I'm Done With Nursing.

[RegNurse1987]

I'm a 52 year old single male RN with 29 years nursing experience primarily in psychiatry and neurology. I currently work in an outpatient psychiatric clinic serving the indigent, uninsured, newly paroled, and homeless populations. I love my patients and feel privileged to work with "the least of these". I left a good neuroscience position of 15 years at a university affiliated Magnet certified teaching hospital with great benefits, and good working conditions because I was literally drowning in paperwork. Patient care was a top priority, but so was the "paperwork" that was endless, and relentless. New forms, after new forms were added almost monthly, and there were repercussions for imperfection as declared by " the chart audit police". I found myself depressed, unmotivated, and stressed out not only at work, but on my days off.

I took a sabbatical, taught English in a foreign country for 6 months, returned refreshed, took a summer off, and landed my current position approximately seven months ago. Now it's deja vu all over again. If I have to fill out another medicare/medicaid override, another PAP (patient assistance program) form, deal with another passive aggressive borderline personality disordered psychiatrists and LPN -who take great delight in watching you crumble under the weight of paperwork- I might well put in a months notice and never return to nursing again.

In my life I've been very financially savvy, and I'm frugal, so with the right connections, and planning I could possibly transition into something new and different. I dream of driving a bread truck.

Does anyone else feel like I do?

[Boomer MS, RN]

This is sad to read. Sounds as if it will be their loss. But everyone deserves to be happy. I wish you well in finding something more suitable at this time. The "chart audit police" should be tarred and feathered, at least in a perfect world.

[quazar]

I go through this every few months. I dream of different jobs all the time, and wonder "what if?"

[OldDude]

I hear ya, I often think it would be easier to work on one of those Bering Sea crab fishing boats like on Deadliest Catch. Patient care is such a nuisance and can really hinder the EMR input and form completion statutes.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I can tell you "what if": You probably won't get hired. Nursing skills don't translate well to most non-nursing jobs, and you will hear time after time that you are overqualified, whether it be driving a bread truck or even working as a peer assistant for a county mental health agency (a job I applied for a couple of years ago and didn't even get an interview). And if you're over 50, fuhgeddaboutit...while employers can't discriminate against an applicant based on age, believe me it happens every day.

Sorry to paint such a bleak picture, but it's a reality. That's not to say switching careers is impossible; the fact that the OP was able to teach in a foreign country might give him a leg up on the competition. All I can say is, one should think long and hard about leaving nursing, because not only is it difficult to change to other work, but nursing may not let you back in if you're away from it too long. Just throwing that out there.

[AspiringNurseMW]

Since finances aren't of concern, is teaching even remotely interesting to you. Your years of experience sound like you have alot to share & teach.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

Dude, a bread truck? Is that a reference to something?

It doesn't sound like you're really done with nursing to me. It sounds like you need a vacation. Take some time to think about what you want.

What would have to change for you to want to stay at the job?

If you're really willing to walk away, it's a perfect time to try to make those changes happen. You could approach the people responsible for the policies that make you want to leave and explain exactly why you think those policies are wrong, bad, etc.

You could even give an ultimatum if you want. Since you're willing to walk away.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Completely understand, I was so crispy, I took off for 2 years, applied for a waitress job. Driving a bread truck sounds really stressful.

Thinking you are a compassionate and experienced professional, that just came back into the wrong position.

Regroup and rethink dude. You could come over to the darkside ( working for an insurance company) with me!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I understand ... and hope you find some way to use your expertise to continue helping people in some way.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

You are drowning in paperwork, others drown in patient loads!...Yes, I'd love to do something else. It's not easy obtaining a good job in some other area when all that is on your resume is nursing, I find.

[ErraticThinkerRN]

With your varied and extensive experience, have you thought about clinical consulting or even global health? I'm in a similar boat, though in critical care where the stressful part isn't necessarily the job, but the politics and personalities of dealing with coworkers and administration. I'm looking at biotech companies and clinical education which definitely comes with its own issues, but at least they'll be different issues.

If you're really wanting to shake things up maybe working for a global health organization that provides mental health services in underserved countries might be something new while still utilizing your skill set. There's also flexibility with some groups of doing 6 month to a year contracts.

Definitely take time to regroup and consider what you would like to do because you might be surprised at what doors are open to nurses with your experience. It's not all clinics and hospitals for nurses anymore. There are opportunities in global health, biotech, government agencies, teaching, and basically anything related to health so it's just a matter of taking stock of your skills and what yore looking for in role and then going for it.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Psych ER?? Maybe less paperwork and always exciting.