NY Nurses: Burnout & fatigue

[NYP_RN]

One year down working as a nurse at NYP and I must say that as good as the pay is, I'm getting increasingly fatigued. I feel burnt out, and I'm extremely tired; even on my days off. Prior to working here full-time (and during my long hiring process), I would enjoy the city and even date my husband every now and then :heartbeat. Now, I'm lucky to have three days off to order delivery and spend time with my family prior to slobbering on the couch at 10pm.

My shift starts at 7:15pm and ends at 8:00am. I'm usually breathing fresh air at 8:40 am. We have "self- scheduling" that's usually not exactly what we request, so some weeks my rolling schedule feels as though I never got a weekend. I'm beginning to feel as if nursing isn't my career. I'm broken down and tired. I didn't really enjoy this summer, I just worked hard!

Anyone else experiencing this?

[surferbettycrocker]

i feel your pain. what about switching to days? although you will still be slobbering on the couch i assure you. i worked in a big city hospital and i would work sometimes until 9pm for a 12 hour days shift that started at 7am go figure!

what are the ratios on your unit? nursing is hard core i think and bedside nursing at 'the best hospital in nyc' is hard core plus i would imagine. for me with bedside nursing at the endo f a shift or end of a week i have nothing left to give.

i dont know how sustainable working that hard is. also, is it worth it? sorry i have nothing to offer except that you are not alone!