Where do burned out nurses go ?

laurasc · Oct 15, 2000

I went to a doctor's office.

I didn't just burn out, I sizzled...and I didn't last as long as you...only about 5 years. When I quit my last hospital job (in a med/surg ICU) I was pregnant and decided it was the end of my nursing career. After 4 years at home I happened upon a "cushy" job in a pediatric clinic. I was there for 5 years and now work in a pediatrician's office. I refuse to go back to the hospital.

Laura

sparky46 · Oct 15, 2000

Originally posted by burnedoutrn:
After nine years of hospital nursing I burned out
I have been an R.N. since age 21. In that time, 33 years, I have done it all within nursing. After a shoulder injury, I researched my interests and options. I am now training to be a technical writer. There is a big need in the medical field, but I plan to extend this new knowledge into other tech. writing as well.
Good luck. It takes a lot of rethinking to shift gears and decide what our real interests and talents are.

datbzrn · Oct 16, 2000

I know what you are feeling. After 15 years, which has been med-surg., recovery room, & a cardiac unit, I have gone to an Endoscopy dept. of our hospital. It is straight dayturn with weekends and holidays off. There is no call time. It is still fast-paced, but in a very different way. I feel for the nurses still on the floors, and I miss my co-workers, but I don't miss the patient load. My hospital is in the midst of a union vote and I will still vote yes for them. Hospitals don't care about nurses anymore. They are a "business" and just look at figures. Good luck. I'm still not satisfied with what I'm doing, but it is better than the floor loads.

NurseLinda · Oct 18, 2000

I understand where you're coming from because I'm a Nurse that got out...

Allow me to step on my soapbox.... because this is something I REALLY believe in! I think one of the MOST important things we all need to do when looking at a change is to take a little time and thought about our GOALS... I see SOOOO many frustrated people today... because they have set goals that they would like to accomplish in their lives, and they are on a career/employment path that will NEVER allow those goals to become a reality. For example, my husband and I ALWAYS dreamed of touring the world... India, Japan, Australia.... and for YEARS it never hit me that there's NO WAY that would ever happen if I stayed in Nursing or as ANYONE'S EMPLOYEE... For the last ten years we've owned our own corporation (I'm a Medical Fraud Investigator and Certified Medical Audit Specialist), and three years ago we diversified into an Internet / Home Based business. Having the time freedom coupled with the income has changed the quality of my life GREATLY... and since I'm 43 years old, it's ABOUT time!! LOL!!!!!!

Make a list of your goals and make sure whatever path you're looking at will be a

road or path to lead you to realizing those goals... If not, you either change your

goals (knowing that your original goals can't be realized on that path) or you

realize that that path is not the right one for you!

Hope this helps. I KNOW it sounds simple, but SOOO few people take time to even think past tomorrow, and it's hard to know where you're going unless you have that road map laid out!

Good Luck GUYS!! EXPAND your horizon!!

Linda/CMAS, BS, RN ([email protected])

nurse91 · Oct 20, 2000

After working 10 years in Med/Surg and Oncology, I was extremely burnt out....I was tired of being overworked and understaffed. There were times that I felt,that my license was at jeporady. At my former job, they had the nerve to combine Med/Surg and Oncology. Now, I work at a rehibilitation facility and love it. I will never work in an acute setting agin.

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"why is it ,that, I can do everyone else's job, but, nobody can do mine?"

rncountry · Oct 20, 2000

million nurse march, million nurse march, million nurse march! Our stories MUST be told! It will not get any better if they are not. For myself I am starting a business. 10 years and I just had enough. I may have to pick up some time, agency maybe, until my business is going well. Not sure yet, but I second oramar, do not go through this yourself. I did for about 8 months, nurses aren't supposed to need help right? We do it all, and all by ourselves. It took me awhile to figure out that I needed someone to help me through this, and I grieved so much! I had put so much of myself into what I did for a living, that it became hard to separate me from me the RN. Take care of yourself, and hope to see you marching!

leslie :-D · Oct 22, 2000

Hi Burnedoutrn!

