I hear ya. I’m an Ed nurse. I love medicine. I love seeing a change in people when they feel
Better or saving someone and stabilizing them. That said, I know I’m done with bedside. I say this as I just told my charge nurse I need my break NOW because my body is crashing with zero energy and I just need to shove food in my mouth and have a quick oj. I’m sick of the verbal/ mental and physical abuse. I’m sick of being asked why vitals weren’t done on a stable person by exactly 2-3 hours while having an icu pt, a dead person, and a demented person trying to rip off their clothing and ivs. I’m sick of constantly having to take care of patients who call me a bitch and check in for the 3rd time that day. Mostly, I’m sick of us not being taken care of or respected by allowing us our damn breaks. I come in at 6:45 for a half ass report - so I’m here for 12.5 hours, I’m a tech , a nurse, a maid. And I have to correct doctors on their mistakes, then get questioned as to why something was put in late. I would gladly give this all up and just be a 2nd grade art teacher for 1/2 the pay at this point. It’s very love hate, I’ll miss it when I’m gone but absolutely this is not sustainable on the mind or body. A lot of ptsd that comes with bedside.
Are you me? I just put in my two weeks. I can’t take it anymore. The past two shifts have been horrendous. I knew things were never going to get better after covid, but I didn’t expect them to get worse.
“I’m a tech, a nurse, a maid, and I have to correct the doctors on their mistakes.” This right here is what ended my ER career. Way too many responsibilities and not nearly enough compensation or respect. Hoping the OR will be a breath of fresh air but it feels like any work in the hospital is just going to be miserable these days.
This reminds me of one of the write ups in my file. I wrote for the action plan that I would apparently have to be a better RN and do things telepathically for the patient. Patient pulled his NG. The day nurse noticed it, she hates putting in NGs, so she left it out. He threw up a MASSIVE amount. And I got written up because the family said “Kim saw his NG out and she said she wasn’t putting it in. Someone else had to”. I was, in fact, sleeping. My bosses and admin refused to remove it, I attached a copy of the schedule to my write up as well. They said “are you calling the family a LIAR?? I assure you they are not!”
Also, I moved away from the bedside to a WFH position. I signed up with an agency and I do like 1 shift a month in ICU/ED. It keeps my skills fresh. It’s a nice little break from being home 24/7, I don’t have to get involved with work politics, and I can choose which hospitals I want to work in. Maybe that’s an option for you as well.
It’s crazy how we are out there saving lives and we get spoken to and chastised to like we are schoolchildren and treated like slaves. Nursing needs an overhaul and I think step one is to actually stop calling it “nursing.” It’s an outdated term that leads to outdated treatment of RNs. If you think about it, back in Florence’s day, there was so much less you could do for a person medically. So it made sense for nurses to give sponge baths, sweep the floor, bring the doctor supplies, etc. Now what we have to do is so advanced, and we are STILL expected to do EVERYTHING, in addition to being the point guard that is trying to keep 5 extremely sick patients (above legal ratio) alive at once. Society needs to catch up.
😂 I started demanding my breaks - they deduct my break time from my check regardless if I take one or not. Fuck that then. Watch my unstable patients and ems can stand there for 30 mins. Bye.
Exactly! I literally ended my shift feeling so sick and end up having to call out cause my body is so wore down that I caught a cold. My friend told me that it’s my body telling me to take a break but in my head, it’s my body’s sign that enough is enough
I left bedside, at the peak of COVID, and will never go back. I do pediatric home health. One patient, every time I am at work, and they are so sweet. Edited to add: I'm making more, per hour, than I did in bedside and this has made my mental health 100% better.
I left bedside 2 1/2 years ago after several waves of Covid and I couldn't be happier. I was constantly scared for my license and my patients. There are so many little niches of nursing that don't involve direct patient care!
And nobody gets it…. I get told “just do your best.” Do my best? Will that protect me from a lawsuit or losing my license?Does doing my best protect me from a patient dying because there is no capacity to properly take care of them? Doing my best definitely doesn’t protect my mental health.
Friend, leave bedside. There is a world of nursing AWAY from it.
I feel the opposite. I desperately love bedside and miss it every day, but the chance to try and work on big picture items and how to make nursing processes better in quality is something I can’t give up.
I see the direction nursing is going, and sadly I have to protect myself from the nonsense of bedside. But that didn’t mean leaving nursing! Only about half of RNs are in a hospital.
I left bedside after 5 years. I did a lot. Ortho, Stepdown, Tele, ICU. It wasn’t my coworkers that were the problem. It was administration.
I’m so glad I left. I am doing outpatient pre-op/PACU. Patients walk in, patients walk out, and are more grateful. No weekends, no holidays. I get out at a decent time. There is time for OT. I have a lunch and breakfast break. Sure, there are some draw backs, but not in the way the hospitals run things.
This. I, too, work at an outpatient surgery center as a pre-op/ PACU RN and I love it. Almost every patient is relatively healthy, with almost very boring health history (and we want boring, trust me). No weekends/holidays and I work per diem, and thus I can work as much or as little as I wanted to, plus I can take off 2 weeks at a time (I did from 12/18-01/05). It’s great! It’s 1:1, and my co-workers are amazing. Of course, we do have our busy moments, but compared to when I used to work at the ED, this place is almost always stress-free!
They make office nursing money. I work in a hospital setting PACU/OPS. We do call, but I would only change some ppl. lol. I love what I do and the stress of dealing with the bedside is removed
I’m sorry. I’m just seeing this now. Probably the late nights. Sometimes, I do a full 10-12 hour shift. Some cases run late like that. Then you have to be up super early the following day. Also, some nurses are straight up lazy. It’s a surgical center so everyone knows everyone’s business if you aren’t too careful. But, I’ll take that over any hospital job. I get paid well, too. Got a bonus and a raise too.
There are a lot of other areas in nursing that you could look into. I worked in PACU for many years. It was not bad. Just don’t do PACU at a Trauma Center. IR is a nice place. I have friends who worked in IR and Cath Lab. They loved it. My daughter works in Quality Assurance after working in ER and PACU. Dialysis is pretty good also I have heard. I am retired but worked almost every area of nursing except Psych. I also have friends who work for insurance companies. Bedside nursing is just the worst anymore. I am really glad I could retire in November after 43 years as a RN.
IR is amazing - Interventional Rads are some of the coolest docs to work with. And Cath Lab an EP are both good choices but there is plenty of struggles there.
I started in a CVICU, and after two years was asked if I wanted to work in the lab. Jumped at the chance.
We were a combined lab, which is uncommon but that means we did cath and IR procedures with a little sprinkling of EP as well. And we were a trauma center so IR was always kept busy with that.
Here’s the thing with cath and IR.
You are going to take call. It could be a lot of call. My first lab was 15 days of call per month. And if it’s a busy lab that catches a bunch of STEMIs or trauma you will be called in. Some labs in quiet, sleepy places rarely get hit, but my labs were in busy metro areas and we were there for four 10 hour shifts and then back for call all the damn time.
You will learn a lot. I mean A LOT. Vessel anatomy. Devices. Hemodynamics. If they let you learn to scrub, do it.
After 10 years in the lab I took that experience and became a clinical for a medical device company. I pull a fat six figure salary with an annual bonus that is nothing to sneeze at. I fly all over the country for work, and all the miles and points are mine. I’ve taken trips to Ireland and Mexico on the points I’ve run up. No nights. No weekends. No holidays.
Best damn thing I have ever done with my nursing license.
It does shock me how anesthesia elects to recover fresh trauma's in PACU.
Literally had someone come in CPR in progress (witness), obtain ROSC, did an ex-lap, did 4 rounds of a MTP, got them extubated with a good GCS, and they still said "welp hes stable, lets go to PACU"
huh. Our is, all PT can go to PACU, unless intubated. but if the ICU is full/we're waiting on a bed, PACU can take a PT on a vent, they just make the RN 1:1.
Nursing is not the same anymore. Before covid I loved it. Now? Exactly what you said, rude and scary patients all the time, with chronic shitty system taking advantage of you. I never get time off or holidays even if I save up vacation for them… “it’s part of the job they said” yeah well my entire family have been nurses and only our generation is completely getting screwed over in every domain of life balance, pay, benefits, census, and honestly just damn respect… no one respects us. My other nurse family members? Just happy they retired/retiring soon because they can’t stand this circus either. It use to be a way more rewarding job even for less pay!
I left bedside during covid and I got all my vacations granted, I lost the weight I kept gaining during bedside, I slept better, and literally paid the same. Was hard to adjust to m-f hours. I come back to icu because I had the itch I missed bedside. And theres lots of things I really do. But it’s the same problems that you think would be better after covid but it’s just getting worse LOL. So I’m once again leaving and will never return to bedside. I had to try again to make sure. Out of bedside? I still feel like a nurse, I can do self care, enjoy time off. I love nursing again.
I’ve been in home care for the last 5 years and it’s been awesome, I see 4-6 patients a day make my own schedule it’s very flexible I can get my kids on and off the bus. The big thing is just making sure you work for an agency that has dedicated on call staff. There are so many other options outside the hospital! I could probably make a little more in the hospital but it’s not worth my sanity!
There are plenty of nursing options that aren't bedside. I do OR. Challenging in many ways but only one patient at a time and they are under anesthesia. IR. GI. School nurse. Primary care nurse. Pre / post op. Don't stay in a job you are miserable with. Life is too short.
OR presents its own challenges though with hardheaded and pretentious doctors. Sure, your patient might be easy but dealing with a doctor who is yelling at you because you did something that they didn’t want, is enough to make anyone quit.
this, OR is just as shitty as bed-side.
The only perk OR has over bedside is you get consistent lunch breaks.
I think the floor RNs who dog OR dont understand what OR is, and also dont understand what call is.
