How many new nurses are seriously thinking about quiting?

Nurses New Nurse

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And why do you want to quit?

I really would like a study done on how many nurses quit nursing within the first 5 years. It seems like 80% of the student population at community colleges are pre-nursing students. I do not get why there is still so many RN jobs available on the market. When there have been thousands of graduates every year.... Something is amiss in the career of nursing and the truth needs to be told....

Specializes in Women's Health, L&D,hi risk OB.
Thank you sooo much for posting this. This gives me hope. I am new to this website and am hoping to apply into the nursing program for fall 2008, this year. I am a waitress right now, have been for a long time. I work harder than any other FOH person (besides bussers) and feel confident this will be applicable to nursing. I am very used to being spoken down and disrespected over food and drinks! At least in nursing the pressure will be about something with more meaning.

Hi sleika,

It would be really nice if we learned this in nursing school, that is the waitressing/nursing connection! On my next interview I will be putting on my waitress hat...BTW....what's the key to being a good waitress? I can hardly put up with it all sometimes.

FMWF

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But I have not thought of quitting. I couldn't do that. I will cry, I will feel sorry for myself, I will pray for things to get better, I might drink more than I used to, but I will not quit.

Blue

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time, but this statement really concerns me. Especially that you "might drink more than you used to". Why would you stay at a job that makes you feel this way? No job is worth your health and no job is worth driving you to drink.

Why would quitting be so horrible? Either there has to be a better job out there for you in nursing or you need to cut your losses and get out of the profession for awhile until you find something that you enjoy.

I hope that you find what you are looking for.

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I too have just about had enough. I am beyond exhausted. I am changing jobs after just 15 weeks at a major teaching hospital. I had a grand vision of how wonderful it would be to be in a learning environment just starting out. So far I have not had one day off that I did not have to drive to the hospital for mandatory this or mandatory that in addition to work. It was also not disclosed during the interview that I would be required to work 84 hours every 2 weeks and that I would be required to frequently take call which is used to fill in for a habitual lack of nurses. This is more like mandatory overtime with a different name. The nurses on the unit are terribly unhappy and because of it they are back stabbing and not so helpful. We are often required to take on a large patient load without help. I am tired and I am stressed and not enjoying this at all. I have had my hours changed from days to nights, to splits, and any combination in between. Enough already!!!! I am giving notice tomorrow. I will also be looking at another field of study or perhaps something outside of bedside nursing.

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Specializes in GERIATRICS, DEMENTIA CARE, MED-SURG.

Sounds to me like it's time for the schools to do a reality check. Nine years ago when I was an LPN student my instructor was a retired nurse.......same when I went back for my RN. They had to take classes in order to use the computers at the hospital........talk about the blind leading the blind. Only 2 of the students were able to do their preceptorship in a doctors office, the rest of us either did LTC or Medsurg..................by the end we were taking a full caseload so that was helpful. I have worked in LTC and on 2 different floors at the hospital...........and all 3 shifts.......I have ruined my back and am currently looking for another job following surgery.

What ever you do take care of yourself.....................

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reality check. Nursing is one of the most difficult fields to choose as a profession. Nursing instruction should place more focus on the reality of the crisis that healthcare is in. It's so hard for the new grads to realize that some of what they learn in school simply doesn't happen in the real world of bedside nursing. For example...you have an assignment of seven on a med-surg unit. School teaches you to review your meds with orders in the chart prior to giving them. Does this happen? I think it makes the new nurses very uneasy to know that things are not as they should be because of the healthcare crisis. If the new nurse can just hang on for at least a year then I think he/she can start to see how to organize their thinking and manage. I've been an RN for eight years and know first hand about the stress of not being sure of whats going on when first starting out. Oh and this doesn't go away just because a nurse has years under her belt either. I think even the nurses who've been around for over twenty years will attest to the fact that there are still times when they feel unsure. I don't see a real solution to the problems of understaffing, sicker patients, or lack of resources just to list a few. It would be better to let the student nurses know first hand what to expect on the floor. This would be really stressful and may turn some students off to nursing before they even graduate. It seems to me that this stress ( working the floor longer than a few hours a day twice a week) would be more profitable than the stress of something like staying up half the night to have an idiotic care plan written out so that the instructor can bleed all over it with red ink. :lol2:

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Specializes in GERIATRICS, DEMENTIA CARE, MED-SURG.

Amen!!!!

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Specializes in None.
Hi sleika,

It would be really nice if we learned this in nursing school, that is the waitressing/nursing connection! On my next interview I will be putting on my waitress hat...BTW....what's the key to being a good waitress? I can hardly put up with it all sometimes.

