I dont know where to begin. I just do not want to be a nurse anymore. I really never did, since 2nd year of nsg school, but I didn't want to quit such a big commitment,I graduated. I have no desire to be a med surg nurse, in fact I would probably stink at it. I cant imagine being a med surge nurse. Thats why I went into ER right out of school, left that, did pedi home health for a while, now I am in the OR. I liked that for the first few weeks, now I hate that too. I dont know if its nursing, me, or I just cant hack it. The problem is I need this job I have for the benefits, and my salary. Plus my husband will *flip out* if I quit another job again. But I truely believe I shouldnt be in such a profession as nursing if my heart isn't in it..but.what else can I do? Is there anything you guys can suggest career/husband wise????? I have been telling him I love this new job, everythings going great, and actually it is, except that I am a nervous wreck inside, and I am counting the hours til lunch, break, and quitting time. I actually think he might divorce me if I quit!!! (or at the least be very very bitter towards me) I dont know whats bothering me more: the fact that I dont want to be a nurse, or the fact that I will dissapoint my family. Help......any advice will be appreciated.........
I am glad I read every single thread, but at the same time wish i didn't. I am about to invest $48,000 into nursing education and i am hoping it's not going to be a mistake. It's amazing what you can tune out when you seem so determined to do something. For instance, i had fellow friends already LPN's tell me that they are quitting b/c of politics, other co-workers, lack of staff....and i would listen and pretend it would never happen to me. I must be teribbly naive or dense to think that nursing would be my dream job... it's too late for me to turn back....
whatever confidence i had now is gone......can anyone answer this question - what floor is new grad friendly?
I am glad I read every single thread, but at the same time wish I didn't. I am about to invest $48,000 into nursing education and I am hoping it's not going to be a mistake. It's amazing what you can tune out when you seem so determined to do something. For instance, I had fellow friends already LPN's tell me that they are quitting b/c of politics, other co-workers, lack of staff....and I would listen and pretend it would never happen to me. I must be teribbly naive or dense to think that nursing would be my dream job... it's too late for me to turn back....
whatever confidence I had now is gone......can anyone answer this question - what floor is new grad friendly?
There is no generalized friendly floor...it's completely individual. It's just a matter of finding it. The best way to know whether you're going the right direction is to job shadow and see if you like it, or to work as a tech/aid to get some exposure. I'm not whether you have or not. Good luck!
OK - there are a LOT of positions that you can get out there, even NON NURSING positions simply because you had the guts to stick out nursing school and graduate (that's right, employers recognize the fact that you finished a VERY tough program and have good critical thinking skills, work well with others, tolerance, etc.). Insurance companies, pharmacy, Administrator in LTC if you have an RN is always an option - no clinical stuff there, just pretty much have your DON handle it. Depending on the state you are in but requirements are that you pass the state and federal exams (not too tough, I did it....). Do you like teaching??? Depending on what state you are in the pay and benefits are great and most are so short now (ie: Florida, Michigan, Virginia) that you can teach at the high school level if you have a BS (ie: biology class, chemistry, health). Feel like starting your own business? How about staffing agency or personal care? Just do like my friend did and find an area with people who need someone to come in and help with daily needs x3 a week (ie: bath, meal, shop) personal care pays well depending on where you are - lots of folks want someone to look i on mom or dad. Perhaps medical billing, medical transcription (you can do both from your own home....). Can you tell that I have a degree in career planning and placement yet? First one - found nursing on the second try. Good luck ! Feel free to PM me if you'd like :)
I read your post and felt relieved I wasnt alone!! I just graduated in may and just took and passed boards 2 weeks ago and dont have any idea what or where i want to work. Im not too crazy about clinical floor nursing either (I know this cause i hated clinicals during school) Ive had 3 interviews this week for a med/surg floor, an RN night nurse for a ltc/rehab center, and a position for a dialysis nurse which i was very interested in until they told me there would be a 2 week training program that is 5 hours away from where I live. All my friends from school have jobs and seem happy and content but I feel so lost and confused.. Sometimes I feel I really have no interest in nursing but at the sametime being a nurse is all i have ever wanted to be since i was a little girl! and now that I finally am its like i dont want it!
I really feel ashamed because I know there are plenty of people out there that would love to have a nursing license and Im grateful that I do but right now im really unsure if its just that im scared about this transition in my life or if i really dont have the heart for it..
did anyone else feel like this right out of nursing school?
What is going on here? It is SO depressing to read about so many of you unhappy in your jobs. Does anyone have anything encouraging to say about nursing? I recently decided to apply to nursing school and these posts are making me so nervous. Right now I have a dream job-- I teach high school psychology-- I work 6:30am to 2:30pm and have very little work to do outside of school...even with perfect hours, perfect co-workers, perfect location, etc. some jobs are not all that they are cracked up to be and I really believe that I have a passion for nursing... AM I CRAZY???
