How long until burn out?

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I have been a certified medical assistant for over three years. I love what I do at work, but I want to do more, that is one of the main reasons I have gone on to nursing. I love helping people and I find satisfaction from it. In my microbiology class last semester there were a lot of younger girls in their late teens very early twenties (I think one turned 21 the last week of class) that are going into nursing for the $$$$$. They were always talking about which hospitals paid what to new nurses and such and such. They would always complain about how the bacteria always smelled (and I am thinking "You have not smelled gangrene on a massively obese womans genital have you?"...) One girl even said that when she become a nurse that she is going to work in surgery because she does not like people, "but at least in surgery they will be asleep" :madface:

Not only am I thinking, these people are hogging spots on the waiting list, but I asked "How long until they burn out?" I do not see people that are doing nursing primarily for the money making it very long... What do you think?

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

There's been some heated debates about this topic.

There are good nurses in it for the money too. Nothing wrong with choosing nursing because of good employment opportunities and a nice income for little education. I can honestly say I didn't go into nursing for the money, because silly me I didn't know how much they made until I was in school. I just knew I wanted to be a nurse.

I've had my days that the money is the only thing that keeps me in it. Not many of them but some.

Most people I noticed from other threads are in it for both the income and the fact they like people and want to help people.

That nurse that doesn't like people won't be a good nurse in my opinion. You gotta like people.

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I have been a certified medical assistant for over three years. I love what I do at work, but I want to do more, that is one of the main reasons I have gone on to nursing. I love helping people and I find satisfaction from it. In my microbiology class last semester there were a lot of younger girls in their late teens very early twenties (I think one turned 21 the last week of class) that are going into nursing for the $$$$$. They were always talking about which hospitals paid what to new nurses and such and such. They would always complain about how the bacteria always smelled (and I am thinking "You have not smelled gangrene on a massively obese womans genital have you?"...) One girl even said that when she become a nurse that she is going to work in surgery because she does not like people, "but at least in surgery they will be asleep" :madface:

Not only am I thinking, these people are hogging spots on the waiting list, but I asked "How long until they burn out?" I do not see people that are doing nursing primarily for the money making it very long... What do you think?

I guess it's their choice to be in it for the money... and it is good money. But when they start doing clinicals, if they haven't already, and they HAVE to work with people then... maybe they'll quit, maybe not. I wouldn't worry about them though, just concentrate on you.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I'm all for nurses like you describe taking up slots. Cause they won't last and the shortage will continue and people like me, in it for the money, will be yelling 'show me the money!' even louder.

LOL.

Of course, if I was only in it for the money, I'd of bagged for a desk job long ago. . .

I'm in it for the money. I also like what I do. Oh yeah! twofer there!

~faith,

Timothy

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i don't know, from my point of view i think maybe those who don't really care all that much about the people may actually have more staying power. my reasons are these: i actually didn't think nursing paid all that great compared to the field i started out in (law). i actually went into nursing because i thought it was a more ethical way of helping people and making a difference in their lives. when i finished my pn program and began work i was sorely dissillusioned almost immediately. the real world is not at all like school was. the short staffing forcing people who really care to take short cuts they would rather not take, the attitudes of a lot of the coworkers and management completely trample the feeling of those of us out there that really care and want to take pride in what we do. the politics of it all, all the backbiting, unethical short cuts ie: skipping tx's and meds to shorten time, not documenting things that they think will take too much time. all this is partly management forcing folks to do an unreasonable amount of work and not allowing overtime to get it done and part of it is laziness. these are all the things that caused me to get burned out super fast. however i haven't lost hope. i have seen some really awesome nurses do exceptional jobs under tremendous pressure. i have seen nurses make a difference in peoples lives i have even had the privelage to make a difference to a few of my own patients. on occassion i have even seen 1 or 2 good managers. instead of giving up i am studying for my rn to try to get myself more options. i realize that was the long way around the barn to say this: i actually think that the nurses who are just in it for the money may actually burn out much less. they don't have any emotions wrapped up in it. their eye is on the paycheck so all the other stuff probably won't bother them as much. i hope after all that rambling i actually made sense. bell

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Bell

If you don't like what you do, at least a little bit, then it's just not worth it. (OH OH, I re-read that. edit here - not YOU, general you there.)

Those nurses fade away long before they have a chance to burn out.

The nurses I see that have no empathy - it's not that they never had empathy; it's just that it got used up over the years. Even those nurses, I can see in them the shell of who they were. And even those nurses, because it took decades to get to that point - they have phenomenal skills to bring to bear. Sometimes, I am very glad that my emotionally burned out peers are taking certain patients that need the technical 'I can do this w/ have my caring tied behind my back' skill.

I'm not saying there is a trade-off, that we must sacrifice skill for empathy. I know decades experienced nurses with the emotional zeal of students. But we all have our own array of strengths and weaknesses.

And I find that even the nurses that are emotionally burned out - when I look at is closely, I can see the burn marks in off handed comments and insights - but they do a darn good job of hiding a good chunk of those marks when they actually interact with patients.