FMWF

I really believe that the key is to be able to anticipate what comes next. Just like anything else. Like chess, I guess. I really have gotten into the habit of thinking, "If I do so and so, it will result in so and so, and that will cause so and so, etc, etc..."

Perhaps, that's a little over analytical for my position right now, but that's honestly how I go about it. Also, major prioritizing. Ex: Do I get this side of ranch or do I take an order? These are little questions I ask myself on a daily basis....as silly as it sounds. This is what I plan on taking into nursing.

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Please hang in there young ones:wink2: We need you! I am a gray haired nurse. I did quit. I was so very wounded about what happened to my own mother, the cruel, uncaring, sick system causes much pain. BUT, I figured it out, that if I do my best, I might make a difference to just one. Yes, we can! A wise chaplain @ St Rita's in Lima Ohio once said to me, "Linda, you can't change the whole world; but, to that one person, you might be the whole world". The difficulties and hardships that come our way are not to destroy us but to make us stronger. STRENGTH TO YOU!!!

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I am also a new nurse: 6 months to be exact. I work two jobs. On the weekends (Baylor) I work at a ltc facility. During the week I work at a asl facility. I love my job at ltc, but the asl has some of the worst aides known to mankind. They criticize, make accusations, try to do your job because they feel you are too stupid to do your own. I get only 4-hour work days during the week and feel rushed the entire time I am there. Only a few employees talk to me, other employees hate new grad nurses and the fact that I have authority. I have been told this to my face so its not a rumour. I spent all my life wanting to be a nurse, but I never knew how lonely it was at the top. But I refuse to quit cause despite the rough days, I feel like I have accomplished the American dream (at least its my dream :nuke: ).

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Specializes in Occupational Medicine, Orthopedics.

UPDATE:

I put in my notice. I'm giving my employeer until August 1st, which gives me a good 2 and 1/2 months to train my replacement.

I cannot do this job. See, I can quit, even though I thought it would be the wrong thing to do.

I need to find a job where I'm not giving children shots everyday for hours on end! It's hard to be the bad guy, and still be the good guy. I admire those who can find the ability.

Blue

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Specializes in Med/Tele.
Hey, my year is up in June......dont think I will totally quit the hospital then, I will PRN.......I have thought about quitting alot.....but I am trying to stick it out for a year for experience.....I wont stay full time......at m hospital we can PRN after a year which I think is a good idea so we can get experience.......so I will probably switch over to PRN starting in July. Looking forward to having more freeom and flexibility over my schedule!! I can work when I want, if I am sick or have some issues.......i can deal with them without people bitching that I called in! Its amazing how in a career where we are suppose to be so compassionate (work extra, long hours, bad working condtions, rudeness etc) so little of this compassion is actually given to us! I am so glad about PRN..........I know I will have to pay more for insurance but I dont care! I want more freedom and happiness....

UPDATE: I am found another job as a precertification nurse.These nurses analyze proposed medical procedures for members. Then they determine if hospitalization or some other type of care is needed and the appropriate length of stay. Precertification nurses use clinical data and national standards to approve procedures, and, if necessary, may confer with one of the company physicians to override standard criteria. (That's what the job gave me in a pamplet!) It's 8-5, M-F, no holidays or weekends, no overtime, an hour for lunch to do whatever you want, it's busy but not stressful like the hospital.........I am so excited! I went for the interview and felt really good bout it and the job.....I already told my manager I would be going PRN after my year is up in June.......I am looking forward to feeling "normal" again and getting some control over my life. My coworkers often told me that if I left the hospital, I wouldnt get paid anything and that I was going to be there for years like them and be miserable and they would laugh. Some nurses are so mean and backstabbing. I know you have busybodys at every job so I am sure its not gonna be all peaches and cream at my new job, drama exists everywhere but the hours are better, I shouldnt be as stressed or tired. I'm hoping my depression and anxiety issues will improve because I feel that my current job has made them flare up. But I did it.......I finally found something. I will make the best out of it....because I know how rough the last year has been for me. I think its sad the way nursing is today but I have been very unhappy at this job......always tired and grouchy and edgy. So I am hoping things will get a little better for me. I plan to just work the 24 hours thats required of me a month to keep my PRN status active plus it will be a little extra cash and keep my skills fresh.

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Specializes in None.

Wow, I am optimistic and hopeful, yet pessimistic and worried about going into this filed after reading all this. I wonder what would happen if every nurse in this country went on strike for one day....? Hmmmmm

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