I had lost my interest towards nursing. Please help me

[Thedevil]

My ambition is a nurse since I was 8 years old. I had been in nursing field for 10 yrs. And started last year, I felt boring towards my specialty in orthopaedic. Although is interesting but somehow it will cause me to feel bored. Early of this year I had request to change to dialysis.

Within 2 weeks I had the same feeling of bored. I'm not sure whether this is so called comfort zone but it's really make me heartless to work.So, now I transferred to ICU but I couldn't find the energetic of me during 10 years ago. How I can be more energetic? When studied time, I remembered everyday I went to clinical posting, I felt energetic and I'm passion towards my career.

But I just don't understand why i had lost interest. I'm like in a zone of soul searching but almost a year, and I still can't find my soul. Within this year I had changed 2 unit and some of the nurse manager would said why you kept jumping dept, some of them straight said you never know what you want. But seriously I really don't even know what I want. I really hope somebody can lead me to find my soul. Some how I want a long break but I still have contract with this hospital.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Maybe it's not nursing per se, but rather you are in a funk in general. Do you still have pleasurable activities and relationships outside of work? Could you be suffering from depression? Just a thought.

[Thedevil]

Maybe it's not nursing per se, but rather you are in a funk in general. Do you still have pleasurable activities and relationships outside of work? Could you be suffering from depression? Just a thought.

Aside of swimming and knitting, I had less pleasurable activities. I do suspect I had depression. But I'm not sure I'm depress to what.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I think in your case, bored = apathetic. Nursing is just a job. You're not going to find your soul there, you're going to find a paycheck.

If you do think depression is present, see your PCP.

Best wishes.

[cleback]

Are you married or in a long term relationship? If so, would you agree that it is unrealistic to expect to feel excitement and butterflies 100% of the time toward your significant other? I think most would agree the relationship passion waxes and wanes... and sometimes love is a decision, not a feeling.

Not sure why a career/job would be any better.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with the underlying theme of the posts above. Stop expecting your job to fulfill you deep personal needs -- and stop believing that there is another job that will fulfill all of those needs. Take the pressure off yourself (in relation to your job) by lowering your expectations of your job and think of it as "just a paycheck" for a while. Focus on doing things that you enjoy outside of work. Once you get your personal life (away from your job) on good footing and your personal life is providing a lot of fulfillment, then you will have your job "in its proper place." Then you can start thinking about whether or not there might be a different job that you would enjoy more -- or that would work better to support your satisfying personal life.