The ones ONLY in it for the money soon find that the pressures and grind cannot be met without some emotional investment. They either get out - or they grow. The girls discussed by the OP - they will grow or wither as their strengths and weaknesses and moral nourishment allows.

~faith,

Timothy.

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Not much chance of people in the UK going into nursing for the money, lol. You make more money in IT and don't have to clean up mess :wink2:

I've met newly qualified nurses here tho that have gone very quickly into private health care (Harley Street usually) because they don't want to deal with the every day people and are in it for the perks like free private healthcare.

I can't imagine getting in to a job like this for anything other than the wish to care for sick patients, no matter their social or economic status, sad that others don't feel that way!

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I have been a certified medical assistant for over three years. I love what I do at work, but I want to do more, that is one of the main reasons I have gone on to nursing. I love helping people and I find satisfaction from it. In my microbiology class last semester there were a lot of younger girls in their late teens very early twenties (I think one turned 21 the last week of class) that are going into nursing for the $$$$$. They were always talking about which hospitals paid what to new nurses and such and such. They would always complain about how the bacteria always smelled (and I am thinking "You have not smelled gangrene on a massively obese womans genital have you?"...) One girl even said that when she become a nurse that she is going to work in surgery because she does not like people, "but at least in surgery they will be asleep" :madface:

Not only am I thinking, these people are hogging spots on the waiting list, but I asked "How long until they burn out?" I do not see people that are doing nursing primarily for the money making it very long... What do you think?

:balloons: I believe burn out occurs primarily in people who have entered a profession for idealistic reasons. From the outside one can never know what a profession truly entails. An idealistic person suffers profound disillussionment when the core beliefs are not validated through the work experience.

The nurse with the most staying power is the nurse who enters the profession with a set of personal standards that include pride is workmanship, a curiosity in the profession, and empathy for the customer. The amount of money one makes helps to live a better life or to work fewer hours and spend more time with one's family. Those of us who must work to provide for the family will be around unless chased off by wild dogs.

Nursing is a profession in which we have the opportunity to impact peoples' lives in a positive way. I feel it is our duty to do that but I also realize that I cannot change many of the chronic self-inflicted problems unless the patient wishes to change.

I've only been a nurse for 7 years but can tell you it's the best job I've ever had. I work on average 60 hours per week. The amazing thing most nurses don't realize is that many salaried professionals work these hours without enjoying the hourly pay we do.

Always remember, "You are responsible for your own hapiness". Perception is reality. "Burn out" is a state of mind that doesn't need to happen.

Good luck to you,

Mark

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

It would be interesting to do research as to the type of person that burns out, those who are idealistic, or those who are detached from people.

I think those who are idealistic who later detach are using a coping mechanism and are burned out and may not realize it.

Burnout for me occurred when my expectations of who and what I wanted to be didn't match the reality. I had to reconcile that. I may not be idealistic, but I'm not detached, I'm still fully involved, invested and care about people.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

I'm in it for the job security and because I love helping others. I am a people person and love the one on one contact. :)

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I tell anyone I meet who is thinking about nursing that while the money isn't bad, it isn't worth it if that's all you're after, and it certainly isn't fair to the patients.

Sadly, it seems like the only way to give quality care is often to go above and beyond.

I've been doing Tele for 3 years now, and while new tasks have been added continuously, hardly anything has been taken away.

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Burnout occurs seasonally for me near the end of the hospital's fiscal year. (sarcasm).

I tend to get burnt out when I don't have enough staff, too many patients, not enough supplies, no one to get supplies, and no support from management.

When I spent a week telling patient's families to bring a comforter, because we have no extra blankets, using paper towels because we have no washclothes, fixing a trach with a paper clip ( true story) because there is no one who has access to the keys and is willing to go to supply at that hour of the night to get another trach, finishing rounds to find out that you are 1/2 an hour behind starting your NEXT round, and you still have to chart, being told that you won't get paid for the lunch you didn't have time to take, being told you "potentially made a med error" because orders weren't taken off in under a 2 hour time frame from when they were written" but the reason is that you had 2 patients crashing and only 2 RN's on the floor and that order was on a different patient, spending the first 2 hours calling every MD in the hospital because of things that should have been taken care of on day shift(pain meds, c/o constipation, pt NPO for EGD now it's 1700 and still no diet order and EGD was done at 0800), having a supervisor who only counts staff as number of bodies, not number on NURSES ( no offense to any CNA, but that makes more paperwork for the nurses). And this constitutes a normal workweek.

That is when I reach burnout and start counting down the days I have left obligated to this facility.

It's not that I don't care for the patients, or am intentionally rude, but frankly I have so little time and so much to do that I have to prioritize, and if you are low priority and a stable walkytalky, sorry, I'm not gonna tear the facility apart trying to find you apple juice versus orange juice or another cola, and I'm gonna walk away from you instead of argue about it.(Dont' get me wrong, if you have stomatitis, I'll get you ESO, triple mix, lidocaine swish swallow to go with that apple juice. :p )

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