I HATE nursing! (long)

Nurses General Nursing

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I really really really need some nurses' advice. So I've realized something about myself lately...I hate nursing. I think I always knew this in college, but I guess I thought things would get better when I was actually NURSING and making money in return....well its been two years as a nurse and nothing has changed. I think the major problem is my anxiety, I'm just one big ball of anxiety the minute I hit those hospital doors....and its taken a major toll on my mental health. I hate patient care and the bedside...and it has nothing to do with the way my unit is run....its a perfect unit with lots of support....I just can't get away from the fact that I hate taking care of people and just the normal stress of the job!!! I am so desperate to get out of this field, but I feel so trapped, and I'm also saddened about the concept of throwing my 4 year nursing degree away. I've recently decided the best thing to do right now is get my master's degree in Informatics, that way I can take a non-bedside-nursing positon....but this still leaves me with having to work for two or more years as I attend a part-time program. The thought of this scares me! I can't imagine two more years like this! I am really at my wits end, it seems like every idea I have to get out has a problem that I can't get passed. I am willing to take a major pay cut (and barely scrape by paying for rent, etc) and work in a office or telephonic nursing setting, but that leaves me with either 1. working 8-5 M-F, therefore no time to take night classes for informatics or 2. not enough experience to get these telephonic nursing positions! The only thing that is keeping my at my current job is the flexibility that is available for me to attend grad school this fall, and the fact that they will pay a good portion of my schooling....other than that I'm miserable with everything about it! I feel so mentally drained, the anxiety has totally killed me. I show up so early to work, and I'm freaking out the whole time I'm there...I hate this and I'm about to go crazy!!! (if I'm not already there yet!) I'm about to give up my dreams of getting my master's degree and settle for some type of office job that doesn't pay nearly as much as I am making now, but at least I'll have my sanity. I guess I am asking for some suggestions...what type of jobs are out there, I swear I think I've looked everywhere but two years doesn't seem to be enough experience. I currently making about $55,000 a year....I'm willing to take a 10,000 pay cut for any job that does NOT involve patient care. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

Ladymadonna,how Did You Get This Sitting Job? I Would Like This. I Am So Tired Of My Floor Job That I Am Starting To Really Get Some Serious Stomach Problems. Did You Go Through A Staffing Agency> Thanks

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Specializes in Flight, ER, ICU, CCU.

For those of you lucky enough to have a few years of ER/ICU before burning out...try flight nursing. There is no greater joy than the autonomy derived from practicing at 1800 ft. Thanks for all the suggestions throughout the thread...I've been looking for something to do on my days off.

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You certainly hate patient care in the hospital, but that doesn't necessarily mean you hate all patient care.

I knew I wanted no part of floor nursing, since it sure seems a sucker's game to me: crazy ratios, too-long shifts for someone my age, no control over working conditions, etc. Nurses that do that job have my complete admiration, and are probably better nurses than I'll ever be.

I worked as a pre-transplant coordinator and now as an after hours hospice nurse. Both involved lots of patient care, but in a manner quite different from med-surg. One of my strengths is my enjoyment of family and patient teaching. Hospice in particular uses a great deal of that. I'm also pretty even-keeled emotionally, so I can bring some stability to very stressful situations for families with dying loved ones.

Believe me, if I had to work med-surg, I would be out of nursing, but it really is a field with lots of different options.

Figure out what your strengths are, and find a place where you get to use them. I think you may very well find an area of nursing that fits them.

If it isn't in nursing, well, you still have an education that provides many good abilities, among them a systematic way of addressing issues, the ability to help stressed out people cope, and not least, perspective that most things aren't life and death.

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I worked as a pre-transplant coordinator and now as an after hours hospice nurse.

How were able to get these jobs, be able to function in them, and get the respect of clinical colleagues without having the requisite at least a "few years" of bedside floor nursing experience? Thanks!

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go to surgery

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Specializes in ortho/neuro/ob/nicu.

I don't hate nursing, I hate how it is no longer nursing.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Alzheimers, Behavioral, SNF.

