I'm So Over Nursing. I would rather work at Costco!!

The joy of making a difference in my patients' and family members lives is being overshadowed and diminished by the organization's politics and their #1 priority: keeping the physicians happy and making money. Our purpose as nurses is to provide excellent care and customer service. Our patients are our #1 priority not only just 12+ hours a day or an 80+ hour paycheck, they are always our main concern. Nursing is not patient care anymore, we are becoming the host(esses) of the medical field. Nurses General Nursing Article

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I am ready to leave the nursing profession after 6 years. I have a bachelor's degree in biology and got my associate's in nursing. In high school, I decided that I wanted a career in nursing. By the time I entered college, I decided I wanted to become an OB/GYN. Halfway through college, I realized I didn't want to be a doctor. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I wasn't going to change my major and start over. Fast forward about 8 years, I considered nursing and applied to nursing school and here I am.....back at square one. I wish I had sacrificed and endured one or two more years of college by changing my major and pursued something else.

I often-times cringe when I think of going to work. My attitude changes, my heart races, and anxiety sets in. My coworkers are nothing less than awesome. Most of my patients rock. Both have been unexpected blessings to me and I thank God for our paths crossing. But management, the physicians, and the facility at which I work have made nursing a profession that I wished I had not entered. I never have to wonder how devalued I am when I'm at work. Our voices are not heard, and as a matter of fact, our concerns are considered complaints.

Not only am I a caregiver, but I am the business office, auditor, waitress, maid, logistics, IT, quality assurance, babysitter, personal assistant, and the list goes on. When doctors fall short, it is our job to clean the mess up.....and, no, I'm not speaking of mistakes that affect patient care. I speaking of simple documentation that they are supposed to take care of. I understand the importance of having all "I"s dotted and every "T" crossed, but when will the physicians be held accountable? I can't be chasing down physicians when they forget to check the correct box especially when it has little or nothing to do with a patient's outcome. That's not my job. We nurses are stressed, afraid, furious, and just plain depressed as a result of these added responsibilities. We already worry about our patients even after quitting time. After leaving work, many of us call back up to the floor or unit checking on our patients. We are genuinely concerned about them, but it is very obvious that management's agenda is not the patients. Whatever management's agenda is becoming our agenda, right? WRONG! I'm here to take care of patients, not physicians.

There are so many nurses, YOUNG, fairly new nurses, that I know that started their nursing careers with a clean bill of health. They are now on antidepressants, benzos, blood pressure meds, and others due to the stress and unhappiness. Nursing has gotten away from patient care. It's about making money for the organization which is about making the physicians happy. If that means being stripped of our dignity, we are to do what it takes. I feel as though it is second nature to provide excellent care to our patients. WE have saved many lives anywhere from observing changes in our patients to discovering mistakes made by others (physicians) and correcting them or directing attention to the oversight. I wish they would let us do OUR jobs and provide care and management can run up behind THEIR "customers". If we can keep those two jobs separate, that would be great.

We are a vital part in patient care, but yet, we are so underappreciated and taken for granted. We make a positive impact in many lives, but we are the first ones cursed out because someone is having a bad day. Not only are we unappreciated, but we are very disrespected, and in many occasions, we are unfairly belittled and we are just supposed to accept those words because "it's part of the job." I'm done accepting it. I'm reminded every day there are replacements waiting in line. I'm reminded that any fool can do my job. I don't want a pat on my back every time I do a great job, just acknowledge that I am a vital part of the team. I understand human resources has a stack of nursing applicants on their desks. I just don't have to be reminded of that everytime all my paperwork isn't on the chart (because I'm still working on it), or if I come back from lunch two minutes late.

I am not cut out to take jabs and low-blows without throwing them back. I have so many responsibilities that I take on from the time I punch the clock to the time I punch out and I refuse to be disrespected by someone with a title because I happen to not move fast enough or I am having to clarify an unclear and, most of the time, an unfinished or incorrect order. I'm helping YOU out!! We genuinely worry and care about our patients that it often consumes us. When a patient codes or expires, we are crushed. I once had a patient who got stuck at least 15 times by various staff members, including physicians, to get IV access. The patient took those sticks like a champ, but I still went home and boo-hooed because I hated to see him go through that. We hurt when our patients hurt. On top of carrying out our responsibility as nurses, we are holding in so much emotion associated with our patients.....yet we get very little to no respect. Don't get me wrong, there are some physicians that I'm in contact with whom are polite and value my opinion and I do appreciate them. Of course, I'm not always right or may not make the most intelligent statements, but they acknowledged my voice. Again, I don't want a cookie. I just want to be acknowledged as a professional.

I understand customer service includes dealing with angry, rude, and the dissatisfied. But when I have poured my heart, soul, and emotion into my job and my customers and I am still allowed to be mistreated and insulted, then that becomes a problem. I feel I have no rights as a nurse. Who is protecting me? Who is my voice? Who is standing in my defense?

So at this point, it's time for me to bow out from the nursing profession gracefully and while in good standing with the organization, my family, and myself before I am forced out or OD on my meds(or somebody else's). My family, happiness, health, dignity, and peace of mind is worth leaving. They tell me Costco employees never leave.

I'm-so-over-nursing-I-would-rather-work-at-costco.pdf

I understand completely....I'm a new nurse, and I'm already done with this profession. This year is my first year to renew my license, and I'm dragging my feet to do it. I'm sick of horrible staffing, terrible nurse/patient ratios....just having to do more with less period. I'm so depressed because I've wanted to be a nurse since I graduated high school, and I overcame my personal demons so I could withstand nursing school. I won the battle, but now I'm losing the war.

