The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
I've been working in the NICU for almost 25 years. My husband got fired from the same unit last March. I still try to cope with my feelings over the issue of him being fired. I still see the manager who "helped" in his firing. I have mixed feelings about it. I was reading online about nurse burnout, and I fit the description well. I am tired. I have issues with my legs...especially if I work 12 hrs. Mentally I am usually very impatient and not as tolerant of people as I used to be. I am scheduled to work only 24 hrs a week. My husband hasn't given us a dime since July. It is hard for me to constantly worry about getting overtime or not. I cannot survive without overtime. My mom is still helping me pay for my daughter's school. I am slowly paying her back. I am having issues with coworkers. I do like a lot of them, but the job itself is becoming so exhausting. Same irritating things to deal with day after day. It isn't easy.
Since my husband still isn't working a year later, I am looking into a different type of nursing. Advice nurse. It's 40 hrs a week being on the phone. Physically I would be less tired, but I would have to be careful about my weight! The commute would be better and I also wouldn't have to pay for parking. I am taking a tour of the facility on Monday. I am afraid if I don't like it, I wouldn't be able to go back to what I am familiar with. I am always so long-suffering and stay with familiar people/jobs, etc even when it may not be the healthiest thing for me.
So, I feel as though my HP is at work again. Yesterday at work I was our unit secretary because we didn't have one and I was extra. I actually loved it! So nice to do something different and I liked answering the phone. It was a nice change for a day. And my tour on Monday is the same day as my dad's birthday. (He died in 2005). Anyhow, I notice things like this....maybe it's a sign that I need a change. Any thoughts??
How you are thinking and feeling about the place you are working now to me does strongly indicate a need for change whatever you and your HP decide that might be. 25 years in NICU is an awful lot of stress and sadness and sick babies.
Yes it is grateful. I've had some very rewarding times, too. Most babies get well and go home. The parents can be exhausting, too. I feel like a social worker as well. Parents can be very difficult and angry sometimes. Most nurses stay in NICU forever! I will see how I feel after the tour on Monday.
NLG Prayers for guidance and courage help me with difficult decisions. It is difficult to change patterns and take a risk , In my mind,it does sounds as if this new position would provide what you might need,