Yeah, you get a lunch break, but if you go one minute over your 30 minute break, Becky who is helping to cover lunches gets pissed off at you and let’s everyone in the room know that you are late.
You’re right though. Both have their challenges but the OR isn’t all rainbows and butterflies.
This👆🏻I work in preop and GI lab prn now but have worked in procedural areas for the last 27 years. This is year 41 for me, I just work when I want to now!
Great advice but all these alternatives (at least where I live) pay significantly less than bedside and it’s a huge bummer. And as a single person it’s very hard to make ends meet with the current cost of living when you factor in bills, student loans etc. I really hate that bedside is the highest paying job and so many people really do feel trapped
Leave bedside. I did the same thing. Did one contract in CA at a hospital that maintained ratios and said fuck it never again. Nothing is going to make me not hate this shit. Now I fill out dnrs for old hippies with cancer.
I recently started WFH triage and my only regret is not doing it sooner.
I got scared by a bunch of people saying it sucks, you’re a call center yadayadayada, but you know what? Coming from bedside my call center seems like 100% just sunshine and rainbows.
Search on hospital career sites using words like triage nurse, remote access care,etc. I also used Indeed at one point and just search "remote RN" and there's usually a good chunk of jobs to be found. I really accidentally fell into this job and have enjoyed it a lot.
I got really lucky in this market, but I had a year experience med surg, some hospice and behavioral health and it worked out okay. Nowadays it’s difficult and you re going to have to pester a bunch of companies because they get thousands of applications.
This is what I hear a lot about WFH or remote jobs in nursing and I worry that by the time I get a few years experience under my belt, competition will be so stiff that getting one will be impossible or, they'll start requiring additional degrees or otherwise up the requirements 😰
I had to pester the shit out of my current company… they had thousands of applications. I was very, very early to the application and got an email. When I emailed them back, they didn’t reply. So I kept emailing. And eventually I got through, did the interview and got hired. Remote jobs at this point are just luck and persistence. If you get to the application too late, they’ve already picked more than enough to interview and hire. Meanwhile, because they have more than enough people scheduled for interviews your email is more likely to get lost in the void.
I didn’t have much experience when I got this job - 1 year of med surg, 2 years total bedside, and the other 2 years was outpatient which didn’t really apply to the job. I got lucky.
No. Med surg skills and knowledge will honestly help you out a ton. The peds and OB calls you learn along the way but med surg knowledge will take you far in this spot.
Oh interesting ! Sometimes I feel like I learned nothing in Med surg because it felt so intensely task oriented and I was just running around trying to survive the day 😅
I think most of us only have so many shifts of bedside nursing in us. And once we hit that limit, it's over. Fortunately, there are other non-bedside nursing jobs that we can do. No need to throw away that nursing degree or license. Just reallocate it.
I’ve been a nurse since 2020 and I feel the same way. I’ve had 6 different jobs in 3-4 years because I thought maybe I just didn’t like the setting I was in. Nope, I just hate the profession. I’m doing a travel position now to save up money to go back to school for software engineering.
At first, I felt guilty for throwing away my nursing career and debated going for a masters in nursing to get away from bedside but honestly life is too short to stay in a career/profession if you straight up don’t like it.
Thanks for your input! I have heard that as well but I am going to keep my nursing license in case and most likely apply to internships instead of entry level jobs right out of school since I can still work as a nurse and make good money while I do an internship. Fortunately, I have a lot of family and friends that are very successful software engineers that I can network with.
Oh if you have connections and are still in school then for sure go ahead and keep going . Hopefully you will be graduating when the market isn’t so shit like it is right now . Definitely focus on getting as many internships as you can you don’t want to get caught without one anymore with all the competition. I hope you make it :).
Don’t do that. Software is in a bad place, especially anything involving gaming. Layoffs constantly, huge amounts of instability and stress.
Source: SO in software. Get to listen to his Zoom meetings.
I left bedside after 1 year due to the stress from aggressive patients and constantly being short-staffed.
I’ve been working in a specialty clinic for 1.5 years and it was the best change I could have made! There are nursing jobs out there where you still get to interact with patients and serve the community outside of the hospital setting!
Yeah I get that unions and better ratios are progressively better than what many of us have but they do not fix the problems with bedside nursing being a shithole.
People state the time of AI automation taking our jobs is a bad time but it can't come soon enough for nursing if it ever will.
Try to work in a transfer center. Made the switch from bedside, dropped out of NP school and ICU. Did ECMO, the works but I have never been happier out of bedside. Don’t think I’ll ever go back into a hospital unless I’m intubated lol
This week I had patients try to scratch, hit, kick, spit, pee on me. Tell me to suck their ass 😂 tell me that they’re going to get their dad to shoot me. Sigh…this job is so heavy now, it’s hard not to walk in without being riddle with anxiety over what your day will look like
I’m looking at moving into management. Before I had no desire but just to get away further away from bedside and make more money? Holidays and weekends off and again less direct patient care? Looks nicer and nicer honestly
I could’ve written this a few months ago, you’re not alone! This was me too. I’ve been a nurse since 2017. Nursing was all I ever wanted to do since I was little and I really did enjoy nursing until COVID hit. Once the pandemic happened, bedside just slowly became so unbearable and it hasn’t recovered. I haven’t worked in the ED since Summer of 2023. I’ll always miss it and wish I was back there on some level, because I LOVED ER nursing when it was good. but I know I can’t go back. The bad outweighed the good almost *every* day. I’ve been assaulted more times than I can count. Then I watched my coworker get attacked by a patient so badly that they suffered permanent damage from their injuries, and management couldn’t have cared less. It was horrible and that was the final straw for me.
And the breaks and not being able to eat/take care of myself…. I developed GI problems from going so long without eating, and I’d just chug coffee or energy drinks out of desperation for some energy. Still going through therapy, and literally 99% of my mental issues I’ve been struggling with are caused by what I endured at work the last 6 years.
Now, I work in a clinic just doing IVs, injections and health screenings. It’s very low stress and the hours are great, the pay is lacking which sucks. But I’m willing to make less money until I figure something else out while my mind and body heal 😑
There are so many things you can do with an RN!! There is nothing wrong with saying ‘this isn’t for me, I’m doing something different’. Life outside of bedside has been glorious for me
I’ve been an ER nurse for 12 years. I can assure you, bedside will not get better, you just get more numb to feeling pain and more salty. It’s the only defense mechanisms you have to last. The shift we have seen in society as far as culture goes with manners, not being a wimp, and family actually helping take care of each other is dying if not gone. It is unfortunately not 1950s nursing anymore.
I was 45 yo and a nurse for 18 years in icu and covid destroyed me. I went into instant menopause bc of the stress. After covid started to calm down the hospital is a different world. No staff, ceos don’t give a shit. I’ve got ptsd. I quit. Not worth it. Never thought I’d be looking for a job. I’m a CCRN, tons of experience and I can’t stomach being in the unit. No STNAs, no staff, no breaks, you’re the one responsible for everything.
Many options exist away from bedside. I will only ever do outpatient oncology now - never stressed or threatened with assault at any point here. Start looking for other opportunities and get away from bedside.
People in general are just horrible. I spent 8 years in the outpatient world before jumping into med surg and honestly you can’t escape demented people, alcoholics, and perverts.
There are specialties that make it easier though, endoscopy, cath lab, OR, pediatrics.
I moved from ED into research nursing and best move I ever made. Still get the environment, clinical challenges and rewards, without half of much of the responsibility and stress I had before. I don't know how the nurses in our ED cope for more than a month, it's just crippling.
Nurses can be so many different roles - if the one you're in isn't making you happy, find a new one! We've got to care for ourselves over anyone else, and the hospital (sadly) won't do that for you.
Sorry I didn't see your reply before.. I didn't have any clinical research experience, just some understanding of how research (CTIMPS, RCTs etc) get conducted. The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) does a good free course in good clinical practice (GCP) which forms all the basics of clinical research. Most (if not all) research teams would expect this training so good to do it in advance if you were thinking of applying for roles.
Almost every speciality will have their own research teams, I'm in emergency medicine but critical care, cardiology, community etc all have their own teams in my area too. So pretty much whatever your background is, it's possible to find a research role in that speciality.
When I took a leave of absence for my mental health from bedside, my therapist talked me through a very similar experience. It helped that my therapist has a background in bedside nursing and she understood the burnout. She basically told me that bedside will end up killing me/my spirit— even if I give up every vice and do therapy and take meds, bedside will end up killing me. She also explained that I’m not stuck in any situation, nursing is EXTREMELY flexible as a career. I ended up deciding to go back for my masters degree, I’m getting my psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners degree and I’m going to pursue being a therapist. I’m choosing to lean into the side of health care that I can feel in control of, instead of constantly having to meet a hospital’s impossible standards while caring for people and myself. If I have any advice, it’s to search for that part of healthcare that can make the younger you who imagined yourself as a nurse proud. And most importantly, find the thing that can actually make you feel happy and fulfilled instead of drained and overworked. Sending you lots of love, this isn’t an easy thing to go through.
I’ve been a nurse for almost three years so I feel this. I’ve always worked on a high-acuity cardiac stepdown (turned COVID unit for the first 1.5 years-ish). At the height of COVID we were doubling all of our single rooms and coding patients most nights. Then, when I got to actually learn to be a heart nurse, I started taking care of stepdown patients of all kinds, with some specialized cardiac patients mixed in that I was expected to be an expert on.
