I want to get out of nursing

AtomicWoman · Jan 18, 2011

Some possibilities:

1. Doctor's office, where you will get to know the patients and maybe even have a few minutes to chat with them when they come in. :)

2. Home care, esp. the kind where you are taking care of one patient for 8 hours. Everyone I know who has done this has liked the lower stress of just dealing with one patient.

3. If you have really good people skills (and I bet you do), I have noticed a lot of jobs lately for home care marketing positions. You would still be in the healthcare field, but doing something completely different.

Good luck, and listen to your inner voice! :)

llltapp · Jan 18, 2011

Let me just say, that LTC nursing is the #1 setting for abuse of nursing! That's my nonscientific opinion lol. I worked at LTC/subacute rehab doing a wound care program a while back. The LPN's were given more responsibility and task saturation with no back up and no support!! And when it hits the fan, which it HAS to eventually in those circumstances, you are the fall guy. It is INSANE what they are doing to these poor nurses. I spent half my days there trying to empower those nurses to stand up for themselves or at the very LEAST, not allow themselves to internalize the almost constant criticism from the managers and DON.

You may be burned out, but it isn't you, and it isn't nursing.... its the way you are treated as a nurse by those types of areas/management. My suggestion to you is find another area of nursing, i.e. Dr. office, home health, school, urgent care. Also , try going back to school for your RN, it will open up a lot more doors and areas of practice and you will be able to excited about nursing again.

GOOD LUCK!

skittlebear · Jan 18, 2011

Yes, home care is awesome! I have that as my 2nd job and love it. I can concentrate on one patient and it is much less stressful than a nursing home!

Black Jade, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2011

Hello all :)
I have been an LPN for 12 years and I really do love nursing, but over these years I have seen so many bad things. Sad patient stories, being hit and threatened by patients and families, meanness by co workers, administration, families of patients and patients themselves. It is very anxiety provoking. All of you reading this, I'm sure, understand what I mean. I feel it is time for me to get out of nursing, even if just for a little while. Has anyone done this? Any suggestions where to start? What type of jobs to look for? I know it will be hard to find something that pays as much as nursing, but I think it will be worth my sanity!

Nurseygrrl, I understand what you mean. I'm taking a break from nursing because of the politics, toxic environment at work, manipulative patients requesting pain medications and calling you incompetent with threats of legal action because you refuse to give it to them after failing their urine tox screen. You'd think that in order to become a nurse you just need to be compassionate, but in reality, you need to have a tough skin as well. Am I getting out of nursing? No. I've been a nurse for 2+ years and have been in the healthcare field for more than 10 years and I feel that's what I do best. Perhaps changing into a different area of nursing where it is less stressful might help you. That's what I like about nursing: it is so versatile. You need to find out first what you want, then maybe you can start with Temp agencies or working part-time until you decide if this is what you really want.

BJ

neatnurse30 · Jan 18, 2011

I hear you! I'm an RN and must tell you that floor nursing in a hospital is very hard. In the hospital I envy anybody who is not a nurse- a cleaning lady, case managers, secretary etc.- because they don't have to deal with patients.

If I were you, I would look for any other job in a healthcare field that doesn't deal directly with patients ( MD's office could be a great change). Other people here suggested taking vacation- you know it doesn't work, eventually you have to come back to work and stress starts all over again. Ideally you could find a job before you quit, depending also on your financial situation you could just quit. The life is too short to be abused like that.

Going back to school for RN could open more possibilities, but it is still nursing and only few RNs are happy in their jobs ( usually nonhospital ones).

l.a.m.b, ADN, RN · Jan 18, 2011

your smart for recognizing this before you accidentally hurt yourself or someone else. while taking a couple of weeks off works wonders for some, others may need a whole different work field. the nice thing is, nursing is always open when you are ready.

pcarter2324 · Jan 18, 2011

What kind of office/medical setting do you work in,because most lpn's dont make close to that much.

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · Jan 19, 2011

I have been a LPN for 5 1/2 years. It has been the job from Heck!! I work LTC, I've dealt with DON's who go after thier staff, been told it's my job to examine other nurses performance and report everything I find no matter how small, be screamed at & hit, punched, kicked, shoved. Had "stuff" thrown at me by patients, and then had the family make complaints because I was leary of getting to close to thier family member. I am in the process of looking for a different position. I was amazed at how many places ask for the same qualities you need as a nurse. Things like multi-tasking, communication, documentation. Look outside the box, there are places we can go to heal and still feel useful.

skittlebear · Jan 19, 2011

your smart for recognizing this before you accidentally hurt yourself or someone else. while taking a couple of weeks off works wonders for some, others may need a whole different work field. the nice thing is, nursing is always open when you are ready.

I find this post very offensive! "Your smart for recognizing this before you accidentally hurt yourself or someone else". What exactly does that have to do with feeling stressed? Just because one is feeling stressed does not make one a bad nurse. :twocents:

jeziba · Aug 15, 2011

I feel your pain! I just recently quit my job; luckily have the funds for a few months to maintain. I was just going to crack!! I have a BSN and been a nurse for 12 years. I'm exhausted, tired of political red-tape, abusive patients/families, unskilled CNAs, etc. I'm disappointed in my profession. I'm very seriously considering changing professions, but don't have any idea what to do outside of nursing. I wish you the best of luck; I know this state of disequilibrium is difficult!

tokmom, BSN, RN · Aug 15, 2011

Thank you For the suggestions :) I took some time off very recently and it didn't help. I really feel like I just want to walk into a book store and apply for a job LOL. It just feels like nursing is constant worry and fighting. You're asked to do the impossible all the time and chastised when you forget to do something or make a mistake. Then you have the lunatics! Just the other night a patient's son threatened to 'get a gun and come back and shoot all of you' if his mother fell out of bed. Administration did nothing really. It was on the evening shift and when I came in the next morning, a CNA who was there for the incident reported it to me. This is just one of many examples that illustrate why I need a big change.

Maybe you need to find a different job? I was burned out and quit for a lot of years. Went back to a new facility and love my job.

Good luck to you.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Aug 16, 2011

Go do agency work for a while. You can then probly choose what areas/days/hours u want to work, it will give u a break while u look around for something else.

Good luk.