So long Nursing

Jenny P · Jan 15, 2001

Dear Realnursealso/LPN, I didn't mean to ruin your swan song; but I do believe that there are places that can cause burnout; those are the places that chew up nurses and wear them down and spit them out so that the nurse has no choice but to leave that workplace or nursing. I also have a strong belief that if you love nursing, there is no such thing as leaving it- no matter what you do, you will take your assessment and organizational skills with you. I volunteer at our state fair for my nursing association. Several years ago, another nurse and I used to play a game while we did this and we'd try to pick out the nurses. There was something about a person who was a nurse-- sensible shoes, comfortable clothes, and a keen observant eye. Maybe there was something else, but we weren't able to identify it in words. Anyway, about 90-95% of the people we would pick out as being a nurse usually were nurses or were retired from nursing. So it's kind of one of those "once a nurse, always a nurse" type of things. Good luck in your new job; but don't be surprised if you find yourself using some of those nursing skills on a daily basis.

Mijourney · Jan 15, 2001

Hi colleagues. As usual, I'm going to offer additional two cents and more on this topic. I think that Jenny P and others make a good point with their posts. I think that every worker should have other abilities and interests on the side to rely on or be willing to take risks and find what fits.

Decades ago, women did not feel they had a choice or they did not desire one. They only chose those professions that extended what they were already doing in their home and community for little financial and professional rewards. Now, women are qualified to do many jobs and work, and there are so many tools to research for a good work or job fit. This is not to discourage those who are truly interested in nursing, because we need all the support we can get. But, nurses and teachers, in particular, seem to put their heart and soul in their work and still come out with the short end of the stick. I think it was you, Jenny, who pointed out that we seem to take on the victim role under another post. Let's look at it from this standpoint. If we're not able to perform our work as we know we need to, then who really suffers? Who gets the most attention with their complaints besides the doctors and lawyers? It's the patients, families, parents, and now children. What nurses, I think, are finally recognizing is that we need to be truly proactive to advance our agenda, which is to provide quality health and medical care and assist the public in having a high quality of life, and that we have the opportunity to do it in great numbers. It's true that playing victim or giving up is longer serving us as it has in the past. Many of us, as we age will be the benefactors of these actions. Having wrote that, I still believe that we need to point out players that undermine our effort in providing the care that the public calls for and needs.

It's a shame that realnurse is not reporting to us that he/she has joined a local nursing support group or some other nursing group or association and will continue to support nursing from the sidelines. So many of us, especially our up and coming nurses could benefit from the knowledge and expertise.

Jenny P · Jan 16, 2001

Mijourney, that is an interesting concept: a nursing support group! Yes, it would be nice if retiring nurses or those leaving nursing would belong to their nursing organizations; if they got the support from other nurses, would they feel so burnt out?

Lorraine bryan · Jan 18, 2001

You sound like you made a big difference to all the patients you cared for. It is always a shame when good nurses like yourself leave/retire. I have only been qualified 11 months and I try to make a difference daily to all my patients. A simply smile, touch of hands; comfort and reassurence or a little chat can mean the world to some. However in England as it is everywhere we are very short of good caring nurses. I often go home frustrated because I might have had only a minute to chat or something that I said I would do if I had time was not done. It is up to us professionals to change this. Every time a shift is poorly staffed we should speak out. Fill in an incident report tell the ward manager or go higher if need be. One day someone might actually listen. If we all do this we can make a very big noise. I hope when I retire I can say I have made a difference. It will be us in those hospital beds eventually lets not put our patients a risk or make them feel isolated/alone anymore.

Charles S. Smith, RN, MS · Jan 18, 2001

I read these posts and am struck by the absolute reality that we as nurses are facing. I, too, have been in healthcare for over 30 years and my body is breaking down, does not react like it should or as quickly as it should. I go to bed with aches in places i did not know existed and wake up the same way. The one notable exception is that I wake up and these aches and pains do not control me now as they once did. For me, nursing was and is the best decision that i ever made in my life. I truly enjoy nursing overall, not that i don't have rough or bad shifts...we all do. The difference for me is when i left the employee role and became a business owner and independent practice nurse. I control my future now. If you would like to know more about what my nursing focus is, go to our company website, www.preferredrns.com, check out the site, sign the guestbook, and click on the articles section. There is an article there ENERGY CONNECTIONS: A PERSONAL JOURNEY that i wrote for inclusion as a book chapter and it depicts the philosophy of nursing that moved me through my career. In addition to bedside practice, I coach nurses on an individual basis to help them with career options, negotiation skills, entrepreneurship, and an array of other issues.

The gist of all this is: There IS hope, there are ways of making your nursing lives more harmonious with the other parts of your lives. We still need the wisdom of our senior nurses to shape the generation of nurses who will be caring for us in a few years. Your careers have not been without meaning and your futures can be more meaningful. If you have made a difference in one person's life in your career, you are special. You can still make a difference for others the rest of your life.

Best regards to all

Chas

trinasmom · Jan 18, 2001

To Realnurse.

