I left bedside nursing several years back (2009 to be exact)...in the past few months I decided that maybe it was time to return...I was wrong. The issues that plague and continue to plague the nursing profession (long shifts, short on staff, more and more paperwork/EMR charting and all the other stuff) has, in my opinion, only mushroomed since the last time I worked at the bedside. Nurses are left little time to really..nurse..if that makes sense. It's not surprising so many new grads leave, seasoned nurses drop to PRN or move into other flavors of nursing and that a lot of nurses struggle with mental and physical health issues.
I have no choice but to remain where I am and make the best of it but for any nurse who has left and is thinking about returning, please think long and hard before making the leap - especially if it's been over a year. Healthcare is not, sadly, what it use to be in some ways and nursing seems to be taking the most hits from the changes.