"You've never said you liked nursing." A vent.

[dudette10]

Had a really tough shift the other day, and I brought it home. My husband asked me what was wrong, and I just rambled for 15 minutes. When I was done, he said to me, "You've never said you liked nursing."

He's right. I've never said that. Ever. I didn't even realize that I've never said it.

I've been on these boards since I was in nursing school. I read the descriptions of experiences by so many other posters, I talked to nurses in my family, and you never really get a good perspective on it. You think, "Maybe it's the facility; maybe it's the manager; maybe it's the unit."

I float now. Same ****; different place. Acute care floors are all the same.

Oh, yes. There are days where I feel like I truly cared for my patients and watched out for them. But those days are maybe one day a week, if I'm lucky. The rest of the time? I'm frustrated with so many things that end up sucking my time from taking care of patients. Vitals machines not working, glucometers not being docked in a timely fashion, meds missing that need to be tubed, orders put in by residents that need to be corrected or parameters entered, no one able to help on a complex sacral dressing change for a 400 pound patient because who has 30 minutes of spare time.

It's so difficult to find your niche in this profession without job hopping like crazy. I see posts by people who were miserable in one area, but found a job they love, and I'm happy for them. And jealous. There is one specialty unit I float to that I actually like, though. Hrmmm...

I have time off coming up in January, and I need it. I missed three weeks of work due to a medical condition that wasn't fun, but other than that, I haven't missed a single stinkin' day of work in the past 18 months, and I've not taken any PTO. Time to destress and consider my options.

This whole post is a ramble, but I just needed to get it off my chest. There's a lot more I want to say, but, quite frankly, I can imagine the posts I would read in response, and I'm just not putting it all out there. Anyway, thanks for reading!

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Thanks for the support guys. I felt better after my mini-rant. My husband is supportive, but he can only understand so much. You guys understand everything.

To the nursing student upstream: I understand where you are coming from when you have spent much time on the other side of the rail or have a loved one who is. I can honestly say that while I don't love my JOB, I do like my patients. Those who *seem* to you that they don't like their jobs are being pulled in 20 different directions at once! It's stressful to work under those conditions.

On one crazy shift, I had one stable patient, getting ready to go to rehab in a day or so, who had the last of his many antibiotics to be hung, the last of his TPN going, and continued post-op pain meds. He called my phone to tell me it was time for his pain meds, and I went to his room. He has been hospitalized a lot, was one of the nicest patients ever, and he apologized about calling my phone because he knows "it rings off the hook when you're in here and all the nurses are so busy." I turned to him and said, "You're the reason we are here. Don't apologize."

So, yes, you can hate your job but like and respect the people you are there to do the job for. That's the reason many of us went into nursing and that is WHY we don't like our jobs...because we can't be the nurses we want to be under these conditions! I am going to say something that I promised myself I would never say on this board, but it is a promise now broken in this sentence: You'll understand when you become a working nurse.

[RN In FL]

I have been Nursing for 29 years. I feel the key is being organized. Today with these nursing programs, and how they teach the students, its like they are running around all over the place or something. The students these days are just taught differently. I am old school RN. I don't know. I just don't see what the problem is when you document once a shift at many facilities, and its all check marks, using a computer..I mean. Scanning an arm bracelet. Its not like back in the day when you had to hand chart every 2-4 hrs, chart prn's, hand copy MAR's....etc etc...I just don't get it

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

I have been Nursing for 29 years. I feel the key is being organized. Today with these nursing programs, and how they teach the students, its like they are running around all over the place or something. The students these days are just taught differently. I am old school RN. I don't know. I just don't see what the problem is when you document once a shift at many facilities, and its all check marks, using a computer..I mean. Scanning an arm bracelet. Its not like back in the day when you had to hand chart every 2-4 hrs, chart prn's, hand copy MAR's....etc etc...I just don't get it

Maybe things have changed in the 8 years since you worked at the bedside.