I hope you enjoy your new job. I would give anything to get out of hospital nursing. I do not think my husband believes me when I come home after a 12 hour shift that is really 13.5 or 14 and say that nursing is killing me. I usually start with 5 or 6 then by 2 or 3 in the afternoon I haves 7 or 8 with no nursing assistant. I am thankful every day if I don't hurt someone. If any one has any suggestions of another career I am listening. I live in south Florida where the pay is low. RN

realnursealso/LPN, LPN · Jan 21, 2001

Just wanted to say thank you to all the people who took the time to respond and say all the wonderful things. I made it throught the first week of my new job and...I LOVE IT! The first couple of days it was so very strange that I didn't have to give anyone a bath, get them dressed, or take any vital signs...lol. So as I said before...carry on...and in my heart I'm still a nurse.

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Charles S. Smith, RN, MS · Jan 22, 2001

Originally posted by realnursealso/LPN:
Just wanted to say thank you to all the people who took the time to respond and say all the wonderful things. I made it throught the first week of my new job and...I LOVE IT! The first couple of days it was so very strange that I didn't have to give anyone a bath, get them dressed, or take any vital signs...lol. So as I said before...carry on...and in my heart I'm still a nurse.

Congratulations on your new endeavor! I hope you always follow your heart Real...your heart is your best barometer

Much success!!

Chas

nurseN98 · Jan 22, 2001

Well then I feel really bad because I am only 25 and I am starting to explore other career options. I've been working as a nurse since I was 20 and an LPN till now, an RN. While I was in school to obtain my BSN I started having second thoughts but I figured that maybe it was just school and it would be better once I transitioned into my new role. Almost 3 years later while I don't regret finishing, I do realize that this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. And the sad part is that it doesn't have anything to do with my patients. I work in the Neonatal ICU and I love my babies but I can't work in that type of environment. On top of dealing with the regular issues of stagnant pay, short-staffing, reduced supplemental staffing I gotta deal with a whole lot of women who are not happy at their jobs and resort to backstabbing, spying and not helping you when you make mistakes, but just sitting back watching you then going to the manager. I don't know if it's like this everywhere but so far I've heard that it is. Well anyway, I will probably always do a shift here or there, but I've already started preparing for grad school and my major probably won't be nursing.

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"If you want your eggs to hatch, sit on them yourself"-proverb

outbackannie · Jan 23, 2001

Originally posted by Jenny P:
Dear Realnursealso/LPN, I didn't mean to ruin your swan song; but I do believe that there are places that can cause burnout; those are the places that chew up nurses and wear them down and spit them out so that the nurse has no choice but to leave that workplace or nursing. I also have a strong belief that if you love nursing, there is no such thing as leaving it- no matter what you do, you will take your assessment and organizational skills with you. I volunteer at our state fair for my nursing association. Several years ago, another nurse and I used to play a game while we did this and we'd try to pick out the nurses. There was something about a person who was a nurse-- sensible shoes, comfortable clothes, and a keen observant eye. Maybe there was something else, but we weren't able to identify it in words. Anyway, about 90-95% of the people we would pick out as being a nurse usually were nurses or were retired from nursing. So it's kind of one of those "once a nurse, always a nurse" type of things. Good luck in your new job; but don't be surprised if you find yourself using some of those nursing skills on a daily basis.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one falling apart after 21 years of nursing. I spent the last 8 yrs doing Home Health and loved it. Now that the hospital has closed Home Health because we weren't making money for them, I was offered work at the hospital. I told them it was impossible for me to work a 12 hour shift and could I just work 8hr. I was told "no", "everyone would want to do that". Here is a hospital so desperate for nurses, they are going to bring in foreign nurses again.

Montde · Jan 25, 2001

Dear Realnurse,

I hope you printed all the responses that you recived for your farewell, better journalisem cannot be found. What a wonderful profession we all share. Where else

can you become so intamate with so many perfect strangers as at the bedside? I truley feel I am working off bad karma ( it must be really bad considering our working conditions). I know at 43 I too am comming close to not being able to do it anymore but with me I take so many personal stories ( I keep all the obits of the ones I cared for) and I continue to worry about thier famlies long after my time with them is done. The hospitals and long term care facilities make it so hard to be a nurse but we do it anyway.. not for the money or praise but because when it comes down to it, it's between us and God to answer for our actions. Rest assured Dear Lady that you have done your part and it is more than your turn to rest. Enjoy your new adventures and rest assured that there are those of us out there for you still working off the Karma. Thank-you.

LaurieCRNP2002, MSN, RN, APRN · Jan 28, 2001

Hello all!

First, to Realnurse, I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavor. To terriv, if you still enjoy nursing, consider going back to school to move into another area. At present, I am about halfway through my master's program...I am in an acute care NP program with a minor in our school's health leadership program. I pray that by moving into advanced practice and developing leadership skills that I can make a difference, which I find increasingly hard to do as a staff nurse. Although it's a lot of work, I'm glad I'm at this point b/c if I hadn't started school 2 years ago, I probably would be quitting nursing as well. The thought of the new challenges facing me as an advanced practice nurse are what keep me going and is the "light at the end of the tunnel" for me. I hope everyone can find their niche, whether it be in some area of bedside nursing or some other area. We all are valuable and all have something to offer. Good luck to all! :-)

Laurie