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?
Six figures? No wonder insurance companies keep lowering reimbursements for life-saving care and blaming it solely on corporate America...
Are you kidding me? You think the salaries of the nurses that are employed by insurance companies have anything to do with re-imbursements? First of all, unlike hospitals, insurance companies do not employ that many nurses in relation to other job descriptions involved in running an insurance company which is a very different situation than hospitals. I am pretty sure Been There, Done That saves them money all the time. And yes, it is corporate, but at least she is making a decent salary based upon her knowledge and experience which she deserves. This is the system we use...insurance for medical care. She is providing a service for a salary.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.
Nursing is destroying your self-esteem? Why do you feel that way?
Lack of appreciation, lack of respect, clients who treat us like household servants but they are incapable of saying thank you. Hostile, abusive work climate. You never get credit for the million of things you did right, but the lynch mob is ready to pounce on you as soon as you make a single mistake.
This is not just one job that pissed me off, this is my impression of the industry after 9 years of nursing.
Statistically nurses have one of the lowest career satisfaction scores in the world, there is data out there to support this assertion because they do those satisfaction surveys regularly for various professions.
I'm researching the paralegal option, it takes 2 years to become a paralegal, I'm talking to some lawyers to get their industry input. If I could become a legal nurse so I could defend nurses against abuse and litigation from this abusive industry, it would give me a renewed sense of purpose because I believe that nurses are the good guys in a hostile system. And if the nurses are mistreated and unsubstantiated accusations are made against them then somebody must stand up for them and hold the employers accountable.
The travel agency I work for has such a legal team made of nurses and lawyers. Those guys are very busy. A legal nurse in a top legal team makes up to $150/hr.
Good luck with your career and I appreciate you asking about my feelings tactfuly without flaming me on sight.
If this is what you needed to maintain your sanity then it was absolutely the right decision.
I personally want out as well.... however I have no other avenues at the moment and my options are to get education to get into another field that pays more than minimum wage, pay off the school debt and or work through it until I can get my masters and open my own clinic.
I've been am RN for a year this November and I know already that if I have to do this until retirement I will literally go off the deep end. My career has been nothing but ridiculous challenges and as you mentioned the work alone is enough nevermind all the extras.
Good for you I am jealous. The good thing about nursing is if you change your mind it'll still be there.
Statistically nurses have one of the lowest career satisfaction scores in the world, there is data out there to support this assertion because they do those satisfaction surveys regularly for various professions.
I wonder how much the satisfaction scores would improve if facilities would change ONE thing: Nurse to patient ratios.
I suspect that they would skyrocket, as so many of the problems in nursing are caused by lack of proper staffing.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.
I wonder how much the satisfaction scores would improve if facilities would change ONE thing: Nurse to patient ratios.
I suspect that they would skyrocket, as so many of the problems in nursing are caused by lack of proper staffing.
If that is so then explain how come California nurses are the only ones who went on strike even though their state is the only one with staffing ratios that are guaranteed by law. Clearly that didn't help their miserable careers.
Specializes in M/S, Pulmonary, Travel, Homecare, Psych..
If that is so then explain how come California nurses are the only ones who went on strike even though their state is the only one with staffing ratios that are guaranteed by law. Clearly that didn't help their miserable careers.
It's no mystery really.
While CA has mandated patient ratios, the powers that be can only make so many policies and monitor things so much. At the end of the day, a facility hell bent on raising profits will find a way, often at the nurses's expense.
Many facilities in CA cut back on ancillary staff to make up the difference. Less nurse aids, housekeeping, unit secretaries and dietary workers. All things being equal, they probably come out ahead.
So, in CA you will have 5 patients instead of 7 but at what cost? You also are picking up the slack for the missing ancillary staff.
Not every facility did that, but enough did to ruin the intent of the pt ratios.
Then you have places everywhere that does both, high ratios and no help lol
While CA has mandated patient ratios, the powers that be can only make so many policies and monitor things so much. At the end of the day, a facility hell bent on raising profits will find a way, often at the nurses's expense.
Many facilities in CA cut back on ancillary staff to make up the difference. Less nurse aids, housekeeping, unit secretaries and dietary workers. All things being equal, they probably come out ahead.
So, in CA you will have 5 patients instead of 7 but at what cost? You also are picking up the slack for the missing ancillary staff.
Not every facility did that, but enough did to ruin the intent of the pt ratios.
Then you have places everywhere that does both, high ratios and no help lol
So in other words, staffing is still the problem, though perhaps not nurse to patient ratio specifically. When nurses feel they cannot keep up with the amount of work assigned to them, their satisfaction declines and burnout increases. I wish the powers that be would address this seriously, but I doubt that is ever going to happen.
I've only worked at two hospitals in California, but they were both staffed well as far as CNAs, unit clerks and free charge nurses go. When I had eight patients in my home state, ancillary staffing was much worse and our charge nurse always had a full load of patients, too.
So in other words, staffing is still the problem, though perhaps not nurse to patient ratio specifically. When nurses feel they cannot keep up with the amount of work assigned to them, their satisfaction declines and burnout increases. I wish the powers that be would address this seriously, but I doubt that is ever going to happen.
Nope- will never happen as long as there's a surplus of nurses
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Libby1987
3,726 Posts
Counting my blessings, I have been and remain happy in my work.