Negative and Positive parts of being an RN

I wish I had a job I could get burn't out from! Nursing is one of those things that you become. It is who I am.

I've been a nurse for 27 years & though I would not say I am "burnt out", my body is in disagreement. I suffer from severe lower back problems resulting from having to lay down in the passenger seat to prevent decapitation, (literally!) just micro seconds before driving under an 18 wheeler that had pulled out in front of me from a side street in dense fog. He didn't see me coming & I never saw him at all until it was all but too late. Now, my upper body, (spine, back, shoulders, neck & head) has been permanently twisted to the left approx. 30 degrees while my hips & lower body,(legs & feet) still point forward as they always have. This causes me great pain & is, I have been told, irreversible. I am unable to continue working as an nurse. So I went back to college for 8 months & obtained an AA degree & psych. tech. training. I am now a LPT "working" at a State Hospital making $120,000.00 a year & doing half the work. At the State Hospitals LPT's are over the RN's so I almost had no choice but to get my LPT if I was going to continue working there. Most LPT's are High School grads with one year of psych training. Get the picture? It's not nursing, but I can work 12 hour shifts & go home feeling human instead of like I've been run over by a steam roller just waiting for someone to put me out of my misery. So, it is possible to change careers after a great career as a nurse. I'm 54 years old doing half the work for twice the money & have a life after work that I have the energy to enjoy. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

Quote from psychnurse0809I've been a nurse for 27 years & though I would not say I am "burnt out", my body is in disagreement. I suffer from severe lower back problems resulting from having to lay down in the passenger seat to prevent decapitation, (literally!) just micro seconds before driving under an 18 wheeler that had pulled out in front of me from a side street in dense fog. He didn't see me coming & I never saw him at all until it was all but too late. Now, my upper body, (spine, back, shoulders, neck & head) has been permanently twisted to the left approx. 30 degrees while my hips & lower body,(legs & feet) still point forward as they always have. This causes me great pain & is, I have been told, irreversible. I am unable to continue working as an nurse. So I went back to college for 8 months & obtained an AA degree & psych. tech. training. I am now a LPT "working" at a State Hospital making $120,000.00 a year & doing half the work. At the State Hospitals LPT's are over the RN's so I almost had no choice but to get my LPT if I was going to continue working there. Most LPT's are High School grads with one year of psych training. Get the picture? It's not nursing, but I can work 12 hour shifts & go home feeling human instead of like I've been run over by a steam roller just waiting for someone to put me out of my misery. So, it is possible to change careers after a great career as a nurse. I'm 54 years old doing half the work for twice the money & have a life after work that I have the energy to enjoy. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

I loved reading your blog, thanks for reminding me,,I need that every once in a while,,,take care

I love your honesty in this blog. As an aspiring nursing student, I often times just drown myself with fantasies of how much I am going to be this super nurse that loves everything about the profession! I know that although sometimes I may feel like this, the idea is just not the reality. At the end of the day it is nice to read about someone seeing the positives and appreciating being an RN regardless of the negatives!

Interesting! What city and state do you work in?

Nr Akron Ohio

What is an LPT????