I am a new nurse that graduated May 2019. I have held 2 different RN inpatient jobs at this point and I have hated both of them in every fiber of my being. The first one was completely terrible: poor staffing, high ratios, etc. The second one I have now is objectively better but I still hate nursing. I have been an RN at my second job for about 6 months. I was scarred from my first job, but told myself I would give it 6 months to regroup. 6 months later, I still hate my job so much. I would literally do anything else but nursing. is it irrational to switch fields completely? I am also a very introverted person. I dream of having a desk job and I am starting to resent the entire healthcare field in general. I want to be left alone. I don't want people yelling at me. I don't want to run around stressed all the time. even when things are going well, I know anything can go wrong at any point and am just never settled, calm, or happy.
I used to be such a positive person but nursing has sucked the life out of my very young soul. I get that it's normal to feel negatively about nursing for the first couple of years, but I am just so miserable. the fact that I resent healthcare is telling me I really should switch fields...I just want to be left alone at a desk where I can do my work and leave. anyone know what job that is? sign me up!
not to mention, when I was in nursing school I never liked clinicals...like ever. I guess in retrospect this should have been a sign, but I am very book smart and enjoyed learning. so I guess I just ignored the reality of what my job would be like after my classes were over.
I was also reading a stat the other day that about 1/3 of nurses leave the profession within the first couple years. this is telling me it's not just me and that my feelings are never going to get better. is it crazy to switch professions this early on? Does anyone have a job that is not stressful (or AS stressful as the bedside)?
Well, I changed careers TO nursing, so it’s definitely possible. I was an elementary school teacher, and while I didn’t hate it, I knew it wasnt for me. So, spend some time thinking about it, and maybe try an outpatient nursing job first, but you certainly aren’t locked into a career if you hate it.
One of a few pros of working as a nurse is that many nursing jobs are flexible. If you can afford, maybe it is a good idea to be part time on your nursing job and use your extra free time to prepare for what you really wanna do.
I left nursing for good. I have a desk job in clinical research now. They definetely leave me alone most of my work time. I tried medsurg and surgery in the past. Nursing was not for me. I became a part timer on my surgery job, and went back to school for my master's degree in STEM. My current job does not require a nursing license, but it is nice to have nursing knowledge since after all I am working in clinical research. I did not waste my BSN since having a bachelor's degree was one of requirements for the admission to graduate school.
I don't think it's crazy to switch professions, but I do think it's crazy to leave nursing without trying a different kind of nursing. I know, you've had two positions, but they sound pretty similar. You put a lot of work into becoming a nurse, and I think you do yourself a disservice by not trying out other options before leaving the field completely. Go peak at the specialties threads here and see if anything sparks your interest.
And maybe nursing really isn't for you and you won't find a job that makes you happy, but maybe you find a job that doesn't drive you insane and pays the bills while you find a field that will make you happy. Good luck!
Specializes in Acute care, travel nurse, public health, CM.
Check out utilization management. I am so sorry that inpatient nursing has been such a bad experience for you. It is not for everybody, and don’t let anyone make you feel bad for wanting to leave. Also, look into public health. I liked nursing MUCH MUCH more after I left inpatient bedside.
In nursing school, there is just not enough time to get exposed to all of the non-bedside jobs that are out there. Obtaining a BSN or MSN (if you haven't already) will open up more opportunities. I could have written your post in my first year of nursing but I've found fulfilling jobs for over 20 years. Yes, I did put in some years at the bedside and advance my education for those non-bedside opportunities but it was totally worth it.
I am a new nurse that graduated May 2019. I have held 2 different RN inpatient jobs at this point and I have hated both of them in every fiber of my being. The first one was completely terrible: poor staffing, high ratios, etc. The second one I have now is objectively better but I still hate nursing. I have been an RN at my second job for about 6 months. I was scarred from my first job, but told myself I would give it 6 months to regroup. 6 months later, I still hate my job so much. I would literally do anything else but nursing. is it irrational to switch fields completely? I am also a very introverted person. I dream of having a desk job and I am starting to resent the entire healthcare field in general. I want to be left alone. I don't want people yelling at me. I don't want to run around stressed all the time. even when things are going well, I know anything can go wrong at any point and am just never settled, calm, or happy.
