To want to leave nursing?!

[BubblesPip]

I hate the profession; the terrible hours, the poor pay, the ridiculous amount of paperwork, the backstabbing nature, the lack of empathy and mostly the fact that I don’t actually get to care for my patients.

But what else can I do

[zebedebe]

Could you look into opportunities outside he NHS eg to be a private nurse / carer for an individual?

[WorraLiberty]

I think we'll need more info.

What are you good at? Do you have any transferable skills/other qualifications etc?

[CountryGirl1985]

No, you're absolutely not. I say that as one who is currently retraining elsewhere. We have LOTS of transferable skills, I think the question of what career alternative really depends on what interests you. Jobs with nursing but not actually patient facing include lecturing, medical/pharmaceutical sales, occupational health advice. I have a friend who retrained as a counsellor/NLP practitioner. I have other friends who went into teaching (when asked is that not just as stressful was told with genuine smiles that yes it is but nobody dies if your lesson plan looks less than 100%!). I have also a couple of colleagues who joined police, or there's authoring a book. The world is your oyster don't be afraid to do what makes you happy, sadly nursing is not the profession it was when we joined and I worry for the future.

[Incitatus]

I hear you. It’s a ridiculous situation when you have to actively fight the system in order to be able to actually care for patients/clients

I’m currently nursing people who are out of pain relief and the set up is too complicated to fix them up with more. They might get some eventually. The worry is killing me. I can’t wait to give it all up

Get advanced directives everyone. There is no care anymore.

[LegallyBrunet]

My OH has been a qualified nurse for less than a year. He loved it when he started, he's now looking into leaving. His ward has been privatised, he's lost his morning break, he never finishes on time, he's underpaid, the ward's understaffed, most of his time is spent on the computer as the notes are now computerised only, he's always exhausted, rarely has time to eat, drink or use the toilet, we rarely get to see each other as I'm back at uni full time and they're now looking into charging him for the privilege of parking outside his own work place. I wouldn't blame anyone for leaving.

[Felinewonderful]

Yanbu. I feel the same and posted on a similar thread earlier. I am a mental health nurse and have been for 14 years. I used to love it but hate it now and this makes me sad. I hardly spend any time with patients and spend most of my day on the computer or in meetings. It's so stressful but without the reward. I don't feel like I'm helping anyone anymore, it's such a blame culture too. I'm seriously applying for support style jobs and teaching assistant posts which means a big pay drop which I could really do without but I need to get out. I only do part time and the hours are great but I really struggle with the stress and feel sick at the thought of going to work every week.

[Monoblock67]

I think that there’s lots of different things you can do with a nursing degree that doesn’t mean nursing on the wards, have you looked into community nursing, or extra training to be a health visitor? Or becoming a medical rep or something similar? I know these roles/training can vary within in the UK but there’s lots of different avenues to go down.

[Incitatus]

Most of us didn’t train to be a rep though. We just want to care for people. We don’t want what nursing has become.

[Felinewonderful]

You are right Incitatus, I would hate to be a rep as it's so far removed from what I set out to do. I also can't drive so health visiting, community nursing etc is not possible. I know people who have become disability assessors but feel that this is too controversial.

[Pacific]

Where are you Bubbles? I recruit nurses for an organisation. It still needs a nursing qualification/expertise but is outwith the normal 'nurse' type job. PM me.

[Beerwench]

Let me start by saying I'm not a nurse, though I have close relatives that are/were and in allied professions.
The fact that you're even on here saying what you are, along with other nurses or retired nurses, tells me you're one of the ones actually trying to make a difference and want to care and nurse. My family have more or less come to the same conclusions one by one - the policy makers promise patients excellent care, then refuse to give those providing the actual care the means to deliver - and then blame them.
I'd like to beg you not to give up, because myself or a loved one will inevitability be in hospital at some point and I'd like to think that the nurse looking after me or them was like you. The sad reality is that the 'good' nurses can't take it, because their job is impossible, and I fully appreciate that.
A couple of my family members went into drug rep work from nursing, pays better with less stress for them.
Good luck OP and thank you for what you do.

[Skyatdawnyawn]

What are you shift hours op?

[Orangesox]

YANBU I totally lost my shit working in the NHS. Left for Occupational Health in the private sector and never looked back.

