Leaving Bedside Nursing

[Deebuzz]

Your emotional, physical and mental health will suffer along with your family life. I have finally decided to leave the bedside and I've never felt so happy. At only 25, I felt like I was going to be stuck in this state for the rest of my working life but I found the courage to finally make the decision that saved my health and my marriage.

I went into nursing with the intention of helping people and being the one to make a difference to those who may feel hopeless. All my intentions were quickly shut down when I started working on the floor.

We deal with some unappreciative, sarcastic, rude, and egotistical (patients, family members, physicians, coworkers, and managers). There is no care in nursing just bottom-line concerns.

My first nursing job was ok, I worked in ND at the time, I moved to FL and that gave me the green light to officially leave floor nursing. I hate the anxious feeling before every shift, the nagging family members, pts who are rude self-entitled, coworkers who throw each other under the bus, physicians who disregard concerns, and a whole lot of other things I can elaborate about that is just downright awful.

I'm glad to say my degree didn't completely go to waste as I am now an RN case manager. I believe being away from the bedside will renew my interest. I refuse to live a day dreading having to go to work, nursing has literally changed how I respond to people before I use to smile at everyone now I walk past people with my face looking like a pit bull ready to bite.

Whenever someone would tell me to smile I thought, "Wow I have changed for the worst" I refuse to be a martyr for this profession.

Taking care of myself is more important than risking it for people who **** on theirs.

[Healerforlife]

I worked on an Ortho/Spinal/Trauma floor for 7 yrs. on the night shift. As most RN's will agree, I could tell a story pretty much every day that sounded made up but it was true! LOL LOVE LOVE LOVE . I always wanted to see how things turned out and spend more time with my patients' so I went to work in Ortho/ Spinal Cord injury unit at acute rehab. I loved it all.

Flash to now. I am 47, and after working as a tech/nurse in acute care for 20 years, I am now needing a hip replacement myself, and have back pain. We all know patients' are getting bigger, and Dr's are shamefully replacing their knees when they need to tell them to lose some weight to be successful. I decided to learn something new. I now work in a dialysis clinic. I LOVE it. I have had the same patients for a year now. They are my little dialysis family. Believe it or not, I couldn't, I am making more than I did in the Hospital. I get a break every day, off work by 9 PM and we are closed on Sunday. I will forever treasure my experience in trauma. Maybe finding the right fit is not at the bedside directly, but you will find you can still do hand-on care that isn't as chaotic as the floor. I love chaos, but my body is telling me to calm down. Still hands on, but I'll let others with more energy take my post. HaHa. Love ya nursing sisters

[NurseRies, BSN, RN]

GadgetRN71 said:

Please do not imply that OR nurses don't do hands on care or tht we dislike people, because this is not the case. Who do you think cleans up patients if they've voided or had a BM under anesthesia? We don't have CNAs in the OR, so that would be me, the OR nurse. We start IVs, put in foleys, perform assessments. And, not all of our patients are asleep. A good proportion of my patients are done under MAC or local and they are often anxious. We deal with families too.

Sorry if I seem peeved, but saying "go to the OR" if you don't like bedside nursing is misguided. We are there in the trenches advocating and caring for people when they cannot do so for themselves, and you have to sometimes go head to head with a surgeon or anesthestist. It is by no means low stress.

I understand. I get the same negative comments about dialysis. I am an acute care dialysis nurse and we do a lot of bedside care as well (at least I do). But yet we still get people that apply and come to work for us trying to get away from bedside.

I guess the point was, less patient load, procedure based specialties can have more realistic expectations of what nurses can do. Bedside care on a floor with 4-7 patients is just way too much. But I think we both can admit, our environment is probably more doable the telemetry or Med surg. Although I trade a lower patient ratio for longer hours and limited help. I just think the OP sounds like she doesn't want to talk to anyone , especially patients. I did not know OR nurses spent a lot of time with awake patients. My friend that did OR had a different experience.

