Moving On

5 Im not trying to gain any sympathy, I guess im just venting my frustrations. As a male nurse I have decided that nursing is just not for me and that it is time to move on. It's sad that I just graduated a little over a year ago and worked for a while in a nursing home and then for a while in the OR of a large hospital and hated every minute of it, I hated nursing period once I started working. I found nothing to like or love about it and went to work miserable and depressed every single day. I found it getting worse and worse as time went on. I had rather go back to one of my old $10/hr non nursing jobs than to put up with this crap, drama, and politics everyday and be miserable and grouchy the rest of my life. Life is too short for that. I guess it's just not what im geared for. I consider myself more of a technical minded person so I have decided to regroup and move on before I get much older. I will probably be going back to school pretty soon. Nursing has been an experience and I am proud of achieving the goal of gettning a college degree but beyond that, it's time to move on. Im tired of being PRN'd to death and having nothing. I think these companies are getting to where all they want is a bunch of PRN employees that they can use, abuse and have them work a day or two here and there so they can get out of giving them any benefits. All I heard with my last job is money money, time is money, we cant afford this and that, you need to speed up and blah blah blah. Well, I have to eat and pay bills too and two days here and there just won't cut it. I was never mean or grouchy to my patients and got tons of thank you's and great compliments about how well I took care of them and I appreciated that but beyond all that it was a whole different world.

Their might be a niche out there somewhere I could do but im not gonna spend 30 years trying to find it. Good luck to those that truly love nursing and I hope it works out well for you. We need nurses and professionals but my advice, especially to perspective nursing students it to make sure it is really what you want, or think it is before you jump in head first. Nursing is not for everybody.
I completely agree with you, OP, that nursing is not for everyone. I am curious about your experience in nursing school clinicals -- did you get any inkling that you would not enjoy nursing?And I am also wondering if a large part of your dissatisfaction is with your non-benefitted PRN status. Daily financial worries are a drag on anyone's mental health. Are you still seeking full-time employment?

I agree that nursing is not for everyone. I hope you will find something more satisfying. Best wishes for your journey.

Quote from AltraI completely agree with you, OP, that nursing is not for everyone.I am curious about your experience in nursing school clinicals -- did you get any inkling that you would not enjoy nursing?And I am also wondering if a large part of your dissatisfaction is with your non-benefitted PRN status. Daily financial worries are a drag on anyone's mental health. Are you still seeking full-time employment?

I am curious about your experience in nursing school clinicals -- did you get any inkling that you would not enjoy nursing?And I am also wondering if a large part of your dissatisfaction is with your non-benefitted PRN status. Daily financial worries are a drag on anyone's mental health. Are you still seeking full-time employment?

Life's way too short to deliberately make yourself miserable. Best of luck on your career change. I hope you stay 'tuned' to AN - you have a unique perspective and may be able to provide insightful feedback to the the droves of AN'ers who think that nursing is the end-all and be-all.

i am so sorry you had the miserable luck to have two crappy jobs working for what sounds like two crappy employers. i know that you know it's not all like that, and that you know you wouldn't really have to take 30 years to find something better to do with your nursing degree, but it's how you feel this moment, so there it is. there are better places for you than what you had. if they're out of nursing, then fine; someday, if you get un-burnt-out, you may want to try a better one in nursing. we'll be here for you if you want. i wish you well.

OP I feel your pain, I would get out of this business tomorrow but I am to old and can't do any thing else. I have a interview for a job on Monday and all ready I'm getting sick but I have to work for the money. (don't we all). Life is too short to hate what you do. Gook Luck, Brother.

RN-767 Congratulations! I am always looking for a way out of nursing too. I think I understand exactly where you are coming from? It's all about not being able to play "doormat" well, in essence. Prior to nursing, I can say I'd never been truly treated like crap in all my 20+ years of working. I just don't know why the profession has allowed this on itself? Never before have I been subjected to being treated like a child, talked "simply" to because I couldn't possibly understand pathophysiology, or treated rudely because it seems that is also in my job description.When the understanding hits you clear as a bell that to continue in this field you have to allow yourself to be broken like horse into submission -- no can do. My self-esteem is intact and I intend to keep it that way. I feel lucky that I still know what that even is, that I did not have it ripped from me in my formative years as a young adult...I hope that other job turns out for you!