Is there anyway you can readjust your schedule? I, too, was extremely burnt, having no energy at home and very snappy with my family. Now I've worked out with my DON to work 2 doubles a week then 2 doubles and a single shift (for the weekends I have to work). I always end up picking up another shift for the weeks I only work 32 hrs. It has changed my attitude tremendously....

teamrn · Oct 24, 2000

I can't agree more with the above post by rncountry. Rather than leave, stay and promote yours and the patient care interests that you've seen. 9 years is more than enough time to have formed an opinion or two about the issues that face nursing today. Start by reasessing your strengths and weaknesses, and looking into all the different specialty areas(start by those listed here). There are numerous ways in which you can utilize your nursing skills, and I think you could do a big disservice if you threw the 'baby out w/ the bathwater', and hopped into something totally different. Check out this BB which has over 50 nursing specialties-and those are just the specialty areas-there are so many other thing that can be done /w a nursing background. I took a few months and worked agency while I cleared my head, then did a few mindless jobs while I tried to decide where I wanted to go from the hospital. I've been working in hospice for @9 years now and REALLY feel that I've found my niche. Took a few months, but I love it, and it was worth the time spent. There's also home health(I've never tried it, but I know many who really lke it).

[This message has been edited by teamrn (edited October 23, 2000).]

dwp · Oct 26, 2000

I'm glad to know there are so many out there who feel this way. I have been a tele nurse for 3 years and I am fried. I love my patients and I love hospital nursing, but I can't balance my life. I either have no money because I don't pick up extra shifts, or work shifts with no differential to try to please my husband who works days, or I work nights for the shift premium and I feel horrible from sleeping 2-3 hours at a time and spend my life alone and can pay my bills. So I have decided to take a position with an agency for the money and stay PRN with the facility I'm at so as not to burn bridges. When my financial situation improves I will work PRN only because I love the area I work in at the hospital I work in. Then I can work the hours I want and have a greater sense of freedom from politics because I don't HAVE to have the job. I need to be a person who is a nurse with a family and a life, hobbies, a whole person. Not just a nurse.

[email protected] · Oct 28, 2000

Dear Burnedout: I don't think there are any easy cures. In the case where I was working for a home health agency 16-20 hours a day, which enabled the owners to take their Administrators to lavish sabbaticals in New York City (that agency is one of over 3,000 agencies which have been put out of business by PPS), I simply put my house on the market, sold it and moved back to North Georgia where the grass was greener (or so I thought). Anyway, I'm looking into utlization review and case management, before I decide to quit this business and move on. Somewhere out there, there HAS to be something for us for the industry which has fried its nurses to a crisp in exchange for chump change. Good luck--we're ALL going to need it!

msdttob · Oct 28, 2000

Originally posted by sparky46:
Originally posted by burnedoutrn:
After nine years of hospital nursing I burned out
I have been an R.N. since age 21. In that time, 33 years, I have done it all within nursing. After a shoulder injury, I researched my interests and options. I am now training to be a technical writer. There is a big need in the medical field, but I plan to extend this new knowledge into other tech. writing as well.
Good luck. It takes a lot of rethinking to shift gears and decide what our real interests and talents are.

Dear Sparky,
I was reading your response to burndoutrn, I'm intrigued. I was looking at Spectrum
& the alternative to nursing you chose is listed in their options. I wonder if you would
be willing to share what method you used to research your interests & options. The
description given at the site related that it was necessary to have a good command of the English lanuage, be able to meet deadlines, be very organized & highly detail
oriented. What type of training do you need to obtain & how competetive is the market? I admire the positive steps you have taken to prepare for
this alternative as a career option. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Sincerely,
msdttob

siobhan · Oct 28, 2000

there are no quick answers to this question. everyone has to do what is right for her/himself. There is a great book titled "Your Money or Your Life" which helped me gain some perspective during a period of burn out (which lasted far too long & hurt me & my coworkers). Sometimes it is very important to know when to leave a position as staying on hurts all concerned.