I think what's going on is perception vs reality. Television shows and quick glimpses into nursing while visiting sick relatives on a hospital floor don't reveal the reality of nursing: major stress, long hours, dealing with families, doctors, etc. There's no way to tell a "civilian" what nursing is really like, and if you do try, they don't believe you.
My word of advice is to work as a CNA in the hospital or long term care for no less than 6 months before deciding to pursue a career in nursing. Had I done that, I never would have gone on to get my degree in this field. I love the idea of nursing, I love patient care, but the liability and the stress negate everything I care about.
I am glad I read every single thread, but at the same time wish I didn't. I am about to invest $48,000 into nursing education and I am hoping it's not going to be a mistake. It's amazing what you can tune out when you seem so determined to do something. For instance, I had fellow friends already LPN's tell me that they are quitting b/c of politics, other co-workers, lack of staff....and I would listen and pretend it would never happen to me. I must be teribbly naive or dense to think that nursing would be my dream job... it's too late for me to turn back....
whatever confidence I had now is gone......can anyone answer this question - what floor is new grad friendly?
yep, I would tune it out also....BIG mistake, because now as a senior nursing student I am stuck & wonder every day if I've made a huge mistake!...only time will tell from here?....I'm in a position now where I CAN'T quit even if I wanted too. (I don't want to get into why)...
if you haven't started yet, then why is it too late to turn back? just asking, because NOW is the time to really think if this is what you want to do, before you are truely stuck!... if you mean it's too late, because you've done pre-reqs, well you could use them for something else couldn't you?....right about now I wish I had gone for x-ray tech, ultrasound tech, anything other than this!
anyway, I'm sure the floors are individualized as to their friendliness as the other posters have said.....all I know is so far the med/surg nurses at my clinicals are NOT nice. as a matter of fact,they look right past the students like they don't even exist! so, I don't speak to them unless absolutely necessary and even then they look at me w/ distain! why? I have no idea!
so, yes, please do let all of this sink in and if you still want to do nursing, then at least you know what you're getting into instead of being blindsided!
This is my opinion, if you nursing is not for you get out before you hurt someone. Life is too short to do something that you hate. I always say, the day I decide I hate my job, I will find something else to do. When you are miserable, you make other people miserable. If you are not happy your patients are not going to receive the best of care they deserve. If you have some issues to deal with, work them out before you decide to go back. If you no longer want to do nursing, find a desk job!
You sound like me several months ago. I have been a telemetry nurse for 3 years and icu step down for about a year. just finished a travel nurse job on an acute medical floor and that was the last ounce to the pound with floor nursing. I was a nervous wreck and could not sleep only on the nights before i had to work the next day. I was irritable alot and always felt exhausted I absolutely CANNOT and WILL NOT do floor nursing again!!! Life is too short to be miserable!! I haven't worked for a month (very actively looking for a job, though), going to counseling once a week to make sure, as others have suggested to you, to make sure my loathe for nursing isn't "something deeper". I have not felt so good in YEARS!!! your husband might be irritated but hopefully will be more concerned with your happiness if you explain your misery to him. As far as suggestions on other things to do, I am currently working on finding a semi to non-floor nursing job. what i have found so far is: clinical research coordinator--very interesting--the nurses work in an office with "regular" hours and gather information, etc while patients are on study medications. I interviewed for it, but haven't heard back yet. Do a google search to learn more in depth about it. Another is a semi-clinical/floor setting in a same day surgery center--not as demanding. If you have your BSN, consider pharmaceutical sales rep or medical equipment sales rep. Talk to someone who comes to your department doing any of this and start asking questions. Send out emails to everyone asking if they know anyone who does this that can help. The other option is a doctor's office, although the pay isn't so hot, you will have your benefits. Hope this helps you out. I am so glad you posted this! It feels better knowing that so many others are feeling the same way i do!!
Specializes in OB, ortho/neuro, home care, office.
Quickbeam said:
Original Poster: Thanks for this thread. I'm a 20 year nurse who got my BSN at 32.
As soon as I hit floor nursing I knew it wasn't for me. I got ulcers, had terrible anxiety issues. I'd get awards for care but I couldn't stand the stress of working short and mean spirited co-workers. We moved and even in a new place, it didn't get better. I put together a long term plan to seek out the best job I could find FOR ME. We needed my income and I couldn't just walk. I also couldn't afford to abandon my nursing degree.