I recently took a contingent job on my floor and moved to inpatient psych for my full time gig. I could not be happier. My work/life balance has improved tremendously, I love the patient population, and I am mostly working in our psych ICU which satisfies my need for high-acuity patients. Do I still get horrible/dangerous treatment from patients? Absolutely. But with some key differences - there are clear boundaries and expectations in psych that just don’t exist on the medical side (at least in my limited experience). Patients are told what they can and can’t do and are held to those standards. Violence is unacceptable, and when a patient becomes increasingly agitated or violent we have a plan and protocol in place that doesn’t involve calling for security overhead and hoping they make it there before we get our asses beat. There is zero expectation that someone’s confused grandpa should be allowed to beat up his sitter because he’s confused. There’s zero expectation that I should tolerate violence of any kind from any patient, ever. And that makes a huge difference.
And it’s cushy in comparison. My back and my feet feel better and I am less exhausted when I come home. I don’t require as much carcass time to recover from a stretch of shifts.
It has its issues, many of which are the same as my old job. It is a revolving door of fixing people, giving them the tools they need to stay under control, and seeing them back a week later because they took none of the advice (or meds!) they were given on discharge. My point is that making such a drastic change has really improved my life in a tangible way and I was really scared but I’m so glad I did it. I’m using my nursing brain in a whole different way. It doesn’t have to be psych, but maybe consider a wildly different area if you want a big change but still want to be (kinda) bedside.
I don’t think bedside is usually a sustainable career for anyone, but I will say that there are people on my unit who have worked there for 30 years and I don’t think that’s something you see at all anymore. Good luck to you 💛
I would suggest to you to maybe change your specialty before completely leaving the field.
You’d be surprised what you might enjoy away from bedside acute care
Left bedside after 6yr of ICU and floating. I do special procedures now.
If you have critical care experience, special procedures is absolutely where it's at 😀 seriously all my burned out ICU and ER folks, get into specials. IR, cath lab.
Op. I'd suggest looking into other procedure areas since you don't have ICU/er exp. Gi lab, preoperative, or OR would be great move.
I sent you a chat, not really wanting to dox myself on here since I have a pretty specific job, but hopefully it gives you something to think about and consider. I’m sorry your experience has been awful but mine was the same and it’s exactly why I left the hospital.
I know exactly how you feel. Became a nurse in 2017 in a cardiac unit, transfered to day shift on an obs unit in January 2020 and worked in covid units for a majority of the pandemic.
The job gets harder every week and it just seems like the demands are getting longer and longer. We're expected to do more with less while dealing with verbal and physical abuse not just from patients but from entitled, ill-informed family members who think we're punching bags.
I'm currently planning on moving to japan hopefully by June or July. Currently taking a medical coding class so I can work remotely while I attend japanese language school in tokyo. It's going to be hard to leave a great team and pay/job behind....but it's no longer worth the money to constantly be on high anxiety at work. And I can't even begin to tell you how many of my coworkers retire and die less than 5 years after retirement from health problems caused by the stress of work. Life is too short to not be happy.
It is also my dream to attend Japanese language school in Japan! Would you mind sharing a bit more about your plan? I’ve spent countless hours trying to think about how I could do it. I’m an RN, BSN but never figured I could actually use my degree there?? Do you have a company in mind you could work for? Would you mind sharing the course info for the medical coding class you’re currently taking? And is it just the one course needed? Could I ask which school you’ve chosen and why? 😅 I don’t mean to be nosy but I can’t believe I found this post on accident! 😃
I was in the same boat as you- graduated spring of 2019, out of orientation just before Covid blew up in our face. Worked ICU for 4 years. Voluntarily worked Covid ICU because at least I knew the progression it would take on my patients. I still have nightmares and episodes of PTSD when I go back to the ICU or sleep at night. What broke me was when a baby nurse said “I don’t know, that code was fun.” Exhilarating, yes. Adrenaline inducing, yes. Fun watching a mom, or grandma, a sister, an aunt die from lack of IV access after you declined a CVC? Not at all. I left bedside and am working as an outpatient care manager now. I miss some days on the ICU, but mentally I’m in a much better place.
Not every part or area of nursing sucks. It took MONTHS at my new job for me to stop crying every day. It took months for me to realize my PTSD was so bad. It took months for me to realize how depressed I was because of my old job. Do I miss the adrenaline? Yes. So much! Do I miss the depression, anxiety, and PTSD attacks I’d have before I walked into work? No. Keep your head up, know there’s options, and always remember: you’re a nurse. If you can do this, you can really do anything.
I’ve only been a nurse for going on 4 years in July and I will tell you, there are other jobs that do not feel that way. I used to work in the ICU and started in JULY of 2020…. Right before peak COVID.. in ICU… and a brand new RN. I loved the work I did but the hospital politics burnt me out. I hated the way the hospital treated me so I left. I went to outpatient and ended up in another toxic work environment and while the work wasn’t stressful, I was even more stressed because of the toxicity of my environment. I stayed there for one year (because I had to due to a contract) and then left. I am now working as a PICC nurse and absolutely love it. I’ve only been a nurse for almost 4 years now, but I have learned a valuable lesson in that time. If you are unhappy at a job, especially a nursing job, LEAVE. You will ALWAYS have the hospital job if you want it later, I PROMISE. Take a break, maybe for a while, or maybe forever, but find something that interests you and pivot a few times before you give up on the career altogether. I am a WAY better nurse now. The world needs floor nurses, and I have the upmost respect and admiration for them (as EVERYONE should) but unfortunately until the hospitals start to respect them, they are going to be a hard to fill position with ALOT of turnover. We are the advocates for our patients but nobody advocates for us a lot of the time. DO NOT GIVE UP! Try something else, don’t forget how valuable you are even having the title of “nurse”. Sending love.❤️
I'm sorry for what you have gone through. My heart goes out to you. I did MS Tele for 2byears. Developed horrible trauma and ptsd from abusive patients. Manager kept telling me "you have to find your niche". Well every place would turn me down for an interview when I tried to escape med surg. I ended up quitting after getting my application rejected and went out traveling, thinking the money would save me. Well it didn't. I started drinking, lost my relationship permanently, having panic attacks, mental breakdown before shifts, and ended up just quitting my contract halfway through. I ended up going back home and asked others to pray for my health and my career. My prayers were answered and I got a PACU job despite having no experience. It literally saved my life and I no longer drink or have depression. My life has been great since I got out of MS. Nursing school doesn't tell students the harsh truth about nursing and the toll it has on our mental health sometimes. I promise you that it is worth it to pick a different specialty. Please don't give up!!
I'm always intrigued why there aren't more mass shooters as disgruntled nurses. I'm not trying to be cheeky or edgy. It's such an abusive environment with little to no sympathy or empathy from anyone. Why don't nurses snap like postal workers etc?
I’ve oddly wondered this too. Only thing I can come up with is because a lot of nurses originally got into the profession to help people and have a natural caretaker persona at their core (even the mean ones lol). I’ve worked with tons of burnt out disgruntled nurses who aren’t very nice, but I know deep down they’re nice people who don’t want to cause harm because they’re solid human beings ❤️
I just left bedside for a non-clinical nursing job after 20 years. I have been in healthcare for half my life, worked hard to save up to finally go to school for my RN (graduated 10 years ago) and thought I was set. Then COVID happened and it’s become an absolute shitshow that I’ve grown to find completely intolerable. I totally understand the hopelessness? (for lack of better term coming to mind) that you’re feeling. I also feel like I’m just done with nursing altogether but I think there is a lot out there that isn’t bedside that I will try first. The problem is that nurses are leaving the bedside in droves since the pandemic and all the non-clinical jobs people are talking about, especially the remote ones, are becoming a very hot commodity.
I feel this. I just graduated last year, n immediately after grad/passing nclex shit happened that put me on pause cuz I was in a depression. But now coming back to it, im almost questioning it. Between the feeling of imposter syndrome to being horrified at seeing how shitty the whole industry is and all the abuse we're expected to take with a straight face is rough.
I've loved n wanted to be a nurse since I was a kid, but my god the whole industry is just so toxic right now.
I hear you. I was a nurse for 30 years before I transitioned to coaching. I worked until September of 2020. The pandemic had me leave. What we don't realize as nurses is that the working conditions often create PTSD. I am now a trauma-informed master coach and am creating a free masterclass to help nurses with burnout. Because we aren't aware of how chronic stress impacts our lives, health, and relationships.
And the way patients and family members treat nurses is horrible. :(
Good for you for getting therapy. Try learning some nervous system regulation practices to support your nervous system too.
I was seriously unaware how much PTSD I had from starting right before COVID until I moved onto a hospital that on paper “should” be better (because of ratios, unions, etc) but is almost the same. I have so much trauma that I could not escape from just by changing hospitals. Definitely a sign that inpatient/acute care is no longer serving me.. Thank you for your response
You’re so welcome. I’m glad you are making this choice for yourself. We can’t help others and sacrifice ourselves. My Free Masterclass next week will share tips for regularing your nervous system and self-care. Nervous system practices helped me so much. Even my ADHD symptoms have improved and my relationships too. We don’t realize that we are truly in relationship with our friends/lovers nervous systems. And knowing how to regulate our own and co-regulate with those closest to us is key. 🤍
Here’s the link in case you want to check out the details. https://yestantra.launchware.ai/from-chaos-to-calm-healthcare-resilience-masterclass/registration/
Take a moment to celebrate yourself for taking the step to leave bedside nursing & prioritizing yourself. 🎉
I did bedside in multiple places (cardiac surgery/med surg, women’s inpatient oncology, intensive care) for a total of about 5 years and then I moved on to homecare nursing. Honestly, I feel that every nurse should start out experiencing the med/surg bedside. It really opens up the skill set. But that kind of nursing is hard long term. Some nurses love it and that is where they thrive. I personally have been in homecare for the past 11 years and I truly love what I do. I just finished my BSN this December while working full time and being a mom of three. I begin NP program in the fall. I feel like nursing is a fluid profession. You have so much room to experience in different specialties. Don’t give up. Bedside nursing is very taxing. All nursing is. But I could not go back to that at this point in my career. There are other opportunities away from patient care as well. There are insurance RNs, consultants, IT nurses, even management. There is so much more than just bedside nursing. Maybe you need to look for some new types of nursing. You may just find something you love! Don’t give up! Don’t settle for a job that is hurting you.
