So has anyone figure out a path out of nursing yet? One that allows me as the sole earner for my family of three to live our 80K a year lifestyle? I'm honestly curious because I am ready to get out, I just don't know what to do.
I have worked past the hate and anger I have for this field. I have worked through the disillusionment of choosing a helping profession that is all about profit and uses punitive action and bullying to keep it's enslaved work force self doubting and willing to take the blame and subsequent fall for poor outcomes. Outcomes that could have only been prevented by an increased workforce with a wealth of knowledge (right now...and for the last decade plus...we've been working with to few bodies and brain drain of expertise as people just leave and there is no one to replace them), and neither of which the staff have any say in.
I just don't see a path forward in this career that is going to give me a tranquil spot. I am not looking for, "Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life.” I am just aiming to go to work, work as scheduled, have energy at the end of my day to play with my kid and do a few chores, and not have extreme paralyzingly anxiety about the insurmountable amount of work I will do when I go back OR if I forgot something important before I left.
And, unfortunately, I don't see nursing as the kind of career worth keeping as a mindless means of income....because it just cannot be. Mostly because nursing is so abusive. Management is abusive (mentally), patients & family members are abusive (mentally & physically), doctors are abusive (mostly mentally but I've had a couple of physical as well), the demands of the career destroy your body, your mind, and your peace. It has taken me A LONG TIME to realize that I am a pretty good nurse (I'd say a 7 out of 10, with 10 being top notch). And I am sorry to use this example, because I have never experienced this in my personal life, but I feel like I have reached the point that an abused spouse does when they realize it is time to go, for good. When someone just finally realizes the gaslighting and the manipulation, the time wasted, the fact that things aren't going to get better no matter how much you try or want them to. That there is no path forward in this situation where you have the life you wanted for yourself, your family, and your partner. You are going to have to cut out the worst and start over because that is all you can do. And you deserved better from the get go.
I have changed jobs almost every 2 years. I have worked in several states as both a traveler and a facility employee. I have worked at soooooo many hospitals. I have worked critical care, surgical care, telemetry, home care, coordination, and now work in an out patient surgical clinic. By far my experiences with home care and now this outpatient clinic have been better than 1 micro second at bedside, but the demands always are: do everything with no resources on time and perfectly. I am tired of that pace. I am old enough to know that is not even a reasonable expectation and that there will not be a day that I succeed in doing that. I know that most, if not all, of my efforts will be in vein and then scrutinized by management so that they can get their job done. Which is always to tell me what I should have done as opposed to what I did while thinking on the fly....never a time that anyone just says, "well thanks for getting that done.” or if unsatisfied, "I'm sorry you felt like that was your best option, let's see how we can get you some more support for the next time.”
I don't want to go into management. I don't hate them for the crappy decisions they are also having to make, I just don't really see that their lives are any better than mine. I don't aspire to continue the crap that I've been suffering for over a decade??. I see management and NP as a means to make more money, maybe, but mostly just to work more and spend less time with the people you love. And I think I would love teaching, except my advice would be to direct them out of the field entirely.
Sorry I am aimless here. I'm just writing down where I am in hopes of getting pointed in a direction that I actually want to go. ??
If you think school nursing is less stressful, then you clearly have no idea what we do all day!
My apologies, that certainly was not my intent, scuba nurse. I haven't done school nursing myself, but I'm sure I could not put up with many of your stressors.
Specializes in Physiology, CM, consulting, nsg edu, LNC, COB.
One thing you can consider about LNC work is that contrary to popular opinion, it’s far, far more varied than just working in a lawyer office doing chart reviews for malpractice cases. With your background you could also be a great help advising as an expert— we’re all experts, you know— and do it once in awhile pulling in some extra $ while you are in your present job. Then you’ll discover your LNC work is taking up more time to the point where you can quit your day job. Many of us did that rather than start small and grow from zero to lotsa bucks over time (yes, $85k is quite doable without killing yourself).
This is also flexible enough to do c a small one in the family. No worries about being late for daycare pickup or holidays.
Oh, and I’m sure you already know this but if your DH can hang on without drawing SS he can get a LOT more the longer he waits. Betw 65 and 70 my benefit increases by 30%.
I see management and NP as a means to make more money, maybe, but mostly just to work more and spend less time with the people you love. And I think I would love teaching, except my advice would be to direct them out of the field entirely.
Please, please do not think you can be a nursing instructor as you said I would love teaching But frankly what would you teach? Spoiling it for someone else?
On 12/12/2022 at 12:37 PM, KalipsoRed21 said:
Yes, I have been a whiny sniveling kid in the past about some of my life’s expectations,
The bottom line:
On 12/12/2022 at 12:23 AM, KalipsoRed21 said:
And, unfortunately, I don’t see nursing as the kind of career worth keeping as a mindless means of income….because it just cannot be
I acknowledge sounding so harsh. But I remember wanting OUT of nursing in the early 90s. I remember the conversation vividly in St. Louis. I realized my skills were all nursing related. I listened to my self talk and formulated by future plans (that involved nursing).