Don't get me wrong, it's still stressful and there are still days that I get in the car and scream my head off in frustration at the silly decisions made in privately owned businesses.

BUT I still have my registration, I earn far more than most of those who I qualified with, I work from home two days a week, don't work unsocial hours or bank holidays as a general rule (sometimes do management cover as part of the wider health and safety team but it's on-call).

How long have you been in nursing? If you've been qualified a whole you might have to take a lower band post to retrain in another area, but in the long run it's worth it to maintain your registration and earning potential in most circumstances. I have friends in travel health who've found a good work life balance with delivering vaccine clinics based in Pharmacies and remote clinics. Likewise medical rep/specialists, health visiting, school nursing etc.

[Monoblock67]

I agree, I wouldnt want to be a rep either-just pointing out that it’s an avenue nurse training can take you down if you choose to.

[Monoblock67]

Today for example, I learned that my city has an asylum health bridging team who meet asylum seekers when they first arrive and do health checks/screening and generally provide healthcare and support. Still nursing but a totally different side.

[Sooooooooooooooooooooo]

Would you consider moving off the wards into research or quality? Or what about teaching or practice development?

[willyougotobed]

Train into occupational health?

[TroelsLovesSquinkies]

I left the NHS same complaints.
Now I do days only private Dementia care, love it. so far not there quite a year yet.

[dowsabel]

I’ve been a nurse for over 20 years. I nearly quit a few months ago but changed my job instead (still in the nhs). I am actively looking at what I can do to leave as I’m dealing with the same shit in a different hospital! I’ve worked community and hospital, for a CCG and in conjunction with the local authority. I was a drug rep once - totally miserable job full of misogyny, back stabbing and unrealistic targets. If I could find something that would use my very specialist skills but get me out of the nhs I would consider it but I think im too niche now!

[Babyroobs]

I don't think the pay is that poor especially when you add in enhancements. I mean it's not great but better than a lot of jobs ! This time last year I was completely fed up with Nursing, and started looking for other things. I have ended up doing an advisory role job but the pay is poor. and I couldn't give up the Nursing completely and ended up dropping to 15 hours nursing a week. It has been a bit of a nightmare year trying to juggle two jobs although my NHS employers have been very good about fitting around the other job. The two jobs do compliment each other. I'm hoping to move into more of a social work type job in the future but who know's. Funnily enough after having a bit of a break from full time Nursing, I have found I have had a bit of a renewed enthusiasm for nursing.

[CoconutGal]

I’m not a nurse but a carer & I left to retrain as a hairdresser. Now I’m newly qualified & waiting for my insurance to be set up to do it freelance, I’m mixing the two. I do family & friends hairdressing for now & care work on the side with a view to be hairdressing in care homes then expanding outwards to freelance completely. It was a tough choice since care work is all I’d ever known, but I wasn’t getting further & if anything I was becoming more depressed.

[BubblesPip]

It’s such a shame that so many of us nurses feel the same

I left the nhs a while ago and now work in the private sector, only working 3 nights a fortnight and even that fills me with dread and ridiculous anxiety. The pressure and the blame culture is what gets me most. I am constantly on edge; triple and quadruple checking absolutely everything I do.

I am also saddened by the amount of people in the healthcare sector who seemingly do not ‘care’. It seems to be a rarity to come across someone who would go out of their way for a patient.

I don’t know if I want to go into another area of nursing, I’d rather just leave it behind entirely I never imagined I’d feel this way as all I ever wanted to do was be a nurse.

[Babyroobs]

Bubbles - yes it is very sad. My workplace is not strictly NHS ( mainly charity funded) and our staffing is very good compared to the NHS, but still very stressful. I'm fortunate at the moment that I can afford to only work 15 hours doing nursing and do another job alongside it.

[Felinewonderful]

BubblesPip, nice to meet a fellow part timer that also feels the stress. I work 15 hours per week and people laugh when I say it's too stressful. It's not the hours, it's what we are expected to do while we are at work. In fact, it's harder sometimes being away from work for a few days as you are always playing catch up. I also triple and quadruple check everything as the blame culture is so awful.
Babyroobs, that's good that a break has helped. I am thinking of getting a support work part time job and just doing the minimum number of nursing hours (12.5) per month to keep my registration and top up my wage. But even that fills me with dread.