life unfiltered | why I quit bedside nursing..

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TikTok: mikiraiofficial + k3vmd

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[chavahoffman]

I was an RN for 39 years before retiring. I worked, ICU, PEDS, PSYCH, Hospice Home Care, and Outpatient Surgery where I would get the patients ready for surgery, then recover them, give them DC instructions, and send them home. I also did travel nursing as a psych nurse and carried my hubby around with me. He was a grocery store manager and could be flexible with his job. We did New Orleans, Booth Bay Harbor Maine, Clearwater Florida, Hawaii, and Cedars Sinai in West Hollywood. Traveling was fun! Of all of those specialties, PSYCH and Outpatient Surgery were the most fun and the least stressful for me. I would still be working as a nurse, but I had a stage play produced, so I retired and now I spend my time living in my imagination, writing plays, and watching actors bring my work to life on stage. I am living my dream! Enjoy nursing. You'll never get burned out if you switch up your specialty every few years. - Chava Hoffman :)

[eanne]

3 years as a bedside nurse. I’m so glad you talked about your anxiety about work cause it made me feel like I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Like everyday I wake up for work I get this anxiety that something might go wrong with my shift. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of my sleep and realize that I forgot something or made a mistake. I totally agree that it is stressful and exhausting not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. You verbalizing your anxiety is making me re-think of starting on a different field. So thank you so much.

[StephanieNau]

I started out as an outpatient dialysis nurse right out of nursing school and for some reason I thought wow I am not doing enough, I don’t feel like a “real nurse”. So I switched to bedside for 6 months to get more experience and I was so miserable, not sleeping, not eating and constantly thinking about work. Now I’m back in outpatient dialysis and I found a new type of passion for it and I can’t see myself doing anything else for a while.

[PiaJustynn]

Thank you for talking about pre shift anxiety. This is something that we don't talk often enough about friends and colleagues so it's reassuring to know that we are not the only ones.

[florissamatute]

OR nurse for 2years, then moved to NICU, been there for 6years & loving it. Bedside nursing is difficult but its totally worth it. Everything is difficult to begin with, but it does get better over time & experience. NICU is a completely different unit, & it takes courage to take care of our little 22, 23weekers. Whatever it is, i hope you can find your sweet spot. 💕 Im proud to say im a NICU nurse. I’ll carry that with me forever. 💕

[BollywoodMediaOnline]

7:43 for her talking about quitting her nursing job!

[zomgitsangie]

Icu nurse of 4 years here. I don’t think the job satisfaction, pay, and work/life balance you get from bedside outweighs the physical, mental, and psychological stress. I give it up to those who can stay in beside their whole lives. The first time I worked in a hospital I was like this ain’t it sis

[Erika-wftf]

Can you maybe make a video of different nursing jobs other than bedside? Just graduated nursing school and I def am more interested in outpatient because I know inpatient won’t be good for my mental health.

[brittanyb.]

I’m a new grad and knew during my student clinical rotations that I didn’t want to be bedside. The nurses were overworked (because short staff), and upset that agency nurses were making more and in turn treated us terribly. I immediately told myself that I was skipping it even though everyone warned me not to. I accepted a position in the OB/GYN clinic at the same hospital where I was placed for my clinical rotations and I love it! A lot of patient teaching which I enjoy. It can take a while because my facility is in an area where there’s a big population of immigrants so a lot of translator video calls but the experience of being able to work with a culturally diverse group of patients is a blessing. Quickly realized that I loved women’s health, clinic hours, and holidays + weekends off. I will say that it does make me want to go to L&D at some point but for now, i’m so happy with my decision to skip bedside and go directly to outpatient.

To the new nurses that are not sure if you should do bedside or not: do what’s best for YOU. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to (or shouldn’t) do bedside. Trust yourself. I personally wanted outpatient but in a hospital so if I ever changed my mind, I could apply internally. Nursing has so many opportunities. If you have to try 10 different specialities to figure out where you want to be then so be it! You’ve worked too hard in nursing school to not love what you’re doing!