DH can hang on without drawing SS he can get a LOT more the longer he waits. Betw 65 and 70 my benefit increases by 30%.
Yes waiting until 70 does have better monthly benefits. My husband is a CPA. Yes, I took it at 62 because we weighed the numbers and my potential of dying before the 'waiting until '70' and living decades after may not be probable. We decided we want to enjoy the benefits now figuring out the numbers. It is something that is distressful to face, but you need to look at the actual money benefits in the here and now versus later. You also need to look at the 'survivor benefit'. The OP seems to be younger and her SS may not kick in until until 66 or later. This is really upsetting to face but it is reality.
Specializes in Physiology, CM, consulting, nsg edu, LNC, COB.
Also re survivor benefit: if she outlives him and her SS is higher than his, that's all she'll get. If his is higher, she'll get the higher amount, but not in addition to what she gets. For example with random numbers, if they are both living and collecting, she getting $2200/month and he $1800/month, they will get a total of $4000/month. If his benefit is $1800/month and he dies before her, she has or will have a benefit of $2200, not $4000. If she dies first, he will get $2200. All of these numbers re made up, but they are higher the longer you wait...which is why I kept working part-time in LNC until I was 70. Actually, I'm still doing a few cases...
Obviously, you should contact the extremely helpful people in your local SS office for details about your particular situation.
Please, please do not think you can be a nursing instructor as you said I would love teaching But frankly what would you teach? Spoiling it for someone else?
The bottom line:
I acknowledge sounding so harsh. But I remember wanting OUT of nursing in the early 90s. I remember the conversation vividly in St. Louis. I realized my skills were all nursing related. I listened to my self talk and formulated by future plans (that involved nursing).
"Self talk" is exactly what got me through to my goal of not retiring before 66 1/2. I felt so physically beat up before that age but kept telling myself that I was lucky to have a job that paid me well enough that I didn't have to live on overtime. I had no skills beyond anesthesia. I made it to my goal and now was able to save enough money not to have to pinch pennies in retirement and I'm so glad I held onto that "great" job.
Specializes in Pulmonary & Cardiothoracic Critical Care.
To the OP, I read all threads to date and I think I’d recx that you retrain and explore other opportunities outside of nursing. It’ll be better for you life, mental health and lifestyle. Also for your family as well. There’s no shame in admitting it’s not the career you thought it was. It has changed and it’s quite different.
I have a few suggestions you might want to explore. As for me, I worked as a RN, CNS, educator (both in hospital and academia) and as a ACNP. I now work full time in the medical device industry but I work per diem as a ACNP on weekends - I see the burnout on the faces of the nurses I work with. It truly is heartbreaking.
A few suggestions that are lateral moves with a nursing background that may or may not have been mentioned — all of theses are not ideal and require some compromise.
- Nurse informatics. Some hospitals and systems have nurses that work in this area and serve as a conduit between IT and nurse esp with rollouts, new software and new workflows. It can be done as a hybrid role. Some positions require more training but you could negotiate to get that training while your in the position.
- Medical Device. The field I’m in now has both good and bad. Most positions that nurses can qualify for are either in sales or education. Sales you’re pushing the device to hospitals definitely requires a certain personality and drive. I don’t have much experience in this areas so I’m not the one to ask. But for education, you help rollout products alongside the nurse educators in hospitals. Big Downside is the travel, usually 70-80% usually in a geographical area of the US (so not necessarily coast to coast travel). You’ll be in a new site frequently so again takes a certain personality. Some companies you might want to look into that I know hire RNs into roles — GE Healthcare and Philips (bedside monitors); BD (IV therapy), Zell (defibrillator), and a few more I’m sure. Most of these job titles are something like “clinical specialist” “clinical practice specialist” or in Philips case “critical care nurse”
- Nurse Educator (in hospital) I find working in this field can be a fairly easy transition you work pretty much 9-5; I have colleagues who negotiated to work 4 10’s and also have negotiated hybrid work as well. There is an INTENSE demand out there. Downside, still got to deal with hospital politics, just differently, being middle management you get squeezed from both sides, and ANY time there is a regulatory survey usually it requires being at the hospital constantly until the surveyors leave.
None of these are great options but just a starting point. I think getting a side hustle doing something you enjoy might work out. Earlier in my career my side hustle was renovating houses on the day I was off — it anll started when I was ant the bar with three other guys and we looked at each other and said “we need to do something more productive with our money then drinking it away” … ended up parlaying that into a flipping houses business. Point is, start small and then scale up. If your interested in staying clinical, there are consulting companies that you can start off working for using your current experience.
Have you looked at teaching at an LPN program at a Community College?
I looked into that about 6 months ago or so when I saw a couple of positions had opened, for about a minute. I took one look at the job posting and gave it a hard pass.
First red flag was...While the qualifications required were Masters degree, PhD preferred the job posting stated they were willing to hire an instructor with an ADN and work experience as long as the job candidate was willing to initiate the additional needed education after hire.