EXACTLY how I feel. Except the 20 years of nursing (been a nurse for 1.5 years) Every hospital job I have ever worked we have ALWAYS been understaffed, but it's not for lack of nurses available, it's because of MONEY. It's okay to endanger the patient, as long as we keep to the bottom line, our nurses NEED a job, so we don't have to worry about that. Yet where I worked it was supposed to be all about 'Holistic' nursing. Well I'm a holistic health practitioner, and I couldn't wait to get OUT of the hospital. There is NO wholism there! More like oneism, or something. The admin talk the big talk, but not willing to dish out the money to walk the walk. It's a sad state that the medical community has gotten into.
My mom is also a nurse. We graduated from the same nursing school. She got a job at the same hospital where I got a job. She worked there for 20 years and loved it! She felt needed, appreciated and cared about. When I graduated the story was SOOOOO difficult. It was all about cost cutting, no matter what was at stake.
I went into this profession because of my mom, because of the respect she got, and the admiration she got for her job. But times have changed. I never saw this coming until I got into the real world as a bedside ortho/neuro nurse. Oh it was horrible. Backstabbers for bosses and co-workers. Those that would lie about you to get you written up for things you didn't do (in another thread I explained about how I was written up for refusing to turn a patient! - which was totally false!). Not to mention being a new grad and taking assignments up to 9 patients on an ORTHO/NEURO floor! You know the type of floor where you don't have the ability to do anything except code a patient if something goes horribly wrong - because of inadequate ability to monitor these patients due to workload. Missing critical assessments postop because a psych patient ended up on our floor and pulled out his IV for the 4th time in one day. No one to cover your a$$ except yourself because everyone else has the same problem (however most of them had put up with it so long they were used to it unlike myself).
All and all the world has changed so much in the 35 years since my mom became a nurse. We used to care about each other, now it's all about the bottom line. I want out myself. Out of bedside nursing, and into an environment that is healthy and promotes patient care. I have always been a strong patient advocate, but was incredibly disheartened by the fact that there is NO time to make the bond that a patient need in order to become a true patient advocate because your always running around feeling like a chicken with its head cut off.
I just know I am very disappointed with nursing as a whole these days. My mom always told me that I would've been better growing up in their generation because I truly CARE about other human beings - unlike most places who pay top dollar for someone to push pills and write notes and hurt others.
Sorry for the rant, I just am terribly hurt by what I have done to myself.
I have the exact same portrait that the OP has. Went through several jobs and never comfortable with any of them. Right now I am trying to get into to triage nursing, but the only person that has contacted me says 'your a little light on experience'. Well I know that, but PLEASE GIVE ME A TRY!
Okay - stepping off my soapbox - just wanted to let the OP know that I know exactly how you feel. Wish like heck I didn't
This is my opinion, if you nursing is not for you get out before you hurt someone. Life is too short to do something that you hate. I always say, the day I decide I hate my job, I will find something else to do. When you are miserable, you make other people miserable. If you are not happy your patients are not going to receive the best of care they deserve. If you have some issues to deal with, work them out before you decide to go back. If you no longer want to do nursing, find a desk job!
There are plenty of nursing "desk" jobs. Floor nursing might not work out, but a lot of people have suggested some great ideas.
I hope things are working out better for the OP. Give us an update when you can!
Hello, you really do sound like you are under a lot of stress. not long ago 2yrs,I felt the same way and I have been a nurse for a 34yrs. The reason I felt this way was because I lost my confidence. Imhad worked pedi for 15yrs and they closed the hospital where I worked all my life and when I went to a new hospital they did things a lot differently. Before I was the main nurse for the 11-7 shift we had a great ER so I had googd backup.
when I went to the new place the nurse was younger and she was the main nurse and she wanted me to do things her way. Somethings she did better too and over a few months I lost my confidence in what I did. so every time I had an admission I became very anxious to the point I thought I was going to "freak out". I changed positions to PP. I had had 4 children and I had worked in nsy and pedi I love children so that was the most logical to me. My confidence soared and now I am a happy camper. I suggest to examin your feelings and see if you just don"t feel confident in the areas you are working so that makes you feel stressed and want to get out as soon as possible. If you really want to work in a certain area get some refresher or advanced education in that area and go for it. A lot of hospitals have externships and preceptors in specialty areas. NICU,ICU,NSY. Not only that but your pt ratio is less so, you have stress but only for 1-3 instead of 6-9 pt. I pray you will stick it out and keep trying, and I hope this has helped some.
sue421
11 Posts
Oh Lordie, Lourdie, Lourdie
I am glad I read every single thread, but at the same time wish i didn't. I am about to invest $48,000 into nursing education and i am hoping it's not going to be a mistake. It's amazing what you can tune out when you seem so determined to do something. For instance, i had fellow friends already LPN's tell me that they are quitting b/c of politics, other co-workers, lack of staff....and i would listen and pretend it would never happen to me. I must be teribbly naive or dense to think that nursing would be my dream job... it's too late for me to turn back....
whatever confidence i had now is gone......can anyone answer this question - what floor is new grad friendly?