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I AM RETIRED!!!!

Nikomania

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After working 39 years, 2 months as a Labor & Delivery RN/Charge nurse at the SAME facility, I am now officially retired!
It wasn't my plan to retire quite yet, but the massive budget cuts, restructuring, doubling up nurse to patient ratios, taking 80% of our benefits away, and the recent implementation of an electronic charting system that removes us even more from our direct patient care weighed strongly on my quick decision to leave.

No one knew it was my last day, either, except for my manager. I was able to witness my last delivery from beginning to end with an amazing couple, capping a beautiful end to my career. I did let them in that they were my last birth, which made our experience together even more special.

While I am excited to now be retired, it's a frightening feeling knowing that my finances will never be the same. But I know things will work out fine. I still have 2 kids living with us, and nudging them to become financially independent will be my greatest challenge. I will miss taking care of patients, but will not miss living through the evolution of healthcare from patient focused towards that of a business model. Leaves me feeling very sad.

Now I'll have even more days to enjoy my flock and dogs! Have a quick vacation planned for the end of this month, too.

I still have my gift basket business, so I'll be sinking more of my time into marketing and growing it.
 

Hjarta5

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:drinks42: Congratulations on your new beginnings!
 

SandraK

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Congrats on the retirement. You've retired for a similar reason to my early retirement. Work was becoming too impersonal and it was no longer enjoyable. Is your gift basket business local or interstate?
 

Nikomania

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Congrats on the retirement. You've retired for a similar reason to my early retirement. Work was becoming too impersonal and it was no longer enjoyable. Is your gift basket business local or interstate?
Were you also in healthcare?
I do lots of shipping, but most of my gift basket business is done locally. Been in business since 1998!
 

webchirp

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Congrats!
 

TikiMyn

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:congrats5::hug8:
 

finchly

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Congratulations! We will probably both just work until we die. I don't know how to have even just ONE job, and hubby already retired from one career and now has a full time completely different second career. He is 72 and says he won't retire.

I envy you!
 

Teckechick

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Congrats!!! I hope you enjoy retirement and find lots of new things that are fun to take up the extra time!!! :congrats5:
 

SandraK

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Were you also in healthcare?
I do lots of shipping, but most of my gift basket business is done locally. Been in business since 1998!
Not in healthcare but a park district, local. We went from being helpful and hands on to by-the-book, forms for everything and a weekly write up of one's own job performance for the week. The district went from the "we work as a team" to every department for itself. It also came down to not being allowed to consult/ask someone from a different department for help or instruction on how to do something even if you were never trained on how to do that one thing.

In the year before I left (2016) the head honchos in their utmost wisdom implemented new software for Payroll, Accounts Payable and Registration (class sign up)/Accounts Receivable. To save a buck the heads of Finance, Recreation and Human Resources all picked their own software which mean that none of our software programs "talked" to each other. Screwed up the books royally because a class refund issued by Registration had to be entered manually by A/P; then it was discovered that since the 2 programs didn't talk to each other each refund showed as a duplicate. One entered by Registration and the second entered manually by A/P.

Talk about redundant - it meant that once A/P (my area) entered & issued a refund we had to give Registration a list so they could MANUALLY track it on their side. I've heard it got worse since 2016 and I'm thankfully not in the middle of the mess.

I'm sorry you left because there's got to be something very special about helping a mom and her OH to bring a new life into this world and helping them along until they leave and go home with their new little one.
 

Lady Jane

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I wish you all the best. I worked as a RN for 35 years and the body just could not take it any more. Financially its been the pits. Hope you do better.
 

WendyN

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Congratulations!
Relax and enjoy your flock.
 

expressmailtome

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Congratulations!
 
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