The biggest reason for their reduced education hiring requirements was pretty apparent when I got to the compensation section of the job posting. The pay was considerably lower than what I am making now with my ADN. Not just a little bit lower, a whole lot lower! It was a hair more than half of my current wages. To say I was shocked at low it was would be an understatement. Even a stellar benefits package was no way making up for that much of a pay cut. Even new grad RN's would be making considerably more than that in the acute setting and experienced LPN's would also be above the pay they posted. I wonder if they ever got that position filled?
their reduced education hiring requirements was pretty apparent when I got to the compensation section of the job posting. The pay was considerably lower than what I am making now with my ADN. Not just a little bit lower, a whole lot lower!
I agree the salary might be lower...but the demands of the job may differ greatly. You will not have to do a double shift although you may have to review student work at home and provide feedback and not get paid for that time. Depending on the college you may get paid for 'substituting' for someone who is out on FMLA - but that depends in the college. Please don't rely on this as I worked with someone who took ALL the substitution hours and was fired for not doing the original work assigned with lectures, etc.
When you decide that hospital nursing is not for you, you have to really develop your idea of what you want.....
-Less hours-- less pay
-Less education (than usual in a teaching position)--less pay
-Less stress--probably less pay
-Better schedule -- probably less pay
38 minutes ago, kbrn2002 said:
job candidate was willing to initiate the additional needed education after hire.
Yes, teaching requires additional education -- it is not "see one, do one, teach one".
42 minutes ago, kbrn2002 said:
The pay was considerably lower than what I am making now with my ADN. Not just a little bit lower, a whole lot lower! It was a hair more than half of my current wages.
43 minutes ago, kbrn2002 said:
Even new grad RN's would be making considerably more than that in the acute setting and experienced LPN's would also be above the pay they posted. I wonder if they ever got that position filled?
For some who want to invest in their future and themselves, this position may be ideal. They got it filled with even a 'waiting list'.
I am glad you clarified with yourself what your goals are. It is always better to know what you want in a job.
Have you looked into case management … or nurse navigation or nurse technologist/IT? IT pays well and you really don’t have to deal with a lot of the crap, I feel. These people work to make programs like EPIC more effective and specialized. Hope that helps. Sorry for the weirdos who were trying to be mean to you for asking a life question. You think they’d know better as fellow nurses.
What employers (especially hospitals) seem to continue to fail to see is todays nurses want schedules that are more amenable to work/life balance and transparency is expectations of schedule on a consistent basis. And it's something that is doable.
I was recently offered 2 positions in a hospital setting. First was for a weekend option - told in the interview it was Sat/Sun but paid additional for committing to working every weekend. But when the offer letter came, so did the part that no one mentioned which was mandatory 12 hrs of call every 4 weeks in addition to the every weekend schedule. I asked several times in the interview if there were any requirements beyond the weekends. I was told "only if you want to pick up another shift" - mandatory call was never mentioned.
The second position was FT 12 's however the schedule was to be 6 12's a week then off a week or 5 12's in a week then 2 12's the next plus the expectation of spending the night if inclimate weather was expected to cover for those who may be late or not be able to make it in at all - seriously? 5 or 6 12's in a week is too much not to mention the sleep over requirement. I declined both positions.
When I began my nursing career in 1990 there were other options and nurses, over all, were or at least seemed, more happy in the profession. I understand why newer nurses are wanting out and more seasoned nurses are pushing back or leaving altogether. Hospitals especially are losing out on experienced, dedicated nurses who do need and want to work due to their lack of insight and inflexibility. It's a loss all the way around especially for the patients who are stuck in chronically short staffed units with stressed out, burned out nurses.
I hope you find your way out OP. I would if I could for sure.
I was recently offered 2 positions in a hospital setting. First was for a weekend option - told in the interview it was Sat/Sun but paid additional for committing to working every weekend. But when the offer letter came, so did the part that no one mentioned which was mandatory 12 hrs of call every 4 weeks in addition to the every weekend schedule. I asked several times in the interview if there were any requirements beyond the weekends. I was told "only if you want to pick up another shift" - mandatory call was never mentioned.
The second position was FT 12 's however the schedule was to be 6 12's a week then off a week or 5 12's in a week then 2 12's the next plus the expectation of spending the night if inclimate weather was expected to cover for those who may be late or not be able to make it in at all - seriously? 5 or 6 12's in a week is too much not to mention the sleep over requirement. I declined both positions.
It sounds like the powers that be in the first position are ready and willing to hit you with extra requirements; classic bait & switch.
And the schedule in the second position is untenable and is probably devised by someone who sits behind a desk and works 9a to 5p.
Of course you turned both down! I would have, too.
Nurse Beth, MSN
145 Articles; 4,509 Posts
My apologies, that certainly was not my intent, scuba nurse. I haven't done school nursing myself, but I'm sure I could not put up with many of your stressors.
And thanks for what you do every day.