Post # 1
Member
400 posts
Helper bee
Hey bees,
I don’t post often but I read the boards a lot. You are all such friendly and helpful people so I thought I’d ask for your opinions 🙂
I have been a nurse for 1.5 years. I’m turning 26 later this year and I already feel totally burnt out and exhausted. I thought I was getting sick and bored of my ward that I was working on so a little over a month ago I started on a new ward. So far I’ve been miserable there! It’s much more political and I just don’t love the specialty (cardiac). I’m almost desperate to return to my old ward, but I think my old manager will encourage me to stay on my new ward and give it a chance. My problem is that I just don’t picture myself ever liking it as much as my old ward. The staff on the old ward were incredible and I’m having a hard time fitting in with the staff on the new ward. Simply put, I am absolutely miserable at the moment, so much so that it’s affecting my life outside of work.
But then I think further into nursing and realise that I didn’t really love my old ward either. I certainly didn’t hate it as much as this current ward, but I felt that I was losing motivation.
Shift work is absolutely awful. It is so anti social, exhausting and stressful. I am always sleep deprived and can’t find the time to exercise or socialise. I’m beginning to wonder if nursing just isn’t for me, or at least ward nursing. You see I feel that nursing is such a challenging job with a HUGE amount of responsibility, but barely any reward. And the responsibility that we have certainly isn’t reflected in our poor pay. Sometimes I see people in the corporate world dressed nicely, looking professional and being social in meetings or out for lunch, working normal hours where they can spend more time with their partners, and I feel envious of them!
Has anyone here had the same experience? Is working as a casual/bank nurse any better? Should I try another hospital to see if they run any better? Or is there something more suitable I can do which would still utilise my nursing degree? Most of my day is spent chasing up people, tests, blood results etc and I feel like I’m just someone’s b*tch doing all the crappy tasks.
Sorry it’s long! I have added a poll as a rough guide too, but please feel free to leave a comment! Do you love your job?
Post # 3
Member
1040 posts
Bumble bee
@hidingpearl: I’m not a nurse, but my mother worked as a RN when I was younger. She vastly preferred private offices or nursing homes to hospitals. Have you thought about leaving the hospital environment entirely?
Post # 4
Member
400 posts
Helper bee
@ANGELaaimt: Thanks for replying 🙂 Yes I’ve definitely given it thought to leave the hospital environment. I’ve thought about working as a fertility nurse, as a school nurse, a home visit nurse, etc. I just don’t know how to go about it and I worry if it might be a bit isolating/lonely.
It’s so hard making decisions which ultimately affect your life! I just want to be happy in my job and not get anxiety before every shift 🙁
Do you love your job @ANGELaaimt? What do you do? x
Post # 5
Member
229 posts
Helper bee
I’m an RN. I was seriously miserable working in acute care (respiritory/general med) and thought I’d give up nursing. I moved into rehab (geriatric) and absolutely love it. I feel like I’m never at work, I have a good balance of autonomy and support and its rarely super stressful as all our patients have to be stable to be in the program. Shift work isn’t a problem for me though. Try something a bit different like community nursing before you give it up all together!
Post # 6
Member
9129 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
- Wedding: November 2013 - St. Augustine Beach, FL
@hidingpearl: I work with CPS and we hire nurses to evaluate vulnerable adults and children for abuse and neglect. Most of our nurses stay with us for decades because they find the work very rewarding. The job changes everyday and it’s certainly not running labs or busy work. It’s reviewing medical records and assessing patients for signs of abuse and neglect.
My Mother-In-Law contracts nurses to educate doctors and nurses on complex medication management and usage of new medical devices. She always has interesting stories and the nurses seem to like the work.
Some nurses thrive in the hospital environment while others do better in private practice. I would recommend trying out private practice or even contracted services before giving up on nursing because it is an important and expanding field with the baby boomers starting to retire.
Post # 7
Member
1040 posts
Bumble bee
@hidingpearl: My mom’s favorite times were working in a private doctor’s office. There was a core group of 5-10 women who worked there, and they had a lot of fun together 🙂
I definitely don’t love my job. I’m working as an accountant in the commercial construction industry. It’s stable, and I don’t hate it, but I love to go home at the end of the day 😉
Sadly, I think it’s pretty rare to truly love your work.
Post # 8
Member
58 posts
Worker bee
There are so many other things you can do as a nurse! I don’t think you necessarily have to leave the professon.
Post # 9
Member
232 posts
Helper bee
I agree with the others. Change settings before you change careers!
Post # 10
Member
43 posts
Newbee
Has anyone brought up public health nursing? I think that would be awesome, educating people and making such a big difference! But then, as a teacher myself, I’m biased 😉
Post # 11
Member
509 posts
Busy bee
I’m not a nurse but I work in health care on the admin side of things. At the end of the day, do you want to work with patients? You might enjoy public health, school nursing etc. But as a nurse you have a huge advatnage of moving into admin/management positions in the health system (that’s the case where I live anyway). Would you consider going back to school and doing a MHA or MBA? I did an MHA, but I don’t have a clinical background. There are so many jobs that I see where I don’t qualitfy only because I am not a health professional by training. Plus, if you went that route, you wouldn’t have to deal with shift work anymore.
Post # 12
Member
80 posts
Worker bee
I feel ur pain. I’m in nursing school now and work at a hospital. 12 hour shifts r really rough. It’s inspired me to keep going with my education cause I don’t think I could do bedside nursing on a med surg unit for a long time.
Post # 13
Member
1344 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: October 2013 - Vine Street Church
I’d try to find a job at an ambulatory clinic. I work in a cancer research unit and my work hours are 0630 to 1630 four days a week, every weekend off. I’m glad to not be in a hospital setting.
Post # 14
Member
34 posts
Newbee
I’m a nurse and I HATE HATE HATE the hospital. I refuse to work there on any ward because you are right. It sucks! I am now a school nurse, I get summers, holidays, and weekends off. I make teachers pay with no out of school prep to do and I get to play with kiddos all day. Nursing opportunities are endless. I just say ditch the hospital and go out into the community looking for jobs. You will find something you love.
Post # 15
Member
80 posts
Worker bee
@thejucheidea: that’s a good idea. What type experience do u need for that?
Post # 16
Member
1344 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: October 2013 - Vine Street Church
@Awesomet317: I was hired directly out of nursing school, and I only have an ASN. They placed me, however, because I have a lot of research experience in the humanities and my personality was a proper fit for the unit.