What I wish I knew before leaving nursing (again)

The first clue

I should have known nursing wasn’t for me when I was sitting in Anatomy and Physiology my freshman year of college, completely bored and understanding nothing. But I come from a family of proud nurses, so it was my path whether I liked it or not. It may shock you I was an underwhelming nursing student but I still promptly secured my degree and started my first nursing job at 21 in Southern California.

I was immediately burned out on my first job. Again, maybe not surprising, but I met Tall, Dark and Handsome three years into my career in the Emergency Department working night shifts together – so I won’t count it all a loss. Maybe even my biggest blessing.

The miserable middle

5 years into my nursing career, I was still struggling with my identity as a nurse. I was restless and chasing contentment always on another unit, looking for a better fit, when I should have left the industry completely. And subsequently I was forever in what felt like the novice-intermediate phase. I tried seven, SEVEN, different specialties. If I had stayed in one place and learned my sh*t for once, that may have addressed some of the inadequacy feelings that I wore everyday to work. But then there’s the total lack of interest (which might be the thing I couldn’t shake). Ok– 14 years licensed and I’ve finally figured it out! Too bad. I left for the 12th time after my second kid and I’m doing everything I can to stay out of clinical care. God help me.

Leaving my job (again)

Fast forward. Now I’m working from home. With two kids. It’s a dream. Almost.
What I wish I knew each time before leaving nursing is that emotional decisions tend to not turn out as imagined. And worse, if you don’t have a financial plan in place – well good luck to you! Every single time I left my job, I left out of desperation to get away from healthcare, desire to be with my babies (sue me America) and I didn’t intentionally plan my hiatus. Each time it was, I’m just going to start…(photography, property management, content creation, taking from our real estate investments) HA. Start an online business and make money in it right away. When did you figure out I’m a dreamer?

The part no one talks about

Leaving a stable job without understanding your finances creates a different kind of stress. You really take for granted a paycheck every 2 weeks when it’s not steady anymore. Or let’s talk about spending your leftover energy on a side hustle for years before realizing your business partners aren’t actually aligned and the financial plan doesn’t match the daydream. Talk about a wrench in my life by design. The ugly truth has hit me each time I left… after the fact. Guess what, you need to know your financials in and out of your personal life and of your company (current or projections) before you can just quit. Damn it! As a “burn the bridge” kind of gal, I always get got by those entrepreneurs who say to cut your safety net and figure it out. I love the sound of that, but man does it not work well when you have small kids in the picture. So I have been unpleasantly surprised when I found that my lack of preparation landed me in a heap of glorious chaos. Enter all the financial help books: Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, The Road Less Stupid.. Looking back. These books should have been 100% mandatory reading prior to leaving my W2.

What I wish I knew before leaving nursing

If I could tell my younger self – who would 100% not listen– how to plan for life after leaving a W2, I’d say, hey dummy, get comfortable with personal finance and learn your own numbers. What are you comfortable with? Hey sister, maybe do a little deep dive on your business financials and get a grip on your basic reports: Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow reports. It will make everything wildly clear. Hey girl, start building an email list before you crank out a product or service you don’t know if people want. And then, make an educated decision based on facts. Disgusting I know. And completely reasonable. And – you got it.

Leaving nursing wasn’t the mistake. Leaving without a plan was. Nursing gave me stability in my twenties. Learning how to build a life outside of it has been a completely different education.