobs. We employ 24 RN's in our ER have had at least a 50% turnover in the past year. I have worked for 5 team leaders in 3 years. The reasons I have heard for leaving are usually short staffing, and unsafe work loads. (Holding pts in the hall, multiple ICU pts stuck in the ER for more than 24 hours.) I was wondering if your experienced nurses are leaving, why, and where are they going?

Specializes in Critical Care.

Same all over, how sad for the patients and the nurses.

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.

It's mostly the new nurses that leave us. Jump, jump, jump!

Ceecel.dee- Why do you think all the new nurses "jump?"

It's pretty sad to see how many great RNs leave the profession b/c they are burned to a crisp. We need to think about not only recruitment, but retention.My hospital has all these sign on bonuses, but once they have you, you get the short end of the stick from there on out.

Working conditions are so unpleasant, that many choose not to stay (short staffed, increased paperwork & inane regulations, taking on responsibilities of other ancillary staff, etc).

What do you see as the answer?

For me, a few more staff would make all the difference. But management cuts nursing staff to the bone, and runs the hospital with as little as they can. No wonder everyone burns out. :(

I agree with ceecel.dee, here it is mainly the newer nurses that don't seem to last very long. I wish I knew why. Could be it is not as glamorous as the tv show, or they feel they are overworked. Who really knows.

I will be leaving the ER I work in fairly soon for a traveling job. There is a small (24 bed) rural hospital close by that needs a traveler. I may take them up on it. Rural nursing is a whole different ball of wax. Will mainly work ER and be the all around float when the ER is slow.

I am doing it for a couple of reasons, tired of the understaffing, and inapropriate staffing in the ER I presently work, and of course for the money....not getting any younger.

bob

I have worked in LTC for over a year. I truly enjoy the people. I would love to be able to stay long enough to become "an experienced nurse." However, the working conditions are appalling.

When I interviewed for the job, I was told that there would often be 40-45 residents to only one nurse. I was told this was not as bad as it sounded because the residents were for the most part healthy. As soon as they got sick, they were shipped out to the hospital.

The unit to which I oriented and am usually assigned is a heavy diabetic unit. Numerous fingersticks and numerous insulin injections. As I am a member of the AADE, this has never been a problem for me.

Then we started getting more respiratory cases. Oxygenators and nebulizers. Supplies being as "plentiful" as staffing, we've at times had up to four people sharing one nebulizer.

Then it was more wound care.

Now we're starting to take in PICC lines.

It's getting more and more like a hospital and less like a place of residence. One nurse and two CNAs per 40-45 residents. Does this sound like effective staffing? Does it sound safe to you?

I'm working on my BSN. I won't be leaving nursing, just THIS type of nursing. Considering home health.

I didn't leave nursing and probably never will until I retire but I did leave a job that I had for 15 years because I just got tired of the day in and day out crap that came with it. It's only been 4 weeks on my new job but I think I made a wise choice. It's easy to stay where you are comfortable and know where everything is and know everyone. It's very scary to move on but sometimes very necessary for mental health.

Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Maizey: Good for you and glad you found the courage to start fresh before you burned out completely. Best wishes.

Ceecel.dee- Why do you think all the new nurses "jump?"

It's pretty sad to see how many great RNs leave the profession b/c they are burned to a crisp. We need to think about not only recruitment, but retention.My hospital has all these sign on bonuses, but once they have you, you get the short end of the stick from there on out.

Working conditions are so unpleasant, that many choose not to stay (short staffed, increased paperwork & inane regulations, taking on responsibilities of other ancillary staff, etc).

What do you see as the answer?

For me, a few more staff would make all the difference. But management cuts nursing staff to the bone, and runs the hospital with as little as they can. No wonder everyone burns out. :(

I was looking at nursing jobs through google, found this forum and thought you were all talking about the situation in sydney. here too, it's exactly as you say. I've only been working as an aged care AIN for the past six months and am disillusioned. I don't know how we in Australia are going to attract newcomers to this work. It is hard and dirty, requires skill and the pay is lower than supermarket shelf-stacking. We face even more staff cuts in the near future. Management cries that govt is not funding them adequately, though I work for a big organisation which makes a profit. I can't cope with the lack of satisfaction and the relentless shunting of residents from bed to shower to dining room with no time or mental space for personal interaction. That's why newcomers leave. I am quitting two of my shifts tomorrow. I enjoy working with the residents, and the orientation we received into the company was passionate and idealistic, so it's a shame, but management is not delivering and I am run down. There's no point doing this work if it's not satisfying. It could be easily fixed: as Kona2 said, a couple of extra staff would do it, but there's no way we're getting them. so I'll find something that's easier and pays better. It shouldn't be hard.

Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

With me and other nurses I know it is mainly about unsafe ratios, and the fact that the State holds you to one standard, your education teaches you another, then your facility tends to take that and manipulate both into what fits them..leaving you going WHAT?!?!?!

I work in assisted living right now, and with one floor nurse for 160 patients didn't seem all that bad when you don't do direct care and med pass...then like Blondie said...we started getting more and more complex patients...pretty soon one nurse wasn't enough. Then as that one nurse, there was so much going on it left little time to do any real 'nursing'...more like patch, go, try to chart before getting your next case over the walkie!

I don't have time to spend looking at a probelm and really getting down to some implementations to make a difference...and that really bites! Yet my employer says I must...and we nurses keep telling them..then HIRE some nurses and quit this one nurse per shift policy..then one will have time to do all this and really make a difference..but no go!

SO between unsafe ratios, management saying one thing and expecting you to do the other or both with no time, and being a professional with little or no respect for what you do from others...hmmmm I don't know, it really does get you thinking of "why did I do this again?!?!" on occasion (especially after a rough hard day).

It was like I said on another post. I took stock of my career, which I am very proud of...however when asked what my 5 year outlook was...I couldn't picture me still running around like a hamster on the wheel getting no where like I am now. I don't know if that simply will be a matter of getting out of my current facility, or out of nursing all together. The stress level is unhealthy, and although I thought I picked a career for life, I certainly didn't want it to TAKE my life..LOL!

We just hired a nurse that has over 40 years expereience, she loves her job as a nurse, but admitted that she really wants to leave now because of the reasons I mentioned. She said "better I ween myself off this career by going part time then none before I actually have a stroke from the stress...40 years..I think I gave it my all!" What a great gal..and I so see her point!

Now if you ask if I will be a nurse 40 years down the line...well since I am in my thirties..no..LOL! But 30 years..I would still say NO! 20 years..NO 10 years maybe...but only if things improve and I can find a place I am satisfied that my work is doing something for myself and others :)

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