[USER]

We crossed another milestone to 1.7 million this week and I’m considering walking away from my career in healthcare at 40 years old.

I’m ready for a change and I can’t seem to push myself to let it go.. our little family is comfortable.

We have plenty of passive income at this point and I would rather move on with my life in a new direction.

I work part time as a nurse practitioner and although I genuinely love helping my patients, I’m tired of healthcare.

We have no debt, live a simple and frugal lifestyle, and we have two young children who I want to spend every day with…

has anyone here stepped away from a healthcare career and regretted it??

[Meghan]

No, it was the best decision for my family and my mental health to step away. You can always go back, healthcare jobs are always available.

Take a year off and spend it with your family then make a decision on what you would like to do next.

[Jenna]

Couple options…. you could do telehealth from home. You could work for Medicaid per diem as a 1099 and work as much or little as you want.

I have one NP and one RN in my family doing those

[Tina]

I am also a nurse practitioner and if you want to walk away (get out of patient care) but still work there are so many options!

[Kisha]

I stepped away 7 months ago and went into informatics. I train staff on Epic as well as a little QA.

I don’t have as much saved as you but I could not be happier with my decision.

[Immanuel]

My wife stepped away from being a neurosurgical PA and we’re not close to FI. The money was good but she was really disheartened by the healthcare industry.

She transitioned into tech and while the road to a new job was bumpy, she really loves what she does now.

[Lauren]

I stepped away from my community pharmacy job to work in health tech nearly 10 years ago. Best decision ever.

Not the same as leaving all together but I left clinical practice.

Plus, it has accelerated my timeline to FI

[Scott]

How’s does your network break down? Rentals? Stocks?

[Brian]

I didn’t step away from Healthcare career but my wife and I both did step away from our aerospace engineering careers and retired out of country.

I was 48 years old and now it’s 2.5 years later and I do not regret it at all

[Teresa]

I was in the medical field when I made a complete switch and glad I did. I was in my late 30s when I took a few years off then went into Procurement.

[Melissa]

I’ve only ever heard good things about stepping away from healthcare. I wish I’d have invested more wisely at the start of my career so I could do the same

[Andrea]

I am saving this thread and will look back to it repeatedly. I’m an NP working full time with young kids and I really want to go part time but I’m worried they might just let me go.

It’s a good job but full time is too much at this point.

[Christian]

I’m sure you’ve got 529 money tucked away in there somewhere. My oldest kid started college this year and it is a money drain.

[Vic]

I stepped away from being an NP/CNM about 6 years ago, and we had a lot less than you. Decided to travel with our young family for a year, and then settled in Europe.

I still fly back to the US for a per diem RN position 4-5x/year, and that’s much more than enough.

During the last 6 years of travel and semi retirement, our portfolio has grown to your ballpark. No regrets.

I doubt I will ever say that I wish I had worked more and spent less time traveling with my kiddos.

[Kara]

So many career options within industry for NPs if you want to venture on a different path. 1.7 is great, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that amt at that age.

Especially if you have young kids.

Is their 529 fully funded ($200-300k)? Unless hubby has a very high income $400k+.

I’d just pivot to industry or a part-time gig.

[Donna]

Working in healthcare is exhausting and the reward is not there the way it used to be. If you can make a break go for it.

It will probably add years to your life.

[Adrienne]

I feel ya. It’s so hard watching healthcare crumble. The quality is not there any more and the people who care are burning out trying to make up for the lack of care in all the other aspects.

I feel torn. I want to stay in healthcare to continue to provider care to those who need care but also wish I was blissfully ignorant and do something different.

It’s been my identity for almost half of my life. I don’t trust providers nowadays because of the lack of attention to detail and common sense that is now missing due to production pressure.

I don’t want that for my family and friends, so I don’t want that for the family and friends of those I care for either.

I’d love to step away to something less stressful but feel obligated to continue to be a patient advocate because they might not get that any where else.

If you find an answer, let me know.

[Melissa]

I’m a physician assistant. If you are working part time and still are tired then take a sabbatical. Give yourself time to reset.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe as an NP, you can go back as an RN and not deal with the high level decision making if that is what’s burning you out.

I know a NP friend that works as a RN in the ED but a NP in other areas of a hospital.

[Lisa]

I was semi forced to step away during Covid because I had two young children doing virtual school and I was undergoing chemo treatments.

After 21 years as a bedside nurse on an oncology floor, I made the decision to give it up and be full time at home with my kids.

I don’t regret it but I do miss my work friends, adult conversation, and being around adults. My kids are now in middle school and I have to find things to keep me busy.

I have a lot of passive income so finances aren’t the concern, it’s the personal isolation I feel at times. Would I go back to the hospital?

That’s a resounding no.

I’d say be prepared for some boredom because nurses are go people and the sudden halt is jaunting I found.

[Deb]

I do think that healthcare is one of those professions that you can step away from and return to easily, if desired. Keep your NP license up to date.

After your break, you could also pivot to a role where you aren’t responsible for seeing patients/making patient decisions.

Healthcare informatics is one option. Does your facility use EPIC?

[Stacie]

I think healthcare is exceptionally easier to step away from and return back to. Keep us your license. Is there an opportunity to work part time?

I worked 1 day per week when my kids were young.

It kept me on the payroll and it was a nice break from young ones at home.

You will not regret staying home. My kids are in high school now and I work part time.

It’s the perfect balance for us.

The kids are only young once and it does go so fast. Blessings to you!

[Yisira]

I walked away after 20 yrs of working in healthcare. It has been 9 months and it has been amazing. I am working on our business, spending quality time with my youngest and now I am going back to work part time as a research assistant.

The salary is lower compared to what I was making as a lab tech but I get to do something different, I will be able to take my son to the bus stop and be home when he comes back from school.

[Rusty]

Honestly, I’d consider— you can always go back to your career later, your kids won’t still be little later. You have done well with planning so you can do this now.

If you regret it, then go back to work in a few years—- don’t miss this opportunity with your kids.

[Shannon]

You can always go back! I’m a PT, I took approx 1 year off with each of my kids when they were born, no issues getting back into the field.

If you have the desire for something else right now, why not follow that for a bit?

[Michele]

I left and went back (and left) to healthcare. It’s so bad out there. From a financial side though, take a look at if you will have to pull from that 1.7.

If not, great because kids get significantly more expensive. Car insurance, cars, medical, sports, college

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