So Frustrated I want to quit nursing altogether

[deej394, BSN, MSN, RN]

Heads up to anyone reading this: This is mostly just a rant, but I didn't know where else to go to express my feelings.

I have been a nurse for about 4 years now. I became a nurse in an accelerated BSN second degree program, mostly because I didn't know what to do with my undergraduate degree. I knew going in that I did not want to stay bedside and I still definitely feel that way.

I am a float pool nurse at my hospital and am INCREDIBLY frustrated with our management situation. I realize that if I were less invested and less engaged these problems may not bother me so much, but I am a person who throws myself into whatever I am doing, so here we are.

I joined the float pool about a year ago, and found out about 2 weeks after joining that the manager (who I really liked and who was the one who asked me to join float pool) was leaving. Her direct supervisor became our manager, and the hunt began for another manager. That position was filled in October, but that manager was asked to leave in February (despite being well liked and an effective manager). The director who oversaw them and indirectly us, is our current manager.

She has to be the worst leader I have ever seen. I don't want to get too specific because if someone is reading this from my hospital, they will know exactly who I am talking about, and most likely who I am as well, but this person has no business leading anyone. She only seems to care about the directives she receives from "higher ups", and about keeping the peace, but does not exhibit any real concern for how her staff is feeling or doing. Everything she says seems fake and like she is just saying what "they" told her to say.

This director doesn't listen to the concerns her staff have about safety, and does not advocate for staff at all. We used to come to the other managers with issues that would arise on different floors, such as staffing issues, issues with assignments, or general safety concerns. At first, when each of these two managers left/were fired, people would go to her with similar concerns. Now it has pretty much stopped altogether because we have recognized that she does not listen or care and does not even try to get anything done.

Even now, when staff bring up an issue, she just brings it back to a small group of the Float Pool staff (myself included) and asks them to work on a solution. My response: "NO! The reason this was brought to you is because the staff couldn't solve it by themselves." Basically she has no business leading or even managing anyone and is super ineffective. Staff is incredibly disengaged and dissatisfied. On our most recent employee engagement survey, we did not meet the benchmark in ANY category, and the lowest score was in leadership accessibility. That's appalling.

I am not alone when I say I am ready to quit not only this job, but nursing entirely and that has absolutely everything to do with her. The only reason I am still there is because I have a position writing our hospital's Magnet document and I do not want to leave that team. I have also been accepted to a master's program that I think I will like, but I can't see myself making it through two more years of this nonsense, while waiting to finish that degree.

If you have advice for dealing with this type of dissatisfaction and disengagement on a personal level, please share. I am incredibly disheartened and came home from work today seething, and hopped on indeed.com looking for a job. Literally just any job.

TLDR: Manager sucks. She is the cause of a lot of staff dissatisfaction and is unresponsive to issues raised. I am ready to quit. Trying to figure out how to deal with it.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

49 minutes ago, deej394 said:

If you have advice for dealing with this type of dissatisfaction and disengagement on a personal level, please share. I am incredibly disheartened and came home from work today seething, and hopped on indeed.com looking for a job. Literally just any job.

You are in an excellent position. You've been a nurse for four years! You even float - you've seen most everything and apparently nothing phases you. YAY!

Having said that- move on or accept the things you cannot change. But you can be a little picky about the job. It's not nursing you hate, per se - it's the situation. Change the situation and maybe you'll recover your love of nursing. Best of luck!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with the previous poster. It's not a rational, reasonable decision to quit an entire profession/career because you encountered one manager you don't like. There are always going to be a few people you don't like in your workplace. If you can deal with them, you stay and learn to live with them. If you can't cope with them, you leave. You have enough experience to be quite marketable. Find another job if you can no longer be happy in your current one.

If you really want to stay on that Magnet team, see if you can find a decent job at the same facility -- perhaps on one of the units where you have floated several times and have a good reputation. They will be happy to have you and you will be less likely to get unwelcome surprises going to a unit you already know.

[TriciaJ, RN]

1 hour ago, deej394 said:

TLDR: Manager sucks. She is the cause of a lot of staff dissatisfaction and is unresponsive to issues raised. I am ready to quit. Trying to figure out how to deal with it.

I was wondering where my old manager washed up. Still spreading hate and discontent, I see.

[RNfindingherway, BSN, RN]

MOVE ON!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

As they say, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Look around and find something you want to do, then go there! They will appreciate an all-in/100% employee like you. Best of luck!!

[JKL33]

18 hours ago, deej394 said:

The only reason I am still there is because I have a position writing our hospital's Magnet document and I do not want to leave that team.

