"I don't want to do bed side nursing"...SAY WHAT!

Nurses General Nursing

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had a couple different nursing students say: "well, i'm going to school so i don't have to do bed side nursing". one even told me she want to work in plastic surg. office, not at the bed side. o.k. , i'm an "old nurse...47 yrs old", but when i went to nursing school in the 80's , we knew we knew we would most likley have to work our way into other areas of nursing after some experience in an acute care facility or some other such place. i hate to sound like i want to eat my young but, a part of me wants to see these new nurses go through the ranks like many of us did. not because i want to see them go through he double thooth picks, but because i feel , taking care of pateints, hands on , learning orginizational skills, pt. asses. , are the best way to learn nursing skills. as a critical care nurse of 27 years, i continue to be amazed at how much i can find out about a pt. during a bath and bed change. we have beds that turn, vents that suction, monitors that alert a critical care team half way across the city, bells, beeps and whistles,,,,what ever happened to good old hands on. i think it is funny that a nursing student thinks if she goes to a plastic surg. office she will only see tummy tucks, face lifts and boob jobs. she's forgetting the big ugly draining wounds , burns, and amputations etc..these office settings see. would love to be a fly on the wall when she takes care of her first pt. with these things and says......"oh my gosh, a plastic surg. takes care of these people too...!" guess i'll go into dermatology.... ha , if you've been around the block you know what awaits her there too. hee heee....but i swear i don't like to eat my young !:lol2: :rotfl: :clown: :lol2: :lol2: :uhoh3:

I'm a tech now, and I LOVE working with the nurses who show their passion for patient care. I agree about the skin care and bathing being an integral part of the nursing assessment, and have seen nurses 'find' something that requires a change in their care plan. There are a few nurses (who are not necessarily new) who hate bedside and don't even see the patient unless I report a 300 blood sugar! Thank God they are few and far between.

Lauralassie......DON'T EAT ME!!

I am entering nursing school in January and already know that I do not want to work bedside in Med/Surg for the long term. My heart belongs to babies and children. I know that I want to work in the Well Baby Nursery or in our local Children's Hospital. So, if I am wrong for that, so be it. I agree that if I have a nurse working on/with me, I sure want them to love what they do. Every area is not for every person.

Specializes in Critical Care, ER.
Hmph. Doctors pay their dues via the hell of med school and internship. Nurses should too. I was a CNA, and I have sworn never to be above anything. I am aware that I'll prolly be too busy to take care of CNA/PCT assigned stuff, but I hope that the humility is enough.

Depending what your area is, you will at least occasionally have to do CNA type stuff because the CNA/tech won't be there. I'd say our unit only has a tech about 50% of the time. And only 3 out of 5 are any good so you only actually get real help less than 50% of the time.

So, call me a "bad nurse," but I don't particularly love "bedside nursing." I despise doing bed baths, I hate changing linens (sorry, I didn't go to college to tuck in sheets), and I'm happy that I work at a place where the NAs do all that. My intent has always been to work as a floor nurse for one year only, in order to gain the experience needed to become an NP. Yes, the NP job appeals to me, but being a floor nurse does not. I don't believe we need to "rise through the ranks" or "pay our dues," so to speak. If I had to, I would never have even considered nursing school. I'm in nursing because of the many *different* opportunities it provides and the whole-person philosophy it employs. For those who argue that NPs should have many years of experience in bedside nursing before pursuing the masters, I would point out that I don't see MDs doing that, and they have a lot more on their plates (and many NP programs now require residencies). Am I a bad nurse because I'm taking advantage of the new and improved nursing profession? Perhaps I should have become another pin-point-focused, jaded MD instead....

i am entering nursing school in january and already know that i do not want to work bedside in med/surg for the long term. my heart belongs to babies and children. i know that i want to work in the well baby nursery or in our local children's hospital. so, if i am wrong for that, so be it. i agree that if i have a nurse working on/with me, i sure want them to love what they do. every area is not for every person.

sounds like "bed side nursing to me!".. sounds like you have a wounderful heart. keep up the good attitude. just curious, what is your definition of bed side nursing. to me it means, just being there for a pt. . it could be mother - baby, hospice, floor nursing, critical care, post anethesia, as well as many other areas. what i see are a couple of nursing students who seem to think it is below them to actually touch a pt. if it involves bathing, cleaning stool , vomit etc... doesn't mean you have to like the smells, the mess but, none the less, you can learn alot about a pt. during these times. for most pt's, it's much more unpleasant for them than us.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
So, call me a "bad nurse," but I don't particularly love "bedside nursing." I despise doing bed baths, I hate changing linens (sorry, I didn't go to college to tuck in sheets), and I'm happy that I work at a place where the NAs do all that. My intent has always been to work as a floor nurse for one year only, in order to gain the experience needed to become an NP. Yes, the NP job appeals to me, but being a floor nurse does not. I don't believe we need to "rise through the ranks" or "pay our dues," so to speak. If I had to, I would never have even considered nursing school. I'm in nursing because of the many *different* opportunities it provides and the whole-person philosophy it employs. For those who argue that NPs should have many years of experience in bedside nursing before pursuing the masters, I would point out that I don't see MDs doing that, and they have a lot more on their plates (and many NP programs now require residencies). Am I a bad nurse because I'm taking advantage of the new and improved nursing profession? Perhaps I should have become another pin-point-focused, jaded MD instead....