I used to be such a positive person but nursing has sucked the life out of my very young soul. I get that it's normal to feel negatively about nursing for the first couple of years, but I am just so miserable. the fact that I resent healthcare is telling me I really should switch fields...I just want to be left alone at a desk where I can do my work and leave. anyone know what job that is? sign me up!
not to mention, when I was in nursing school I never liked clinicals...like ever. I guess in retrospect this should have been a sign, but I am very book smart and enjoyed learning. so I guess I just ignored the reality of what my job would be like after my classes were over.
I was also reading a stat the other day that about 1/3 of nurses leave the profession within the first couple years. this is telling me it's not just me and that my feelings are never going to get better. is it crazy to switch professions this early on? Does anyone have a job that is not stressful (or AS stressful as the bedside)?
Honestly, any decent paying job is going to be stressful. My father worked in business, had a CPA license, and told me to never make the same career mistake that he did. My husband does medical equipment repair for a manufacturer-loves his job-but stresses out over it constantly. I got my nursing license, have done a little bit of almost everything. There will always be stress with jobs that have a decent salary, require and education and critical thinking, and are enough to keep you motivated so that you are not completely bored off your butt (there are some nursing jobs that will have this-they also do not pay well and they may be nice for a change of pace if you like learning and using your brain they will eventually drive you nuts). I ended up hating floor nursing-not the patient care so much as the understaffing and inability to do what administration demanded-and when the HELL did the H start standing for Hilton and nursing got hard pressed to get the means correct out of the kitchen for satisfaction scores??? I had one patient demand their “flan”....I had to Google what it was. Another was ticked off she couldn’t get polenta with her pasta-sorry hon-it’s not gormet-Gordon Ransey isn’t in the kitchen whipping up dinner tonight, if frozen choice defrosted and heated # 1 or #2-polenta goes with the stake-yesterday-so it’s not available for a reimbursement tonight. Good Lord. Now wait a moment because your neighbor stopped breathing.
Assisted living was no acute but I found it stressful due to crappy management and no staff showing up. Neglect hurts and I couldn’t be a part of what I kept witnessing. I was only one person. I could not care properly for 100 if 4 sides went MIA and didn’t show up on the weekends and still kept their jobs.
Desk jobs carry their own stress. Things need to get done and a lot of it is going back and forth with other organizations or insurance companies playing and endless game of phone tag and being on hold only to get disconnected-given the wrong info-or told thank you for the info we will get back to you only to call a few days later and no record of the call.
There are many jobs you can use your nursing license for that will not require direct patient care. Most will involve some-at least phone-contact- and most require at least a few years experience in the area of care that you eventually get the desk job. I will say that it will depend on what kind of stress you handle better. I could never go back to working at the Hilton. I burnt out years before I knew it-but I have dabbled in a little bit of other nursing jobs here and there. I love what I do now for the most part, but there’s always stress in most jobs.
I am sure even the Walmart Greeter has their days (haven’t seen them in a while) or the bag boy. Customer service whether in nursing or elsewhere is always going to have its unhappy consumers-the Wally I looked at it in nursing was that at least most of them had a reason to be grumpy. They didn’t feel well. As for the guy who came in for the sale that was sold out-get out of my face-take your rain check and back off before you are escorted by security for threatening me because your zip lock dime bags sold out.
Its you’re call. I would see if there’s something that you could use your education with before starting over, but if your young you may have time on your side. Just take the time to figure out what it is you really want to do because school-for anything-gets expensive and we have to pay for it whether we work in the field or not. Best of luck whatever you decide.
Specializes in Acute care, travel nurse, public health, CM.
On 8/14/2020 at 7:31 PM, Green Tea, RN said:
One of a few pros of working as a nurse is that many nursing jobs are flexible. If you can afford, maybe it is a good idea to be part time on your nursing job and use your extra free time to prepare for what you really wanna do.
