I felt burnt out and I'm not even working.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I did not have a calling when I started nursing. I didn't know what I wanted to do after high school so my parents "suggested" (more like forced) nursing for me. Well close to 10 years later I feel burnt out & I'm not even working right now.

I tried so hard to get into acute care, I thought it would open so many doors and I would get to experience so much. I did experience a lot but I don't think it was a great opportunity for me. It did show me how horrible nursing is, how much time we spend away from the patient & how little we are respected. After my short stint in the hospital my health took a turn for the worse and I quickly became bitter towards my career.

I was recently diagnosed with Lupus. This was a shock to me but not very surprising. I have had muscle & joint pain since high school and ever since I had my first son I am constantly exhausted. Not just tired, but EXHAUSTED. Even if I get enough sleep plus a nap. Not to mention a whole list of other issues. Add to the eye opener of working on a med/surg floor, I am so over working as a nurse. It didn't matter what I did, how I did it, how I said it or anything. I got more respect from inmates in jails & prisons while I took care of them than from any lay people.

But I don't even know if I want or can go back to nursing. My body cannot handle working 12+ hour shifts and I have tried and tried and tried to apply to telecommuting positions but I have gotten turned down from the few I qualify for.

I use to want to bridge and dreamed of becoming and RN but the thought of going back to school just irritates me. I couldn't imagine spending more time on nursing and having to deal with more rude patients. No thank you! I wouldn't mind going back to corrections, but the prison system where I live won't hire me due to indiscretions in my past when I worked with them (nothing criminal).

I am thinking about applying for SSI, but I don't know that I would get it since my husband makes too much money. Hah. We still live paycheck to paycheck but I wouldn't qualify for SSI and I certainly don't qualify for SSDI since I haven't worked enough. I just want to be out of pain and want to quit living paycheck to paycheck.

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.

OC I am so sorry for what all you're having to deal with. I hear you. I feel burnt out and tired a lot too. I keep wondering if there may eventually be a different career choice I should delve into. I don't have the miracle answer, but I'll say prayers for you. *Hugs*

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I am sorry you are suffering. It sounds miserable and I agree that perhaps nursing isn't the right choice for your situation. I would suggest a financial counselor to help you figure out how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. More money is seldom the answer on that one.

Sending you love and light. I hurt for you.

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Specializes in ED, psych.

((((Hugs)))), OC.

I think you're experiencing a lot of sorrow, and all at once. Give yourself time to grieve for them. Getting a diagnosis of lupus, especially as a shock, takes time to adjust to. Especially if you're in pain. Your job didn't work out - it wasn't a good fit. There's a lot - give yourself the time, and permission, to grieve.

Go from there.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
OC I am so sorry for what all you're having to deal with. I hear you. I feel burnt out and tired a lot too. I keep wondering if there may eventually be a different career choice I should delve into. I don't have the miracle answer, but I'll say prayers for you. *Hugs*

Thank you! *hugs* Now I can see why nurses get burnt out so quickly. No one takes care of us. As I am getting my care I am looking into other careers but I am honestly at a loss. I don't know what I can do that won't send me into a flare. I guess it's just hard since nursing is all I know.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I am sorry you are suffering. It sounds miserable and I agree that perhaps nursing isn't the right choice for your situation. I would suggest a financial counselor to help you figure out how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. More money is seldom the answer on that one.

Sending you love and light. I hurt for you.

Thank you!

Yeah, we need help & I'm sure a financial advisor or counselor would help. But it couldn't hurt to have a second income.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
((((Hugs)))), OC.

I think you're experiencing a lot of sorrow, and all at once. Give yourself time to grieve for them. Getting a diagnosis of lupus, especially as a shock, takes time to adjust to. Especially if you're in pain. Your job didn't work out - it wasn't a good fit. There's a lot - give yourself the time, and permission, to grieve.

Go from there.

Thank you! *hugs* I was really shocked but now I am relieved. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my back & I have an answer to the mysterious leg pains I've had for years & why I'm so exhausted.

I would like to help my husband out so he's not the only income earner, but for now that's how it has to be.

