I went to nursing school as a second career move, I thought I wanted to be an acute care NP. After working as a nurse for just a month Covid hit and everything changed. I went back to my desk job that I had before nursing school after 1.5 years of Covid, mainly working in a procedure area but floating to Covid floors to help.
I have always wanted to be an ICU nurse so being back at my desk job got a bit boring and I missed traumas, etc so I applied for a SICU position and started working in May. Now that I'm a little over a month in I have some major regrets... I just don't think I actually like being a nurse. Or maybe it's the bedside thing that I don't like because I was procedural before.
I find nursing a bit impossible. Always asked to do more with less, more documentation, more demands from family, more orders from the team, trying to transport one pt to CT while the other needs just as many things, everything that goes wrong is your fault, I'm an idiot because I don't have 'MD' next to my name according to most family members and even many providers (sorry but the PAs have by far been the worst)... The support for nursing is just not there from an administrative level, no matter what hospital you're at because I am at a 'top ten' hospital and it sure doesn't feel like it...
I'm starting to think the healthcare system is broken beyond repair and my lifelong dream of becoming a provider in medicine is just slowly being crushed by the mega business that healthcare has become. I don't know whether to stick it out longer or just go back to my peaceful, 9-5 public health desk job before I lose that for good and get stuck in nursing.
Seeing so many people leaving and hearing the complaints and seeing the exhaustion from my coworkers who have been doing this for years is just making me want to run, especially when I can honestly say my heart isn't in it. Or maybe I don't want to be in the ICU, or bedside for that matter, after all.
I'm really torn, I don't want to give up too early, maybe I just need to give it a chance, but on the other hand I have been in and out of the medical field for years (just not as a nurse until about 2 years ago) and maybe what I've always known is just clicking -- that healthcare, and now I can say nursing, just kind of sucks. LOL I'm being a bit facetious but seriously, is it just time to throw in the towel on healthcare?
I'm not scared at work or terrified (although there are moments) I'm mainly just blah about being there and dread going in because of how much running I'm going to do without ever feeling like I accomplished anything, getting attitude from pretentious family members, and how tired I'm going to be by the time I get home just to do it all over again the next day. The excessive, BS liability charting literally makes me want to bang my head against a wall just thinking about it. Please help.
"It's not just the unit you're on either necessarily because usually the culture permeates the whole hospital. Maybe a different culture would change your perspective on it".
So true!
"She's keeping her head down and flying under the radar so they don't fire her, as she's heard rumblings of layoffs/downsizing".
Sometimes you have to be willing to move to make a change. They are building like crazy by me, so there are thousands of nursing jobs available all over the US!
Sometimes you have to be willing to move to make a change. They are building like crazy by me, so there are thousands of nursing jobs available all over the US!
Non-nursing. Not many jobs like hers in this area. She can't move as, like my hubby and I, she and her hubby are farmers. We can't just up and move at the drop of a dime. Believe me, we'd love to
FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN
2,322 Posts
Getting your nursing license wasn’t a waste of your time. You just don’t like your current job.
Narrow down what it is you really hate about your job and you’ll fix this.
For me; it’s always unsupportive coworkers (including management) and situations that cause moral distress that make me hate a job. Every time.
For you it sounds like people disrespecting your knowledge, and having too many things to do at once are the big things.
NP school might solve it for you. Or a job outside the hospital where you are in more of an advisory position.
I personally hate working in the hospital.
good luck!