[sueseact]

Wow, I guess I am lucky. I love my patients and most of the families I come in contact with. I am an LPN charge nurse on an Alzheimer's Unit with up to 27 residents in my care at any given time. I have 2 nurses aides and I don't know what I would do without them. They are overworked with too much to do and not enough time to do it all! Held accountable for the care and the charting. Doctors are another story, they are often rude but to some extent I can't blame them. Our protocol leaves much to be desired and working second shift and having to call a doctor for a scratch on one of his residents to me is unreasonable, not to mention time consuming when it involves the call of the doctor, family and all the paperwork. We cannot leave anything for the next shift even though we are told it is a 24 hour facility. It's not what it used to be. I can say that cause I have worked in the same facility for 38 years! We get zero support from management. There is no professional courtesy and when we need to stay to complete a task we have to chase down a supervisor like a 5 year old getting a hall pass, with specifics on why we are late. Our facility boasts "restraint free" but I hear nothing about how many falls are averted by heroic sprints by staff or 1:1 multi tasking care, or even how many falls happen because of no restraints. I'd like to brag about "Fall free facility" We are written up for being 2 minutes late (while I am stopping for candy for one of my residents) when we don't have time to use the bathroom and never take our lunch or even one of our 2, 15 minute breaks. The programs on the computer are junk and the computer freezes more often than it works. We have no supplies for the treatments ordered and have to search them down. We see management once a month or so, when corporate comes into our building to inspect the building. They have no clue what goes on on the floors. I was once told I have a negative persona while I was waiting for a warning in the DNS's office... seriously, I never get called in there for praise. I'd have to be stupid to walk in smiling, knowing what was coming? Now come down to my space and see me with the patients and then tell me who I am. Shows me you don't know what you are talking about! Thanks for letting me get this off my chest!

[erwebrn]

Don't hate nursing. Hate the politics, no longer about patient care. It's about scores, surveys, studies and things that look good on paper. What it says on paper and what is really going on in the place of business is completely different. I just saw a survey that says 95% of nurses are happy with their status and their biggest complaint was the benefits should be better. So this must be the site for the other 5%. Who knew?

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Ruby Vee said:

Or maybe the original poster is encountering all of these terrible people because of the poster's own attitude, which is amply demonstrated in the original post.

oh god, gimme a break...

OP, I too just accepted a job away from the bedside but still using my nursing knowledge...and getting paid a heckuvalot more. Go us!

[dlp0223]

The survey probably only those in management roles. It couldn't have included those of us who provide direct patient care.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

I felt this way too, left the hospital and did home care , which I loved. Just took time off to go back to school. Just took a class that focused on the necessary changes in healthcare and read a book called why hospital should fly. Totally felt like someone finally got it. Respecting your colleagues, not letting Dr's run the show or treat staff like crap, patient centered care, trying to PREVENT disease instead of applying a bandaid and make money off it (there's a thought ), and much more. We as nurses need to take a stand and change it.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Someone mentioned working 12 hrs and little or no breaks. It's insane, especially when people's lives are in your hands. And don't EVER accept a dr or management disrespecting you. It is NOT OK and something to brush off.

[sueseact]

Boy do I know where you are coming from but thankfully it's only been the last couple of years that the management has been so bad. I feel as you do, with 3 more years till retirement and 38 years in the same facility under my belt every day I worry some insignificant oversight will cost me my job.

[danielle2000, MSN, RN]

Shoot! You have learned in the short time that bedside is an essence sucking entity that can only be cured by doing something else. I have worked in the NICU for 16 years. I love the patients and the families. It is not the work I do, it is bureaucracy of acute care facilities that has gotten my goat. Each year hospitals continue to throw a pile of fecal material at nurses and treat our profession as if it was an occupation. One day I said, "Enough! Time to go back to school and do something so different. I feel pursuing advanced practice will give me a sense of empowerment making a difference. True, many floor nurses make an awesome difference in the care they provide not to mention the compassion and teamwork that is given on the daily basis. Hospitals refuse to acknowledge it but once a year and never listen to nurses when they have legitimate concerns with work conditions and patient safety. I just refuse to deal with it anymore!!!! Nursing continues to be a very rewarding career you just have to be honest with yourself and know it is time to move on from other aspects of this profession.

[Leonardo Del Toro, RN]

Yes, bedside is not for everyone. I do enjoy it most of the time and yes there are moments when you get that sinking feeling - "what the heck happened to my life" but there are also toxic places and nice places to work. I've been in both. I agree with you in that some places are impossible to work...and every aspect of these places is toxic. The only way out is the door of course.

[Mwalkmick]

Thank you for having the courage to write this. Many floor nurses such as myself, feel this way but are too afraid to say anything. This is because of critics like some of the people replying to this that feel that it is terrible to think this way. To be tired of the rude, self centered public that we have to deal with daily does not make us bad people or bad nurses. Patient satisfaction scores being the only priority to our employers doesn't help matters either. We are just tired of giving so much and being treated so terribly.