All i could think after reading that post, especally after the last line was that a person doesn't have to become an MD to be jaded.

Specializes in critical care transport.
So, call me a "bad nurse," but I don't particularly love "bedside nursing." I despise doing bed baths, I hate changing linens (sorry, I didn't go to college to tuck in sheets), and I'm happy that I work at a place where the NAs do all that. My intent has always been to work as a floor nurse for one year only, in order to gain the experience needed to become an NP. Yes, the NP job appeals to me, but being a floor nurse does not. I don't believe we need to "rise through the ranks" or "pay our dues," so to speak. If I had to, I would never have even considered nursing school. I'm in nursing because of the many *different* opportunities it provides and the whole-person philosophy it employs. For those who argue that NPs should have many years of experience in bedside nursing before pursuing the masters, I would point out that I don't see MDs doing that, and they have a lot more on their plates (and many NP programs now require residencies). Am I a bad nurse because I'm taking advantage of the new and improved nursing profession? Perhaps I should have become another pin-point-focused, jaded MD instead....

It's great that you have a goal. I, too, will advance after time being a floor nurse. However, you may not have intended for this to happen, but the flavor of your post comes across as "my attitude stinks."

Clinical time is more valuable than classroom time and will greatly enhance anyone's competency. I don't think that any nurse should wait until they are 50 to become a NP, but spending some time in the hospital isn't bad. I don't think it's too bad to rise through the ranks a little or pay your dues a little... Right or wrong, people are going to be more respected that have done just that.

Specializes in Emergency Room.

I think nursing has indeed changed over the years. There are many more new opportunities today. Nurses do not need to go through the ritual of adult bedside nursing in order to prove they care for people or can do the job of a nurse. I really do wish, new nurses who wish to work in a hospital were given the opportunity in their first year to work in various units, OR, ER, Med/Surg, Peds, etc. in order to determine their interests before they apply for their first position. I think this would go a long way in alleviating first year burn out.

I can see where you got the idea that "my attitude stinks," because I tend to write out of passion and sometimes frustration. Nevertheless, I can't help but notice that when I share my goals with some nurses who have been in the profession for a long time, I'm often met with pure adversity and negativity; it never fails that someone tells me I need 5-10 years on the floor before going back to school (which I obviously disagree with). I get even worse responses if I tell someone I went into nursing school with exclusive plans to become an NP.

I do understand the value of experience, and that's why I'm working where I am now and didn't go straight into an MSN program like some of my former classmates did. (Afterall, an MSN is a graduate degree, and college students are all but expected to start a graduate program right away.) I'm glad to be working in my unit, and I like my job, but I'm driven to pursue more, and I want to do it while I'm still relatively young. So, I don't see anything wrong with seeing "bedside nursing" as a means to my end. Yes, those skills will benefit me and my patients in the future...I will be the first to agree, and I never discounted that. I completely respect and applaud those who love bedside nursing...I think it's great, and it takes a special person to do it well. We don't all love doing research analysis papers or creating those mile-long, impossible care plans they make us write in school, but we do always take something valuable from them that will aid us in our practice as nurses. Ditto for baths and linens.

Specializes in Developmental Disabilities, LTC.
I don't think it's too bad to rise through the ranks a little or pay your dues a little... Right or wrong, people are going to be more respected that have done just that.

:yeahthat:

My intent has always been to work as a floor nurse for one year only, in order to gain the experience needed to become an NP.

"bedside nursing" as a means to my end.

Yes! Exactly! I'm a believer in experience, but I have never said that anyone has to spend 5 years in med/surg! I think one year of bedside nursing, (just about) anywhere in any hospital is all you need. Use that as a stepping stone toward what you want to do. The point is, you use yoru skills, you deal with pts, you touch, and you see things, you learn things you never could in school, and it just makes yout that much better in whatever else you want to do. I don't care if you work cardiac, peds, med/surg, or someplace else. I just think that experience is invaluable.

Amen fine people.

If I'm ever sick, I would fight to have you care for me.

I don't understand some of the "wonder nurses" that come out of school these days.

macspuds

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