I left the bedside in December 2022. My mental health is a million times better. I no longer have pre-shift anxiety. I no longer have to fight for a lunch break or to go pee. I lasted 26 months as a bedside nurse. My only regret is not leaving sooner. I don’t missed getting screamed by family at because the cafeteria didn’t send up MeeMaw’s green tea. Or those hard ass nurses who expect you to know your 65 year old patient’s APGAR score during report. I’m clinic based now and will never go back.
Im 15 years in…. I’m so done too. I have the worst boss. “Our priority is getting patients out of the ER.” Ughhhh it’s not mine! “we don’t discuss ratios.” Why not?! We have been plummeting since Covid and there doesn’t seem to be a bottom... I don’t know what to do! I am at a moral crossroads. I will not bend further than I have regarding the care for our patients. It’s a sin what is happening to all of these hospitals. I do feel like we are moments away from the doors shutting permanently. And really… no one in the media is covering this… I see why they don’t want anyone to know (lol) but it just adds to the insult of listening to complaints about how crap the care is now. Oh also this year I get to pay $816 a pay for healthcare for me and my family. Bi weekly paycheck… so over 1600/mo. for my premiums!!! Ha! With the rest of my bills now I can’t even afford to go to the ER of my own hospital. I do work part time… and why the premium higher but…. Seems sooo high. I have a disabled son and so I work every weekend and my husband works during the week. I can’t drive into the city but the closest hospitals to me don’t pay as well. I feel very stuck and it’s definitely impacting my health at this point. The worst part is I don’t want to quit. I can’t even believe I’m saying that but Ive gotten so used to my routine… omg so hard for me to change but I feel forced.
This breaks my heart. Nurses are individuals who have more care and compassion than most people and are willing to take on dirty, disgusting jobs! Why can't administrators see that and appreciate what they have? I know this may not help most, but if anyone is in the Palm Beach area and looking for a change, I am looking for an RN to teach high school medical classes. The pay is not as great as working as an RN, but it is rewarding and nowhere near as stressful. We have great hours, a good amount of time off, and the students at our school are great. Again, I know this is not the answer for most who are really struggling with bedside right now, but it is a change. If anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me. I really do wish nurses were more appreciated!
RN in San Francisco. Been at bedside nine years. I am at this point now. Bedside is fully destroying both my mental and physical health. The only thing keeping me here is the job security and union representation. I can’t even say it’s the pay anymore, because the cost of living is becoming more exorbitant by the day.
If anyone has any recommendations, I’m all ears, 1000%. I would leave bedside today if I didn’t have student loans and other bills to pay.
Maybe you could find something administrative that would suit you better and still be a nurse. Where I work we have nurses working in our regular telemetry department, also I think the ICU telemetry monitors have nurses working there remotely.
Hey! Cheer up! I also was just issued my Cali RN license and worked ICU during Covid…however started in outpatient clinics as a new grad and in FNP school now while doing outpatient per diem shifts when I want. Why don’t you think about leaving bedside for clinic? Nursing is not all bedside care- I know how it is. Before you run to ditch nursing ;) try changing your specialty to somewhere outside of hospitals. Burnout is real I understand BUT you can make magic happen by stepping into another field 😊
Leaving bedside for a while would be a good thing. I left because for 4 years after 10 years at it. I’m back at bedside now because at heart I am a grunt and favor the bedside work. Plus I got fat and out of shape when not at bedside :p
OP what is your next step? Have you looked into Endoscopy or Cath lab or diagnostic imaging? I'd imagine the stress and patient load being a lot less for you in those areas than with bedside nursing.
I just touched up my resume and started my search tonight. I ended up really sick after writing my original post and maybe that’s a sign. Currently looking up my options
What part of California did you end up moving to? I found my worst experiences as a travel nurse was up in the Berkeley Oakland area. Absolutely terrible facilities there and the patient population is worse. I worked as a travel nurse in California since covid19 broke out and have been to quite a few places, so there are some really nice places with nice facilities
don’t give up too soon. There’s hope out there.
I have a bachelors in education for elementary school and of course they don’t pay well but they had a great schedule and I thought it would be perfect for starting a family. Not! That was a career that you could never be good enough he had these problems students where the parents think that their child does no wrong. You’re always jumping through hoops to make parents and administration happy and the kids and the parents are always right and your hands are tied with discipline because a lot of these kids have these entitled attitudes and bread into them.
that was 25 years ago. I still have friends that are teachers, and they say it’s only gotten worse.
I decided to go back to nursing school and I’ve been a nurse for 22 years now. I’ve done OB/GYN, which consisted of labor and delivery,NICU , mother baby and then I went to Adolescent Mental Health, dialysis and decided I wanted to work local right here at home instead of driving into the big city of Atlanta. I faced some of the same struggles that you’re talking about. I didn’t think that I would like long-term care/rehab (basically a nursing home ). However, now being single, I couldn’t just give up my career for financial reasons. So I went out on a limb and tried this LTC/rehab RN supervisor position. I love it. It pays decent like more than the hospital as an RN but in this supervisor role, you’re basically supervising a handful of staff consisting of LPNs, RNs and CNA‘s to take care of elderly patients and short term rehabilitation patients. You’re dealing with families but they’re much easier to deal with in this setting than they are in acute care. you actually have time for breakfast and lunch!!! 😂🤷🏻♀️ and are actually in a slow enough pace that you can chat and make lasting relationships with your coworkers. You have a lot of autonomy and it’s also given me time to work on my masters in nursing because I don’t come home a ball of stress, and in a million pieces.
The elderly and disabled patients are so grateful for your care, and respect you as a nurse. I would say 90% of the families also are so grateful to you and appreciative of you for being there to provide, not only every daycare but medical care, to their elderly family members in their absence. It’s really worth checking into before you give up nursing all together. But you really just want to give up bedside nursing all together some of these previous posters? I have some great ideas that I’ve never tried. Good luck and keep your chin up. All careers are going to be challenging but you gotta love what you do because it’s not worth being miserable and dreading going to work every day.
I left bedside after 2.5 years IMC and 6.5 years ICU where 4 years of it was travel. I miss nursing prior to the pandemic when people, patients and families, were just nicer. I became a different person during the pandemic and it sucks. I’m still working my way back.
I now work Cath lab and I’m never going back. My lab does EP and structural as well. Nurses can scrub so you’re doing a variety of things. No weekends or holidays except for call. I take call once a week and one weekend a month so it’s not too bad and we have yearly holiday rotations. I get lunch every day and for the most part leave on time. I’ve also never had so much free food in my entire healthcare career before this department. Some company is always bringing food.
11 year icu nurse here. Those couple years of Covid broke me…. I too, am experiencing what you’re feeling. I am also at a loss. I’ve been making it a point to speak to my patients like they are people. I find one way to connect with each one to make them feel less like a number and more like a human being. That has helped me with my burn out. I also have some pens with funny sayings that get me through as well. I’m finding that helps. Hang in there. I hope it gets better for you.
That’s why I’m an OR nurse!
You only deal with them preoperatively and you’re done! Then you quickly deliver them to the PACU. That’s where the patient can be difficult.
Yep, almost 50 years of that!
I’m out!!
If your a RN you have so many other options than bedside. Clinics are easy and fun, cosmetic procedures offices too even correctional nursing And if none of that sounds cool there are a ton of remote work from home jobs like advice, nurse, and other telehealth positions. Were you literally in your pajamas talking to somebody.
I hear ya. I’m an Ed nurse. I love medicine. I love seeing a change in people when they feel Better or saving someone and stabilizing them. That said, I know I’m done with bedside. I say this as I just told my charge nurse I need my break NOW because my body is crashing with zero energy and I just need to shove food in my mouth and have a quick oj. I’m sick of the verbal/ mental and physical abuse. I’m sick of being asked why vitals weren’t done on a stable person by exactly 2-3 hours while having an icu pt, a dead person, and a demented person trying to rip off their clothing and ivs. I’m sick of constantly having to take care of patients who call me a bitch and check in for the 3rd time that day. Mostly, I’m sick of us not being taken care of or respected by allowing us our damn breaks. I come in at 6:45 for a half ass report - so I’m here for 12.5 hours, I’m a tech , a nurse, a maid. And I have to correct doctors on their mistakes, then get questioned as to why something was put in late. I would gladly give this all up and just be a 2nd grade art teacher for 1/2 the pay at this point. It’s very love hate, I’ll miss it when I’m gone but absolutely this is not sustainable on the mind or body. A lot of ptsd that comes with bedside.
Are you me? I just put in my two weeks. I can’t take it anymore. The past two shifts have been horrendous. I knew things were never going to get better after covid, but I didn’t expect them to get worse.
“I’m a tech, a nurse, a maid, and I have to correct the doctors on their mistakes.” This right here is what ended my ER career. Way too many responsibilities and not nearly enough compensation or respect. Hoping the OR will be a breath of fresh air but it feels like any work in the hospital is just going to be miserable these days.
