Why do you think nurses leave the profession?

Nurses Professionalism

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  1. Reasons nurses leave the profession

    • 567
      Short-staffing
    • 314
      Too many tasks
    • 46
      Lack of upward mobility
    • 311
      Poor management
    • 212
      Underpayment
    • 144
      Other- please explain below

85 members have participated

I've been a nurse for awhile and have always contemplated what makes nurses leave the profession (or bedside for that manner). As a matter of fact, I have thought about it from time to time in the 13 years I've been a nurse. From my experience I have found that aspects such as short-staffing, too many tasks, lack of upward mobility, poor management and underpayment contribute to a nurses' unhappiness in their career.

I just wanted to ask the general nursing population regardless of how long you've been a nurse what your thoughts were. Do you think leaving the profession comes from one of the aspects listed above? Or is it something else entirely?

To be clear this is not a school assignment...;)

if I had 20 grand I would happily advance my education!

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I would add that nurses who do little or nothing to advance their education or career are in danger of ending up "trapped" in a job they hate.

Not true Art... you just need to know where to look and how to market yourself.

Nurses are prized within many business venues. I have a lowly associate degree, make the big bucks working from home.

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Specializes in PCCN.

Nurses are notorious for complaining but having no plan of action to force management to see how unreasonable their demands are.

That is because with the surplus of nurses looking for ANY job, we are expendable.

You don't like the job,don't let the door hit you. Have actually been told this ( well not in those exact words...)

That's why wages are stagnant, and nurses are treated like crap.

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Specializes in Surgery.

I was a patient care nurse for 30 years, the last 25 in the OR. I was tired of the lack of staffing, outright lies told by management, Lack of skill in many of my "colleagues" and no chance to move up, or out of the department. In the last 13 months at the hospital where I worked, I had applied for 13 different positions, both inside and out side my department. Administration would make decisions to change products to save money, regardless of the lower quality and poor performance of the cheaper product. When a surgeon fires a stapler/cutter across a major vessel, you hope it works. The surge of staff in the morning to accommodate surgeons who all want to start first thing in the morning, only to have half of the staff sent home at lunch and then not have enough to do the rest of the scheduled cases let alone the 20 add-ons that show up. Poor management all the way around and no accountability for personal actions. I left the bedside for the device industry and haven't looked back. I have my weekends and holidays off. If I want a day off, I just ask. Beats the heck out of the hospital.

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Specializes in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Sounds like a DMAIC project

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There are too many nurses wlling to take a beating, too many that have to work and can't afford to leave. How many single moms have you known in nursing? Or how many are taking care of elderly parents or a deadbeat spouse/boyfriend? How many will say a BSN isn't necessary to do the job and support the existence of shorter programs which produce more nurses in an already glutted market of nurses willing to take a beating.. And on and on.

How many physical therapists can you fit into that same equation? I've known only a couple while having known/know many nurses in the above situation.

There have never been 2 yr PTs and now they continue to remain in demand with the minimum degree available being a masters and soon even that will be phased out.

I don't disagree that an ADN is adequate for many/most positions and I think a doctorate for PT is overkill but nurses continue to maintain and support quick and affordable routes to licenses and the system simply exploits that, IMO.

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Question for all: By "leave the profession" do you mean just nursing or the health care field in general? I'm a first year nursing student and honestly I'm only doing this because I really want to be a Nurse Practitioner. I'm willing to put myself through the difficulties of nursing school followed by the many challenges that everyone mentioned that comes along with being a nurse for it to allow me to do what I really want, which is to be an NP. I would consider a program that allows you to go straight from BSN to NP, however I imagine the experience gained on the floor is invaluable. Do the feelings of the profession change when further education is pursued in the health care field?

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Specializes in cardiac/education.
I left bedside nursing because I was walking out of the hospital crying all the time (and I didn't do that as a new grad.) The night before I had to go back to work, I would cry from anxiety and dread. I loved my patients and adored my coworkers, but I was burned out and the good didn't outweigh the bad anymore. Not getting to eat until 8 hours into my 12-hour shift most days, staying over at least an hour (sometimes 2 or more) every single day to chart ... I wanted so badly to deliver the care my patients deserved, but I couldn't. I couldn't promise patients that I'd round on them every 2 hours, I couldn't say "Is there anything else I can do for you? I have the time." I couldn't relieve their pain or nausea within minutes. I was asked to do so much more than I reasonably could with my patient load in a 12-hour time frame. It became very clear to me that I needed to leave when I stopped being able to fake a smile or positive attitude, both of which usually come naturally to me.

I miss bedside nursing, I miss my coworkers, I miss knowing that I made a real difference every day. But until we get nurse-to-patient ratios that are safe AND allow time for us to take bathroom breaks, eat lunch, etc., and until this patient satisfaction baloney goes away, and until administration really understands what they ask of their nurses, I'm not going back. So essentially, I'm never going back because healthcare is NOT going in that direction as far as I can see.

THIS!!! 100 million times correct!! It really is such a sad situation....talk about lose/lose.....:(

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Specializes in Author/Business Coach.
Question for all: By "leave the profession" do you mean just nursing or the health care field in general? I'm a first year nursing student and honestly I'm only doing this because I really want to be a Nurse Practitioner. I'm willing to put myself through the difficulties of nursing school followed by the many challenges that everyone mentioned that comes along with being a nurse for it to allow me to do what I really want, which is to be an NP. I would consider a program that allows you to go straight from BSN to NP, however I imagine the experience gained on the floor is invaluable. Do the feelings of the profession change when further education is pursued in the health care field?

Good question. When I asked the question I meant why nurses left the bedside since many nurses start out in this role. No doubt many actually leave the profession altogether and this applies to those as well. I want to know why though. The reasons are multifaceted but it seems there is a common theme: short staffing, lack of respect, too many tasks, etc.

This post is not meant to discourage you from your dreams. Personally, I felt that higher education made my situation better. I'm a nurse practitioner after spending far too long at the bedside. Sometimes I miss it, but my work/life satisfaction has greatly improved since I became an NP.

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Specializes in Author/Business Coach.
There are too many nurses wlling to take a beating, too many that have to work and can't afford to leave. How many single moms have you known in nursing? Or how many are taking care of elderly parents or a deadbeat spouse/boyfriend? How many will say a BSN isn't necessary to do the job and support the existence of shorter programs which produce more nurses in an already glutted market of nurses willing to take a beating.. And on and on.

How many physical therapists can you fit into that same equation? I've known only a couple while having known/know many nurses in the above situation.

I've seen it far too many times, but maybe my vision is skewed since this is the only career I've been in. Maybe it has something to do with co- dependency since nurses care for others? Just a thought

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All of that plus - years and years of missing out on holidays and weekends with your family.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

I had the pleasure of starting out in nursing when it was well-paid, the staffing and ratios weren't ever an issue, and all functioned as a team. What has happened over the years in the field of nursing is nothing short of tragedy and travesty.

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