After five years of nursing, continuing my education, and hoping for a better day than the last one, I decided to quit my nursing job. Nursing is very demanding, psychologically challenging & most of the time frustrating due to the lack of respect from other employees. Even with a BSN and supervisory positions I could not find any happiness in this field. The hard truth is, no matter where you work, the nursing position you fill, there will always be pressure from up top (management). I started as a floor nurse at a local hospital, putting in long hours, taking in experience, just like most graduates. After three years of work on a medical-surgical floor, I was already burnt out. High acuity, understaffing, long-hours, will make your life miserable. I decided to switch positions into a supervisory role. The hard truth about supervisory position is that you are a management (bit..h). Management controls everything, from keeping the floors understaffed, preventing from hiring enough people to have adequate staffing, as-well-as drilling me to deliver teachings left and right. I felt bad for my few co-workers that worked with me prior to my management position that now I drilled about some documentation that nobody even looks at. The hardest truth to take in is that some business, clueless, worthless education individuals set rules for hard working professionals like nurses and don't give a crap about them. An RN is an aide, nurse, occupational, speech, physical therapist, a medical advisor, housekeeper, electrician etc. I decided to leave once and for all and be unemployed. I shared this just to see what you guys think about the move, was it a mistake?
I agree with everything you wrote. Like you, I started working on a med/surg unit, dappled in other flavors of nursing & obtained an M.S. on top of my BSN and experience went into management. Yes, the money was excellent but it was 24/7/365 & unlike some, I did not & do not want to be married to a job..no house, no car, no piece of clothing was worth the physical, emotional & spiritual toll management was taking out of me..I also believe many who are making decisions for clinical units are not clinicians nor ever have been. There isn't a marrying of various disciplines, it's money first, everything else second..which is a large part of why, at least where I live, healthcare is suffering. The "powers that be" haven't figured out yet that there can be a balance between all aspects of what it takes to run a healthcare organization.
Nurses are leaving the field much, much earlier that ever before. Hospitals, around where I live, that RARELY advertised are now holding in person & online "meet & greets" & one that said they would NEVER use agency are not only using it but in one unit 90% - literally - of the nurses are travelers or day staff agency..talk about a financial hemorrhage for a company...
I have left bedside nursing after decades & tried going back..only to find it worse & have accepted I most likely won't ever work in a hospital again - at least not on a unit - which saddens me because there were things about working in a hospital I really enjoyed but it's changed too much..I am probably one of the few nurses who think 12 hour shifts need to be reconsidered..when a nurse ends up working 13,14, 15 hours because of short staffing, report taking "forever" then where is the benefit for anyone?
What is starting to happen & will continue until again, "the powers that be" wake up - seasoned nurses are going to leave in droves, new grads are going bail out & the shortage will be for real. In the meantime, the financial stability of hospitals & other care facilities will struggle, patient care will suffer & fall out will hit.
If you can afford to be unemployed, that's great - take some time to figure out what you want to do. I currently work in a multi-physicians practice that while boring at times, certainly beats the hospital any day of the week & I'm paid just about the same. Yes, it's 5 days versus 3 but for me, it's well worth it.
I think it has a lot to do with where you work. There are always going to be many other opportunities. You can try home care, hospice, doctors office, urgent care, prison nursing, public health, case management, school, etc. I wouldn't give up on it completely because you encountered a few rotten places along the way.
With all respect NurseGirl525 you have read too much of the well written brochures and print outs. For two years that was part of my job, screening people if they are a good fit. New graduates have very good potential, have a BSN degree, cost less, and are more efficient in turn over due to need of experience (2years lock-in), certain schools train graduates at our facility and they are the preference for hire. For the medical-surgical unit there would be 3:1 ratio new/grad vs seasoned rn hire. Where ever you got your costs of training from they are way off. In one year your new grad costs you less than a seasoned nurse. One year of new grad salary full time is around 40-45 thousand training difference is 4 for seasoned, 8 for new rn, so we can add expense to those. As for magnet (ANCC recognition) status it is a paid program by the hospital itself aquiring it (waste of money) that has criteria for each hospital to meet, there must be a certain percentage of BSN prep nurses vs. ADN. in order for them to qualify, surveys for p.t, education, safety.
I respectfully disagree. I do not have that coveted BSN, I work in a magnet hospital, no contract, no commitment....... I don't work on a medsurg floor.
I understand burnout, I'm sorry you don't like your job. But this is not exclusive to nursing and what you have experienced cannot be applied across the board.
You are mistaken about magnet status. Truly. Read up on it. It has to do with retention, not degree.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
I respectfully disagree. I do not have that coveted BSN, I work in a magnet hospital, no contract, no commitment....... I don't work on a medsurg floor.
