Has anyone left nursing job due to COVID19 virus?

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I am curious to find out if anyone has decided to leave their current job due to the risk of this virus? I work in the Emergency Department and we are now being asked to reuse PPE and to prepare for a surge of COVID 19 patients. This makes me sick to my stomach and concerned for my co workers, other patients along with the risk we bring home to our own families.

2 hours ago, gizelda196 said:

I am having so much anxiety over the lack of staff, supplies, support ,the working conditions. I just dont want to do this any more. 25 years in nursing. I'm an ED RN.

I really feel for you ED nurses, you are where it is the craziest. I hope you make it out on the other end okay.

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On 3/25/2020 at 9:42 PM, MeganMN said:

I cannot help but feel like a coward in some respects, but I never agreed to fight a fire with a sprinkler. There are always calculated risks that come with our job, it I could not accept what I was being asked to do with improper gear.

This is the problem! They don't send firefighters into burning buildings without masks and waterless hoses. They don't send police to armed bank robberies with toothpicks. They don't send military into combat without weapons. Why are nurses expected to treat patients in a highly contagious pandemic without protective gear?

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Specializes in Cardiology.

I haven't thought of quitting but after this passes I am definitely leaving the floor. This was the final straw.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
5 hours ago, gizelda196 said:

I am having so much anxiety over the lack of staff, supplies, support ,the working conditions. I just dont want to do this any more. 25 years in nursing. I'm an ED RN.

I felt this way too. I am anxious even now about when I have to go back. The anxiety is ultimately what brought me down and made me decide to take a leave of absence. It absolutely sickens me to think of how unprotected everyone is in this situation. ER nurses are always so exposed, it it is usually a calculated risk. This is so different.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.
2 hours ago, NurseBlaq said:

This is the problem! They don't send firefighters into burning buildings without masks and waterless hoses. They don't send police to armed bank robberies with toothpicks. They don't send military into combat without weapons. Why are nurses expected to treat patients in a highly contagious pandemic without protective gear?

I do not know but it makes me terribly sad and angry. None of us agreed to die for our jobs. My husband and I talked about that at length. When he signed up for the military, he did potentially agree to die for his country, but none of us did that. It is so painful for me to think about, Italy, New York, Michigan, etc. They are walking into a war zone daily and know it is just a matter of time. How could this happen?

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I think most of us aren't afraid of getting the virus ourselves. We are afraid of passing it to our families. The ramifications of that are different for everyone. Some out there are the sole caregivers for their elderly parents.

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On 3/25/2020 at 2:09 PM, Lilysart said:

I am considering quitting because I am a senior with asthma. My step-daughter is immunosuppressed and my husband has asthma. It is a difficult decision. I have put in 40 years +. If I do work, I will stay in a hotel or something.

You do what’s best for you, which sounds like step away. Follow your head not your heart right now ? Be well!

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On 3/25/2020 at 7:00 PM, otgd8 said:

@DannyBoy8 It sucks if you think about it too because the hospital is not testing us to see if we are positive and we are working with extremely immunocompromised patients and exposing them to the virus. It is so sad. I agree with quitting being just as brave as staying to protect patients if I think about the aforementioned statement as well.

This is a big topic. If we tested a nurse today and that was negative and then worked 2 more shifts possibly exposed would you test them again in a week?........ the working and testing could go on and on. That's why I think its good for all healthcare workers to wear masks at all times. Maybe get a baseline test, where a mask at all times, and then test only if there are symptoms. However if you are in an area without enough PPE maybe you won't be able to mask at all times.

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I am an RPN. I am also a single mother. I have to take care of my daughter at home because school is closed. It is a hard time for every parent because of a financial problem and an infected chance due to COVID-19.

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I fully support anyone who elects to resign in order to protect family. Hospital administrators cut corners in every way possible and won't look out for us should we or our loved ones fall ill. I was a FTE nurse at the VA, but changed to Intermittent (per diem w/no insurance) when they refused to accommodate my request for part-time or flexible scheduling. They need me to work (I am looking for another job and want to help in this fight against Covid-19), but that means putting myself and the Veterans at risk since we also are not allowed to wear masks and eye protection has NEVER been provided.

I could lose my house should I become infected. (The VA has many intermittent employees--it enables them to have a fat staffing roster without spending money on benefits.) So like many of you I am not helping right now--out of necessity. I want to, but can't risk everything to do so.

It would be nice if in all of these "calls for nurses" there would be some type of statement offering protection. Those who have insurance already should get hazard pay if they are not being provided proper PPE. Those who are asked to return to work or work uninsured should be offered insurance protection in exchange for putting themselves at risk.

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For nurses that rely on daycare, some of the daycares will be charging all day care for kids. The other issue is that if a kid gets/gives the virus to another child. IDK how someone can get to work without any child care. Schools/daycares are a source of child care for many people.

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The enforced and proper use of full PPE virtually eliminated infection of nurses caring for Covid-19 patients in China. Before a "PPE Taskforce" was put in place over 3,000 nurses there contracted the disease (Desperate for Covid-19 answers, U.S. doctors turn to colleagues in China). PPE is the one effective means of protecting us against from becoming infected, and while hospitals keep reporting that "supplies could run out," I firmly believe that they still have them on hand. In my opinion they are hoarding supplies just like the public and putting workers at risk as a result. If enough people quit perhaps they will trust that more supplies will be available and they will free up those they have in storage for safekeeping.

This is just my opinion, but where else are all of these masks disappearing to? At the VA they didn't provide eye protection for weeks. Finally on March 23 they gave each unit ONE set of goggles for all employees on that unit to SHARE. Not one set per day. One set period.

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