Leaving the Profession - Burnout RANT

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

I am tired. I am tired of it all.

I am so tired that on my days off from work (which are increasing due to budget cuts), all I have energy for (if at all) is to desperately search for career/job/continuing education options online, cry profusely at my fading hope, cry about the prospect of going back to work, cry about my lingering student loans that cling like a noose around my neck...

I have a baccalaureate degree, and a nursing diploma... and have never felt more worthless in my life.

On any given day, if I have enough energy, I try to drag my sad body into the shower to bathe. My dreams of completing my BScN have been crushed and the options for RPNs (in my experience) are too few, too depressing, on units saturated with physically violent, cognitively compromised, extremely heavy patients and insurmountable, intolerable workloads... I am trying to salvage the years I've invested into this profession. I was hoping to get my BScN and then move into research or admin nursing. I can't handle the PEOPLE any more. I am drained. I am empty.

I have no clue what else to do with my life.

I feel so lost.

Sadly, pursuing this dream to "help people" has caused me to take on so much additional student debt that my position in the world feels limited and suffocating. I feel so hopeless. I don't know what I am going to do.

Has anyone been in this position before? How did you get out?

[nicolemy0215]

That's the beauty of nursing, we have many options as to what TYPE of nursing we do....I went from ICU/crazy as fu** floor to an outpatient oncology unit...surprisingly just as busy but definitely changed my perspective on what a "bad day" is....have you thought about simply slowing the pace down by taking a job in another area...you sound as though you've hit your stress limit, so it's probably well past time to change areas.

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

My instincts tell me this has to do with more than the career. Maybe you are "doing too much" at once and over-stressing yourself. Maybe you are having some chemical or hormonal changes that are making you depressed. I'd see a doctor.

I've been in healthcare for a lot of years. I had to take an antidepressant for a while somewhere in the middle. It wasn't nursing that caused it, but it was about stress...and too much of it.

I think you can be happier. Try to get some help and reduce your stress. Maybe that sounds "too simple", but, IMO it's a relevant response.

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

That's the beauty of nursing, we have many options as to what TYPE of nursing we do....I went from ICU/crazy as fu** floor to an outpatient oncology unit...surprisingly just as busy but definitely changed my perspective on what a "bad day" is....have you thought about simply slowing the pace down by taking a job in another area...you sound as though you've hit your stress limit, so it's probably well past time to change areas.

I can't move to another area because the only options for RPNs (Registered Practical Nurses, 2-year college diploma) is for CCC geriatric units, LTC, nursing homes... and I won't bore you with my rant as to why I loathe gerontology.

I have NO career options without the BScN, and for now my hope of accomplishing that is on hiatus.Unless someone out there has a connection they'd like to share?? I would love to interview for something else, just to try and see if I can stick it out. God I would love an ESCAPE from gerontology!!!

[nicolemy0215]

Is a physician's office an option? Just as a way to get away from the stress for awhile.

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

No one is hiring. The few Physician offices that are hiring want a Registered Nurse (BScN) only. Regardless, I have applied to any openings I've come across and they tell me exactly what I already know.. they want a RN. I feel totally screwed, and I am going broke. In my experience, unless you have a personal connection, the only places that will hire RPNs is usually within the arena of geriatric care.... which... I... HATE. I would happily work in an MD office or anything just to get out of geriatrics.

I feel like I am in a dead-end career

[Elle23]

Try pediatric private duty/ home health nursing.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Have you checked your local Craigslist? Smaller and independently owned facilities, including home health companies and private practices, often advertise on CL, as they do not have a large HR department.

[Jules A, MSN]

Mental health? In my area we still hire LPNs on inpatient psych units.

You have gotten a nice variety of suggestions and while I get the repeated theme that you don't like geriatrics unless you have other career options working in some aspect of geriatric care might be the path you need to take to support yourself and pay your bills as you either go back for your BSN or consider another career. I'm sorry that you hate what you do but finding a job that is bearable and gives you enough hours to pay the bills will at least keep things from getting worse while you figure out what you need to do going forward.