1 year into nursing & I’m done. Any new nurses feel the same?

Getting a job as a new grad in AHS job while being an external applicant was nearly impossible. I started in rural, just outside Calgary, because that was my only option. Met amazing people in the same boat, we ranted, cried, and kept checking for new grad positions, only to find mass postings for international nurses. Out of 30 job tabs, maybe two were for Canadian grads. I was losing hope, thinking of leaving the province, until I landed a job 50 minutes from home.

It was a start, but commuting two hours a day while working full-time was brutal. Driving home in the dark after evening shifts, dodging wildlife and storms, was exhausting. I burned out fast and resigned. Scored a casual city position, but my rural manager almost cost me the job with a spiteful reference. Thankfully, the new unit manager took a chance on me, and my practice spoke for itself.

City nursing was better until endless admin tasks piled onto patient care. Too many extra charting is being added to the list of things for nurses to do while you barely even sit on your shift. You’ll have 12 high-needs patients, two nurses, one HCA. Always staying late to chart. Got an interview for a general medicine line, but yesterday, it hit me, why should I continue working like this? I’m done. Overworked, underpaid. Why accept a line? To continue the misery? Good quality patient care doesn’t exist anymore and isn’t valued.

Any new nurses out there feel the same? I will not be returning to bedside nursing nor further my nursing career with AHS. Long term speaking, I am working on leaving nursing all together within a year.