[Marshall1]

I had an opportunity to return to the hospital setting after being away for over a year..instead I have opted for a part time HH job. If I could find a PRN position in a hospital I might consider it - but FT? No. For a variety of reasons, not just how much nursing has changed or 12 hr shifts, I would like to move in a direction outside of nursing but frankly, I personally cannot find any jobs that with having a degree in nursing only will even consider me. I will be completing my M.S. in 2013 (not MSN) and will go from there. I'm fortunate I get benefits through my spouse so I have some flexibility there.

As far as liking nursing..I use to..but never saw it as my "calling" - and now, I see it as a means to a paycheck. Sad but true.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I understand that nursing is not cut out for everyone. Having spent a great deal of time in hospitals with my husband over the last few years, nurses are fooling themselves of they think that patients can not tell that they are there just for the money or if they hate their job. We have had many nurses at hospitals that obviously were not there for the patients. Yes, they at times still did what was required but it was obvious that the hospital was not where they wanted to be. We have fired MANY home health nurses. It is bad enough to put up with someone who doesn't want to be there in the hospital but I will not put up with it in my own home. I will say that the those nurses are the ones that inspired me to go to nursing school. Patients deserve to have a nurse that wants to be there. My best suggestion for anyone if they do not like their job.... Make the best of it. Not everyone has the dream job but we can all make a plan to get where we want to be. That may mean a career change, getting more education or just a different location. The choice is yours. Choice is the important word here. It is your choice to stay in the healthcare industry, so try to look for the good (no matter how small). Finding things to be thankful for makes all the difference in a person's ability to be content with where they are in life.And before I hear about it.... Yes, I am a nursing student. BUT I have a tremendous amount of first-hand experience of the negative impact that healthcare workers that hate their job has on the patients.

I am as good a nurse as any that got a calling or other nonsence. I do my job with a smile! drinks and cheers for the visitors. hell, i will even fluff their pillows and have! my manager has gotten cards thanking me and stating how glad pt / visitor was that i was the nurse. i picked nursing for the job security , pay and ease of finding a job(was very difficult year i graduated in).

[RN In FL]

HA!....all that i typed was not from 8 yrs ago....that was from like 20 yrs ago...LOLOL:D I was just saying, seems like comparing "back then" to now, seems like it would be different. Well I guess for me it would be, considering what I had to do "back then". Besides working days, and passing 2 meals, baths, my own iv's, 5-6 patients, NO CNA, and outta there in 8hrs. didn't have 12 shifts then. and got ragged at for OT. hehe. I know its a new culture. started nursing at 22, now 49 Don't fuss at me to bad....lol

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

You're not alone. I've been a nurse for 2.5 years, and I need a break. The system gets to me for the same reasons you mentioned. Next year, I'm taking 2 months off to travel, relax, and re-evaluate my goals. I cannot wait! Eventually, you will find your niche, but sadly, I think the present conditions found in nursing are here to stay. We all need to adapt and figure out how to do that. Easier said than done.

[Testa Rosa, RN]

Pts are more acute/less stable now. The care level at Med Surg bedside is comparable to ICU level care 10 years ago. LTC gets the sort of pts that would have been in a Med/Surg unit 10 years ago. The amount of paperwork and charting is greater--even with check boxes. And while the RN is being asked to deal with more, Bedside is getting squeezed dry with less support staff. Yet the buck stops with the nurse who must spend time tracking down meds, linens, N95 masks and cleaning floors on top of dealing with unstable pts. I too never imagined working so hard in such a harsh/hostile environment while doing such important work. There are times I can't even find a place to sit for hours. I am a second career nurse and am shocked at how nurses are treated. I feel the original posters frustration and send her big hugs.

Nursing is rapidly changing at the bedside, especially when management--with a poor or indifferent understanding of what sort of support level is needed at bedside--is making decisions that impact time and care. I had a manager that insisted all dynamaps get put away in a closet at the far end of the hall after use. It didn't bother her that half the dynamaps were missing parts or were not working, let alone the time it took to to and fro to gather equipment, she just wanted to have a clean image on the floor.

