I Detest My Job--Help!!

Krista77 · Mar 20, 2006

Hang in there! I would NOT leave your job without something (anything!) lined up... just from what you mentioned about "deeply in debt".

Considering your personal medical concerns (esp back problems) what about a desk nursing job? You could do workers' comp... insurance... a doctors office?

Don't give up just yet... get some good sleep, and start your day off with a new breath of fresh air tomorrow.

Whatever you decide, good luck!!!

scmrn · Mar 20, 2006

Me again--as I said, one nurse (me) and 4 CNAs almost all of whom I love, but for 40 patients?? I love the residents, and it would break my heart to leave them, but I have less and less to give them every day. The work load for me is just too heavy. Did I mention 40 patients? 2 med passes (average 2-5 meds per pt. twice in a shift? Treatments? G-tubes? Injections? Charting? I&O's? Written change-of-shift report? Frequently picking up med orders? Updating coumadin per protocol with M.A.R. update? Falls and the ensuing Incident Reports, staff statements, etc. etc.? Is this normal?

I'm estimating that I pass an absolute minimum of 90 meds per shift, maximum 300. So it's somewhere in between. The middle joint of my right thumb is therefore so swollen as to be unrecognizable (from the osteoarthritis and the blister packs).

I know I'm babbling, but I need help and soon.

Thanks to anyone who cares to respond.

scmrn · Mar 20, 2006

Thanks, Cardinal RN. Good advice.

On the brink,

scm

rn/writer, RN · Mar 20, 2006

Boy, can I relate. My first job was similar. Me and two aides on noc shift on a sub-acute unit in a large LTC facility. 35-40 pts. Hospice and infectious diseases. End-stage renal, hepatic, HIV, etc., some with dementia. Tube feeders, diabetics, horrendous decubiti with complicated dressing changes.

I would come out in the mornings soaking wet and grateful that I (and my patients) had survived another night.

I did quit after six months, but not until I had another job, and I did give two weeks' notice. I'd advise you to do those same things, or you could find yourself jobless and blacklisted.

One other possibility. Before you give up entirely, can you talk to management and come up with some constructive ideas for ways to make things better? Do your CNAs have any suggestions for improvement? Is there any way to get a med tech in there to free you up to do some of the other things? Med techs are a controversial subject, but you have to do what you have to do. Mangement might not want to think about making changes, but if you leave, their going to be changing at least that much. Seems like they ought to try to work with you.

I give you tremendous credit for having stuck it out this long.

Post again and let us know how you're doing.

LoriAlabamaRN · Mar 20, 2006

What a nightmare you've described!!! I definately would not quit without another job to go to. If you quit without notice, not only will your insurance be gone, but you will probably have trouble finding another job. I would immediately start looking for another job- something without a lot of physical requirements, such as the ones described above. Your hatred of your current position should give you all the motivation you need for a job search despite your pain. Is there anyway you could switch to an 11-7 position in your current facility? In many facilities, that entails the lightest med pass and the most "down time" in which you handle paperwork, reports, chart checks and the like. Also, that way you wouldn't have to leave the residents- sounds like you are pretty devoted to them.

I'm sorry for what you are going through. Noone should hate what they do so vehemently. I sure hope you find something wonderful soon.

Lori

weetziebat · Mar 20, 2006

I really do feel for you.

I worked 3 months in a position very much like you are dealing with now. I'd be in the midst of a complicated dressing change and the phone would ring - two looong hallways away - and guess who would have to drop everything to answer it?

I'd hide in my car in an attempt to get a five minute break - only to have staff banging on the car window with some 'emergency' in need of immediate nursing assessment. Like a splinter!

Aaaarrrggh! I finally had it and quit, but only after finding something else.

Depends on where you live, and how many decent jobs are available. Don't want to quit this place only to find yourself in another LTC facility.

Good luck! There are better jobs out there, and you should be able to find more of a desk type positon if your health needs it. How about working for an HMO? Hang in there - there are lots of us who can empathize.

Jo Dirt · Mar 20, 2006

Is this normal?

