after 22 years i am leaving the nursing profession. i have spent almost half of my life taking care of other people, and it is now time to step aside and let someone else step in.
i was very young when i started out, and i often say that i chose nursing the same way many women choose a man, for all of the wrong reasons although i was good at it, i never harmed anyone, i worked hard, cleaned pts real good, cleaned nails, ears, etc. made beds, toe pleats and all, passed meds, did IV's, blood and all of those other tasks they added to the list over the years. everyone was well taken care of, except for me. i silenced my own voice.
so, it is time for me to leave. after numerous injuries, (back, wrist, neck), backstabbing managers, obnoxious families and insulting doctors i just can't do it anymore. i'm tired and just have done all i can do. i have worked everywhere and seen it all from the ER to the OR. i didn't do it for the money, it's really not that much for all of the b* i have to deal with. i feel sorry for the shallow person who wants to do nursing for the money. i would not want them standing over me.:chair:
if i had it to do over, i would not. but i can't undo what is already done.
i love kids, i love art. i have a degree in art and opportunities to teach it are coming my way. not the same money but much less stress on me, no injuries and no more palpitations and bradycardia. i don't like telemetry either-- working in it, or laying down in it. the beeping really creeps me out, and when i look up and see "50" on the screen that does not help. :redbeathe
i did not wake up and decide to quit, it has taken me a long time to get to this place and i realize that it is either remain in this relationship (profession) at my own expense, or get out now while i still have my physical and mental health and strength. i have seen too many of my commrades die prematurely. i don't want to be next, before my time.
good luck to you all, be safe, CYA, and most of all when the going gets tough, get out!
I'd just like to say that it is a great privilege to be a member of such a supportive community. The nurses (including the OP) who have posted here show empathy, grace, and wisdom. For those who are ready to move on: thank you, thank you, thank you for the years you've put in. Even though management can suck you dry, they can never remove the fact that you've affected countless lives. Peace be with you.
And there-in, lies the reward. I truly believe that I have made a difference in many lives of people who would not even remember my name (although some do remember). I know my job was something. I know I made a difference. I know it deep down in my soul, that so many patients were fortunate to have me as their nurse. It's not even important to me that they know that, and it doesn't upset me because they don't know it. It's just that I know what a difference I can or cannot make, that makes me try so hard. And I'm tired. Really, the ironic thing, is that if i really could leave, I wouldn't be venting, but I am kind of stuck, because I am only 41 & my financial advisor tells me true reitrement isn't untill age 67 now...HA!!! I have done several different things in nursing. Don't talk to me about "if you had tried". Alot of it is what you will deem acceptable, and what you can accept of yourself in that position. I sucked at managment, because I cared. I always made a difference at the bedside. And though it has been hard, and I am tired, dis-heartened and burnt out, I would never say it was the wrong choice for me. I was supposed to be there. I really made a difference, and still do. But if i could realistically leave today, I'd do it in a heart beat. And it is very nice to hear a newer nurse honour my compassion and work ethic and the difference i made, instead of blasting me for caring too much.
... and no, i am not venting. i am speaking the truth. speaking what i believe does not make me bitter, it makes me honest. if nursing students are discouraged from nursing because of what i posted, then it is a good thing. that is like saying that quoting the fact that 50% of all marriages end in divorce will discourage people from getting married. well, if that is all it takes to discourage them, then they should not marry in the first place! marriage is more than putting on a white dress, walking down the aisle and marrying a man in a nice black tux, eating cake and going to the bahamas for a week. nursing is more than putting on a cute uniform and crusing the hallway with a tray of medicines and fluffing pillows. the problem is, no one wants to hear the truth. nursing schools do not present the harsh realities of what nursing is to potential students.
carry on--
cc
soon to be retired june 30 2006:balloons:
cc, yes you are speaking the truth.
i've been in nursing for 35 years now. it gets worse every year, and not because i'm getting older, but because its all a bureaucracy now - only money counts.
and until nurses unite and fight for what is right (for patients as well as staff) administration will continue to pile more and more work on fewer and fewer nurses. how people survive to walk out of hospitals nowadays is a real testiment to the wonderful nursing staff working there.
i've had some wonderful times in nursing, but would never suggest it as a career today. i'm trying to wind down - work fewer hours and in more laid back settings (if that is possible). being in management i can tell you that if this was a perfect world the management team would be on the floor, working, instead of attending all these 'huddles', meetings, teleconferences, more meetings, 'business lunches',seminars, etc. that go on and on for hours and accomplish absolutely nothing. what a waste of time, but we sure do shuffle papers and manage to look busy. woot!
