Burned Out & Bummed Out - Can't find my nursing "niche"

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With technology comes less patient care. GPS trackers, scanning of drugs, patients et al make it difficult for any Nurse to spend time with Patients. We are money making machines. The more Patients we can manage the more rewarding it is for the Company.

Individual Patient care is no longer as important as making money. To that end Nurses have been taking on more than they can handle. Even with protesting this inequity, the Company gives a nod "yeah we know there is a problem" but they just do not take it seriously. Consequently Patients are NOT receiving outstanding care, they are numbers in the Company's accounting ledger and nothing more.

I have been in Nursing since 1972, now retired but it is clear the changes to Hospitalization have been at the expense of humanity and Nurses.

It is always about the bottom line.

Stacey of NC

Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.

I recommend expressing yourself outside of nursing. I became a musician and learned electric guitar but sky is the limit to what you can do. I learned to ride a motorcycle. I bought a house and learned how to run it and maintain it. I improved my relationships with friends. I even rented an aircraft and got to fly it as pilot in command and I was happy like a little boy. I bought human anatomy books and art supplies and I started sketching human figures because I like to draw.

Pursue an interest or a hobby you have always wanted. If you have always wanted to be an interior designer start taking design classes. Success or failure don't matter but the act of doing can literally change your life.

Sometimes we have unfulfilled spiritual needs that will not be fixed by "job satisfaction". Perhaps they are not related to your job and will not be resolved even if they nominate you nurse of the year.

Specializes in Med/Surg, OR, Peds, Patient Education.
You are not a loss to nursing! I would caution against spending more money for an advanced degree - just because if you are already feeling pulled thin, the stress of going back to school and either borrowing/spending a lot of money is not (in my experience) going to help. I wouldn't worry about looking like a job-hopper; you either stay in your current position or have to change it. If the question comes up in your interview, just say you're moving forward and looking to practice a different area of nursing. Some may say look for a part-time or PRN opportunity to dip your toes in and see if you like it but if you feel burned out, this may not be advisable. Ask yourself what you WOULD like your (average) workday to look like. Do you want to clock in at a facility, or go see patients in their homes? Would you like clinic or school nursing maybe?

Chacha has given the poster excellent advice. Check the job postings in your own facility. Ask friends, network among those whom you know, in other areas. I was able to transition into a patient education area for the last fifteen years of my career. If the facility, in which you work, is large and a hospital "corporation," there may be a position that really is your niche other than bedside nursing.

Hospital corporations do have the problem of too many in administration, and most are "top heavy" pyramids, but the plus is that there are more opportunities to change direction, still using the education and skills that you have acquired.

Best of luck to you in your search.

I'm in the same position you are in. I just left travel nursing to take another permanent position. I've been in this field for 10 years. I went back for my bsn a few years ago only to rack up some student loans for less pay than 8 years ago.:no: My new position is the hours I was looking for, but how will I pay my bills?

I have been a nurse for 6 years and felt the same way you did.....never being able to find my niche and not feeling like I was making a difference or helping people the way I thought I could be. I started hating being a nurse and always left feeling disappointed somehow and dread upon arriving. I recently made a jump in April and now work in ER at a smaller community hospital. I absolutely love it!! It is fast paced so I never get bored and even if most things aren't an emergency, I feel like I am truly helping people, because it's their emergency. No lore super long reports and passing 20 pills. I am more task oriented and love performing skills like IV's. The transition was easy since I had nursing experience. So glad I finally had the guts to try ER. 😀 I could go on and on about how love it!

It's very common for nurses to job hop in the beginning. I did it and went from peds to NICU to Rehab to... I found my niche away from the clinical area. That's a tough one for a lot because there is a fear of losing skills, etc. I didn't worry about it after awhile because I realized I didn't need them. I developed a new skill. Motivational Interviewing. I worked telephonically with a Medicare population as a health coach/disease management nurse. I did that kind of work for nearly 15 years before retiring last year and it was the best job I ever had. You can find them with insurance companies or vendors and the best part is that you aren't playing the bad guy and you don't have to show cost savings. It was awesome . Home health was also a great option for me and I did that for 7 years with the same company in Las Vegas. Loved it. There are options out there so just keep searching and the right specialty will come to you. Good luck. Oh, here's a hint. When you find the one you love don't let your boss know it because you know, nurses aren't allowed to be happy in their jobs and they will do everything they can to ruin it for you. I know how they work. :)

If you are feeling burnt out, find a way to manage to take some time off and reevaluate. Part of the reason I chose nursing after much deliberation is because of the flexibility it allows. There are so many different avenues to take. If the hospital setting isn't for you, there are other options out there for people with a nursing degree. When I was feeling similarly burnt out, I quit my job, with no job lined up (a risk I was willing to take at the time), and flew to stay with a friend in a warm place near the ocean for a month to clear my head. Nursing can be a rewarding career if you don't forget to be good to yourself, too. After the month away, I returned home and spent another couple weeks looking at my job possibilities. I ended up becoming a traveler for a few contracts and found a good job fit. If you aren't in a position to be able to leave your current location, I would still try to take a short time away from nursing. You have figured out patient populations that you don't want to work with, so that should give you a better idea of what you might like. I have to say, yesterday I was floated to help out in OB. It was so refreshing to help out with an entirely different population than I've been used to (adult ICU). Maybe a complete change of gears in the population you take care of would be good for you? Good luck figuring it out. You chose wisely, a career where you will always be able to find work. My dad likes to remind me, it's called work and not fun for a reason.

Hello, What changes have you made? It has been two years since this post. I am just reading over all of these messages as I am currently in this very situation of not knowing what my next move should be in this world of nursing. I have all these ideas but then stop myself. I am so very lost.

I'm much like you, five years into my nursing career, and increasingly dissatisfied. The whole of my experience has been in med surg, and the thing that I have come to liken it to is a game of whack-a-mole, where the "mole" is pain and/or nausea medication primarily, although popsicle and other similarly mundane requests are certainly part of that equation. The point is that when you are perpetually spread too thin, needing to-and trying to-be in two places at the same time, it feels like you are just scrambling to whack the next "mole" that pops up, and not spending enough time interacting with your patients in a more meaningful way. That, for the same reasons, you have to spend 2 hours catching up on your charting at the end of the day, only adds insult to injury. As a result, I find myself wondering if nursing is where I want to be at all. For that reason, I've been reluctant to return for my BSN, although that might open some doors to other opportunities. Not ruling out PA school as an alternative to the RN-BSN option. All I know is I am not happy, that "burnout" is part and parcel of the nursing experience, and life is too short. So, something is going to change.

Hello, What changes have you made? It has been two years since this post. I am just reading over all of these messages as I am currently in this very situation of not knowing what my next move should be in this world of nursing. I have all these ideas but then stop myself. I am so very lost.

Best of luck!! You will do great!

Specializes in public health.

ER? It would be very clear whether you made an impact on the patient or not.

Maybe you could do an online NP program? Then you would be deciding on the treatment for your patients.

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