[RN In FL]

Pts are more acute/less stable now. The care level at Med Surg bedside is comparable to ICU level care 10 years ago. LTC gets the sort of pts that would have been in a Med/Surg unit 10 years ago. The amount of paperwork and charting is greater--even with check boxes. And while the RN is being asked to deal with more, Bedside is getting squeezed dry with less support staff. Yet the buck stops with the nurse who must spend time tracking down meds, linens, N95 masks and cleaning floors on top of dealing with unstable pts. I too never imagined working so hard in such a harsh/hostile environment while doing such important work. There are times I can't even find a place to sit for hours. I am a second career nurse and am shocked at how nurses are treated. I feel the original posters frustration and send her big hugs.

Nursing is rapidly changing at the bedside, especially when management--with a poor or indifferent understanding of what sort of support level is needed at bedside--is making decisions that impact time and care. I had a manager that insisted all dynamaps get put away in a closet at the far end of the hall after use. It didn't bother her that half the dynamaps were missing parts or were not working, let alone the time it took to to and fro to gather equipment, she just wanted to have a clean image on the floor.

Wow Rosa,

Thanks for putting it into perspective for me. Well I have been in a managed care setting for the past 10 yrs and tired of that, and looking to transition back to the acute care setting. Have taken a refresher course on a medical floor, and am up for the challenge. I feel refreshed to get back "out there". If somebody will hire me. Wish me luck

[mdsnurse12]

Back in school (only two years ago), my professors told us if we were only in it for the money and job security, then we might as quit right there.... I didn't lie to them, I DID go to nursing school for that very reason, and I wasn't going to let them intimidate me! My husband works in the oilfield... always has since high school and always will.... sure, he has a great job bringing in a nice salary NOW, but who's to say that he'll have a job next year? Boom! No income, no insurance, nothing! THAT'S why I went to nursing school. Now, I have to say, nursing has grown on me, I'm proud to be a nurse, but I am disappointed that most of my time is taken up charting, filling out paper assessments, answering telephones, negotiating with family members, talking to medicaid case workers, blahblahblah, etc. instead of actually caring for patients. I'm new to this, I've been hoping that I'll find my niche, find a job that I REALLY love, but hasn't happened yet. I did decide to continue my education and am in Excelsior's bridging program. I haven't given up yet....

[PeepnBiscuitsRN]

I think nursing has gone from the image of a lady in a starched white dress and cap, nursing someone back to health to a competitive, cutthroat industry much like med school. 30 or 40 years ago I can't really imagine a bunch of young girls (forgive the gender bias, but this is a composite of many actual images I witnessed) sobbing, broken hearted because they didn't get in to the nursing program, or the new-grad versus new-grad "I'm going to claw my way to the top for 12 months, and then become a nurse practioner or P.A." trend that's so popular these days. It's all about "profession" now and if you add to it the fact that a whole bunch of non-nursing, non medical field higher ups have their fingers all over this and are making us their puppets, making us read their scripts- I mean really- scripts? When did nursing become a scripted job? Of course many times I do feel like I'm acting. *big fake smile*

[RN In FL]

I think nursing has gone from the image of a lady in a starched white dress and cap, nursing someone back to health to a competitive, cutthroat industry much like med school. 30 or 40 years ago I can't really imagine a bunch of young girls (forgive the gender bias, but this is a composite of many actual images I witnessed) sobbing, broken hearted because they didn't get in to the nursing program, or the new-grad versus new-grad "I'm going to claw my way to the top for 12 months, and then become a nurse practioner or P.A." trend that's so popular these days. It's all about "profession" now and if you add to it the fact that a whole bunch of non-nursing, non medical field higher ups have their fingers all over this and are making us their puppets, making us read their scripts- I mean really- scripts? When did nursing become a scripted job? Of course many times I do feel like I'm acting. *big fake smile*

You have hit the nail on the head!!! Thats exactly what nursing has become, a cut throat industry. I could never put it on paper, so to speak. People are so worried about GPA's, and top notch programs, and grad school and the likes, and have not even been accepted into nursing programs. Thats why when many get in, and finally grad, and land a job, they have no job satisfaction. Yes you have to start from the bottom, getting in, finishing, GETTING HIRED, etc. You out there are so intent on getting into ICU and havent even made it thru adults 1. I understand its a goal. But anyhoo, just my 2 cents.