Time to Go

Charge nurse comes to me several times yesterday and says, "Joe Bob, please don't go" (in response to the fact I had the gall to go out and find another job). Suddenly, they pretend to play nice. They say, I could just work 8 hours, would that be less stressful?

Later that day, as we are leaving at 12.75 hours on the shift, and I'm reflecting on the documentation I skipped from 7 hours ago (finally taking care of it would have cost another hour of overtime). Frankly, I'm just too damn tired to do it, and we both want to go home; I say to myself, "Quitting is healthy".

Another nurse said, "Joe Bob, you have options because of your ICU background". Well frankly, I have options, because I made a point of keeping myself current, and educated for 30 years in my field of expertise.

9 Recoveries, 5 Discharges, 3 invasive catheter removals amounting to 1.5 hours of at the bedside time, providing meals and water and fluffing, plus all day educational teaching, plus my own and others necessary break-time, and all of the side consulting like helping other nurses and doctors, and jam all of that into 12 hours.................and try to fit in the necessary legal and prudent documentation?

The other two nurses I worked with had the same experience. We're all burned out, but I'm leaving.

Because, it's time to go.