[cozettemabin]

thank you for having the courage to step away from the bedside. So many of us, including me, are scared to leave bedside even though we know it's wearing us down and stealing our happiness. I love nursing and I love my patients, but nursing is hard and I don't know if it's for me anymore. who knows.

[lauraezovski]

I’m 3 months in to med surg/bedside nursing and absolutely hate it. I think it’s for some people and not for others. I knew in school that I would hate it, but I let people convince me that I needed it to be a good nurse. That was a lie. I’m about to accept a position in the OR that’s days, no weekend, no holidays and rotating call. Can’t wait.

[helenhagen]

I worked in labor and delivery for 2 years as a new graduate. Burn out is real, and hospitals don’t care. I currently work in fertility clinic and it’s a whole other world! Love it so much

[joycechong]

THANK YOU for sharing about your nursing experience. I was nurse for almost 10 years, did adult ICU for 6 years, before I gathered the courage to ask myself is this what I really want for the rest of my life?! Total respect for bedside nurses, but I got real with myself and decided I could not do this until I retire. Long story short, I quit nursing after almost 10 years and became a pharmacist. Now, I love my job because I finally figured out myself and found a profession that was a better match for me. We don't always get it right the first, second, or even third time. Whatever it is, ask yourself the hard questions and be real with yourself.

[vna]

I can completely relate. I was only a nurse for 1 year before I quit and went back to school for computer science. I had severe anxiety, depression, and stress. I was crying all the time and just worrying about going back to my next shift. I was not happy and I could not imagine feeling like that for the next 30 years that I work. I'm graduating next semester and I couldn't be happier! Find what makes you happy, life is short, find a job you at least like bc 1/3 of your life will be spent there. Wishing you the best!

[Ranyag]

I totally agree, I was sooo anxious and indecisive about what I want to do after med school and ONLY during practice I’ve realized that I don’t like to see patients and I don’t like all the stress that comes with it, I get attached to them and think about them all the time and when something bad happens to any of my patients, I become so depressed that actually affects my life and work .... so I’ve decided to match in Radiology and I couldn’t be happier 😭💕

[noonalee]

Not being in the ICU or bedside nursing does not make you a bad nurse. Trust me I’m like you. I need to be not stress. In my case I get very sick so yeah. My cousin is like a butterfly in the ICU it’s crazy, she loves it. I’m planning to do a school nurse, travel nurse, or delivering babies. Love the content!!

[athenadari]

I was a MICU nurse for 3 years right out of nursing school and was so unhappy with that job. It was a level 1 trauma hospital, tons of codes and critical patients. Definitely was not for me although I am still grateful for that experience!! I've been working at an urgent care clinic the last 2 years which I have LOVED and will be graduating with my DNP degree next month to be a family nurse practitioner :) There are soooo many areas of nursing one can go into and paths to take so if you're in nursing school, do not get discouraged!

[Vashti]

I'm a student nurse and I 100% plan on being an outpatient nurse after I graduate.

[malorigalleher]

Thank you so much for this video! I am a new grad about 6 months into working in a Burn and Traum ICU. It was the bada** job a dreamed of…. until I started. I feel very burnt out and stressed constantly, I have talked to people about changing to a different nursing environment (like the OR or out patient), but I always get the same response to “just stick it out till it gets better”. This video is really what I needed to see to validate my feeling of need a change of environment.
Thank you again!

[amandajones]

Girl this is so me! I graduated in May 2018 and went into inpatient OB/Maternity at busy main big-city hospitals. Literally had all the emotions and thoughts that you did. Fast forward to now, I am starting a new job this week as a pediatric digestive disorder clinic nurse in a children’s hospital. Ready for the consistency and work-life balance. I know 5 days a week will be challenging, but my pros and cons list I made says this is the better option for who I am and where I am in life. ☺️