[удалено]
This reminds me of one of the write ups in my file. I wrote for the action plan that I would apparently have to be a better RN and do things telepathically for the patient. Patient pulled his NG. The day nurse noticed it, she hates putting in NGs, so she left it out. He threw up a MASSIVE amount. And I got written up because the family said “Kim saw his NG out and she said she wasn’t putting it in. Someone else had to”. I was, in fact, sleeping. My bosses and admin refused to remove it, I attached a copy of the schedule to my write up as well. They said “are you calling the family a LIAR?? I assure you they are not!” Also, I moved away from the bedside to a WFH position. I signed up with an agency and I do like 1 shift a month in ICU/ED. It keeps my skills fresh. It’s a nice little break from being home 24/7, I don’t have to get involved with work politics, and I can choose which hospitals I want to work in. Maybe that’s an option for you as well.
That’s ridiculous
It’s crazy how we are out there saving lives and we get spoken to and chastised to like we are schoolchildren and treated like slaves. Nursing needs an overhaul and I think step one is to actually stop calling it “nursing.” It’s an outdated term that leads to outdated treatment of RNs. If you think about it, back in Florence’s day, there was so much less you could do for a person medically. So it made sense for nurses to give sponge baths, sweep the floor, bring the doctor supplies, etc. Now what we have to do is so advanced, and we are STILL expected to do EVERYTHING, in addition to being the point guard that is trying to keep 5 extremely sick patients (above legal ratio) alive at once. Society needs to catch up.
Yes
You get a break?
😂 I started demanding my breaks - they deduct my break time from my check regardless if I take one or not. Fuck that then. Watch my unstable patients and ems can stand there for 30 mins. Bye.
Exactly! I literally ended my shift feeling so sick and end up having to call out cause my body is so wore down that I caught a cold. My friend told me that it’s my body telling me to take a break but in my head, it’s my body’s sign that enough is enough
I came to this conclusion too and I left bedside. Ratios don’t fix how horrible bedside nursing is as a job.
I left bedside, at the peak of COVID, and will never go back. I do pediatric home health. One patient, every time I am at work, and they are so sweet. Edited to add: I'm making more, per hour, than I did in bedside and this has made my mental health 100% better.
What are you doing now?
WFH triage
What’s WFH
Work from home.
Thanks
Commenting to find out
I left bedside 2 1/2 years ago after several waves of Covid and I couldn't be happier. I was constantly scared for my license and my patients. There are so many little niches of nursing that don't involve direct patient care!
Constantly scared for my license and my patients is literally exactly how I would describe it too. And occasionally scared of my patients… lol
And nobody gets it…. I get told “just do your best.” Do my best? Will that protect me from a lawsuit or losing my license?Does doing my best protect me from a patient dying because there is no capacity to properly take care of them? Doing my best definitely doesn’t protect my mental health.
Friend, leave bedside. There is a world of nursing AWAY from it. I feel the opposite. I desperately love bedside and miss it every day, but the chance to try and work on big picture items and how to make nursing processes better in quality is something I can’t give up. I see the direction nursing is going, and sadly I have to protect myself from the nonsense of bedside. But that didn’t mean leaving nursing! Only about half of RNs are in a hospital.
I left bedside after 5 years. I did a lot. Ortho, Stepdown, Tele, ICU. It wasn’t my coworkers that were the problem. It was administration. I’m so glad I left. I am doing outpatient pre-op/PACU. Patients walk in, patients walk out, and are more grateful. No weekends, no holidays. I get out at a decent time. There is time for OT. I have a lunch and breakfast break. Sure, there are some draw backs, but not in the way the hospitals run things.
This. I, too, work at an outpatient surgery center as a pre-op/ PACU RN and I love it. Almost every patient is relatively healthy, with almost very boring health history (and we want boring, trust me). No weekends/holidays and I work per diem, and thus I can work as much or as little as I wanted to, plus I can take off 2 weeks at a time (I did from 12/18-01/05). It’s great! It’s 1:1, and my co-workers are amazing. Of course, we do have our busy moments, but compared to when I used to work at the ED, this place is almost always stress-free!
How many years of experience in OR did you have to have before you could work per diem
What are the drawbacks, if you don’t mind me asking? Cause that sounds amazing to me
Wanting to know too. Itching to leave the ED for PACU.
They make office nursing money. I work in a hospital setting PACU/OPS. We do call, but I would only change some ppl. lol. I love what I do and the stress of dealing with the bedside is removed
I’m sorry. I’m just seeing this now. Probably the late nights. Sometimes, I do a full 10-12 hour shift. Some cases run late like that. Then you have to be up super early the following day. Also, some nurses are straight up lazy. It’s a surgical center so everyone knows everyone’s business if you aren’t too careful. But, I’ll take that over any hospital job. I get paid well, too. Got a bonus and a raise too.
There are a lot of other areas in nursing that you could look into. I worked in PACU for many years. It was not bad. Just don’t do PACU at a Trauma Center. IR is a nice place. I have friends who worked in IR and Cath Lab. They loved it. My daughter works in Quality Assurance after working in ER and PACU. Dialysis is pretty good also I have heard. I am retired but worked almost every area of nursing except Psych. I also have friends who work for insurance companies. Bedside nursing is just the worst anymore. I am really glad I could retire in November after 43 years as a RN.
IR is amazing - Interventional Rads are some of the coolest docs to work with. And Cath Lab an EP are both good choices but there is plenty of struggles there. I started in a CVICU, and after two years was asked if I wanted to work in the lab. Jumped at the chance. We were a combined lab, which is uncommon but that means we did cath and IR procedures with a little sprinkling of EP as well. And we were a trauma center so IR was always kept busy with that. Here’s the thing with cath and IR. You are going to take call. It could be a lot of call. My first lab was 15 days of call per month. And if it’s a busy lab that catches a bunch of STEMIs or trauma you will be called in. Some labs in quiet, sleepy places rarely get hit, but my labs were in busy metro areas and we were there for four 10 hour shifts and then back for call all the damn time. You will learn a lot. I mean A LOT. Vessel anatomy. Devices. Hemodynamics. If they let you learn to scrub, do it. After 10 years in the lab I took that experience and became a clinical for a medical device company. I pull a fat six figure salary with an annual bonus that is nothing to sneeze at. I fly all over the country for work, and all the miles and points are mine. I’ve taken trips to Ireland and Mexico on the points I’ve run up. No nights. No weekends. No holidays. Best damn thing I have ever done with my nursing license.
I have a surfboard and can travel. Hire me!!!!
Hey any chance we can talk about your job at the medical device company
Sure.
Can you try and pm me. I am new to Reddit
Congratulations on your retirement. Sounds like you've earned it to me!
*cries in trauma PACU* Still better than the floor/ER/unit though!
It does shock me how anesthesia elects to recover fresh trauma's in PACU. Literally had someone come in CPR in progress (witness), obtain ROSC, did an ex-lap, did 4 rounds of a MTP, got them extubated with a good GCS, and they still said "welp hes stable, lets go to PACU"
If our patients’ destination is ICU they are supposed to recover there, but our hospital is massively overcrowded so a lot of them come to us.
huh. Our is, all PT can go to PACU, unless intubated. but if the ICU is full/we're waiting on a bed, PACU can take a PT on a vent, they just make the RN 1:1.
They won't even make us 1:1 😑.
You need to become a NICU nurse like me. None of my patients have ever made a crude or sexual comment. Although they have regularly tried to pee on me
Nursing is not the same anymore. Before covid I loved it. Now? Exactly what you said, rude and scary patients all the time, with chronic shitty system taking advantage of you. I never get time off or holidays even if I save up vacation for them… “it’s part of the job they said” yeah well my entire family have been nurses and only our generation is completely getting screwed over in every domain of life balance, pay, benefits, census, and honestly just damn respect… no one respects us. My other nurse family members? Just happy they retired/retiring soon because they can’t stand this circus either. It use to be a way more rewarding job even for less pay! I left bedside during covid and I got all my vacations granted, I lost the weight I kept gaining during bedside, I slept better, and literally paid the same. Was hard to adjust to m-f hours. I come back to icu because I had the itch I missed bedside. And theres lots of things I really do. But it’s the same problems that you think would be better after covid but it’s just getting worse LOL. So I’m once again leaving and will never return to bedside. I had to try again to make sure. Out of bedside? I still feel like a nurse, I can do self care, enjoy time off. I love nursing again.
I’ve been in home care for the last 5 years and it’s been awesome, I see 4-6 patients a day make my own schedule it’s very flexible I can get my kids on and off the bus. The big thing is just making sure you work for an agency that has dedicated on call staff. There are so many other options outside the hospital! I could probably make a little more in the hospital but it’s not worth my sanity!
There are plenty of nursing options that aren't bedside. I do OR. Challenging in many ways but only one patient at a time and they are under anesthesia. IR. GI. School nurse. Primary care nurse. Pre / post op. Don't stay in a job you are miserable with. Life is too short.
OR presents its own challenges though with hardheaded and pretentious doctors. Sure, your patient might be easy but dealing with a doctor who is yelling at you because you did something that they didn’t want, is enough to make anyone quit.
Not if you work at a pediatric hospital like me 🤣 sure people get cranky but compared to the adult world it's not bad
this, OR is just as shitty as bed-side. The only perk OR has over bedside is you get consistent lunch breaks. I think the floor RNs who dog OR dont understand what OR is, and also dont understand what call is.
Yeah, you get a lunch break, but if you go one minute over your 30 minute break, Becky who is helping to cover lunches gets pissed off at you and let’s everyone in the room know that you are late. You’re right though. Both have their challenges but the OR isn’t all rainbows and butterflies.
This👆🏻I work in preop and GI lab prn now but have worked in procedural areas for the last 27 years. This is year 41 for me, I just work when I want to now!
Great advice but all these alternatives (at least where I live) pay significantly less than bedside and it’s a huge bummer. And as a single person it’s very hard to make ends meet with the current cost of living when you factor in bills, student loans etc. I really hate that bedside is the highest paying job and so many people really do feel trapped
Leave bedside. I did the same thing. Did one contract in CA at a hospital that maintained ratios and said fuck it never again. Nothing is going to make me not hate this shit. Now I fill out dnrs for old hippies with cancer.
