Why I get the urge to quit nursing sometimes

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Okay, yes this is a complaining thread...:angryfire Here are my reasons that I am considering at least cutting way back on my hours, once I simplify my life this year.

1) I'm very disenchanted with the current administration and management at the hospital where I work. I feel belittled and taken for granted by them. They treat the employees at the hospital like children, with manipulative management techniques they learn at the endless management seminars they attend.

2) I don't like the direction that the regulatory agencies are going and the amount of paperwork they are creating for nurses with their endless demands. I feel like they are people who lack practical experience and are mainly academics, who spend too much time reading studies. I don't think they have much respect for bedside nurses.

3) I had to exert a tremendous amount of effort to get my vacation time this year, even though I had not requested vacation time in 2 years. Then my manager tried to squeeze in all of my FTE into the two other weeks of the month. What a f-ing hassle. Do I ever get any credit for always being on time, and rarely calling in sick? NO! It's NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU ARE SHORTSTAFFED!

4) The hospital gives me the feeling that they will never back me up, but will mainly cover their own a$$es. If I got sick with cancer, they would probably try to get rid of me as soon as possible under some pretense, and then I would lose my insurence. I don't trust the management at my hospital.

Anyways, I think I'm still PO'd over the vacation thing. :madface:

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3) I had to exert a tremendous amount of effort to get my vacation time this year, even though I had not requested vacation time in 2 years. Then my manager tried to squeeze in all of my FTE into the two other weeks of the month. What a f-ing hassle. Do I ever get any credit for always being on time, and rarely calling in sick? NO! It's NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU ARE SHORTSTAFFED!

ARGH! I'm going through this now at my facility! Essentially it's: "you're welcome to put your request in, but we can't guarantee any time off...we've had people put in their vacation requests up to six months ahead of time and it still get denied, so you're more than welcome to put the request in but it depends on who else has put requests in, "what" they are [rn,lvn, etc], but that's great that you want to take vacation time." :angryfire HELLO?? I dont' get why it's some huge deal! I feel your frustration! I'm to the point where I think the only way I'm getting "vacation" time is if I go on maternity leave (which ain't happenin anytime soon - kinda need a man first!) or quit. Sorry for kinda hijacking. Frustrating that it's not just our facilities, huh?

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ARGH! I'm going through this now at my facility! Essentially it's: "you're welcome to put your request in, but we can't guarantee any time off...we've had people put in their vacation requests up to six months ahead of time and it still get denied, so you're more than welcome to put the request in but it depends on who else has put requests in, "what" they are [rn,lvn, etc], but that's great that you want to take vacation time." :angryfire HELLO?? I dont' get why it's some huge deal! I feel your frustration! I'm to the point where I think the only way I'm getting "vacation" time is if I go on maternity leave (which ain't happenin anytime soon - kinda need a man first!) or quit. Sorry for kinda hijacking. Frustrating that it's not just our facilities, huh?

Oh, it's no hijacking, you are welcome to participate in my B!tChfest in any way, except by being a cheerful PolyAnna.;)

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Oh, it's no hijacking, you are welcome to participate in my B!tChfest in any way, except by being a cheerful PolyAnna.;)

*Tazzi backs out of thread, hiding Pollyanna smile*

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Specializes in Lie detection.
oh, it's no hijacking, you are welcome to participate in my b!tchfest in any way, except by being a cheerful polyanna.;)

can i play??

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[color=#483d8b]1) short staffed for the past 8 months!!! in a small hh office that's death for the few nurses that need time off.

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[color=#483d8b]2) sure, keep dumping more work on me, did you get a clue when our last nurse retired 4 months sooner than she was supposed to??? and that none of our nurses are happy?

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[color=#483d8b]3) don't dare complain, we're supposed to just shut up and suck it up. there are some days where i feel like screaming that i'm putting my resignation in.

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[color=#483d8b]yes i'm having a sucky week. i usually think i have an ok job. but i'm tired of working short. i need a vacation. i need a pat on the back. i need some less crazy patients too :lol2: !!! aaarrgghhh.

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[color=#483d8b]g-dove, i feel your pain!!!!!

