Should you quit a nurse practitioner job?

Meet Whitney,

A family nurse practitioner working in primary care, wife, and mom of two.

Whitney was burned-out in healthcare. So her family told her to quit a nurse practitioner job.

Like so many of us nurse practitioners, Whitney was overworked in her primary care job. She was sick and tired of being busy all the time at work. She was sick of bringing charts home just to catch up. She was tired of spendings evening and weekends trying beat the backlog of open charts.

She was the only full-time provider at her clinic and saw that majority of the patients. These patients were very complex and many had not been seen by a primary care provider in years.

Sounds familiar, huh?

Struggles as a primary care nurse practitioner

Whitney also struggled with scheduling issues because her front desk staff was not listening to her needs. They would often schedule these new, complex patients back to back. They would also let the patients show up 15 minutes late (lack of boundaries), which made Whitney constantly run behind during the day.

Whitney asked for more admin time to catch up on charting and this was granted. However, the constant running behind and squeezing in patients for acute needs pushed over into this admin time.

Whitney was feeling very frustrated. She was sick and tired of charting at home. Her kids hated that she was overwhelmed and constantly working. Her husband and parents were telling her to quit a nurse practitioner job.

Quit a nurse practitioner job?

But yet Whitney felt torn about leaving her job. She knew that being in a rural area it would be difficult to replace her current position. Her employer had been trying to find help for several months. Whitney knew that if she left this current position, many of her patients would suffer due to lack of quality healthcare.

These are the issues that so many nurse practitioners face. They get used and abused by their employer, they end up sacrificing time with family, time for self-care, time to rest and recharge. So many nurse practitioners are in a tight spot. They are ready to quit a nurse practitioner job.

Whitney and I have discussed her situation during the group coaching calls within the STOP Charting at Home Membership. I strongly encouraged her to stand up for herself. I encouraged her to be open and honest about her employer. I recommend she tell her boss about the work-life imbalance and burnout she was facing.

While the situation is slowly being worked out, Whitney appreciates the fact that she doesn’t have to go through this alone. It is helpful to discuss these challenges with other nurse practitioners who understand the struggles of healthcare.

Need more support as an APRN?

If you are feeling alone in your current work situation, join us in the STOP Charting at Home Membership. We have group coaching calls where we talk about these challenges and how to overcome them. Whitney decided not to quit a nurse practitioner job because she found the understanding and solutions she needed.

Whitney found the support she needed within this community, and so can you!