Were this (the designation) actually something meaningful/prestigious, would you feel that a place that harbors this situation (which goes beyond one individual because it sounds like it hasn't been stable for quite some time) would be deserving of such?

[TriciaJ, RN]

4 hours ago, JKL33 said:

Were this (the designation) actually something meaningful/prestigious, would you feel that a place that harbors this situation (which goes beyond one individual because it sounds like it hasn't been stable for quite some time) would be deserving of such?

No kidding. Keeping managers like that on the payroll doesn't sound very magnetic.

[Oldmahubbard]

You've been in nursing 4 years, and this is the first time you are so fed up you think of quitting the field altogether?

You have been very lucky. Keep moving on and moving up.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

As a float nurse myself, I could have wrote this post as well. To me though that is one of the amazing benefits of float pool. When I was on a "home floor," this type of political drama crap would make me so unhappy and decrease my morale so much because it was in my face everyday.

As a float nurse, my motto is don't mess with my money, don't mess with my schedule, and respect my patient safety concerns. If you do all that, I can let the "small stuff" roll off my back i.e. you don't answer emails, you don't want to do work but rather have your staff do it for you, etc. That is one of the perks of float pool.

[AmeliasAunt]

This sounds very familiar to my current situation although I am not working bedside. While I do not encourage you to quit nursing altogether, I would suggest that you allow yourself to find a place where you feel valued and supported. Many managers underestimate how important it is to take care of their employees. As for me, I have been actively searching for new employment for a couple of months. Hopefully the right thing will come along soon. Good luck!

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

On 4/18/2019 at 3:09 PM, deej394 said:

Heads up to anyone reading this: This is mostly just a rant, but I didn't know where else to go to express my feelings.

I have been a nurse for about 4 years now. I became a nurse in an accelerated BSN second degree program, mostly because I didn't know what to do with my undergraduate degree. I knew going in that I did not want to stay bedside and I still definitely feel that way.

I am a float pool nurse at my hospital and am INCREDIBLY frustrated with our management situation. I realize that if I were less invested and less engaged these problems may not bother me so much, but I am a person who throws myself into whatever I am doing, so here we are.

I joined the float pool about a year ago, and found out about 2 weeks after joining that the manager (who I really liked and who was the one who asked me to join float pool) was leaving. Her direct supervisor became our manager, and the hunt began for another manager. That position was filled in October, but that manager was asked to leave in February (despite being well liked and an effective manager). The director who oversaw them and indirectly us, is our current manager.

She has to be the worst leader I have ever seen. I don't want to get too specific because if someone is reading this from my hospital, they will know exactly who I am talking about, and most likely who I am as well, but this person has no business leading anyone. She only seems to care about the directives she receives from "higher ups", and about keeping the peace, but does not exhibit any real concern for how her staff is feeling or doing. Everything she says seems fake and like she is just saying what "they" told her to say.

This director doesn't listen to the concerns her staff have about safety, and does not advocate for staff at all. We used to come to the other managers with issues that would arise on different floors, such as staffing issues, issues with assignments, or general safety concerns. At first, when each of these two managers left/were fired, people would go to her with similar concerns. Now it has pretty much stopped altogether because we have recognized that she does not listen or care and does not even try to get anything done.

Even now, when staff bring up an issue, she just brings it back to a small group of the Float Pool staff (myself included) and asks them to work on a solution. My response: "NO! The reason this was brought to you is because the staff couldn't solve it by themselves." Basically she has no business leading or even managing anyone and is super ineffective. Staff is incredibly disengaged and dissatisfied. On our most recent employee engagement survey, we did not meet the benchmark in ANY category, and the lowest score was in leadership accessibility. That's appalling.

I am not alone when I say I am ready to quit not only this job, but nursing entirely and that has absolutely everything to do with her. The only reason I am still there is because I have a position writing our hospital's Magnet document and I do not want to leave that team. I have also been accepted to a master's program that I think I will like, but I can't see myself making it through two more years of this nonsense, while waiting to finish that degree.

If you have advice for dealing with this type of dissatisfaction and disengagement on a personal level, please share. I am incredibly disheartened and came home from work today seething, and hopped on indeed.com looking for a job. Literally just any job.

TLDR: Manager sucks. She is the cause of a lot of staff dissatisfaction and is unresponsive to issues raised. I am ready to quit. Trying to figure out how to deal with it.

To me, this sounds like something not worth leaving your job over. Managers suck everywhere, why?, because the higher ups either run them ragged or they don't let them lead. If you can find a decent enough place to work, stay put. You said it yourself, the well liked manager was asked to leave and she was great. Keep doing your job and document. If things get to be too much than go, but the changed just occurred.