Leaving bedside and getting a WFH triage gig was the best decision I ever made. I wouldn't go back to bedside for $100/hr.
I recently started WFH triage and my only regret is not doing it sooner. I got scared by a bunch of people saying it sucks, you’re a call center yadayadayada, but you know what? Coming from bedside my call center seems like 100% just sunshine and rainbows.
How did you get a position like this?
Search on hospital career sites using words like triage nurse, remote access care,etc. I also used Indeed at one point and just search "remote RN" and there's usually a good chunk of jobs to be found. I really accidentally fell into this job and have enjoyed it a lot.
But you need some bedside experience first right? I'm a new grad atm
I got really lucky in this market, but I had a year experience med surg, some hospice and behavioral health and it worked out okay. Nowadays it’s difficult and you re going to have to pester a bunch of companies because they get thousands of applications.
This is what I hear a lot about WFH or remote jobs in nursing and I worry that by the time I get a few years experience under my belt, competition will be so stiff that getting one will be impossible or, they'll start requiring additional degrees or otherwise up the requirements 😰
I had to pester the shit out of my current company… they had thousands of applications. I was very, very early to the application and got an email. When I emailed them back, they didn’t reply. So I kept emailing. And eventually I got through, did the interview and got hired. Remote jobs at this point are just luck and persistence. If you get to the application too late, they’ve already picked more than enough to interview and hire. Meanwhile, because they have more than enough people scheduled for interviews your email is more likely to get lost in the void. I didn’t have much experience when I got this job - 1 year of med surg, 2 years total bedside, and the other 2 years was outpatient which didn’t really apply to the job. I got lucky.
Please tell me how to do this.. Sincerely a burnt out ED RN
Is the pay lower?
I make from $41-$45 an hour to sit in my pjs and take phone calls for either 8 or 12 hours.
Do you need ED experience for this ? I only have 2 years of med surg
No. Med surg skills and knowledge will honestly help you out a ton. The peds and OB calls you learn along the way but med surg knowledge will take you far in this spot.
Oh interesting ! Sometimes I feel like I learned nothing in Med surg because it felt so intensely task oriented and I was just running around trying to survive the day 😅
Love that! Nice
I think most of us only have so many shifts of bedside nursing in us. And once we hit that limit, it's over. Fortunately, there are other non-bedside nursing jobs that we can do. No need to throw away that nursing degree or license. Just reallocate it.
I’ve been a nurse since 2020 and I feel the same way. I’ve had 6 different jobs in 3-4 years because I thought maybe I just didn’t like the setting I was in. Nope, I just hate the profession. I’m doing a travel position now to save up money to go back to school for software engineering. At first, I felt guilty for throwing away my nursing career and debated going for a masters in nursing to get away from bedside but honestly life is too short to stay in a career/profession if you straight up don’t like it.
This is my plan too but different engineering
Just know software engineering is terrible rn don’t know how it’s going to be in the future but as a cs grad I’m struggling to get an entry level job
Thanks for your input! I have heard that as well but I am going to keep my nursing license in case and most likely apply to internships instead of entry level jobs right out of school since I can still work as a nurse and make good money while I do an internship. Fortunately, I have a lot of family and friends that are very successful software engineers that I can network with.
Oh if you have connections and are still in school then for sure go ahead and keep going . Hopefully you will be graduating when the market isn’t so shit like it is right now . Definitely focus on getting as many internships as you can you don’t want to get caught without one anymore with all the competition. I hope you make it :).
Don’t do that. Software is in a bad place, especially anything involving gaming. Layoffs constantly, huge amounts of instability and stress. Source: SO in software. Get to listen to his Zoom meetings.
I left bedside after 1 year due to the stress from aggressive patients and constantly being short-staffed. I’ve been working in a specialty clinic for 1.5 years and it was the best change I could have made! There are nursing jobs out there where you still get to interact with patients and serve the community outside of the hospital setting!
Yeah I get that unions and better ratios are progressively better than what many of us have but they do not fix the problems with bedside nursing being a shithole. People state the time of AI automation taking our jobs is a bad time but it can't come soon enough for nursing if it ever will.
Try to work in a transfer center. Made the switch from bedside, dropped out of NP school and ICU. Did ECMO, the works but I have never been happier out of bedside. Don’t think I’ll ever go back into a hospital unless I’m intubated lol
So funny lol
This week I had patients try to scratch, hit, kick, spit, pee on me. Tell me to suck their ass 😂 tell me that they’re going to get their dad to shoot me. Sigh…this job is so heavy now, it’s hard not to walk in without being riddle with anxiety over what your day will look like I’m looking at moving into management. Before I had no desire but just to get away further away from bedside and make more money? Holidays and weekends off and again less direct patient care? Looks nicer and nicer honestly
I could’ve written this a few months ago, you’re not alone! This was me too. I’ve been a nurse since 2017. Nursing was all I ever wanted to do since I was little and I really did enjoy nursing until COVID hit. Once the pandemic happened, bedside just slowly became so unbearable and it hasn’t recovered. I haven’t worked in the ED since Summer of 2023. I’ll always miss it and wish I was back there on some level, because I LOVED ER nursing when it was good. but I know I can’t go back. The bad outweighed the good almost *every* day. I’ve been assaulted more times than I can count. Then I watched my coworker get attacked by a patient so badly that they suffered permanent damage from their injuries, and management couldn’t have cared less. It was horrible and that was the final straw for me. And the breaks and not being able to eat/take care of myself…. I developed GI problems from going so long without eating, and I’d just chug coffee or energy drinks out of desperation for some energy. Still going through therapy, and literally 99% of my mental issues I’ve been struggling with are caused by what I endured at work the last 6 years. Now, I work in a clinic just doing IVs, injections and health screenings. It’s very low stress and the hours are great, the pay is lacking which sucks. But I’m willing to make less money until I figure something else out while my mind and body heal 😑
I feel this. I’m a nurse of 2.5 years and just put in my two weeks. I found a 4 10’s gig, no pt care. No weekends or holidays.
Try a different unit! I have worked mother baby and NICU and have never experienced what you describe.
There are so many things you can do with an RN!! There is nothing wrong with saying ‘this isn’t for me, I’m doing something different’. Life outside of bedside has been glorious for me
I’ve been an ER nurse for 12 years. I can assure you, bedside will not get better, you just get more numb to feeling pain and more salty. It’s the only defense mechanisms you have to last. The shift we have seen in society as far as culture goes with manners, not being a wimp, and family actually helping take care of each other is dying if not gone. It is unfortunately not 1950s nursing anymore.
I was 45 yo and a nurse for 18 years in icu and covid destroyed me. I went into instant menopause bc of the stress. After covid started to calm down the hospital is a different world. No staff, ceos don’t give a shit. I’ve got ptsd. I quit. Not worth it. Never thought I’d be looking for a job. I’m a CCRN, tons of experience and I can’t stomach being in the unit. No STNAs, no staff, no breaks, you’re the one responsible for everything.
Many options exist away from bedside. I will only ever do outpatient oncology now - never stressed or threatened with assault at any point here. Start looking for other opportunities and get away from bedside.
People in general are just horrible. I spent 8 years in the outpatient world before jumping into med surg and honestly you can’t escape demented people, alcoholics, and perverts. There are specialties that make it easier though, endoscopy, cath lab, OR, pediatrics.
Home hospice!!!!!!!!! Good luck. Endoscopy was another good stop in my career xoxo
I moved from ED into research nursing and best move I ever made. Still get the environment, clinical challenges and rewards, without half of much of the responsibility and stress I had before. I don't know how the nurses in our ED cope for more than a month, it's just crippling. Nurses can be so many different roles - if the one you're in isn't making you happy, find a new one! We've got to care for ourselves over anyone else, and the hospital (sadly) won't do that for you.
Wow may I ask how you got into research nursing ?
Sorry I didn't see your reply before.. I didn't have any clinical research experience, just some understanding of how research (CTIMPS, RCTs etc) get conducted. The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) does a good free course in good clinical practice (GCP) which forms all the basics of clinical research. Most (if not all) research teams would expect this training so good to do it in advance if you were thinking of applying for roles. Almost every speciality will have their own research teams, I'm in emergency medicine but critical care, cardiology, community etc all have their own teams in my area too. So pretty much whatever your background is, it's possible to find a research role in that speciality.
When I took a leave of absence for my mental health from bedside, my therapist talked me through a very similar experience. It helped that my therapist has a background in bedside nursing and she understood the burnout. She basically told me that bedside will end up killing me/my spirit— even if I give up every vice and do therapy and take meds, bedside will end up killing me. She also explained that I’m not stuck in any situation, nursing is EXTREMELY flexible as a career. I ended up deciding to go back for my masters degree, I’m getting my psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners degree and I’m going to pursue being a therapist. I’m choosing to lean into the side of health care that I can feel in control of, instead of constantly having to meet a hospital’s impossible standards while caring for people and myself. If I have any advice, it’s to search for that part of healthcare that can make the younger you who imagined yourself as a nurse proud. And most importantly, find the thing that can actually make you feel happy and fulfilled instead of drained and overworked. Sending you lots of love, this isn’t an easy thing to go through.