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Specializes in home health.

aarrrghhh!! y'all are singing my song!

last year, in may i put in a tinm off request for ausust.

first week of august, i get pulledinto the don's office (with the administrator there..ya know, they gotta have a witness!) and told "i'm sorry, we can't give you 2 weeks off. we're short" and photocopied the 'official policy' that states time off will be approved or disapproved "according to the needs of the facility" i am still burning over this one. at this time, i do have reasons for staying but ever since this admin took over 2 yrs ago things have gone downhill for employees

gonna try for 2 weeks off again this year. (oh, and i was also told "i've never heard of a nurse getting two weeks off at the same time")

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Before you quit nursing try a new job! Not all hospitals are good to work for, and that gives you little chance to transfer into a better area, so get the heck out of there!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Okay, I'm hormonal. I'm in.

I have a little different perspective right now. I am in the process of leaving a management position. I DO give my staff any time off they request, haven't denied a vacation or weekend off ever. Have gone in to cover night shifts (and weekend shifts)when there was a sick call or they were getting slammed hard with admits, even tho I just finished putting in a 10 hour day shift. Lots of pressures from upper management to 'staff to your stat's', meaning make sure your manhours meet up with your requirements according to census, 'or else'. In the last 1 1/2 years in my current position doing everything I could think of to make the staff happier, working on average 50 hours a week plus on call 24/7, lotsa atta boys and girls, telling some committee they can't add another thing to charting requirements unless they take something else out, intervening when some MD is being a piss ant, always a smile on my face and cheering every one on, handing out chocolate on busy days, on and on and on..... NOT ONE THANK YOU FROM ANYONE IN THE PLACE! No friends 'cuz the middle management team is too competitive with each other to be friends with each other. Lord knows you can't confide in your staff about a lot of things going on. I have definately learned a lot in the a lot year and a half, and I know this experience will look great on my resume. But, NEVER AGAIN WILL I TAKE ANY SORT OF THANKLESS MANAGEMENT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's no wonder more than half the managers out there are such pains in the butt. The good ones go insane trying to do the job right. All I want now is some sort of my life back.

There. That feels a little better. Thank you.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Hmmmm. It just occured to me. I think we all need to get together, sit down, and have a nice, cold, frosty margarita! Maybe that requires a different thread....

:cheers:

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If a request is given to a employer in a reasonable amount of time, and it is not honored. Looks like the employer is (1) unorganized or (2) understaffed. ....makes me wonder. What do they think, don't hospitals know they are buying our time and services, thats why we work? They don't own us.

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Before you quit Nursing you should know its not only Nursing or Nursing in your area that has these issues.

Me: EMS: same issues, management limiting vacations because of the "shortage" of Paramedics. Overtime is expected, so expect to work longer shifts to cover for the lack of available personnel. This leads to a higher burnout rate and even more vacancies.

My wife: Nursing: Same issues you have plus constant floating to other floors because she works Psych and the floors need her more.

Brothers #1 & 2: Scalers, (they calculate the value of timber, a surprisingly high paying specialty up here) They have to wait until the Friday before the week they want vacation to see if they got it. They both have had to miss vacations with their families because of this policy.

Brother #3: Heavy Equipment Operator, Works 12+ hrs a day six or seven days a week because the company he works for (Weyerhauser) is shorthanded and does not plan on hiring anyone else. Point of fact they are cutting more jobs than they hire.

Brother #4: Manager, City of Portland: same issues, due to budget shortfalls no new hires & employees are working more hours and vacations are being limited.

Sister: Child Advocate, local School District: gets all the vacation time she wants and has most of Summer off. :angryfire

So five of six kids and my wife all have the same problem, short staffs and tight budgets. The sad part is it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. The nice part of Nursing is knowing that you made a difference in someones life and sometimes that is enough to put up with the crap. At least thats what my wife tells me, I'll let you know if she's right in about three years. ;)

Peace,

Tripps

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Specializes in Lie detection.
the nice part of nursing is knowing that you made a difference in someones life and sometimes that is enough to put up with the crap.

except when one of your home care patients of 2 years starts making snide and nasty comments to you. such as " since you think you know as much as the dr., why don't you quit your job and go to medical school?"

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[color=#483d8b]uh, well maybe yes to the quitting job part but no thanks to going to med school :rolleyes: .

[color=#483d8b]it's bad enough when we have to put up with crap from admin. , then pt's too? i swear that i give so much to my patients, too much in fact. it comes back to bite me. i think that most of them appreciate it. but the one or two that have no clue what i do for them behind the scenes,grrr....

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[color=#483d8b]ok, i need to stop now because i could type all night! it's really been one of those weeks.

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