Quitting the profession

[Dewman]

I heard on the radio yesterday a bit about how many brand new teachers become beat down and disillusioned by teaching, and leave the profession in less than five years.

I was wondering if anyone has read/heard any similar statistics about the drop out rate of newly-minted nurses. I suspect it's rather high.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Had I known how bad the politics can be and the fact that there are few opportunities to actually move between specialties, I would have become a dietician. I thought there would be many opportunities for travel, which is just not so anymore.

So now, I make the best with what I've got.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

People often repeat the phrase "nursing isn't for everyone", applying it to numerous situations. What we seemed to fail to understand, as students, is that we don't know WHO it isn't for....until we're in it!

"Nursing isn't for everyone". Ok, true statement. Same could be said of any job, really. But EVERY student believes that he or she IS "meant" for nursing......and then something like a third of them figure out they weren't, later one.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

The issue is that schools tend to mislead students. Also, there are so many conflicting messages in the media. What nursing has become is not what it was 10 years ago. There's a nursing job shortage, not a nursing shortage.

When I was in school, there were many opportunities. No worries in finding or changing jobs because facilities were actively recruiting and offering bonuses, depending on location. I have a friend who was hired on the spot at a job fair in 2004, and that was not uncommon.

However, the climate drastically changed by the time I graduated and it has not recovered. Unfortunately, this is the new norm. So based on the current climate, it's no wonder that nurses are disillusioned, unhappy and burning out. If I knew then what I know now, I would have chosen a different health care profession.