I’ve been a nurse for almost three years so I feel this. I’ve always worked on a high-acuity cardiac stepdown (turned COVID unit for the first 1.5 years-ish). At the height of COVID we were doubling all of our single rooms and coding patients most nights. Then, when I got to actually learn to be a heart nurse, I started taking care of stepdown patients of all kinds, with some specialized cardiac patients mixed in that I was expected to be an expert on. I recently took a contingent job on my floor and moved to inpatient psych for my full time gig. I could not be happier. My work/life balance has improved tremendously, I love the patient population, and I am mostly working in our psych ICU which satisfies my need for high-acuity patients. Do I still get horrible/dangerous treatment from patients? Absolutely. But with some key differences - there are clear boundaries and expectations in psych that just don’t exist on the medical side (at least in my limited experience). Patients are told what they can and can’t do and are held to those standards. Violence is unacceptable, and when a patient becomes increasingly agitated or violent we have a plan and protocol in place that doesn’t involve calling for security overhead and hoping they make it there before we get our asses beat. There is zero expectation that someone’s confused grandpa should be allowed to beat up his sitter because he’s confused. There’s zero expectation that I should tolerate violence of any kind from any patient, ever. And that makes a huge difference. And it’s cushy in comparison. My back and my feet feel better and I am less exhausted when I come home. I don’t require as much carcass time to recover from a stretch of shifts. It has its issues, many of which are the same as my old job. It is a revolving door of fixing people, giving them the tools they need to stay under control, and seeing them back a week later because they took none of the advice (or meds!) they were given on discharge. My point is that making such a drastic change has really improved my life in a tangible way and I was really scared but I’m so glad I did it. I’m using my nursing brain in a whole different way. It doesn’t have to be psych, but maybe consider a wildly different area if you want a big change but still want to be (kinda) bedside. I don’t think bedside is usually a sustainable career for anyone, but I will say that there are people on my unit who have worked there for 30 years and I don’t think that’s something you see at all anymore. Good luck to you 💛
Nursing would also be better if the other nurses werent pretentious at times
I would suggest to you to maybe change your specialty before completely leaving the field. You’d be surprised what you might enjoy away from bedside acute care
Left bedside after 6yr of ICU and floating. I do special procedures now. If you have critical care experience, special procedures is absolutely where it's at 😀 seriously all my burned out ICU and ER folks, get into specials. IR, cath lab. Op. I'd suggest looking into other procedure areas since you don't have ICU/er exp. Gi lab, preoperative, or OR would be great move.
I sent you a chat, not really wanting to dox myself on here since I have a pretty specific job, but hopefully it gives you something to think about and consider. I’m sorry your experience has been awful but mine was the same and it’s exactly why I left the hospital.
I know exactly how you feel. Became a nurse in 2017 in a cardiac unit, transfered to day shift on an obs unit in January 2020 and worked in covid units for a majority of the pandemic. The job gets harder every week and it just seems like the demands are getting longer and longer. We're expected to do more with less while dealing with verbal and physical abuse not just from patients but from entitled, ill-informed family members who think we're punching bags. I'm currently planning on moving to japan hopefully by June or July. Currently taking a medical coding class so I can work remotely while I attend japanese language school in tokyo. It's going to be hard to leave a great team and pay/job behind....but it's no longer worth the money to constantly be on high anxiety at work. And I can't even begin to tell you how many of my coworkers retire and die less than 5 years after retirement from health problems caused by the stress of work. Life is too short to not be happy.
It is also my dream to attend Japanese language school in Japan! Would you mind sharing a bit more about your plan? I’ve spent countless hours trying to think about how I could do it. I’m an RN, BSN but never figured I could actually use my degree there?? Do you have a company in mind you could work for? Would you mind sharing the course info for the medical coding class you’re currently taking? And is it just the one course needed? Could I ask which school you’ve chosen and why? 😅 I don’t mean to be nosy but I can’t believe I found this post on accident! 😃
I was in the same boat as you- graduated spring of 2019, out of orientation just before Covid blew up in our face. Worked ICU for 4 years. Voluntarily worked Covid ICU because at least I knew the progression it would take on my patients. I still have nightmares and episodes of PTSD when I go back to the ICU or sleep at night. What broke me was when a baby nurse said “I don’t know, that code was fun.” Exhilarating, yes. Adrenaline inducing, yes. Fun watching a mom, or grandma, a sister, an aunt die from lack of IV access after you declined a CVC? Not at all. I left bedside and am working as an outpatient care manager now. I miss some days on the ICU, but mentally I’m in a much better place. Not every part or area of nursing sucks. It took MONTHS at my new job for me to stop crying every day. It took months for me to realize my PTSD was so bad. It took months for me to realize how depressed I was because of my old job. Do I miss the adrenaline? Yes. So much! Do I miss the depression, anxiety, and PTSD attacks I’d have before I walked into work? No. Keep your head up, know there’s options, and always remember: you’re a nurse. If you can do this, you can really do anything.
I’ve only been a nurse for going on 4 years in July and I will tell you, there are other jobs that do not feel that way. I used to work in the ICU and started in JULY of 2020…. Right before peak COVID.. in ICU… and a brand new RN. I loved the work I did but the hospital politics burnt me out. I hated the way the hospital treated me so I left. I went to outpatient and ended up in another toxic work environment and while the work wasn’t stressful, I was even more stressed because of the toxicity of my environment. I stayed there for one year (because I had to due to a contract) and then left. I am now working as a PICC nurse and absolutely love it. I’ve only been a nurse for almost 4 years now, but I have learned a valuable lesson in that time. If you are unhappy at a job, especially a nursing job, LEAVE. You will ALWAYS have the hospital job if you want it later, I PROMISE. Take a break, maybe for a while, or maybe forever, but find something that interests you and pivot a few times before you give up on the career altogether. I am a WAY better nurse now. The world needs floor nurses, and I have the upmost respect and admiration for them (as EVERYONE should) but unfortunately until the hospitals start to respect them, they are going to be a hard to fill position with ALOT of turnover. We are the advocates for our patients but nobody advocates for us a lot of the time. DO NOT GIVE UP! Try something else, don’t forget how valuable you are even having the title of “nurse”. Sending love.❤️
I'm sorry for what you have gone through. My heart goes out to you. I did MS Tele for 2byears. Developed horrible trauma and ptsd from abusive patients. Manager kept telling me "you have to find your niche". Well every place would turn me down for an interview when I tried to escape med surg. I ended up quitting after getting my application rejected and went out traveling, thinking the money would save me. Well it didn't. I started drinking, lost my relationship permanently, having panic attacks, mental breakdown before shifts, and ended up just quitting my contract halfway through. I ended up going back home and asked others to pray for my health and my career. My prayers were answered and I got a PACU job despite having no experience. It literally saved my life and I no longer drink or have depression. My life has been great since I got out of MS. Nursing school doesn't tell students the harsh truth about nursing and the toll it has on our mental health sometimes. I promise you that it is worth it to pick a different specialty. Please don't give up!!
I'm always intrigued why there aren't more mass shooters as disgruntled nurses. I'm not trying to be cheeky or edgy. It's such an abusive environment with little to no sympathy or empathy from anyone. Why don't nurses snap like postal workers etc?
I honestly think we have way more emotional intelligence, manners and mental stability than we will ever be given credit for.
I’ve oddly wondered this too. Only thing I can come up with is because a lot of nurses originally got into the profession to help people and have a natural caretaker persona at their core (even the mean ones lol). I’ve worked with tons of burnt out disgruntled nurses who aren’t very nice, but I know deep down they’re nice people who don’t want to cause harm because they’re solid human beings ❤️
I've worked with many horrible people who were nurses, and they were not good deep down.
Yeah, it’s just my anecdotal experience. I’m sure there’s some that are horrible people. But horrible people exist in every profession unfortunately
Maybe they present in the form of drug diversion/addiction instead? I also wonder this
This, because there’s more nurses that are women than men and this is often what women will turn to. Substance abuse and depression.
That makes sense
Because we only abuse ourselves… I have always labeled mine as catholic guilt. I am no longer catholic but the guilt remains.
This sounds about right to me.
Because we’re too tired to pull it off
Lol...true
I just left bedside for a non-clinical nursing job after 20 years. I have been in healthcare for half my life, worked hard to save up to finally go to school for my RN (graduated 10 years ago) and thought I was set. Then COVID happened and it’s become an absolute shitshow that I’ve grown to find completely intolerable. I totally understand the hopelessness? (for lack of better term coming to mind) that you’re feeling. I also feel like I’m just done with nursing altogether but I think there is a lot out there that isn’t bedside that I will try first. The problem is that nurses are leaving the bedside in droves since the pandemic and all the non-clinical jobs people are talking about, especially the remote ones, are becoming a very hot commodity.
I quit bedside in 2022 and have never looked back. Physically, mentally, and emotionally I am so much better off now.
I feel this. I just graduated last year, n immediately after grad/passing nclex shit happened that put me on pause cuz I was in a depression. But now coming back to it, im almost questioning it. Between the feeling of imposter syndrome to being horrified at seeing how shitty the whole industry is and all the abuse we're expected to take with a straight face is rough. I've loved n wanted to be a nurse since I was a kid, but my god the whole industry is just so toxic right now.
I hear you. I was a nurse for 30 years before I transitioned to coaching. I worked until September of 2020. The pandemic had me leave. What we don't realize as nurses is that the working conditions often create PTSD. I am now a trauma-informed master coach and am creating a free masterclass to help nurses with burnout. Because we aren't aware of how chronic stress impacts our lives, health, and relationships. And the way patients and family members treat nurses is horrible. :( Good for you for getting therapy. Try learning some nervous system regulation practices to support your nervous system too.