i can't wait till retirement - will take it as early as possible. may have to live in some third world country to make the money last all month, but as martin luther king said, i'll be "free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, free at last". maybe that should be my 'countdown'.
best wishes to you, cc, and thank you for your eloquent posts and truthful words.
i've been in nursing for 35 years now. it gets worse every year, and not because i'm getting older, but because its all a bureaucracy now - only money counts.
and until nurses unite and fight for what is right (for patients as well as staff) administration will continue to pile more and more work on fewer and fewer nurses. how people survive to walk out of hospitals nowadays is a real testiment to the wonderful nursing staff working there.
i've had some wonderful times in nursing, but would never suggest it as a career today. i'm trying to wind down - work fewer hours and in more laid back settings (if that is possible). being in management i can tell you that if this was a perfect world the management team would be on the floor, working, instead of attending all these 'huddles', meetings, teleconferences, more meetings, 'business lunches',seminars, etc. that go on and on for hours and accomplish absolutely nothing. what a waste of time, but we sure do shuffle papers and manage to look busy. woot!
i can't wait till retirement - will take it as early as possible. may have to live in some third world country to make the money last all month, but as martin luther king said, i'll be "free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, free at last". maybe that should be my 'countdown'.
best wishes to you, cc, and thank you for your eloquent posts and truthful words.
yes! and we don't thank ourselves and appreciate others enough. i don't believe that you have to become bitter to leave any profession, that is not healthy. but, management likes to sit and look busy, in their ivory towers. i mentioned this fact about managers working in the floor and this one manager acted like she was going to have a baby right there! they can't function anymore. if they had to do what we had to do, they would walk off the job today. i agree, they should make them all work on their floors one day every 3 months. one 12 hour shift. and they don't get to be in charge. they will take an assignment like everyone else and do it all! that is all it would take to change things. i guarantee that they would call off sick...
I am sorry but I never intended any disrespect to you and I am quit glad you are not ready for a rocking chair yet. I never implied you were any kind of nurse because you never mentioned what kind of nurse you were or your experiences so how would I know anything else about you? I guess I am just burned out and not yet bitter..maybe that will be when I need to get out. Good luck and best wishes on your retirement.
it's OK...don't get bitter, it's not healthy. it makes ulcers and who knows what else? don't wait until that happens because when it does, they will just find somebody else to hire in your place, drink coffee in your name if you die, and forget about you. take care of yourself.
it's OK...don't get bitter, it's not healthy. it makes ulcers and who knows what else? don't wait until that happens because when it does, they will just find somebody else to hire in your place, drink coffee in your name if you die, and forget about you. take care of yourself.
I might be right behind you too. I have been in healthcare for 21 years total, last ten have been as an R.N. and I really think I've had enough for all the same reasons, I think I'd like to go work at subway, nice safe sandwiches, and when they fall on the floor there's no paperwork!
one 12 hour shift. and they don't get to be in charge. they will take an assignment like everyone else and do it all! that is all it would take to change things. i guarantee that they would call off sick...
dorimar, BSN, RN
635 Posts
And there-in, lies the reward. I truly believe that I have made a difference in many lives of people who would not even remember my name (although some do remember). I know my job was something. I know I made a difference. I know it deep down in my soul, that so many patients were fortunate to have me as their nurse. It's not even important to me that they know that, and it doesn't upset me because they don't know it. It's just that I know what a difference I can or cannot make, that makes me try so hard. And I'm tired. Really, the ironic thing, is that if i really could leave, I wouldn't be venting, but I am kind of stuck, because I am only 41 & my financial advisor tells me true reitrement isn't untill age 67 now...HA!!! I have done several different things in nursing. Don't talk to me about "if you had tried". Alot of it is what you will deem acceptable, and what you can accept of yourself in that position. I sucked at managment, because I cared. I always made a difference at the bedside. And though it has been hard, and I am tired, dis-heartened and burnt out, I would never say it was the wrong choice for me. I was supposed to be there. I really made a difference, and still do. But if i could realistically leave today, I'd do it in a heart beat. And it is very nice to hear a newer nurse honour my compassion and work ethic and the difference i made, instead of blasting me for caring too much.