Frustration Poll

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. How often do you feel forced to act against your better judgement at work?

    • 2
      Never Never Never!
    • 18
      Rarely
    • 11
      Pretty often
    • 3
      All the time, it makes me sick!

34 members have participated

Do you ever find nursing to be demoralizing? Ever leave for home feeling shellshocked? A friend commented this morning that nursing should pay "danger pay", just like firemen and police get. Not necessarily for physical safety, but for mental health integrety. I applaud those who are in better jobs or who don't feel this way.:o

flowerchild

381 Posts

Have left for home many times feeling shellshocked. Between the physical risks we take coupled with the mental risks, it doesn't surprise me that we are in a shortage. We should talk about our stress related health problems and symptoms of the stress created by our jobs. I'll start with wondering if bs nurses have PTSD except instead of P we should use O for ongoing since it never stops. We don't get breaks like firemen and police. OK some work the entire shift but not everyday and I know plenty who cook/eat gourmet meals, sleep, watch TV, etc. while they are waiting for calls to come in. Seems to me that is a pretty good way to releive the stress. For nurses it's balls to the walls from 8 to 16 hours at a time.

In my area we call it hazard pay..as what we should get for the risks we take.

My past symptoms while working at the bedside:

Nasea, headaches, diarreah, pain, anxiety, nightmares, high strung behaviors like jitteryness, crying, depression, feelings of unsure of myself (but, not in front of the patient of course!....who'd a thunk it? I have always been the most confident person I know! I'll stop here...I know there are more. Funny thing is since I stopped working at the hospital, I'm 99% better!

How to decrease the stress:

Proper patient acuity assignments that reflect the number of staff actually on the unit taking care of the patients. No mare counting the desk jockey RN (Been one so don't get me wrong here) as a number/caregiver.

Breaks! and plenty of them! With extra nurses to cover our breaks.

Twice a week sessions to talk about what we've been dealing with, kind of a debriefing.

Free food and goodies from management on a very frequent basis.

HAZARD PAY or DANGER PAY, what ever you want to call it.

CNA's and plenty of them too!

Pamplets and brochures for the families that tout our certifications and tell em how great we are and public commercials letting us know how appreciated we are.

Proper and updated equipment. Stuff that works!

Proper suppllies and medications available for our needs.

Ability to make our own decisions about nursing care and how we should do it.

Pay that is equal in proportion to our individule education to what our colleges who are under similar stessors make that have the same level of education.

Pay for certifications and specialties.

Bene's, vacations, secure retirement, etc......

No more pushing and forcing from management.

Yes, I agree that nursing can make on feel demoralized. But only if you let it. Stay in a rotten job with a rotten environment and soon you'll feel rotten too.

adrienurse, LPN

1,275 Posts

To: allnurses

Sorry about how dead-negative this post sounds. Who wants to think about how demoralizing their job is? Just my state of mind when I woke up, I guess.

Cherry Soda

41 Posts

ugh, I feel like crying.

micro, RN

1,173 Posts

Originally posted by adrienurse

To: allnurses

Sorry about how dead-negative this post sounds. Who wants to think about how demoralizing their job is? Just my state of mind when I woke up, I guess.

adrienurse.......

your point and poll is valid.....

nursing is not all glory and rewarding everyday.....

somedays it is all out he..

micro:p

sjoe

2,099 Posts

Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Flowerchild: I'm with you (though I'd suggest you edit that sentence beginning "Pay that is equal to..."), and would add: "LVNs and plenty of them," "real leadership from supervisors/administrators," and "exemplary training for supervisors."

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