You sound like a very caring person. Burnout is real. Maybe take a long break before just giving up a job that you are so passionate about.

If your hospital seems to be so physician centered perhaps try another facility.

Regarding "cleaning up" after a doctor whether it be incomplete charts by the docs etc. If it is not going to harm the patient then don't worry about it. You have to look out for your license just like the doctor has to look out for their own license. Its their patient, they will get the malpractice suit and the hospital will get sued. Let the hospital get sued a few times for crap doctors and maybe they would not allow them to act as such.

Don't personalize so much of what is going on culturally in your hospital/facility. Just do the best you can, treat your patients well and don't let a few bad experiences bully you into changing your entire life, especially just to quit to make $12/hr at Costco.

Specializes in ICU.

Long ago, I worked as an office janitor. Monday through friday, 5pm to 1am. I picked up garbage, cleaned toilets, and swept floors. The office employees could be jerks, but that job had some perks. No weekends, no holidays, and I didn't take the job home with me. There are days when I would trade in this greater responsibility and bigger paycheck and go back to cleaning offices. If only it paid the bills...

When this happens, I try to take a break. If I have a few days off in a row, then I leave town for a couple days. Anything to reduce the stress.

The beautiful thing about nursing is that there is a plethora of opportunities away from the bedside. Nursing is a beautiful profession, but at some point, some of us, need to step away from the bedside.

Dont start hating the nursing profession. Continue to love it. Take your skills and experience that you have gained over the last 6 years and enter the medical device or pharmaceutical industry as a clinical specialist, educator, account manager, etc. Believe me, the nurses are highly sought out in the medical device industry.

I was having similar challenges as you and entered the medical device industry and couldn’t be happier.

Be proud of your nursing career and make a change that will not only capitalize your experience but will improve your quality of life and earning potential.

On 10/11/2016 at 6:39 PM, rnfrombama said:

I appreciate these words. I think either I need to take a break or just definitely try going to other institutions. I am sure nursing is more than what I've experienced while at this facility. We just simply have no rights and are found guilty even without a trial. I'm glad y'all are hearing me. You may not agree wholeheartedly, but you hear me. Another downside is, as you can see from my name, I reside in AL as a fellow nurse just pointed out. We are waaaay below the pay curve, national average, etc. If I got paid more, I could deal just slightly better. See ya at Costco í ½í¸‰

Sorry you're having a rough time.

I suspect after working for $10.75 an hour at Costco for a week you'd start looking for another RN job. Retail is the worst. Horrible bosses, on your feet more than nursing and lots of contact with crowds of horrible people.

On 8/3/2019 at 3:16 PM, Luchador said:

Sorry you're having a rough time.

I suspect after working for $10.75 an hour at Costco for a week you'd start looking for another RN job. Retail is the worst. Horrible bosses, on your feet more than nursing and lots of contact with crowds of horrible people.

On the flip side, you don't have to worry about someone dying or losing your license. Yes the money would be less but a peace of mind is priceless and if you can afford this pricelessness why not?

Specializes in ICU.

Costco starting wage is twice the federal minimum 14.5 an hour.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
On 3/6/2020 at 12:01 AM, Workitinurfava said:

..peace of mind is priceless...

This is an incredibly important gold nugget of wisdom. "What would it take for me to have peace of mind on this job, or any other?" would be a good question to explore for anyone who's second-guessing their career choice.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
On 3/6/2020 at 8:12 AM, Psychnursehopeful said:

Costco starting wage is twice the federal minimum 14.5 an hour.

WOW!. That's more than the average salary of a licensed vocational nurse (according to lvnsalary.org).

Specializes in LVN.

It is sad how greedy the healthcare field is. I am trying to plan my exit from it, and also thought about applying at Costco. I am trying to figure out where else I can work that will pay my bills and make me happy at the same time. Where are you working now?

Specializes in ER.
On 12/6/2021 at 12:41 PM, moomin said:

It is sad how greedy the healthcare field is. I am trying to plan my exit from it, and also thought about applying at Costco. I am trying to figure out where else I can work that will pay my bills and make me happy at the same time. Where are you working now?

I'm working at a Farm store. I started at $15 an hour, it went up to $16 an hour after a month. 

Specializes in Critical Care, Procedural, Care Coordination, LNC.

Don't let anyone, ANYONE, make you feel like what you are feeling is invalid. As a nurse with over ten years I can relate to a lot of this. Yes I don't necessarily feel bad just because a patient is hurting, but when I know we could be doing more but our healthcare system is hindering us from providing what the patients need. When we are constantly so stretched that many  are on edge and have negative attitudes. While you shouldn't let that get to you, it is easier said than done, especially for some people. Some people can tolerate it, others can't. I used to ask my senior nurses, "How does this not bother" and they told me my "skin would thicken, its just the way it is". Well guess what, my skin never thickened. I know what patients need and I want to provide that, every time I spoke up about issues the hammer would come down on me not the issue I was bringing to light. I was the problem because I wasn't silent. I will never be able to be silent, its not in my nature. I tried and tried. I tried different facilities. I tried different units. Bedside nursing took my soul away and I will never give it back to them. Im not saying don't go try some different units or nursing avenues, but if you know what you need & want. Go for it. Do not listen to other people and their beliefs. You have to do what is best for your mind body and soul. I love being a nurse and helping the sick, but I can not do it sustainably in the current healthcare system. 

You aren't a lone.