I feel for you, there are a lot of nurses that get to the point where you are - realizing that you wasted your education time, and life on an occupation that you hate being in. This is why partly there is a nursing shortage (I believe) because so many nurses realize that they don't want to deal with. As many of the other posts suggest try another type of nursing: case management, quality control for pharmacy's, school nurse, workplace nurse, hospice admit, etc, etc. My god you've got a royal flush and you're about to fold and lose what you have in the pot! (figuratively speaking of course). I personally dislike nursing in many ways, but because I am an L.P.N. I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard place, not you, you've got a four year degree that even if you could not stay in nursing, many government jobs open up just because you have that bachelor's degree. I hope this helps and good luck to you...

:D

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How were able to get these jobs, be able to function in them, and get the respect of clinical colleagues without having the requisite at least a "few years" of bedside floor nursing experience? Thanks!

Good question. As to getting hired, I'm older, in my 50s, which I think people see as indicating stability and good work habits, which I have and references will confirm it. I rarely get sick, and I don't take "mental health" days. When I need time off, I schedule it as far in advance as possible.

I have some background in EMS, so I already had decent assessment skills. I don't panic easily and I can work in the field without a lot of direction. In interviews, I always made it plain that I would need a longer orientation because I lacked the skills from bedside care.

No question there are nurses with more knowledge and better skills at procedures than me, but pre-transplant and hospice after-hours visits don't require as broad a range of those. Fortunately, hospice is in many ways a matter of being present and supportive to people in a time of great stress to them. That fits my strengths.

I have always enjoyed learning, so I spend a lot of time reading journal articles, books, etc on my field. I think people recognize that I work to know as much as I can, and they are thus willing to help me translate print to real life. A curious nature is a boon in any field.

What I've found is that the way to get colleagues to respect you is to pull your weight, and a little more. Be on time and ready to go so no one has to stay late to cover for you. Stick around past the end of your shift when a family needs support, wake the doctor in the middle of the night to get an order rather than leave it for the next shift. A phone call to update a case manager about what happened to the patient overnight, rather than just putting it in the computer for them to find.

When you screw up, do it in a novel way, rather than the same way you screwed up last week. This can take some imagination. :chuckle

And oh yes. Did I mention a bombproof sense of humor, which it never hurts to aim at yourself?

Reading over the above makes me rather embarrassed at tooting my own horn, but that's my honest eval of what works for me.

Most of it is just the personality I was born with, shaped by the way my parents raised me.

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Thank you for posting your feelings. I totally understand how you feel. I graduated a little over a year ago, and I can't stand going to my job due to my anxiety level. I'm working towards becoming a Nurse Practitioner and am going to shadow a current NP to make sure that I am not making a mistake. Anyway, I really do understand how you feel. I consider myself an excellent nurse but I'm tired of wondering what family member is going to tear me apart because they are upset about something that I didn't even do. I know that I am not fit to be a staff nurse on the floor, not because of incompetence or anything, but because I feel that it is damaging to my mental and physical health. I wish you the best and just keep remembering that it is only temporary. Keep going to school and eventually you will find a position that you like. In the meantime, keep searching for jobs and you will find one!!!!! Good luck!

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Find an area of Nursing that you love. Sounds like where you are at now isn't a good fit. Best wishes... :)

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Specializes in Utilization Review.

I know its been a while but because I feel EXACTLY like the OP, I have to post this as it is currently proving to be therapeutic. Also, I'd like to know if there are any new ideas on how a nurse can do non-floor-nursing :yeah: I also like using the smilies...:coollook:;):yawn:

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I know its been a while but because I feel EXACTLY like the OP, I have to post this as it is currently proving to be therapeutic. Also, I'd like to know if there are any new ideas on how a nurse can do non-floor-nursing :yeah: I also like using the smilies...:coollook:;):yawn:

In the same boat, and I am only a new grad. It seems it never gets better. I have already started taking business classes to back myself up and get out of the field if I am unable to find a better niche. Don't feel bad about stating your dislike.

See, people are conditioned, in nursing school, to put up with abuse. If they don't put up with abuse, they are told "It takes a *certain* person to be a nurse" or.."You have to have what it takes". It's all brainwashing, so now you feel guilty for stating your dislike of the field, which is actually quite normal.

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