TheVikingLady

Hey all; I'm just frustrated and there just isn't really another way of effectively venting for me, I don't want to trouble my friends and families with this, nor would I know what to say to them. After working a hellish week in a busy ED, missing Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family, for no extra pay or benefit, I just got called in for my mandatory on call shift for tomorrow. I am just so exhausted. My house is a mess, despite how much I work, my finances are in shambles; I can't seem to do anything other than sit on the couch at home. I feel like I keep pushing myself to the max and I feel like I'll just break at any moment. Nobody seems to understand. I want to cut my hours and go prn but I just can't seem to gain the courage to ask my manager; and even when I eventually do I'm pretty sure they'll say no; or at least probably won't let me for several months. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to function, I feel like I just want to scream but I can't. I do love what I do and I love the people I work with; but I just feel so miserable. Life just can't be like this.

Hello all, I've been a nurse for a few years now, and have worked in various settings as diverse as emergency care and long term care. Despite anything that I do, I just can't seem to get happy with what I'm doing. I've had to start on medication just to make it day by day. I often think about if I would be happy doing something else with my life, but its such a scary jump, especially when that likely means starting back at square one and taking a rather large pay cut. Is it time to leave nursing? Any advice is appreciated.

Hey all, just wanted to gain your thoughts and opinions on something. I have a lot of anxiety/depression that I feel is strongly rooted in my work. I'm currently on meds and working with my doctor; but would it be weird to cut down my hours (if I can afford it financially) for mental health reasons? My reasoning for asking this is I've done PRN work before, and did pretty well with it; but if I go and ask my management to potentially switch me once a PRN position is available, I'm not sure what reason to give them. Thoughts?

Hey all! I've recently started a new job where I started the night shift this week and am working on transitioning after over almost two years of day shift. Call me a dreamer, but I'm approaching my new shift with enthusiasm and have made it a project of mine to make life as a night shifter as easy as possible. I thought it'd be fun if everyone would share some wisdom they've learned over the years to making it work. Any problems you've encountered along the way, and how you remedied them. I'm no stranger to working nights; when I first became a nurse my first job was night shift on a med-surg floor. But after so long working days my body is having a hard time adjusting now that I'm a little older. Again, this is my first week; but one thing I've noticed is more muscle aches/tension-type headaches that I think may be associated with the altered sleep schedule. What is your experience with working night shift? What do you do to make life in general a little easier? I'd love to hear from you!

I'm still kind of working on this myself. Thus far I've tried to incorporate going for casual walks on my days off; and I am wanting to become a little more disciplined in doing yoga. When the weather starts being consistently warmer here I will try to pick up some swimming as well. As far as when I exercise, I try to focus more on my days off. I just recently converted to night shift so my days before work I'm more focused with keeping myself asleep. Eventually though I'd like to start doing a little bit of yoga in the mornings before bed.