I don’t want to be a nurse anymore…

Dec 7

I don’t want to be a nurse anymore!

“I hate being a nurse” was a thought that crossed my mind all too often during my career. But what else do I want to do? It’s weird because I remember praying to get in nursing school, pass my exams, and for that first job.

Although I grew to hate it at times, it was confusing because I still loved things about nursing as well. I felt torn. I love helping people, I know I’m good at what I do, and both patients and colleagues appreciate me. Also, who doesn’t love working 3 days a week?

But I also hated the politics, the bullying, the physician ego’s, the unsafe staffing ratios, and the “nurses are replaceable” attitude by administration. I hated…yes hated….the normalizing of nurse abuse by patients and family.

I was torn because I love nursing, the actual nursing job but I couldn’t stand all the unhealthy dynamics you have to deal with.

How do you go from hoping and praying to become a nurse to being willing to do just about anything to leave nursing behind?

How do you get to the point you’re lying in bed dreading work the next day and racking your brain trying to think of different careers you’d be good at?

I was 16 when I started nursing school. There was a vocational school where I lived that offered a practical nursing course I could take my junior and senior year of high school. If I passed, I could sit for my boards and become an LPN. Well, I did just that.

But wait, that wasn’t enough…

I was told I needed my RN. I get my associate’s because at the time, it was faster, cheaper, and having a BSN wasn’t necessary.

But that wasn’t enough…

Guess where that lead to 10 years later? That’s right, back in school getting my Bachelors. BSN degree-done.

But that’s still not enough…

You really need a master’s….and so on and so forth.

I learned 2 things from this experience.

I skipped the master’s and went straight for doctoral
I was never enough.

It didn’t matter how many times I went back to school, how hard I worked, or all the blood/sweat/tears I put into it, it wasn’t good enough.

Do you ever feel that way?

Feeling like nothing you ever do is going to be good enough, unhealthy dynamics, annd being treated like you don’t matter is an express lane to wanting to leave the profession.

By the way….all of this was around BEFORE COVID.

Is it any wonder nurses are running out the door?!

When I got to a place of hating my career, it affected my life. Many nurses I know get to a place of wanting change so they start looking at higher degrees. While that can be a solution, it’s not the solution for everyone.

Applying for an advanced degree takes some work on your part. Only 14 out of 44 people were going to be chosen to get in the program I applied for. I remember making a list of pros and cons, talking it out with everyone that would listen, and I was still on the fence.

Do I really want to do this?

Is all this really necessary?

Is becoming a Nurse Practitioner worth it?

Are you ready right now to make change and find the solution best for you?

Contact Christen to find the best next step for you

Is becoming a Nurse Practitioner worth it

Is becoming a Nurse Practitioner worth it

Are you having that same inner battle?

Do you want a change but don’t know what to do?

Do I get my advanced degree? If I do, what type would I get?

Is it even worth it?

Should I change careers instead?

Well from the financial standpoint it can make sense for some people to take this path. An NP program is a financial investment but there are some programs that can help you repay your loans. You may be able to make much more in the long run than what you spent getting the degree, depending on the specialty.

That being said, I remember having the same discussion with a very well-known nurse practitioner who told me not to do it for the money. The money isn’t going to be the same for everyone. Can psych. NP’s make more money? Of course because there’s not that many there.

However, 15-20 years ago NP’s in general made a significantly higher amount of money when there wasn’t that many NP’s. Now most people I know are in NP school. As more people continue to enter, the pay will likely even out.

Is an NP worth it it to get away from bedside nursing?

As someone whose worked bedside nursing for 18 years, I deeply understand this as I’ve had these moments myself. Wanting to up-level is fine, but if you’re doing it just to escape something you could be walking into a situation you end up just as unhappy with. Now you have more liability and higher student loan debt.

Sitting there on the first day of NP school, our instructor had everyone introduce themselves and why they entered the program. I’ll never forget this one woman, she said:

“I’m already a NP but I entered because I work with neurology patients and the neurologists keep sending me these psychiatric patients because they don’t want to deal with them. So, I figured I needed to learn how to help them.”

This nurse was being dumped on by doctors that didn’t feel like dealing with something. Sound familiar? Only now, her hand was forced to learn something she wasn’t really interested in to protect her license.

Also, she had her NP and that still wasn’t enough….

Another thing to consider is how many nurses do you know that have graduated NP school and can’t find a job? You may be in that boat. Everyone wants someone with experience, and you’re a new grad.

Maybe you found a job but aren’t making what you thought you would. Where do you pick up overtime? Back at the bedside. I’ve worked with NP’s that work bedside because they can make more money working prn or weekend shifts.

You’re back at the same place you were so desperate to get away from.

Some people get into nursing for the wrong reasons and they end up burning out the fastest. If you’re one of those individuals who wants job security, decent pay, but doesn’t want to work then nursing is not the field for you.

I wanted to be a nurse and I didn’t realize how stressful it could be. I can’t imagine not really wanting to do it and finding out how much work is involved.

In my opinion, advancing to a NP isn’t worth the investment if you identify with this. You’ll still be frustrated and there’s no one but you to clean up your mess. Care will be compromised, you’ll be unhappy, so will your patients and your colleagues.

If you’re wanting a change or to figure out how to successfully leave nursing, where should you start?

There’s nothing wrong with up-leveling your career and skills. Maybe you’re truly done and wanting to know how to successfully leave nursing altogether.

**The problem comes when you’re making such a big decision from a drained, exhausted place**.

The philosophy behind empowerment coaching applies here which makes it a perfect fit to helping nurses in this place. It’s hard to make big life decisions when you’re feeling so low because you don’t have as much clarity and you’re feeling defeated.

Let’s face it….getting up off the couch after a crappy 12 hour shift is hard enough let alone trying to decide on a big life decision, like a career change or the possibility of putting yourself back in nursing school…again.

The first step is getting you back to feeling like yourself again and remembering the truth:

You ARE Enough!

You DO matter!

You don’t need to keep going back to the classroom to feel like you’re enough. I can help you shift from apathetic and guilty to empowered and confident. You don’t have to stay numb and dead inside!

When you’re approaching this from an empowered place, you’re able to make the best decision for your career and your life moving forward.

If this is you, let’s chat about getting you what you really want. With my help these decisions can come with ease, confidence, and peace of mind.

Ready to take that first step in feeling like yourself again? Get my free ebook below for 4 easy, practical tips to get started!

Hi I’m Christen

I was just a tired, exhausted, burned out nurse dreading work and imaging what I could do instead of nursing. It affected me professionally AND personally!

Now I help nurses struggling or wanting to prevent the struggle using the same strategies and tools I used to create a happier, healthier life.

Get your free 5 minute visualization to decrease your stress, increase your peace, and sleep better tonight….naturally!

Yes, I want it!