Where have all the experienced nurses gone?

[mharrah]

On my floor, all the staff nurses have 5 yrs or less experience and are all about in the their late 20's. Has anyone else noticed this trend? Where do the med/surg nurses go after 5 yrs?

[kadokin, ASN, RN]

A doss means very easy.

Ps you missed out poorly paid )

Oh yeah, I forgot, that too.

[ana tomy]

I am new to posting..but I am a med-surg nurse for 9 yrs. This topic is so relevant(even in Canada). The unit i work on is physically/mentally draining everyday.As an RN on this unit you are responsible for your LPN's pts as well as your own. If the pt is unstable,you must take over their pt. We ALL do basic pt care(wiping bums,colostomy care,pericare,etc).Our unit manager also is of the mind set "Out with the OLD and in with the NEW". The experience level is dropping drastically..and it's noticeable. I hope it doesn't come to something drastic for a pt. I try to stay out of the politics at work(try)..it's my only savior.

[SharonH, RN]

This experienced med-surg(15 years) nurse left the floor for good almost 3 years because it is physically and emotionally exhausting. I was perpetually frustrated because I wanted to provide a certain level of care to my patients that due to poor staffing and poorly designed systems I was not able to provide. I was sick to my stomach at the changes implemented with the "customer-service" mentality which promoted a different style of nursing that I refused to engage in: namely style over substance. I felt quite demoralized and insulted by the suggestion of the use of scripts, the mandate to treat physicians as "customers"(translation: kiss their butts), and the emphasis on service recovery.

I worked per diem as it was and I kept cutting my hours as I found myself unable to "recover" from my shifts either physically or emotionally. In the past, cutting back on my hours had done the trick but not anymore.

I have been following Marla's saga and really, she described my feelings about working on the floor to a tee. To be honest, I feel quite bitter about it sometimes as well as relieved.

I loved med-surg patients and I loved providing the care but I hated the job. Barring a financial catastrophe, I will never return to that type of work again. Please God, never again.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

You too, huh Sharon?

Yanno, I had to go back to my 'old' workplace tonight because my dh was admitted for observation (long story, different thread), and it seemed that everyone was telling me I looked like a new person! This, only two weeks after I quit.........and I DO feel 110% better, both physically and mentally. It doesn't hurt that I've got a job interview Friday at another hospital in the same system (the job is in discharge planning, which is what I've been wanting to do for a couple of years) and it looks good so far. But the truth is, I don't ache all over like I used to, feel used-up like I used to, have a defeatist attitude like I used to, or even WALK like I used to........my old boss even told me I stand up straighter than she's ever seen me do before.

Go figure........Even though there is stress in my life of another sort (not knowing where your next house payment's coming from and seeing your husband admitted to the hospital with chest pain tends to cause some distress), I'm handling it. I couldn't have said this two weeks ago, but now I have every confidence that I won't be unemployed for very long. As much as I hated to do it, I knew it was the right decision the instant I gave my two weeks' notice. It was like having the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders.......literally.

Like Sharon, I say "Please God, don't ever make me work med/surg again". I need to be able to make a living, but I also need a LIFE. :) And when you're tired and hurting and grumpy all the time, that's not a life......it's barely even an existence.