To ask if any of you quit nursing and what you do now?

[Tiptoethr0ughthetulips]

Just that really. Have been a nurse for 13 years, worked in various specialities from ITU to primary care. I can't face another 35 years. If you are an ex nurse what do you do now? How does it compare financially? Did you go back to Uni?

Anyone quit and regret it? Do return to nursing etc?

How about becoming a school nurse I don't mean a coummity nurse I mean a school nurse there are serval jobs in my local la for one its shot pay but you get all the Hoildays and spend the day giving out inhalers

There is a lot more to school nursing than "giving out inhalers" Also, most of the school nurses I know don't get school hols off anymore. Many school nursing services have been taken over by private companies and the terms and conditions are very different to NHS.

I have left clinical practice to go on to be a Nurse Lecturer at a Uni. I too was becoming frustrated and did not know which way to go. What I did know was, I wanted to put my experience and skills which I had honed over the years to good use. I have noticed a personality trait within (many- not all) nurses as having a need to be needed. This can be difficult to fulfill in other careers. Shaping the NHS and ensuring patients (eg my family and I!) get the best care through inspiring and educating future nurses is where I'm at right now. Have a look online, talk to the PEF for your trust on how best to move into academia. I love it

I left mental health nursing because the stress, workload and the relentless cuts to staffing levels and resources were making me miserable. I'm now a School Counselor and I love it. The paper work is minimal, I have a much better work/life balance and I no longer have to deal with the bullying, politics and blame culture that has become so pervasive in the NHS. I earn roughly £3k a year more than I did as a Specialist Nurse but I would happily have taken a pay cut to get out of nursing as I was at breaking point.

Hi TiptoethrOughthetulips 8 years ago my mum died and I had to reassess what I was going to do with my nursing career of 25 years( my son was only 7 at the time) as you know there is very little sympathy or support if your child is unwell or you get a call from school , and the school holidays oh nightmare ! anyhow like you I felt trapped , I couldn't do anything else that would pay so I had to make a decision to be miserable and stressed all the time in nursing or take a pay cut . I left nursing and ended up as a school secretary , which I loved for 8 years . 2016 I decided to scratch the itch that was nursing and do a return to practice ! it was the biggest mistake I could have made . I gave up a good job thinking once s nurse always a nurse , well I may love nursing but the politics and management still sucks . the upshot is I am now looking for work !! wish me luck

Good luck Angela, hope you find something you like again. Carpet that's not actually a bad idea, I presume I'd need to get a teaching qualification ( other than SLIP 😉) the thought of study doesn't worry me. I just feel like if I do this masters I'm tied to my unit for a while out of gratitude.

P.s good friend is a School Nurse and child protection lead, I know it's not handing out inhalers.

Another practice nurse here. I left district nursing after 13 years when they introduced a shift system incompatible with family life. As did many others.
I took a pay cut (now back on par) but have weekends off, set hours, set days and although GP land has its stresses, I count myself fairly lucky that it's manageable. I've been nursing 26 years and if I hadn't left the hospital environment many years ago I wouldnt have lasted in the profession.

I am in a similar situation OP. It's a bit soul destroying isn't it. But I am really scared of trying anything else, nursing is all I've ever done, and I just don't know which direction to go in.

Carpet I love the thought of teaching. Could you give us some tips on how to go about that? What previous experience and training did you have?
I worry they'll think I'm not good enough to teach others

I'm a social worker now and I love it. More pay for less physically demanding work.

I'm a mental health nurse, I've dreamt of leaving the profession so many times over the years. I think most nurses go through it, especially with us all facing revalidation. For what it's worth, I did it last year and it wasn't too bad.

Like alot she of other nurses, all my skills and qualifications are nursing related and not easily transferable. I discovered a renewed enthusiasm for my job when I gave up permanent nights last year. The impact of permanent sleep deprivation and working with agency staff almost always really took it out of me and I'm a lot happier on day shifts.

I have no long term plan, I'd like to get out of a hospital setting but I can't see me leaving nursing. I couldn't take the pay cut and I can't see how I could get similar money.

OP if you get your masters you could probably get a lecturer contract with a probationary statement to 'complete PGCAP/ PGCE' & therefore get it free. Depends on where you live, have a google because across the country there are lots of lecturer jobs going. When you do your masters research do it with an education focus to show you mean business & be the mentor every student wants to have. Obtain evidence of their positive feedback (cards/ smileys selfies of you both on their last day) goes a long way. I had student nurses there at my interview whilst I did my teaching session, their feedback to the interview panel is is really taken seriously into account. Good luck!

Was a legal secretary - trained as a midwife in my 30's and by 50 back being a legal secretary - I love my job, am very good at it and the people I support and the clients appreciate me - I was also a good midwife but the powers that be were nasty witches, no support when busy, snidey comments and cliquey as hell - shifts in LW left my confidence in its boots and I dreaded going to work. I don't regret one bit giving it up although I did love the taking care of women/delivering babies and everything that went with it - the secretary pay is less (not much) but you can't put a price on being happy going to work every day (well 4 days a week) it's a huge part of life 😍

Thanks Carpet, I will definitely look into that. I do keep a record of thanks from patients and students, but I'll definitely make sure I get their testimonies now.

What about ICT / computing?

Have you thought about learning how to train other nurses in the use of clinical IT systems? I have 2 nurses that have joined the IT Training team and it is great as other nurses are better at taking training from people who know what really happens on the ward.

IT clinical safety office who reviews all new IT systems for patient safety before go live?

All clinical system providers need nursing staff to help design the best clinical solutions and sell these to clinical staff.

Management - all hospitals have to demonstrate managers have clinical experience

I've been nursing 30 years this year paediatrics and A&E, I retrained 4 years ago as a health visitor, it's a lovely job and I enjoy my work although I still miss acute nursing.

Can I just say, research nursing is NOT easy. Yes it's seen as "office" hours, unless the patient circumstances demand otherwise, and the clinical nursing aspect is practically zero, except for trial procedures. However, my stress levels are through the roof and have been for the past 2 months trying to set up a new study, its horrendous.

I went into research because I couldn't cope in an A & E environment, but research has its own unique stresses. I'm done with nursing after 3.5 years, I wake up every morning and hate every minute of my day until I leave work, so I'm taking notes from this thread.

I left midwifery due to the constant bitching from colleagues and sheer stress of working nights with a young family, the politics were awful and the bullying was shocking. I retrained as a HV, and love love love it. Yes there are staffing issues, but the same is true of school nurses. I can't imagine doing anything else now.

What about training as a physicians associate?