Yes, that is normal for a nursing home. Only on the 3-11 shift where I work, there are two aides, one nurse, and 42 needy patients, give or take one or two. With your health issues it is obvious you need to find a less demanding job, but the way I learned to survive is by prioritizing and realizing it is not humanly possible to always give every artificial tears eyedrop or apply every cream...this is why it would be nice if all the shifts worked together. Yes, unless they have an issue with it they might get their evening and HS meds together. Most say they would rather do that than have their sleep disrupted later in the evening because I can't get to them before they go to bed.

So, yes, if you are a perfectionist you will most always feel defeated on a LTC unit because you would have to be superwoman to get it all done. I learned to accept that I can't get it all done. I do what is important first, then I do what I have time to do.

Also, if you have blisters on your fingers you could get a rubber thimble for your thumb, the kind some of the people at the post office wear. You'll get a better grip on the packets and save your fingers.

I take orders from a couple of prescribe happy doctors and it's obscene how overstuffed the med drawers are, such that you can hardly get them open and closed.

Undecided7 · Mar 20, 2006

You definately need to get out of there but first you need to find a replacement job. Try to gather all your strengh and energy and "hit the pavement" with any possible time off- try online too! Look into MD offices, school nursing, home health or hospice- basically ANYTHING but LTC and ACUTE hospitals. Once you are hired, personally I would not give a 2 week notice. You never want to go back there and I would hope any future employer would understand if you were honest about those conditions- it's inhumane. I was fired from a hospital (for not being a "good fit") and had no problem getting future jobs. You still have your license- so far:uhoh21: ; so protect it. I wouldn't waste my time talking to management. If they cared even the slightest bit, you would not be in the position you are in now. Listening to their empty promises or suggestions will only waste your precious time that you could be spending getting another job! :banghead: DO IT NOW. TODAY!!!!!

Good Luck!!! :icon_hug:

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Mar 20, 2006

I did quit after six months, but not until I had another job, and I did give two weeks' notice. I'd advise you to do those same things, or you could find yourself jobless and blacklisted.

Good advice. I quit my job with a MCO ten months ago. Even though I gave more than adequate (three weeks) notice, and got a letter of reference from my manager, I didn't have another job lined up and am now paying the price.

Even though I have years of experience and have my certification in case management, the competition for jobs (even with the nursing shortage) is

fierce. I've only been able to get sporadic temporary employment since, and had to break my contract with an employment agency back in January after their client wouldn't allow me to work a full day and couldn't give me adequate orientation because they were so short-staffed. As a result, I couldn't pay my mortgage and had to move in with family members. I've signed up with a home care agency, but their cases are 60-100 miles from where I now live, and I can't afford the cost of gas to get to and from

them. I just finished completing four hours worth of interviews last week for an Auditor position in the Corporate Compliance department of a facility which is 35 miles away. If I don't get this job, I am going to wind up losing my car, also (Stupid pawned the title on it, trying to stay afloat in a sinking ship :banghead: ). Then, what am I going to do, without a car?

The moral of this story is: Get yourself another job, before you leave,

regardless of how bad things are with your present one....because,

believe me, the consequences of not having one can be a whole

lot worse than what you are going through now. I know, because I am

living proof of that.

DallasRN · Mar 20, 2006

Sorry you are having such a bad time, but your options are not closed.

First, you now have 8 months in the trenches experience. Therefore, tho' you may have had difficulty landing that first job, you should have far less difficulty landing another one. Start looking. Today. The conditions you describe are not only unsafe, but deplorable for both the staff and the poor patients.

Now for some tough love advice from someone that's been at this many, many years. I'm almost 57 years old and understand the pain of DJD, osteo. I was told by a rheumatologist I have the spine of a 90 year old. Hrmmmph. I've also walked out on more than one job in my youth and lived to regret it in more ways than one. Ok. Tough love. Ready? Here we go.

1) There isn't a job in this world, nursing and otherwise, that's a piece of cake. Granted, nursing is physically and emotionally taxing and can take a toll on you in a flash if you let it. Your goal: don't let it. I so very much believe that much of our happiness in life - job and otherwise - is what we BELIEVE it to be. Look around for the good things. Find the good things. It's so easy to focus on the negative all around us, and especially when we feel like crap, but if you really start to toss the negatives and bring in the positives, it does help. Sounds esoteric (can't think of a better word right now), I know, but it helps. OK...so that will cover about 5% of your problem.