I left nursing for good. I have a desk job in clinical research now. They definetely leave me alone most of my work time. I tried medsurg and surgery in the past. Nursing was not for me. I became a part timer on my surgery job, and went back to school for my master's degree in STEM. My current job does not require a nursing license, but it is nice to have nursing knowledge since after all I am working in clinical research. I did not waste my BSN since having a bachelor's degree was one of requirements for the admission to graduate school.
Good luck finding what you make you feel happy!
I feel like you are describing biostatistics, but I'm not sure. This is an area that I'm very interested in. I've tried to become enthusiastic about case management, but I feel like the profession as whole is just not for me, for various reasons which I won't get into (sorry to hijack this post). I wish I could send you a private message, but I'm fairly new and apparently don't have enough "quality posts" to send PMs yet.
I had one patient demand their “flan”....I had to Google what it was.
Thank you for cracking me up with this comment. Way too relatable! I'm currently looking into your nursing personally. Burnout post bedside nursing is real! I do feel like my hospital did a good job preparing me for what was to come as a new grad nurse. We had regular classes regarding preventing burnout. Talking about the valley of despair made me feel validated in my frustrations. I think management often causes a lot of these problems for floor nurses, not to mention those patients who think this is a spa day. Hope you find a new path that hopefully utilizes your previous hard work.
There is not a job that exist that doesn't deal with stress and crappy people. My sister-in-law works runs a lab at an university. She too is an introvert. She only has to deal with the mice, fish, and her lab assistant. Yet on occasion her boss will make her stressed out too.
Perhaps your problem isn't nursing, but you. See a therapist because you will have to deal with people no matter what job you have.
I am a new nurse that graduated May 2019. I have held 2 different RN inpatient jobs at this point and I have hated both of them in every fiber of my being. The first one was completely terrible: poor staffing, high ratios, etc. The second one I have now is objectively better but I still hate nursing. I have been an RN at my second job for about 6 months. I was scarred from my first job, but told myself I would give it 6 months to regroup. 6 months later, I still hate my job so much. I would literally do anything else but nursing. is it irrational to switch fields completely? I am also a very introverted person. I dream of having a desk job and I am starting to resent the entire healthcare field in general. I want to be left alone. I don't want people yelling at me. I don't want to run around stressed all the time. even when things are going well, I know anything can go wrong at any point and am just never settled, calm, or happy.
I used to be such a positive person but nursing has sucked the life out of my very young soul. I get that it's normal to feel negatively about nursing for the first couple of years, but I am just so miserable. the fact that I resent healthcare is telling me I really should switch fields...I just want to be left alone at a desk where I can do my work and leave. anyone know what job that is? sign me up!
not to mention, when I was in nursing school I never liked clinicals...like ever. I guess in retrospect this should have been a sign, but I am very book smart and enjoyed learning. so I guess I just ignored the reality of what my job would be like after my classes were over.
I was also reading a stat the other day that about 1/3 of nurses leave the profession within the first couple years. this is telling me it's not just me and that my feelings are never going to get better. is it crazy to switch professions this early on? Does anyone have a job that is not stressful (or AS stressful as the bedside)?
If you want a desk job with nurse pay, why don't you look in to home dialysis nurse. I'm one, I do peritoneal and home hemo. I have my office, my desk, I see patients here and there. I get left alone. I don't run around and the pay is good since it's a specialty. You work Monday to Friday, off weekends and holidays.
And when you get a different type of nursing job: READ REVIEWS FROM EMPLOYEES.
Ignore the 5 star reviews, because they're usually written by management to make the job sound better and more appealing. Look at the 3 star reviews to get an idea of a normal day. Then really pay attention the 1 star reviews. While most of those are people angry about their job, it shows you what the real perspective is when everything isn't going right. You're going to see what you can get in trouble for, the reality of the company's staffing and policies. And definitely don't trust a company that has no bad reviews. It doesn't matter who you work for, at least 1 employee at some point has to have a complaint, otherwise, nobody would ever leave jobs.
CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN
928 Posts
Well, I changed careers TO nursing, so it’s definitely possible. I was an elementary school teacher, and while I didn’t hate it, I knew it wasnt for me. So, spend some time thinking about it, and maybe try an outpatient nursing job first, but you certainly aren’t locked into a career if you hate it.