Has anyone ever escaped?

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Have any of you ever successfully escaped the oppressed occupation of nursing and gone on to have a more satisfying and rewarding career? Please tell us your story and what you are doing now.

I've been in nursing for more than a few years and I hate it. It's like being a gazelle on the African Serengeti, only the fast survive; the rest get eaten. I have mild autism, ADD, and an IQ of 145; but I can't keep a job in nursing. I'm just too slow. In the ER, I could easily handle 3 patients, but 4 patients continuously made me feel overwhelmed. I tried MedSurg and ICU and the results were the same. Unfortunately, no one wants to hire a nurse that can't keep up when the herd is sprinting full speed. I've had enough and would like to get out, but nursing seems like such a dead end street. I don't want to go back and for yet another bachelor degree. How can I move forward from here without starting over from scratch? Other than retiring or starting over, has anyone ever escaped this dreadful occupation and moved on to a happy career?

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Overall I actually love nursing and have found it to be empowering. One of the things I really like is the flexibility and variety of opportunities. ED and ICU would likely be stressful for someone who becomes overwhelmed with multi-tasking at a fast pace perhaps consider a different specialty. Hospice? I'm sure others can offer additional suggestions. That said if you are really miserable perhaps you should consider other careers that might be a better fit for you and if you have to go back to school that would be a small price to pay.

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Have you researched fields that require working with only one patient at a time?

Dental hygienists in my area make good money.

Ultra sound tech sounds good to me, but I don't know what the job market is like, same for rad tech.

PTA's work with only one patient at a time, but I don't know what the pay is like.

(physical therapy assistant)

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Oppressed? Nursing has been so good to me, there has been no oppression in my career.

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Oppressed? Nursing has been so good to me, there has been no oppression in my career.

Great, you love nursing. But imagine for a moment that some of us didn't have the same kind of "Mary Poppins" experience with nursing that you obviously have had. Maybe we could discuss that without you feeling the need to say nurses aren't oppressed at all. I could list many ways that they are, such as being cheated out of lunch breaks, being expected to lift 400 lb patients, being expected to sprint for 12 hours, constantly being under threat of license removal by over eager BON who has a long history of ruining nurses careers under the guise of "protecting the public", etc. But I'm not here to make those points; lets just assume that I'm not the only one who thinks so, and every discussion on allnurses doesn't have to be about defending your position.

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Specializes in Family Practice.

Leave bedside and find your niche!

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I was not a fan of floor nursing. I disliked how hectic, demanding and unpredictable it could be. I was given a wonderful opportunity to earn my wound, ostomy, continence certification and now I work as the hospital wound nurse. My schedule is whatever I make it to be. While I may have many patients "under my care" so to speak, I don't see them daily. I evaluate the wound and recommend a treatment for the floor nurses to carry out. So I see the patient once or twice week to check up on the wound.

Nursing is a great career and there are many nurses that don't even work in hospitals or directly with patients. I'm not sure where to lead you but to google. A lot just take a special certification which is less schooling (I had to go to classes for 2 months to get my certification).

Good luck and I hope you find your calling! Don't give up on nursing yet!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Great, you love nursing. But imagine for a moment that some of us didn't have the same kind of "Mary Poppins" experience with nursing that you obviously have had. Maybe we could discuss that without you feeling the need to say nurses aren't oppressed at all. I could list many ways that they are, such as being cheated out of lunch breaks, being expected to lift 400 lb patients, being expected to sprint for 12 hours, constantly being under threat of license removal by over eager BON who has a long history of ruining nurses careers under the guise of "protecting the public", etc. But I'm not here to make those points; lets just assume that I'm not the only one who thinks so, and every discussion on allnurses doesn't have to be about defending your position.

While I would not describe my nursing experience "Mary Poppins" I have loved being a nurse. But you are correct....it isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Have you tried hospice? Have you tried home health? Have you looked into insurance companies for phone triage/case management. Have you thought about occupational health? School nursing? What about dialysis? Pharmaceutical companies. There is much out there for you to try.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
How can I move forward from here without starting over from scratch?
You appear to have difficulty juggling multiple patients at once. Have you looked into nursing specialties where you'd be caring for one patient at a time such as private duty, hospice, or home health visits? This would allow you to maintain a career in nursing without starting from scratch, as you say.
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You appear to have difficulty juggling multiple patients at once. Have you looked into nursing specialties where you'd be caring for one patient at a time such as private duty, hospice, or home health visits? This would allow you to maintain a career in nursing without starting from scratch, as you say.

I have, and it's always like this: Home Health nurse wanted. Must have at least x number years experience in home health. Hospice, same game... I don't know what it is with companies and their demand for prior experience at everything. The entire concept is pandemic ignorance.

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Urgent care? Clinic ? Or maybe supervision in a long term setting, just tossing some ideas your way!

Good luck!

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Specializes in School Nursing, Telemetry.

Bedside nursing is not my favorite, which is why I only do it on a PRN basis and became a school nurse full-time. I have enjoyed the change of pace and the ability to form relationships with many students over the course of the school year so far. Though bedside nursing wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, I don't know that I ever felt like it was a dead end street. The thing I do love about nursing is there are so many different roads you can take and I look forward to seeing where it takes me. I think I can echo everyone else that has responded by saying that exploring different types of nursing might be beneficial, but if it honestly doesn't make you happy, a different career path might be warranted.

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