You won't be the last to quit nursing just right after graduating. I see it all the time @ my hospital. I've worked with bright and young nurses straight from that university or a state college. Once that call light goes off they soon find out that nursing isn't for them. I blame all the hype out there that nursing pays good and it's a "recession" proof job (lol, whatever! I've been around experienced nurses getting fired for stupid crap). I actually miss the Dot Com days of the late 1990s (I started wearing scrubs in the early 1990s myself). Back then, anybody crazy enough to get into nursing (remember all the strikes we did back then to get better nurse-to-patient ratios?) and didn't get fazed and are still wearing those scrubs today or had long careers. Those people were true nurses in my opinion (I'm knocking anyone today who really likes nursing and wants to be a nurse). All the other college students back then wanted to create the next Yahoo.com or AOL. Today? Everybody is on the nursing bandwagon. I get chills when I step into a coffee shop to get my drink and I see giggling students/graduates reading that NLCEX or Anatomy book. Are these people getting into nursing (healthcare) BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE NURSES or is it because that's where the 100K salaries are? It's crazy. And the entitlement attitude sickens me (Not all new nurses have this attitude btw). It's funny, back then when I mentioned I was a nurse, I'd get sarcastic remarks about wiping butts and now people think you're the sh* because your a nurse. lol.

I hate to hear that anyone is so dissatisfied in a job. From what you wrote it sounds like the disinterest stems from a poor work environment and/or the wrong nursing arena. One of the things that drew me into nursing was the variety of options. So much diversity. I know that if I don't like the OR that I'm not obligated to be an OR nurse (as an example). Have you considered home health? Hospice? Forensic nursing? Cruise ship nurse? Flight nurse? There are plenty of jobs out there that are not PRN, that offer benefits, retirement packages and set schedules. Maybe if you sat down and considered what you like to do, how you like to work you could come up with an idea of what nursing path you would like to pursue. Home health allows you to work independently and be out of the hospital. Forensic nursing sounds very interesting and challenging. Cruise ship nurse allows you to see the world, earn money and have fun. Flight nurse is unlike hospital nursing--there's helicopter services and fixed wing services. Just a few considerations.

RN-767,I can just feel the sense of relief that must just be washing over you. You must feel as if a heavy weight has been lifted, having made this decision and getting it off your chest. I'm happy for you.I, too, have struggled with whether nursing was for me. I was a CNA prior to becoming a nurse, and while in nursing school for my ADN, I worked full time as an LPN. So, I knew what I was getting myself into.There are parts of nursing that I love, and that keep me coming back, and I can't imagine NOT being a nurse. Those parts are things like when I know I've made a difference to someone and when I've touched someone's life in a meaningful way. However, there are parts that just drive me crazy and make me have thoughts of escape. Most of those negative aspects are labor issues like having to do too much with too little, and being treated like an assembly line robot rather than a human being taking care of human beings.I've worked in 2 different hospital areas, and loved and hated different parts of each. Now I work in an outpatient capacity, and I must say I LOVE IT!I go to work in my bathrobe and I always get my meal breaks. In fact, I'm working right now, in my bathrobe! I only have to put on professional clothing (no more scrubs, yay!!!) when going to see a patient in person. Patient care is in an educational/tech support capacity, with a little bit of hands on thrown in. My work schedule is a dream come true; one week on, one week off. Today, I plan on going to the office to check in and see what's on my plate for the weekend, then go to a couple of yard sales.It's true, I had to pay my dues to get here, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. All that I've been through has made me a better and smarter nurse, and has lead me to find my place within the profession.So, if you want to walk away, and that feels right to you, I won't fault you. But as others have said, there are other things out there for someone with an RN license. Look around; you might see something that suits you better.Whatever you do, best of luck to you!

Thanks all for the replies. I haven't checked in for some time but I will check back from time to time. I had considered some of the other nursing options but it seems they all want 4000 years experience in this and that to get a lot of those specialty jobs that seem like they would actually be decent jobs. I guess I just refuse to let my self be miserable, treated like trash, and feel like I'm gonna have a MI every day just to try and get there and it possibly never happening. I have always had a job prior to nursing and they have all had there days and moments but i'd gladly take those days and moments back over nursing. In my past jobs a bad day was something that happened every now and then but in my nursing experience it seems like your lucky if you ever have a halfway good day. Something is wrong with a picture like that when you know tomorrow's work day is gonna suck before you even get there. I really applaud those that have a position they love and it works out great for them. I really hope it continues. Since my last post I reluctantly took another nursing job for a short time because it was sorta just offered to me so I though to be fair why not give it a whirl? Oh boy, that was a mistake. More of the same BS, understaffed and over worked just to say the least. I thought I would give it a fair chance but the third time was not a charm. I'm just getting a new start before I get too old. Considering starting my own business at some point. I have hung up my scrubs and stethoscope for the last time unless someone offers me a hands off too good to be true nursing job which probably aint gonna happen I do hold an FAA Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor certification. I do some fixed wing flight instructing on the side. Flying is kinda my stress relief. I never really thought much about making a career out of flying because it is a very difficult path to take but I think I'm about to start putting a lot more effort into it. At least I have a degree which makes me a little more marketable now in the aviation industry, even though its a nursing degree it really don't matter in the aviation world :-). I would never make it as a flight nurse coz my first passion is being at the flight controls, not in the back