2) Do NOT take a sit-down desk job. That is the worst of the worst for your physical condition. It will only get worse. That little tidbit comes from pure experience. I nearly killed myself by "taking it easy."

Just a couple of months ago, after pain had become almost unbearable and I was in a panic stage, wondering how I was going to keep working a few more years, I joined a fitness center. Actually, I had joined last summer, but it hurt too much to work out. Anyway, about 6 weeks ago, I started working with a personal trainer (yes! expensive!) that specialized in muscle physiology and the results have been remarkable, both in terms of how I look (which was a secondary goal) but particularly in how I FEEL. All I do is a progressively intensive *stretching* program. I'm not talking a "that feels so good stretching program" but instead, "I'm sweating like a race horse" stretching program. I don't use machines or run or jog. I don't even do the treadmill unless I just want to. Stretches. Intense stretches. I've dropped a size, look 2 inches taller, and I haven't lost but maybe a pound or two. I sleep better than I've ever slept, and the best...I have an abundance of energy that I haven't had in YEARS! I'd say about 85% of the pain in my spine is gone. I can now work my 12 hour shifts on a busy med-surg unit, come home, and manage to walk my dogs a mile. The pain in my hips is entirely gone after strengthening the hip flexors. (and to brag just a minute...hardly a day goes by that someone doesn't mention how good I look and that is a strong motivator, I admit. Shoot! Looking at myself is a strong motivator.) Best of all, this stretching stuff is something that can be done anywhere once you learn it. I'm just now beginning to add a bit of weight training to my program. Anyway...check out local facilities. Look on the 'net for personal trainers with exercise/muscle physiology specialties in your area. Even yoga/pilates is a form of what I'm doing. Best bucks I've ever spent on myself beyond doubt.

3) Drink water. Lots of it. Yeah, I know...don't have time to go to the bathroom. Make time. Keep yourself very well hydrated. And eat. Little small things - half a sandwich, cup of milk - every 2-3 hours. Again, make time. Your health is the most important. Again, water and food keep your brain and muscles in good condition. Another thing learned from the trainer. I no longer take a lunch break. Instead, I take 5-10 minutes every 3 hours or so, eat a boiled egg/milk, half sandwich/milk, cheese chunks, peanut butter/crackers/juice, etc. I was guilty of this "oh, I don't have time to eat thing." Not anymore. I took a stand. My health, mental and physical, comes first. Amazingly, I've gotten quite a few staffers doing the same after they realized how much better they feel and function. Common words heard now..."hey, go take 10. Gotcha covered."

4) If you haven't already done so, develop interests outside of nursing and your job. Again, immersing myself in the profession years ago caused my own burnout. No friends other than nurses. No socialization other than nurses. Not good. Now, I actively seek activities and friends NOT involved in the profession. I don't want to spend all my time talking about nursing/patients. We need the mental and physical break from the job. Take community classes in basket weaving if you have to. At least for a few hours each week, do something just for you. Be a bit selfish.

So, scmrn, much of this is up to you. You can whine and moan all you want, but chances are, you aren't going to change much in terms of the job or nursing. Change what you can, beginning with your job, but unfortunately, you are going to find most areas of nursing to be physically and mentally challenging. Therefore, you have to change what you can and that is you...your attitudes, your physical abilities, your outlooks. People told me this years ago. I would have saved myself years of grief (and much whining and moaning) if I had paid attention and made personal changes. My best wishes to you. :)

Columnist · Mar 20, 2006

Dear scmrn,

Boy, do I feel for you. I also have felt that desperation in my life, so I think I understand a little bit about what you're going through.

Is it possible for you to take any paid time off? Maybe a week's vacation? That would give you time to gather yourself and do some serious job-hunting. It's sort of a stop-gap solution that lets you keep your job for the moment but gives you a mental respite.

Best wishes.