Can't be a nurse anymore

[Burntout65]

After 11 years, I'm done. I'm completely burnt out, going home in tears. So stressed all the time. I need to change careers.
However, I also have a mortgage and bills to pay. Has anyone changed career from nursing to something else and what do you do now? Thank you

Could change where you are nursing (eg get a job in a care home, gps, as a district nurse)? Alternatively how about doing a course to do aesthetics and become a nurse practitioner?

@Ilovemyfam
my mum was assessed for care homes by nurses. One home only did assessments by home visit face to face. The other assessed by phone so they were still actively nursing as well on the ward. I know someone who left a hospital role to do CHC assessments, didn’t stay long and moved into a Special School role .
Could you work in Occupational Health?

I'm sorry you are going through this OP. Do you need to see your GP to discuss having some time off work if you are burnt out?

People often recommend moving into teaching nursing at a university and perhaps 8-10 years ago this was good advice. Many things have changed in higher education & staff have moved from the NHS to a university to find they are then put on the "at risk of redundancy" list within weeks of starting the job. Staff are now under immense pressure and the workload is often heavier than the NHS (hard to believe, but true). I would avoid at all costs, despite how attractive it might look on paper.

Would you consider different types of nursing, perhaps in the community? E.g., practice nursing, occupational health, hospice, Marie Curie.

The NHS Leadership Academy offer free coaching (look them up online). They are so helpful with helping you to gain clarity around what your transferable skills are & they can then help you with applying for jobs & attending interviews.

Good luck.

I left Nursing round ten years ago as I was burnt out and tearful all the time. I now do benefits advice work and over the past ten years have worked for a few different charities. My last job was with a charity for older people, doing home visits filling out attendance allowance and PIP forms, advising on adult social care etc. In the past I've also worked with cancer patients, so doing benefit calculations, filling in forms, advising on grants, helping people in crisis to access help. It's very rewarding and obviously pay a lot less than nursing although I currently earn around 30k for working from home full time, mostly phone advice.

Could you do the abortion counselling with Maire Stopes? Or work on the 111?
Give yourself some breathing space from face to face whilst you work out your next move?

I was gonna say CHC assessments. Lots of report writing though its high stakes financially for famalies. i had aesthetics work done by an ex intensive care nurse she said she was much much happier.

OP I hear you! I was you three years ago, could not do it anymore. I was about to get a job in M+S! I revalidated and took some time off to travel (could this be an option for you?) When I came back I started doing bank work and have never gone back to contracted work, still remain on bank to this day. It is night and day - I choose my own hours, don’t have to ask for holidays, no politics, no meetings about meetings that achieve nothing. I go in, help the patients and leave. You get to do the role you trained for (actually helping patients without all the other rubbish!) and you go home at the end of the day without feeling mentally and physically drained. I would really recommend it, even for a bit while you decide what to do long term.

No relevant advice to offer, but regardless I wanted to say I am so sorry for how you are feeling.

I truly believe nurses are some of our very best people in society. What they have done at various points for both myself and my children has gone completely above and beyond.

I got quite an eye opener whilst my eldest was in the NICU at how short staffed and how long shifts were, the level of responsibility the nurses carried was huge.

Wishing you the very best of luck with your next move, and hope you find some time to rest and feel less stressed. 💐

I’m so sorry to hear this OP, I don’t have any advice, but as a person who really appreciates the incredible work nurses do in what can be a very hostile environment.. I just want to thank you; for all you’ve done for those in your care over the years xx

I design new businesses that need to be CQC regulated. Basically all the prep and set up before sign off. I enjoy it and the pay equates to a high band 7.

Don't write off nursing completely at first glance. There is much, much more out there.

FWIW I wouldn't touch private traditional nursing though.

Health Visiting ?
Applications for this academic year will be in .
Something to think about for next year ?
Band 6 England
Band 7 Scotland
Good career progression .
Mon-Fri no shifts
Stressful
However working as part of a team .
Plan own workload diary etc .

DH's cousin was a nurse who left the NHS due to the culture of incredibly unsupportive management.

He joined the Prison Service as a nurse there and absolutely loved it. So much so that he eventually retrained as a Prison Officer, and stayed there until he retired!

I was a nurse but it was forever and a day ago. I ended up working in higher education but I didn’t have a mortgage and just became a student for a few years in shared student housing. I do know a nurse who now works as an occupational health officer for a big company, she is young in her early thirties and only changed jobs a couple, of years ago. She had been in A&E.

What about being a healthcare practitioner ( custody nurse ) for the police ? Apparently better and less pressure than the NHS , so I’m told ..

sorry to jump on here, but would you mind saying where you register for the bank shifts? Is it an agency or NHSP?

I’m in a similar position and would like to have a go at bank work, but figuring out how much they pay/the logistics of it all seems difficult!

Private? My brother quit of 30 years of NHS radiographer. Just one idiot too many and he walked out.

NHS is a very hard place to work at now, sorry you're suffering. No job is worth this stress.

Sympathies OP. I left the NHS a few years ago after 17 years of working in it (in various roles). It absolutely broke me. I was only 40 when I left and I also let
my nursing registration lapse as I knew I would never
go back into the profession. It was just soul destroying. It’s crazy how a job you love so much can also absolutely break you both physically and mentally.

OP. I left nursing after fourteen and a half years. I was absolutely on my knees with the stress. I now work in software. It can be done, and I feel for you so much. Good luck x

I was happy as a bank nurse too. Did it for years.

I left NHS at Christmas. I won't return. Ever.

NHS Professionals or your local hospital might have it’s own bank.

When I gave up nursing I did various jobs before settling for podiatry which incidentally you can do in 2 years if you do the msc course. Im single too and paid the mortgage and bills when I was at uni by doing side work in a small nursing home which was much less stressful than the hospital.
I was an air hostess
Worked in a credit card company (ghastly)
Had three different jobs in insurance companies as a specialist nurse claims assessor and medical advisor.

Have a look at clinical research associate jobs. Nurses get snapped up for those

CRAs work long hours and do a lot of travelling. They get paid well.
Suitable for someone without domestic comittments.

So I’m NHS/UK based - I’m not sure otherwise but if you are NHS just look on the intranet and it tells you how to join. You then get access to a page that you can book all your shifts through.

I used to do private agency, it was more money but I didn’t like having to wait so last minute to book shifts! with NHS bank you can book about a month in advance - well in my area anyway!

Nursing degrees and experience valued within pharma companies or CROs for Pharmacovigilance or CRA roles…