Hang Up the Stethoscope

      Lately I have been feeling like I am done being a nurse. Patients are rude, non-compliant, and have no respect or idea how hard nursing actually is. They show up late for their appointments and sometimes they don't even call to cancel they just don't show. They don't get labs done, scans done, or comply with diets we give them to help improve their conditions. The work load that comes with nursing is also stressful and frustrating. Constantly being told that there is new documentation that needs to be done in the patients chart as if what is already done isn't enough, drawing blood, random EKGs, answering phone calls, calling in prescriptions, prior authorizations for medications, scheduling and canceling appointments, referrals, and there is much more I'm probably missing.

     When I went on vacation last week for an ENTIRE week, it made me realize there is so much more to life than working all the time and caring for patients who have no self respect and no respect for people working to take the best care of them as possible. I love making people laugh and I love helping people but nursing isn't the way I want to do it anymore. I've thought about waitressing or maybe even working at a vet clinic. I am not going back to school because I am already up to my eyeballs in debt and I want to be debt free eventually. I think the sad part about feeling this way is multiple nurses feel the same. I read articles about other nurses wanting to leave the profession because when I first started thinking of leaving, I felt bad. Who would take care of my patients need more attention than others? Will another nurse care as much as me when I leave? What if the providers get behind and the schedule doesn't flow smoothly? Then I realized....not my problem.

     For months now, I have been trying to find my happy place and it has to be out there. Working myself hard like this and stress eating and not channeling my emotions properly due to this work environment is not healthy. And it is not just primary care. I have had a few nursing jobs and it always the same; people calling out and working short staffed, more responsibilities and less pay, no teamwork, rude and non-compliant patients, and rules and regulations constantly changing. It may take a while for me to find where I want and need to be to maintain a happy and healthy life while helping others, but I will find it. In the meantime I'm staying here dealing with the chaos and making sure my bills are paid on time.