Is my career as a nurse over?

[cassioo]

we only have a 2% vacancy rate at my hospital in Western KY and there are 4 nursing schools within 30 miles.

[sbnursing]

Well Dixie, I am definately sensing a very strong negative attitude. If you hate/hated nursing so much, why consider even going back? I love my job and feel very satisfied. You have to try several jobs before finding the right one. Don't let people who have bad attitudes and hate their jobs affect your attitude and make you miserable. If you really want to be a nurse then go for it, if not, stay in the real estate business....

[nursinghumor]

You have to figure, if you went through the trouble of getting through nursing school, passing your boards and going out in the field to work . . .that is a helluva lot to give up over a few bad experiences.

I do bedside nursing and have had some pretty hairy shifts, abusive co-workers and nursing managers/administrators who could care less. I've found that a better job and work environment could be as close as the next unit or hospital over.

Call me the eternal optimist but I believe there's always something better out there. Your outlook and attitude towards your job will play a large part in whether you can function/enjoy/find satisfaction.

Do you think you might have been getting a bit crispy around the edges? Burnout is no joke and very common. You can find some resources on it here:

http://www.nursefriendly.com/burnout/

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com

[smbrn]

It is so hard to say. I think for many nurses, such as myself, they want to work but simply cannot abide all the grief that goes along with it. I have been a nurse going on 24 years. There are many things I like about nursing, but I find it so hard to do anymore and that is not because of the patients, their families, doctors or anything else. It is mostly the lack of respect from nurse administrators and recognition that what staff nurses do is important. A couple of years ago at my "magnet" hospital the woman who did most of the nursing education relocated to Florida. She has not been replaced. We have virtually no nursing education department. Every month the calendar is loaded up with the same old mandatory stuff that we have to do year after year. It used to be highly unusual for us to work short, one of the reasons I have stayed at this hospital, but now it goes on routinely. Someone in a position to know told me that while this is not a policy that will be announced nurses will be expected to work short if there are sick calls, etc. I only work weekends and took care of a man who was bedridden. The first week I had him his skin was perfectly intact. The second weekend he had a small stage II on his coccyx and a large stage I on his left outer heel. By week three he had a very large stage II on his coccyx and the heel was darkening. He also received extremely poor medical care to boot. I do not want to criticize fellow nurses too much here. The unit is quite busy, we often have no extra pillows to use to turn patients, no one to get some for us if we need them, etc. In spite of all this, a drastic decline in the ability of nurses to provide direct care, the nurse administrators are all in a twitter about what color uniforms the nurses wear. Talk about priorities!

[ILRN]

there is a huge shortage in chicago!!

[nursinghumor]

Originally Posted by ILRN

there is a huge shortage in chicago!!

Absolutely!

September 30, 2008: Illinois: Chicago: Outbreak of stress afflicts nurses:"Nobody ever told her being a surgical nurse would be easy. But even now, in her 15th year, there are days when Judy Berglund's emotions are so spent and her body so taxed that she can barely dress herself in the locker room after her shift.
"You don't realize how stressed you've been until you can't lift your leg to pull your pants on," Berglund said. "Your whole body aches."
Bruises and pulled muscles, hope and heartbreak—emotional and physical fatigue have contributed to a profound nursing shortage in hospitals across Chicago and the country."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,3097663.story

Wed, 28 Sep 2005, Chicago-based Organization Announces Initiative to Help Ease Severe Nursing Shortage In Illinois:"Citing warnings from a report released last week by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC), which revealed that by the year 2020, Illinois would have a shortage of 21,000 registered nurses, the Chicago-based Provident Foundation has announced plans to step up its efforts to help reverse this dangerous trend."
http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2...0928-005.shtml

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursefriendly.com