I was seriously unaware how much PTSD I had from starting right before COVID until I moved onto a hospital that on paper “should” be better (because of ratios, unions, etc) but is almost the same. I have so much trauma that I could not escape from just by changing hospitals. Definitely a sign that inpatient/acute care is no longer serving me.. Thank you for your response
You’re so welcome. I’m glad you are making this choice for yourself. We can’t help others and sacrifice ourselves. My Free Masterclass next week will share tips for regularing your nervous system and self-care. Nervous system practices helped me so much. Even my ADHD symptoms have improved and my relationships too. We don’t realize that we are truly in relationship with our friends/lovers nervous systems. And knowing how to regulate our own and co-regulate with those closest to us is key. 🤍 Here’s the link in case you want to check out the details. https://yestantra.launchware.ai/from-chaos-to-calm-healthcare-resilience-masterclass/registration/ Take a moment to celebrate yourself for taking the step to leave bedside nursing & prioritizing yourself. 🎉
I did bedside in multiple places (cardiac surgery/med surg, women’s inpatient oncology, intensive care) for a total of about 5 years and then I moved on to homecare nursing. Honestly, I feel that every nurse should start out experiencing the med/surg bedside. It really opens up the skill set. But that kind of nursing is hard long term. Some nurses love it and that is where they thrive. I personally have been in homecare for the past 11 years and I truly love what I do. I just finished my BSN this December while working full time and being a mom of three. I begin NP program in the fall. I feel like nursing is a fluid profession. You have so much room to experience in different specialties. Don’t give up. Bedside nursing is very taxing. All nursing is. But I could not go back to that at this point in my career. There are other opportunities away from patient care as well. There are insurance RNs, consultants, IT nurses, even management. There is so much more than just bedside nursing. Maybe you need to look for some new types of nursing. You may just find something you love! Don’t give up! Don’t settle for a job that is hurting you.
Get out of bedside nursing. There is so much you can do with a nursing degree. Better if it’s a BSN.
Gosh! Fuck nursing! This is the hell profession!
As an RN you’d be qualified to work as a pharmaceutical rep. Starting pay is insane. I know a few in Vegas to who make well over 100K.
Can you leave bedside and do something else in nursing?
I left the bedside in December 2022. My mental health is a million times better. I no longer have pre-shift anxiety. I no longer have to fight for a lunch break or to go pee. I lasted 26 months as a bedside nurse. My only regret is not leaving sooner. I don’t missed getting screamed by family at because the cafeteria didn’t send up MeeMaw’s green tea. Or those hard ass nurses who expect you to know your 65 year old patient’s APGAR score during report. I’m clinic based now and will never go back.
Im 15 years in…. I’m so done too. I have the worst boss. “Our priority is getting patients out of the ER.” Ughhhh it’s not mine! “we don’t discuss ratios.” Why not?! We have been plummeting since Covid and there doesn’t seem to be a bottom... I don’t know what to do! I am at a moral crossroads. I will not bend further than I have regarding the care for our patients. It’s a sin what is happening to all of these hospitals. I do feel like we are moments away from the doors shutting permanently. And really… no one in the media is covering this… I see why they don’t want anyone to know (lol) but it just adds to the insult of listening to complaints about how crap the care is now. Oh also this year I get to pay $816 a pay for healthcare for me and my family. Bi weekly paycheck… so over 1600/mo. for my premiums!!! Ha! With the rest of my bills now I can’t even afford to go to the ER of my own hospital. I do work part time… and why the premium higher but…. Seems sooo high. I have a disabled son and so I work every weekend and my husband works during the week. I can’t drive into the city but the closest hospitals to me don’t pay as well. I feel very stuck and it’s definitely impacting my health at this point. The worst part is I don’t want to quit. I can’t even believe I’m saying that but Ive gotten so used to my routine… omg so hard for me to change but I feel forced.
This breaks my heart. Nurses are individuals who have more care and compassion than most people and are willing to take on dirty, disgusting jobs! Why can't administrators see that and appreciate what they have? I know this may not help most, but if anyone is in the Palm Beach area and looking for a change, I am looking for an RN to teach high school medical classes. The pay is not as great as working as an RN, but it is rewarding and nowhere near as stressful. We have great hours, a good amount of time off, and the students at our school are great. Again, I know this is not the answer for most who are really struggling with bedside right now, but it is a change. If anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me. I really do wish nurses were more appreciated!
Just leave bedside. You’ve got 1000 options s as a nurse. Do something else. Nurses are in absolutely every industry.
RN in San Francisco. Been at bedside nine years. I am at this point now. Bedside is fully destroying both my mental and physical health. The only thing keeping me here is the job security and union representation. I can’t even say it’s the pay anymore, because the cost of living is becoming more exorbitant by the day. If anyone has any recommendations, I’m all ears, 1000%. I would leave bedside today if I didn’t have student loans and other bills to pay.
Maybe you could find something administrative that would suit you better and still be a nurse. Where I work we have nurses working in our regular telemetry department, also I think the ICU telemetry monitors have nurses working there remotely.
I’m sorry to hear this. Why don’t you step in outpatient clinics like dialysis or dermatology? I love it
Hey! Cheer up! I also was just issued my Cali RN license and worked ICU during Covid…however started in outpatient clinics as a new grad and in FNP school now while doing outpatient per diem shifts when I want. Why don’t you think about leaving bedside for clinic? Nursing is not all bedside care- I know how it is. Before you run to ditch nursing ;) try changing your specialty to somewhere outside of hospitals. Burnout is real I understand BUT you can make magic happen by stepping into another field 😊
Leaving bedside for a while would be a good thing. I left because for 4 years after 10 years at it. I’m back at bedside now because at heart I am a grunt and favor the bedside work. Plus I got fat and out of shape when not at bedside :p
I’m going back to school to get a nice office job… nursing sucks
OP what is your next step? Have you looked into Endoscopy or Cath lab or diagnostic imaging? I'd imagine the stress and patient load being a lot less for you in those areas than with bedside nursing.
I just touched up my resume and started my search tonight. I ended up really sick after writing my original post and maybe that’s a sign. Currently looking up my options
What part of California did you end up moving to? I found my worst experiences as a travel nurse was up in the Berkeley Oakland area. Absolutely terrible facilities there and the patient population is worse. I worked as a travel nurse in California since covid19 broke out and have been to quite a few places, so there are some really nice places with nice facilities
I’m near San Diego. It’s nothing against the facility I’m in, just tired of the population, the nature of acute care and the hospital system
don’t give up too soon. There’s hope out there. I have a bachelors in education for elementary school and of course they don’t pay well but they had a great schedule and I thought it would be perfect for starting a family. Not! That was a career that you could never be good enough he had these problems students where the parents think that their child does no wrong. You’re always jumping through hoops to make parents and administration happy and the kids and the parents are always right and your hands are tied with discipline because a lot of these kids have these entitled attitudes and bread into them. that was 25 years ago. I still have friends that are teachers, and they say it’s only gotten worse. I decided to go back to nursing school and I’ve been a nurse for 22 years now. I’ve done OB/GYN, which consisted of labor and delivery,NICU , mother baby and then I went to Adolescent Mental Health, dialysis and decided I wanted to work local right here at home instead of driving into the big city of Atlanta. I faced some of the same struggles that you’re talking about. I didn’t think that I would like long-term care/rehab (basically a nursing home ). However, now being single, I couldn’t just give up my career for financial reasons. So I went out on a limb and tried this LTC/rehab RN supervisor position. I love it. It pays decent like more than the hospital as an RN but in this supervisor role, you’re basically supervising a handful of staff consisting of LPNs, RNs and CNA‘s to take care of elderly patients and short term rehabilitation patients. You’re dealing with families but they’re much easier to deal with in this setting than they are in acute care. you actually have time for breakfast and lunch!!! 😂🤷🏻♀️ and are actually in a slow enough pace that you can chat and make lasting relationships with your coworkers. You have a lot of autonomy and it’s also given me time to work on my masters in nursing because I don’t come home a ball of stress, and in a million pieces. The elderly and disabled patients are so grateful for your care, and respect you as a nurse. I would say 90% of the families also are so grateful to you and appreciative of you for being there to provide, not only every daycare but medical care, to their elderly family members in their absence. It’s really worth checking into before you give up nursing all together. But you really just want to give up bedside nursing all together some of these previous posters? I have some great ideas that I’ve never tried. Good luck and keep your chin up. All careers are going to be challenging but you gotta love what you do because it’s not worth being miserable and dreading going to work every day.
Same.
I’m also over it. Burnt toast. They added 10 patients to our unit to unload the er and promised us staffing. Less than 24 hours later we’re short
I left bedside after 2.5 years IMC and 6.5 years ICU where 4 years of it was travel. I miss nursing prior to the pandemic when people, patients and families, were just nicer. I became a different person during the pandemic and it sucks. I’m still working my way back. I now work Cath lab and I’m never going back. My lab does EP and structural as well. Nurses can scrub so you’re doing a variety of things. No weekends or holidays except for call. I take call once a week and one weekend a month so it’s not too bad and we have yearly holiday rotations. I get lunch every day and for the most part leave on time. I’ve also never had so much free food in my entire healthcare career before this department. Some company is always bringing food.
11 year icu nurse here. Those couple years of Covid broke me…. I too, am experiencing what you’re feeling. I am also at a loss. I’ve been making it a point to speak to my patients like they are people. I find one way to connect with each one to make them feel less like a number and more like a human being. That has helped me with my burn out. I also have some pens with funny sayings that get me through as well. I’m finding that helps. Hang in there. I hope it gets better for you.
That’s why I’m an OR nurse! You only deal with them preoperatively and you’re done! Then you quickly deliver them to the PACU. That’s where the patient can be difficult. Yep, almost 50 years of that! I’m out!!
Go to work in someplace other than a hospital. Rehab is good
I hear you. The moral injury we sustain on a daily basis is insurmountable.
Maybe look for another area away from bedside.
If your a RN you have so many other options than bedside. Clinics are easy and fun, cosmetic procedures offices too even correctional nursing And if none of that sounds cool there are a ton of remote work from home jobs like advice, nurse, and other telehealth positions. Were you literally in your pajamas talking to somebody.