Nursing burnout in the ICU or Med-surg???

TazziRN, RN · Jun 8, 2008

I burned out after 19 years but I think it really happened long before that. When I left my first ER job after 11 years I thought I was just burned out on THAT place, and I took another job at another ER that I thought I loved. It took another 8 for me to realized I just can't do it anymore.

Many years ago I heard that the average life span of a critical care nurse was 5 years.

bknyrn · Jun 9, 2008

I burned out after 19 years but I think it really happened long before that. When I left my first ER job after 11 years I thought I was just burned out on THAT place, and I took another job at another ER that I thought I loved. It took another 8 for me to realized I just can't do it anymore.
Many years ago I heard that the average life span of a critical care nurse was 5 years.

I worked in med-surg for 15yrs and 1 1/2 home health and I'm totally burned out. Trying to figure out what I want to do now. Looking into something part time, maybe at home (have 3 kids). I took legal nurse consulting course last summer, havent been able to do anything with that yet, although I would like to! Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks.

ONCRN84 · Jun 9, 2008

I work medical oncology/hospice and I'm burned out. It's been 18 months and I'm burned out from the death, dying, and cancer. I'm looking for a public health job.

Cindy-san · Jun 9, 2008

Many years ago I heard that the average life span of a critical care nurse was 5 years.

I've only really got ICU experience, but I find the newbies come and go, and the older ones have been around forever (+20yrs). And there are quite a few of them at my newer and older job.

I think it's mainly b/c the newbies are more interested in other things and moving on, and ICU work is overwhelming and tiring sometimes. So is med-surg, though. All my younger colleagues have been looking for "something else" in nursing. And it all seems to involve less stress, pettiness, mismanagement and aggravation.

Personally, I'm a little burned. I dislike my new job, mainly b/c of the work enviroment. I find it very frustrating on many levels. And the patients, family and cares aren't a problem in the slightest. I dislike the decision-making particularly, because it takes a miracle to get anything done on nights. I'm a bit of a control freak and I hate seeing stuff happen that could have been prevented because I noted and reported it before. But no one who can write an order wants to make a decision.

My coworkers are petty and talk about each other non-stop. The senior nurses do it in front of an audience, while the newer ones whisper it quietly. It's annoying and makes me wonder what's being said about me.

I'm going to be needing a change of scenary soon.

Nacki, MSN, NP · Jun 9, 2008

I see that the newer generation moves on more so than the older ones. I can't see myself doing this until retirement age. I'm going back to school now.

Hoozdo, ADN · Jun 9, 2008

Took me two years in ICU. My top reasons are the current trend for 7/24 patient visitations with no restrictions, absolutely no help for Q2hour patient repositioning except another RN who has to leave her patients, the trend in patients being morbidly obese with no concern from management, and finally injuring myself from doing all this heavy lifting.

You can now find me at a correctional facility infirmary where I don't lift anything, I don't have to serve meals, there are NO visitors, and where there are no Press-Gainey reports.:chuckle

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 9, 2008

i have long noticed that nurses who start out in critical care areas (icu, ccu, ed) as new grads tend to burn out faster. my husband says he's seen studies that prove the same thing. i haven't seen the studies, but from what i've seen, it seems to hold true. nurses who start out in general medical or general surgical floors or even med/surg seem to be happier in nursing for a longer time.

i started on a general medicine floor, went to hematology/oncology medicine and then to a hematology/bone marrow transplant specialty. i burned out after a year of that (my 5th year of nursing) and transferred to micu. that kept me interested and engaged for years! after about 8 years in critical care, i experienced another burn-out. this time, i was going to leave nursing forever -- i went and got an mba. but by the time i finished with my master's, though, i knew i didn't really want to leave nursing, or even the bedside. i've done micu, ccu, sicu and cticu. i have brief periods where i feel burned out every couple of years, but nothing serious enough to consider leaving altogether. i did have a big temper tantrum about 5 years ago when my manager at the time totally denigrated anyone who would stay at the bedside for "decades" -- some of you may remember reading about it -- and move to the opposite coast, but i never even considered leaving nursing.

my husband, who also started out on the floor has had a similar career path. he gets "burned out" every 3-5 years and changes jobs -- ccu to cath lab to cticu to flight nursing -- but hasn't ever given up on the idea of nursing. we'll be in nursing, and most likely at the bedside until we retire in about six years!

Nacki, MSN, NP · Jun 9, 2008

Hoozdo, My unit has open visiting hours too and its horrible. I couldn't get any of my work done last time I worked because a family member would come out every 5-15mins to tell me how to do my job. "Somethings beeping" (monitor) explained to them I had a monitor outside too and that she's OK..."Her temp is 99.5," "Ya'll are letting her b/p get low?" (150/80), "She has to use the bedpan"...after me spending the last 30mins in there getting her back to bed with all her lines and drains, ect, ect,ect...I don't understand why the higher ups don't see that this is so stressful for the nursing staff. Just let me do my job. It made me feel like I don't know what I would've done without the family telling me how to do my job, I don't know how I've come so far in nursing without them...