I am getting really worried about the state of nursing and where we are going. Conditions seem so bad in the hospital setting that good nurses are flocking to non-hospital positions, and others are leaving the profession completely. What is going to happen when ALL the good nurses are gone? I know realistically not all will want or be able to go, but some nurses leaving the bedside is just going to make staffing and working conditions even worse, which in turn may encourage even those nurses who love bedside nursing to leave. There are already so many threads on this board about nurses who are suffering from extreme stress, anxiety, and depression much of which is directly related to nursing. Others who are just very unhappy and long for a change. Many posts that I read I end up thinking "get out, get out now!" I also tend to shy away from posts from excited newbies or students who seem so happy to be getting into nursing, just as I was before reality set in and I became disillusioned with the whole profession.
It begs the questions, if all the nurses leave the bedside, who is going to be left to care for myself and my family if/when we are in need?
I am one of those nurses who left the bedside. I am a school nurse, and unless I am forced to I do not plan on ever returning to the hospital setting. Eventually I may get out of nursing all together, once I have paid some bills out and my student loans. I do, however, feel some "survivor guilt" for my sisters and brothers who are still in the trenches. I think I have mentioned that on this board before. I feel bad for not being "strong" enough to put up with the terrible conditions and stick it out. I know my leaving the hospital just made it that much harder on my co-workers, but on the other hand I had to do what was right for me. Does anyone else who left the bedside feel this way?
