This is from an RN of 32 years who has left the hospital several times for desk jobs, occupational health and hospice when I have become burned-out and needed to leave for a while to recoup. I have always come back to hospital nursing because I feel the patients really need a competent, experienced nurse who will advocate for them, and because I have always learned so much from working the floors. This time, I left my permanent stressful job on a wound care unit in the hospital for travel nursing. After a 13 week assignment, I can take 2-3 weeks off traveling to the next assignment refreshed and ready to give all again for another 13 weeks. The three big problems in hospital nursing now I think is 1) money. They don't pay nurses enought for what they do for the patients and the stress on the body and mental stress. Why hospitals will pay agency so much rather than give their staff a raise floors me. Right now at the hospital I am at, they have raised the nurse/patient ration, and as a result, have had to bring in Fastaff nurses to totally staff their medical floor as all the night staff has left!!! Why can't they see what that means? 2) No support from charge and managers who are overwhelmed themselves and stuck in the middle. 3) Nurse-patient ratios, and loss of ancillary staff. Primary care of 6-8 patients is maddness. How I wish I could split myself into 8 of me so that each of my patients could get the care they deserve and their insurance pays for!!!
There are many more reasons nurses are leaving hospitals left and right. Hospitals need to look at retention of their seasoned nurses. Experienced nurses must be on the floors to help the newer nurses learn and experience care that will save their patients. Nurses must stop playing petty games, write each other up, gossip and instead help each other out and become a team. Travel nursing has allowed me to stay in the hospital, because I no longer have to be charge, precept and have 8 patients all at the same time anymore. I just have to care for my 8 in my 12 hours the best I can for 13 weeks at one place and then move on to the next experience. I am concerned that if and when I have to be hospitalized, that the care won't be there and no one will advocate for me.