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Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

((( hugs ))) Indeed you are right. I usually take care of me IF I have the time. I just always feel the need to take care of everyone else first. I don't have an answer but I hope things improve. Be gentle with yourself and take things one at a time.

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Getting your RN would open up a lot of other doors. I work in an elective plastic surgery OR. I work PRN, only when I feel like it. Our patients are NEVER rude. The surgeons are always happy to see me, because I'm taking a shift that their regular RNs couldn't work, and my presence means they didn't have to cancel.

It's a perfect job. And there are other jobs out there that don't take everything out of you. Working PRN saved my sanity and my health. I don't have Lupus, but I've had a lot of neck and back issues that probably go back to my ICU days of pulling and lifting mostly bed bound patients. My life improved a great deal once I went PRN.

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Thank you! *hugs* I was really shocked but now I am relieved. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my back & I have an answer to the mysterious leg pains I've had for years & why I'm so exhausted.

I would like to help my husband out so he's not the only income earner, but for now that's how it has to be.

If you like corrections, you *may* like psych or detox. No, I'm not comparing mental illness to being criminal! But I find in psych, if I get behind or the shift gets crazy, I rarely have to deal with the fear that some one is going to become physically unstable because a treatment is late. No one ever died on me because their Zyprexa was late.

Also, I really hate to say this, but the customer service expectation is easier. Unlike many hospitals, psych wards are not designed to be like luxury hotels. There are no TV's in the rooms, personal electronics aren't allowed, and that is fine because truly, in psych, safety is PARAMOUNT above everything else and we do not apologize for that. Unless it is gero psych, they change their own linens, have to pick up their own messes...things like that. You drop a pile of dirty tissues on the floor...well, you will be picking them up unless you are physically disabled to do so. That seems similar to corrections, but I could be wrong.

Plus, the things that have to go by the wayside in medical are actually what are important in psych...talking to patients, getting to know them, what happened in life to bring them to me. I don't get penalized for that extra emotional effort because that is literally the point of my job.

Also, we are actually encouraged to set boundaries with our patients in psych. It's part of the therapeutic environment and it's a skill we teach. If someone is yelling at me for a lemonade when I am in the middle of giving meds, I don't stop to run and grab one. If no one else is available to honor the request, I point them to the water cooler in the mean time if they are really thirsty, tell them that I cannot interrupts meds right now, and give them a time frame for when someone will be able to safely retrieve their beverage and not jeopardize patient care. Why? Because in psych, we live and breathe that safety is FIRST.

I've never been dinged for passing a med late, but you will get dinged if a patient becomes unsafe and no one noticed...because in psych, safety is King.

And finally, if you have a patient who is extra difficult, it's easy to remind yourself that they have a reason...they are in psychiatric distress, obviously. They aren't just being a jerk for no reason. It's easier to let the insults just roll of your back. And again, setting boundaries is therapeutic and a teaching opportunity...and it is encouraged.

Psych isn't for everyone, but if you enjoyed corrections, you may try psych before throwing in the nursing towel. You may find that it's right up your ally.

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

I hurt for you to read about this hand you've been dealt. But these are your cards so you're gonna have to play them. I'm assuming you're under the care of a rheumatologist. First priority is your health and learning to "live" with lupus. Next, as others have advised above, don't rush into anything. The last thing you need to be thinking about right now is starting a new "career." If you can't imagine continuing in nursing, then don't. Contemplate other areas of employment that may fit your stage of life right now. Any income you generate will be a positive contribution; something that will help you financially and emotionally. Otherwise I recommend you refer to scripture, Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future." Continue with being family focused, stay strong, and have faith for your future. Thank you for sharing your journey. Please keep us updated.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Once you have stabilized in regards to your lupus, have you thought about trying Vocational Rehab? They help people with challenges to find and train for suitable employment within their capabilities. My sister got help from them to go to college and become a legal secretary. If I could work and weren't on Social Security Disability, I'd use them too because I can't be a nurse anymore thanks to a combination of physical and mental health disabilities. Something to think about if you want a career change.

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