Why do loads of people drop out of nursing?

Care homes, private hospitals?

Why didn't she just go private or change wards or go into the community?

Recently, my mum ended her career as a nurse after 30 years of working in the profession. The reason for that was that she didn't feel that she was able to provide the care the patients deserved, and that she'd learned to provide when she trained (way before you had to go to university!)

It possibly isn't the same at all hospitals, but where she worked they were so stretched they barely had enough time for the patients, so certainly didn't have the time to chat to them and make them feel at ease. She worked on a post-op ward, but they would regularly get moved, to wards with specialisms that they just weren't up to date with - my mum was even asked to take charge of those wards on several occasions, as she'd been a sister in her previous job.

Also there was too much emphasis on paperwork and appraisals and my mum felt that the very essence of nursing - the care - had been pushed aside.

So that's why she left - and if student nurses have a lovely idea in their heads of how they're going to bond with patients and make their experience as positive as possible they may be shocked at how stressful the role can be, and how little time they may have with their patients to provide the care they'd hoped to.

EDIT: Also there's the issue with pay and hours of course. She's in a 9-5 job now and enjoys having Christmases off, which she literally hadn't had for the whole of her adult life! She never complained about it, and always said it was a privilege to share Christmas with those unable to be at home with their families, but even so, she enjoys the time off now.

I left nursing last year after being qualified for 3 years for a variety of reasons, but essentially for me there was very limited scope for progression in my specialism and I was becoming bored and complacent. I was made redundant which solidified my decision that it was the time to leave nursing entirely. I needed more of a challenge but there was no open role for me to go to without relocating which I didn't want to do. I didn't really want to go back to shift work as it was having an impact on my mental health and general wellbeing which really limited my options.

The degree was really hard and I think by the time I qualified I was quite beaten down. It isn't for everyone and there's no shame in going in with good intentions and finding out it isn't for you. It (generally) is better to leave a profession/degree that is making you miserable than to sit it out and suffer.

It can also be pretty hard to get back into the NHS after a stint in care homes or private hospitals so for a lot of ward-based staff it's not an appealing option.

I am first year student nurse(childrens) and i feel the exact same way. I just have no umph and passion to be a childrens nurse anymore and it doesnt help with the pandemic. I just feel unmotivated. I don't like the whole structure of things and the 12 hour shift patterns. The waking up early and having to do shift on weekends(even when i qualify) I was thinking of going into the community post qualifying like being a school nurse. I know i am just at the beginning and no where near qualifying but the though of carrying on and paying £9000 for something i don't feel motivated for does not make sense. I was one of the student nurses whose expectations did not match reality. I am about to enter second year but feeling depressed about it. I don't mean to be negative and throw people off but since i came across this thread, i need some advice.

Why is that out of interest? I thought they always needed nurses. Is it some sort of weird, sick punishment for leaving?

It's a bit of a strange one really but essentially the NHS tend to prefer people who are used to their processes and procedures and are quite wary of bringing in nurses who have worked elsewhere. Generally speaking, most non-NHS nursing is secondary care, so someone who has worked for 2 years in a care home or elective surgical ward at a private hospital, for example, is going to find it hard to move back into an acute NHS role. It isn't impossible by any means but as you can imagine, it's hard as an employee to justify that you are ready to jump in at the deep end in a hospital role when you've been used to a completely different environment.

Care homes, private hospitals?

if you find the hospital ward environment stressful and overloadinga Nursing home really is not the the environment to move to
what makes you think that private hospitals qare any less stressful than areas inan NHS hospital which do elective work mainly , plus of course the absence of the support systems that even the most modest NHS hospitals have

Because of funding private hospitals would have more money and a lower patient :nurse ratio meaning the nurse could spend more time with the nurse. A caring home is less stressful than a medical ward.

your crash team is that one doctor and 999

It is possible to go straight into the community after qualifying, but obviously the posts are limited and it may mean relocating which is not ideal for most. School nursing is generally something that requires a few years experience. The other thing to bear in mind is that lots of the roles that were once Monday-Friday 9-5 are now covering weekends and evenings, and in some cases nights too due to demand on the services. This is unfortunately the direction most nursing roles are going into.

Do you have a placement mentor or tutor that you could chat to about how you're feeling? I guess the thing to consider is whether you feel you've given it your best shot - the last thing you want is to leave the course and then regret it and need to start over. If you are seriously considering leaving then it's best to have something else to go to - have you thought about what else you could do? Careers advisors at the uni would be a good resource too.



It's a bit of a strange one really but essentially the NHS tend to prefer people who are used to their processes and procedures and are quite wary of bringing in nurses who have worked elsewhere. Generally speaking, most non-NHS nursing is secondary care, so someone who has worked for 2 years in a care home or elective surgical ward at a private hospital, for example, is going to find it hard to move back into an acute NHS role. It isn't impossible by any means but as you can imagine, it's hard as an employee to justify that you are ready to jump in at the deep end in a hospital role when you've been used to a completely different environment.

I left nursing last year after being qualified for 3 years for a variety of reasons, but essentially for me there was very limited scope for progression in my specialism and I was becoming bored and complacent. I was made redundant which solidified my decision that it was the time to leave nursing entirely. I needed more of a challenge but there was no open role for me to go to without relocating which I didn't want to do. I didn't really want to go back to shift work as it was having an impact on my mental health and general wellbeing which really limited my options.

The degree was really hard and I think by the time I qualified I was quite beaten down. It isn't for everyone and there's no shame in going in with good intentions and finding out it isn't for you. It (generally) is better to leave a profession/degree that is making you miserable than to sit it out and suffer.

If you don't mind me asking were you a general nurse or a peads nurse? and what specialism did you do?

Job security is much better in the NHS too, it’s pretty difficult to get fired unless you do something catastrophic.

My mind, thinking of all the catastrophic things I could do:

Edit: assuming you dont absolutely screw your interview, is it relatively easy to get a job in the NHS in the first place would you say?

Nursing vacancies are really high right now, so it shouldn’t be challenging finding a post on qualifying. It may not be the dream job you want though (that may take a bit of time).

Thanks for the info. Tbh, I dont really have a "dream" job at the moment anyway I'm not sure exactly what areas I'd like to work in yet or anything Hopefully one day I figure that out