Switching Careers from Nursing because I hate it so much

pinkdoves, BSN · Nov 28, 2020

:)

SmilesforMiles · Jul 21, 2021

I honestly feel you. I feel like it was a mistake to get into nursing. I've had 3 jobs in 4 years as a nurse and hated them all. Nursing is a toxic profession and nurses get treated like crap. I will say once I got away from the hospital it was better, but I too want to leave the profession.

hanami4 · Sep 29, 2021

Your post described my feelings exactly. I do like dealing with patients some of the time, but my coworkers are mean and cliquey and the stress is unbearable. Constant haranguing from useless supervisors, phones ringing constantly, people screaming obscenities, backstabbing coworkers, constant emergencies, blood, vomit, and feces, and unending paperwork. I feel I'm too old to find another career, but maybe you aren't. I hope you find something you love. We definitely aren't the only nurses who hate nursing. I hear it all the time. I'm thinking of doing psychiatric nursing for a couple of years before I retire and then go part time after that.

DaisyRN, BSN · Nov 28, 2021

Sounds like me when I first started nurses 5 years ago….and sadly, I still feel this way. I’ve had several nursing jobs/units and am never content. Almost every time I clock in I think about how much I loathe nursing. I actually start getting depressed the day before my next shift because I already don’t want to go back in. Don’t get me wrong, it has its cool moments but overall I just don’t like it. The patients can be so rude/demanding and the assignments can often be unrealistic. I find nights to be a more manageable workload but then there’s the fact that….it’s nights and not everyone (me) can physically handle noc shift lifestyle.

Now I’m stuck in student loan debt (and some other stuff) and I can’t really afford to take lesser pay for a while. My suggestion to you would be think long and hard about this profession, if you really hate it and can afford to do something else…don’t torture yourself.

IMOKAY, BSN · Dec 4, 2021

lizet4455RN

Can you please tell more about your job? Do you do dialysis in people's homes or is it all education and case management? Is there on call shifts required? Tell us more, I'm interested.

Spinmass, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Dec 6, 2021

I have always said that every job and profession has its *** and it just a matter of which *** you want to deal with. I work in inpatient dialysis and you could not pay me enough to be a floor nurse or ICU nurse. I became a nurse after a 15 year career in which I became disenfranchised with the system. Nursing has been excellent for me, however I could easily see if being miserable for some.

Before you bail, give some other nursing jobs a chance. Look outside the hospital, you will find an entirely different nursing field. It seems that schools preach that you need to work in a hospital to be a "real nurse" and that simply isn't true.

TravelnurseDC · Feb 8, 2022

Hello fellow nurse who hates this profession as much as I do,

First off, congrats for recognizing the soul-sucking nature of this profession. Second, NO this does not get better regardless of the position, hospital, unit, etc. Nursing is a dirty, thankless job where abuse is tolerated (even accepted as a normal occurrence) and where most people stay because they don't have the grit to accept that it's not a career that can benefit the mind, body and soul. From my experience people stay in this profession for extended periods of time because a) they are vested so much in their retirement they have convinced themselves they are "almost finished" b) have children or other responsibilities and are scared to venture out in fear of not being able to pay their bills c) they have been convinced by mentally unwell nurses that "this is just what it is and it's what we signed up for and its OUR responsibility to change the entire culture of each hospital "yeah OK, let me get out my wand". Life is too short my dear to question "does this get better" each and everyday. RUN as I am doing. God speed.

IMOKAY, BSN · Feb 10, 2022

Yup. My daughter wanted to follow in my career footsteps and I said no way, absolutely not.

And all this talk about how leaving your staff job to travel is the way to enjoy this career is total B.S....the 2 travel nurses in the news recently that commit suicide say otherwise.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Feb 10, 2022

On 10/9/2020 at 12:13 PM, lizet4455RN said:

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.

The home therapies in my area work weekends and holidays, and on call after hours. So it's different everywhere

anon0987 · Feb 25, 2022

On 8/10/2020 at 8:40 PM, nursingworldwhy said:

Hi guys,

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)?

Hi nursingworldwhy,

I felt as though you were reading my mind while I was read this post. I've only been an LVN for less than a year and I hate it. I'm in a state of panic every day.

May I ask what direction you ended up taking?? Thank you in advance.

Mel123Nurse · Dec 1, 2022

OP wondering what ended up happening with this? I’m in the exact same situation. Loved the school work, hated clinicals, on my second year and second job, passionately hate the field. Did you find anything good?

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Dec 1, 2022

6 hours ago, Mel123Nurse said:

OP wondering what ended up happening with this? I’m in the exact same situation. Loved the school work, hated clinicals, on my second year and second job, passionately hate the field. Did you find anything good?

OP hasn't been on since Aug 2020