[Praiser]

Stress and physical unhealthiness runs in all areas of nursing.
I am a school nurse and I have been experiencing the worse stress of my career.........and that includes my times as a hospital nurse, long term care and physician office. It happens to the best of us.

[neneRN]

No, I don't think that nursing is particularly unhealthy....I've been doing it for almost six years, and for the first 4 worked an extra 12 hour shift every week. This is in an ER that sees >130,000 pts/yr. Maybe it depends on personality type? I just don't stress over much, but when I get do get stressed, I vent for a few minutes and then I'm over it. Sometimes I eat like crap at work, sometimes I eat healthy...but that's what I do at home too. I get four days off every week. I don't take it home with me. I have two incredible nurse managers. Will I feel differently in 20 years when my body has changed? I'm sure I will...that's why I'm taking the steps now with further education and a new position that has taken me a LITTLE farther away from total bedside care. Its sad to me that so many feel its nursing that is unhealthy...if I'm living an unhealthy lifestyle, then I'M THE ONE making those choices.

[notaclue]

Can be unhealthy

[deehaverrn]

Just wanted to comment that sometimes the working conditions wear you down, and as you get older, your body can't take the abuse it could years earlier. As I mentioned previously, I don't smoke or drink, and before I hurt my back (as my pain management doc says..its a mess back there) I ate and exercised more regularly. Once you get involved with the whole worker's comp. fiasco, it just is hopeless. I have too much seniority to want to leave, plus who wants to hire a nurse who is so physically restricted. Presently, I sleep only 3-4 hours at a time due to the pain. After working only a four hour shift, I can bearly walk and am at an 8.5 on the pain scale. This has been going on for over a year, and it is a direct result of NURSING, and not of an unhealthy lifestyle otherwise. I do think that it makes a HUGE difference if you have good management. Mine sucks! (I hate to use that term but it fits exactly). My nurse manager testified in court that she adjusts my assignments to meet my needs based on discussions with me,,which is so absolutely untrue..she consistently assigns me to an ob "emergency" area, which is very diifficult for me physically and puts added mental stress on me because of how unsafe I feel it is--for myself and the patients. She also testified that when I do need help, all I need to do is ask because someone is always immediately available. NOW do any of you work somewhere where that is true? Also, since she has badmouthed me to my coworkers, some of them give me total attitude and complain about having to pick up the slack. Nursing leadership has largely failed us, and I really blame them for the present poor working conditions that so many nurses share. The real shame is that I like helping my patients and feel that I could do a good job if my workload was truly adjusted to my capabilities.

[Medic2RN]

Other types of work are also both physically and emotionally stressful. In fact, I have read that some of the most dangerous, stressful involve factory, assembly line work. Of course, there are the obvious choices such as fire-fighting, police work, military service, fisherman, etc.

Funny. Prior to nursing, I was a firefighter for 9 years. It was a lot less stressful than being a floor nurse! If I could go back to that, I would in a heartbeat!

[ogerpus]

Though am not a nruse yet...heck I'm not even in nursing school yet...I have an opinion...yeaaaaahhhh. From the outside looking in it appears to be a healthy job. I am leaving law enforcement to go into nursing because I have realized that law enforcement in caustic to my mind and body. I was in a position where I was always trying to figure out how to attack the criminal element. I believe looking for ways to help people will be way more beneficial to my mindset. Looking for the good, rather than always focusing on the bad seems like a good start....

[softstorms]

deehaverrn........Is that you or me you are talking about LOL That sounds like my job. I agree

[laughing weasel]

I spent six years in the military and in those days we didnt get boots or tents or shower there were just 12 barefoot stinkin men runnin up and down mountains carrien 2 ton ruck sacks and we liked it just fine. seriously you have to look out for your own health and move on if the conditions are not right for you. I do agree that nurses set themselves up for failure by buying into the myth that nursing is a calling so greedy union nurses are bad. Everyone will occasionally take advantage of a situation if they can get away with it and buy not organizing nurses allow management to ignore their concerns by saying oh that should not bother a real nurse, back in my day..... This does not mean that there are no bad nurses. I have met some pretty cruddy nurses. but reasonable wages and pt ratios as well as a little respect do not seem like goals which are inimical to pt care.

[Angie O'Plasty, RN]

Yes, I think nursing's unhealthy. Because it's so physically stressful, I have the added worry of injury to the mix. I used to be told that if I was injured, no big deal, they'd put me on light duty. The truth is, if you get injured, there is no such thing as light duty, and you will soon find yourself out of a job.

I don't care how much yoga you do or how healthy you might live when you start out in this job, anyone can get injured doing floor nursing, and we'd be foolish to pretend that this aspect of the career did not exist.

I've seen some excellent, healthy nurses sidelined for years by one injury.

Myself, I have a bad back because ironically, I was such a "good lift" in my younger years. Back then they really did expect you to do it all by yourself and many facilities had no Hoyer lifts or other devices to help protect you. I used to lift my own patients and then go around and help the others with theirs.

Recently, I had a problem with inflamed tendons in my feet. Lasted for months. I cannot describe the agony of walking. Luckily, I was able to get through that period with some good shoes and working only 3 days a week.

For those of you who have no problems, great, but this profession has a lot of potential for injury and your employers really don't care if you don't heal up on schedule.

I think this is one of the reasons I think about moving away from the bedside. If I sprain my ankle or hurt my back doing a desk job, I could probably still work.

For those of you who think it cannot happen to you, or that our problems are caused by our lifestyles, you really do a disservice to those of us who've been there and done that. Please don't add insult to injury by minimizing some very valid concerns and problems that we nurses face as we go about our daily tasks.

Lotsa love right back atcha,
AngieO

[deehaverrn]

Thanks Softstorms, I hope that the part that sounds like your workplace does not include having constant back pain! (it really rots). And being in pain of an 8-9 and having to hurry to get narcotics for someone who "has no pain right now, but I just know I will get bad cramps when I start breastfeeding" sometimes gets to you.
I have applied for every "desk type" job that has come open in my hospital, but so far no good. I'd love to just leave..but I have one kid in college and a soph in high school who will follow, plus all the usual bills. Also, insurance would stop paying all my docs..which is many these days--sometimes 4 doctor visits a month. Plus cost of prescriptions and procedures would bankrupt me completely. So obviously I have to stick it out .