The Wait.....

rayman · Apr 18, 2006

LOL...it's called "short timers syndrome". I understand, I still remember getting out of the navy almost 20 years ago. That last month...wow. It would have almost been worth re-enlisting just to have that feeling again.

heartICU · Apr 19, 2006

I don't know if it is me....and maybe it is, but I find myself just....I don't know for lack of a better word losing interest in a lot of things work related as I wait for school to start. Not to say that I am compromising patient care at all, because I am still a great nurse (not too toot my own horn or anything), but I just am losing interest in things that would have had me a little worked up before. If I don't get the days I requested, or if someone really upsets me I am more like...you know what it doesn't even matter because in a couple of months I won't be here anymore. I don't dread work...but it is getting a little harder to get up and go in every night. Especially since the weather is getting nicer and that SPRING FEVER is kicking in. As MD's give me stupid orders and I hear people complain about trivial stuff I am almost excited to know that I have an escape that is rapidly approaching.
I know that starting school will have all kinds of stressors of it's own, but for some reason the thought of getting out of "bedside nursing" and into something new is exciting for me. How is everyone else feeling as they approach their start date in 2006, or others who have already started but remember that feeling. I start in August and have decided that I am not working in the month of July at all so I can pack and tie up some loose ends before I move etc. Is this nonchalant, for lack of a better word, feeling something you guys are experiencing also? It may be because I started at another place recently, and I am not too crazy about the facility. I am interested in hearing your responses.

I went through the same thing. It is almost as if you "mature" past all the unit bullshi*t and can just do your job and go home. Just wait and see when (and if) you go back and work a shift in the unit after school has started...you will look around and realize how PETTY and UNIMPORTANT some of the fights were. You will get a crappy assignment, or transfer out and admit three patients, etc and you will just smile and take it all with a grain of salt. Because when you go back and work in the unit, you realize how much more critical it is in the OR, and how much more mentally easy it is in the unit. It is almost like going on autopilot [Now don't anyone flame me for saying working in the unit is easy - it's not - it is just all relative!] It is incredible how a little more education will change your outlook. Going back and working a shift now and then reaffirms that I am 110% sure I made the right decision in going to anesthesia school!

vadrn · Apr 19, 2006

I know how you feel. I don't start until January of 2007, but the issues on my unit seem to bother me less and less. It will be a little "different" not doing bedside nursing after almost nine years, but I will not look back. I've enjoyed my job and the experiences it allowed me, but it will be nice not having to respond to the code browns that we all love. Anyway, you are not alone in your feelings, I'm sure that all of us that are counting down the days are all feeling the exact same thing. Good Luck!

Focker, CRNA · Apr 19, 2006

That happened to me too, hard to explain how I felt exactly, but I just didn't mind doing the things everyone else complained so much about because the end was in sight. I also stopped doing any overtime and took a month off before school.

wvccrn · Apr 19, 2006

It's not you. I feel the same. I started my educational leave 3 weeks ago and have already entered a state of mind that is not the same as before. I went to my old unit for a visit and felt out of place. My class starts May 8th.

WVCCRN

SorenDrake · Apr 19, 2006

I feel exactly the same. Thankfully, most days they have me training for some new stuff, which gives me something to focus on. My nurse manager almost made me stop training when I informed her of my acceptance, which would have been terrible, especially considering I'm almost done. I'm planning a couple of weekend trips this summer, but how do y'all afford to take a month off?? Finances are so tight right now, I'm asking for overtime! (my husband is currently a grad student, so he only works p/t). And I think the wait would seem even longer if there wasn't work to pass the days...

In2B8 · Apr 19, 2006

I am definitely with everyone here! I start in August, and somehow those GI bleeds with a Hgb of 4, or the nights the superviser is trying to triple me with CVVH don't seem so bad because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am like you, SorenDrake, and trying to pick up all the OT I can now! It does make the time go by quicker, and I definitely want to bank up some pesos before school starts!

SigmaSRNA · Apr 19, 2006

I went through the same thing. It is almost as if you "mature" past all the unit bullshi*t and can just do your job and go home. Just wait and see when (and if) you go back and work a shift in the unit after school has started...you will look around and realize how PETTY and UNIMPORTANT some of the fights were. You will get a crappy assignment, or transfer out and admit three patients, etc and you will just smile and take it all with a grain of salt. Because when you go back and work in the unit, you realize how much more critical it is in the OR, and how much more mentally easy it is in the unit. It is almost like going on autopilot [Now don't anyone flame me for saying working in the unit is easy - it's not - it is just all relative!] It is incredible how a little more education will change your outlook. Going back and working a shift now and then reaffirms that I am 110% sure I made the right decision in going to anesthesia school!

Preach man!! My charting got alot better my first shift back to the unit. I was alot more mindful of things around me ( flow-volume curves on the vent, A-a gradient changes on a blood gas). It was cool to argue with a doc and know what the hell I was talking about.

Focker, CRNA · Apr 20, 2006

but how do y'all afford to take a month off??

single, no kids, saved for two years anticipating CRNA school, car I bought at the end of 2003 cost less than the sound system I subsequently put in it; I think those are the main things

texanjj · Apr 20, 2006

I'm finding it harder and harder to get up every night also and come on in now that I have that proverbial "open door". I can see right through it and I sooo want to walk on through. Things don't seem to bother me much either. I just keep thinking I see the light at the end of the tunnel. As far as overtime goes, I'm taking all I can get, paying off a few things before school. I'm trying to get excited about our upcoming vacation in June, my last one for a while I imagine. Good luck everyone...we're almost there!!

lonestargas · Apr 21, 2006

Is anyone else experiencing the opposite of what you all have described? I have always been the laid-back person that never let my assignment/load bother me. I figured it was all part of the job. Lately, I have found myself to be more short-tempered and with a general feeling of not wanting to deal with the BS anymore. Am I getting a big head already?!?! I hope not! At times I have felt I'm being unfairly given an assignment because of some "resentment". I don't know if this is just my perception or not. I hope I get to experience some feelings of elation before August! I would hate to leave my coworkers feeling glad to see me go! Some of them have become like family. Still, August cannot arrive soon enough!