Is nursing depressing? Would you leave because of that?

KalipsoRed · Dec 15, 2009

We were having this disscussion at work actually. Yes, the majority of my coworkers and I would leave nursing at this time. We feel overwhelmed, overworked, and unappriciated for the most part. I, and all of my coworkers, like people and went into nursing because of that. I wanted to help and having the satisfaction of making people better. Most of the time I feel like the way healthcare is set up right now does more harm than good. Shifts don't report off smoothly from one to another the continuity in care is just very poor. I am more afraid to leave someone I care about alone in the care of a hospital than I was before I became a nurse. I've also found that I am not a adrienline junkie. I did a stent in the ER and it was so cool, but I don't want to do it again. I want a moderate amount of stress in my work life and I feel severly stressed in my position now. I stay because I spent $47,000 getting my BSN and I must pay that off. I've only been a nurse for a year and a half, so I imagine I will be on the floor working a lot longer than I want to be.

vivacious1healer · Dec 15, 2009

I feel that having the opportunity to touch people's lives at their most vulnerable to their most joyous has been a privilege, and has helped me put life into perspective. (Don't get me wrong, there have been several instances where I wanted to cry for my patients and their families...and will sometimes later, on my drive home.)

I feel the most depressing aspect of my job has been the environment in which I must work in....set up by the unrealistic expectations of adminstration/managers. This depresses me most.

Foley6 · Dec 15, 2009

Yea, I think most nurses think this way. Nurses should make more money. We are making life and death decisions, and doing a lot of things at our jobs that most people would not touch with a 99 and a half foot pole. In my opinion, I think that working conditions are WAY more important than money. I am content with living comfortably at a decent wage, but would never expect to be wealthy. I would even take a pay cut in order to have less patients, and less responsibility. Nurses are expected to do WAY too much. Have you ever noticed how EVERYTHING is our responsibility. Doctors can make horrible mistakes, but if a nurse so much as says something wrong, watch out. Ancillary staff can easily say, "thats not my job." Well, guess who has to pick up the slack? It is funny when you hire a contractor, a cleaning person, etc, and they can easily say, "oh we don't do that." Wouldn't it be nice to say, "no, I'm sorry, I don't give out pain pills after 9 o'clock." We simply cannot say "I cannot do that" because our jobs are too important. It is both a blessing as well as a curse. I would have to agree with you that a lot of nursing is depressing on so many levels. What nurse doesn't have a closet full of sad stories regarding patients and families that they have cared for. Add that in with all of the frustrating stories regarding how nurses get treated by management, staff, patients, etc. My wife so much as got kicked at work by another nurse, and nothing was done about it, but that is a whole other story in itself. On the positive side, I feel that you can make a difference in people's lives by doing a good job. Also, I have been a nurse for 13 years, and I always had work, and it always paid the bills. I am most grateful in this terrible economy that I have a job, period. It may help you out to look into other areas of nursing too. I recently became an occupational health nurse, and it is the best job that I have ever had. It is so much different than the Med/surg and Long term care nursing that I am use to. It does not pay as well as the hospitals, but my stress level is about a "1" when it used to be a "10." So, I'll be poorer, but I will live longer. Ha ha. Good luck to you. Hang in there.

RNperdiem, RN · Dec 15, 2009

I compare nursing with being a parent sometimes.

The idea of being a nurse and "helping others" and the down and dirty work of actual nursing comes as a shock to the newcomers.

Both parents have good and bad days, a few days of real despair, and a few days that make everything worthwhile.

People vary in their abilities to stay satisfied, bounce back from hardship and tolerate stress.

I don't find nursing depressing. Some units like neurosurgical ICU and Burns have a high tragedy factor, but overall, most of our patients do fine in the long term.

Indy, LPN, LVN · Dec 15, 2009

Nursing can be depressing, yes. Night shifts screw with your body in so many ways, making imbalances more likely. It takes more work to be sane and healthy if you're any member of the health professions.

That being said, nursing is therapeutic for me; I've been much more depressed in the years prior to being a nurse. People I loved and trusted abused me, tortured me, or abandoned me. Some of it was situational and some of it was the result of particular people just being evil. I don't seek psychiatric help for my own reasons. So yeah, where was I? Oh yes, I'm a damaged person and the mere fact that I help and protect others from harm helps to sustain my mental health. It's depressing watching some of the bad outcomes, but when every effort is made to keep them in good shape, less depressing than say, working in retail.

I don't feel any particular need to have a different profession, and if I did, some much worse things than what I have seen so far would have to happen.

SoundofMusic · Dec 15, 2009

Is it depressing? Sometimes. When I'm overworked and doing my valiant best, and some fool decides to be abusive, whether it's a co-worker, doc or patient, THAT is depressing. However, sometimes seeing these pitiful patients and their awful lives makes me ECSTATIC to go home to my own life, which is like, wonderful in comparison. I now SO value my health, my place in life, my marriage, my mostly normal family. I have come to appreciate the little things -- time off, a nice night out -- time to sit down w/ a friend over coffee, the beauty of nature, etc.

I actually am prone to depression, but being a nurse has cured it for me. I'm NEEDED, busy, valued (most of the time), engaged, and there are a lot of career options also, which I really value.

I don't think it is as depressing as it is frustrating and difficult. I won't lie to you about that. It's a tough job -- but it does have some rewards. I also feel the pay is ok -- it's helping me to accomplish a lot for my family.

SoundofMusic · Dec 15, 2009

*****I feel the most depressing aspect of my job has been the environment in which I must work in....set up by the unrealistic expectations of adminstration/managers. This depresses me most.****

Amen. This is exactly right and what will come as a shock to you as a nurse. Just get ready for it, and have your own strategy to deal with it. For me it's furthering my own education so I don't have to work in this environment forever. It's also doing as well as I can at work, working hard, getting good reviews from patients, etc. so they can't really get on me about too much. I do my own thing and they leave me alone for the most part. I refuse to get into crazy little fights w/ them, because it's not worth it.

RNperdiem, RN · Dec 15, 2009

Nursing gives my life a reality check.

I might be having a bad day, but a lot of our patients are having it worse.