I understand burnout, I'm sorry you don't like your job. But this is not exclusive to nursing and what you have experienced cannot be applied across the board.
You are mistaken about magnet status. Truly. Read up on it. It has to do with retention, not degree.
Been there, done that, I have too and you hit the nail squarely on the head with that response. With almost 25 years nursing experience in several practice areas and quite a few different hospitals, I can say with absolute certainty that Corporate America is now firmly entrenched in public health care enterprises (hospitals). Forgot all the hospital 'non for profit' statuses or pious mission statements-come on, really? We have thrown altruism, benevolence, and humanity out the window for the sake of corporate greed and to fatten the wallets of our illustrious CEOs. Put in place reasonable and safe nurse/patient ratios? Entrust JCAHO to enforce obvious areas that could result in patient harm? Don't think so for either of those. JCAHO auditors are too busy worrying about refrigerator temperatures and restraint documentation to examine care standards such nurse/Pt. ratios. It's all pretty surreal to me sometimes and very​ discouraging!
I work at a Magnet Hospital....and, I realize that Magnet is - well-- meaningless, in the scheme of things. I once worked at a great Magnet Hospital and thought Magnet was great...but, more recently, I realized it is just a matter of what numbers they collect by doing certain things....etc., etc. It really does not guaranty the hospital quality or nurse/patient ratios are any better.
Also, NurseGirl525 said in her comment that she works in a Magnet Hospital as well.
I can't speak to today's inpatient environment and I sure don't doubt how tough it is but I'm puzzled about the attitude towards perceived revenue.
In home health, commercial insurance sometimes but not always covers the *direct cost* to provide care. In other words, it sometimes pays for the clinician's' wages but never the overhead, which is significant in a heavily regulated industry with its complicated billing system. None of the MediCal policies even cover the cost to provide care, essentially charity. Medicare's payment structure averages out to revenues in excess to cover cost to provide care, but not a lot and it essentially subsidizes the costs to provide care to commercial and state insurance beneficiaries. I manage the entire budget and see every item, my company is definitely not sitting on piles of revenue.
Perhaps acute care really is raking it in and is just that different from the reimbursement, regulatory and now 5 star challenges in home health?
I can't speak to today's inpatient environment and I sure don't doubt how tough it is but I'm puzzled about the attitude towards perceived revenue.
In home health, commercial insurance sometimes but not always covers the *direct cost* to provide care. In other words, it sometimes pays for the clinician's' wages but never the overhead, which is significant in a heavily regulated industry with its complicated billing system. None of the MediCal policies even cover the cost to provide care, essentially charity. Medicare's payment structure averages out to revenues in excess to cover cost to provide care, but not a lot and it essentially subsidizes the costs to provide care to commercial and state insurance beneficiaries. I manage the entire budget and see every item, my company is definitely not sitting on piles of revenue.
Perhaps acute care really is raking it in and is just that different from the reimbursement, regulatory and now 5 star challenges in home health?
You make a good point.
I seriously doubt this is all greedy hospital administrators. Personally, I think it has to do with government interference and bureaucracy in the business of medicine.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
I work at a Magnet Hospital....and, I realize that Magnet is - well-- meaningless, in the scheme of things. I once worked at a great Magnet Hospital and thought Magnet was great...but, more recently, I realized it is just a matter of what numbers they collect by doing certain things....etc., etc. It really does not guaranty the hospital quality or nurse/patient ratios are any better.
Also, NurseGirl525 said in her comment that she works in a Magnet Hospital as well.
I missed the Magnet comment the other day when I posted but not when I went and retread it today
My problem with Magnet is that I do work in a pretty darn good facility but once Magnet was obtained they used it as an excuse to push out longtime ASN/ADN managers from their respective units or threatened them to go back to school (most were just a few years away from retirement) Now we're purging staff because the managers that are good are far and few or have too many units to watch over.
The other issue is even though the Magnet website doesn't announce it, our hospital has taken it upon themselves to translate their own version of Magnet expectations to know require a BSN in a time where new grad nurses aren't staying at the bedside any longer than it takes them to get their NP or get a non-Pt care job like quality. So this is why I ask...do you really work at a Magnet facility? Cause Magnet is not always what it advertises
Depends on HOW you left. Was it amicable? Did you give notice? Any pending disciplinary actions? If you left on good terms, a break is probably just what you need. You don't mention financial status, family environment, etc. If all of this is good, enjoy the respite. Think about what you want to do now and how to achieve it.
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meanmaryjean, DNP, RN
7,899 Posts
Voluntarily being unemployed rather than work in a less-than-desirable job is a rather telling sign to me.