HATE my job!!!

Nurses General Nursing

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anney1981

39 Posts

Specializes in ICU, Tele, and OR.
I gotta say, it kind of sounds like you actually LOVE your job, maybe even just a little bit. :)

You've included an entire paragraph describing the ways in which your job is rewarding--and all of the instances you describe seem to be pretty particular not just to nursing in general, but to your job specifically--in THAT ED in THAT community. The drudgery of nursing is, well, just what it is and what it always will be. If you are able to help a frail elder with their toileting and make them feel comfortable, safe, and dignified, then you are providing the same high level of excellent care that you are providing when you THINK you are using more skills. Managing pain, assisting with ADLs, these are always going to be fundamental to the care you provide, no matter what environment you're in. Sometimes people will treat you like a rag, and they won't appreciate what you do, and they will expect you to serve them or fix their TVs, and all that annoying stuff. It's unavoidable. Let it roll off you like water off a duck.

Someone mentioned being an NP, and this may be a good option for you. But they said something about not having to worry about the small stuff at that level--which, as an NP, I can say is totally not true. The best clinicians work with the whole picture--no you will not be toileting patients, bringing blankets, washing them up, etc on a regular basis--but you will do it sometimes. And that will help define you as an excellent nurse practitioner if that's the road you choose to take.

I wish you the best. You sound awesome.

:)

OK> Don't get me wrong:uhoh3: I'm not saying as an NP you don't do those things! Just not quite as much. You do more of the things that the initial poster states she loves about her job. YOu never ever get away from doing the small tasks (which BTW are sometimes the "BIG" things to our 90 YO's that haven't pooped in 4 days) in a healthcare setting. Hell, I make my docs help me with the bedpans if they're the closest things I can grab. LOL! :yeah:

TinyHineyRN

77 Posts

Specializes in Peds and PICU.
I mean, I'm a nurse; I'm supposed to enjoy the pillow fluffing nurturey stuff, and I don't.

I hope I'm not supposed to like fluffing pillows either....because I don't! I made the transition from peds floor to peds ICU because I wanted to take a more critical patient load. I love the pathophysiology of health and medicine and I am definitely getting that where I am! One of my least favorite things about working on the floor was "playing waitress" and while it isn't totally taken away, I certainly don't spend NEARLY as much time fetching comfort items now. Of course, I'm going to do what I can to keep my kiddos comfy but there is no hard and fast rule that says that, just because you are a nurse, you are supposed to love giving baths and changing diapers and massaging your patient's feet.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN

1 Article; 2,543 Posts

Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

Star,

Have you considered going into a different field of nursing, such as the OR? I get a very strong sense that you are very committed to nursing and moreover, committed to improving the health care in your community. You like the nuts and bolts of nursing, but you despise the "Press Ganey" factors that your job entails. Does that seem like a correct interpretation of your frustrations?

When I was a floor nurse, I loved it at first. I was able to connect with many patients and their families, and I was able to ease their suffering by using several different methods of therapy (meds, guided imagery, just listening). This part of my job was my favorite. However, when I walked into a pt's room and the ENTIRE family was crowded into such a small room and they immediately started in with demands (can you fetch me and my poor auntie here a chair, can I get some soda please?, can't you all get us a remote that works, when can we bring Mama some Burger King?, can't you just GET the doc in the room seeing as we are all here now?)...on and on it goes. I was most bothered by the fact that the families were more focused on their own comfort needs that their loved one who was trying to recover. I got burned out in this aspect of nursing. I felt more like a waitress or a hotel concierge. I realized that I craved one on one type of care coupled with an intimate knowledge of anatomy and physiology, which is why I chose OR nursing.

I like the nuts and bolts of nursing. I really like the fact that in the OR, my primary focus is on ONE patient at a time. Yes, there are a plethora of duties that the circulating nurse must complete in the perioperative setting, but during induction and emergence, I don't give a hairy rat's patootie what the surgeon wants...this is a critical time in surgery and my focus is right there on the patient.

I would really like to know what you are interested in. You seem like such an intelligent person and a compassionate nurse. Keep us updated.

Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

What about the ICU? You'll still get the critical patients, trauma and techinical skills. You'll be able to build relationships with your patients because you'll have fewer and more time to spend with each. And when they get healthy enough to start demanding ice chips, blankets, and food, you can transfer them to the floor!

1icurn.jn

16 Posts

Specializes in med/surg, emergency room.

that's why I'm going to NP school too, plus I can't do this the rest of my life. Nursing school disillusioned all of us to think we are there to provide safe patient care and make a difference then we get to work and patient safety and care comes second, Press-Ganey comes first!! It's so sick

Specializes in Med/Surg.

I hear you! I left social work for nursing and oh, how I miss it!

I worked at a hospital as a SW, and when pts. would tell me that they want red jello instead of lime, ESPN has fuzzy reception, a family member needs a heated blanket, their trash needs emptying, etc, it was not my problem..I told them to push the call light.

Somehow, it didn't register when I was considering nursing that all of those things would be my problem. Nursing is an exceedingly poorly defined role, in my opinion, and the boundaries are non-existent. Sometimes I feel more like a servant than a professional. It's numbing.

MsBiz

9 Posts

I've been considering Home Health or Hospice, but I'm afraid to leave the ED. I'm afraid I'll miss the traumas and the critically ill, and the good feeling I get when I feel like I'm providing access to medical care to the underserved community (while I think that this is a misuse of the ED, it's a problem that's not going away any time soon, and I find that most of our uninsured population who uses the ED for primary care are actually really nice people who just don't have any resources. The jerks who make life miserable can be insured or uninsured; they're just jerks regardless of their circumstances or socioeconomic status).

If you are considering home health, you should also consider geriatric care management. I know someone who had her own business doing this part time and she loved it. This only works if you can find people who can afford this service. She worked social workers and hospital case managers to get referrals. Good luck finding something that will make you happy. We spend too much time at work to be miserable!!!

imanedrn

547 Posts

Specializes in ED/trauma.
It's gratifying when I get an IV into a tough stick, when I can put a Foley in a poor little old man with urinary retention and watch the relief wash over him, hold the hand of a frail little old lady who doesn't remember why she's there, educate the young uninsured guy about resources in the community where he can get health and dental care cheap or possibly free, provide primary care for immigrants who may or may not be legal, because they don't know where else to go, catch something and point it out to the doc, who then changes his plan of treatment because of information that came from me, etc.

I hate "I need another blanket/more ice chips/a sandwich/to go to the bathroom/more nausea medication/more pain medication" and "How long is this gonna take, I've been here for three hours and I'm leaving if I don't get X,Y,Z" (In reality, you've been here less than one hour, and I don't give a crap if you leave, cause you really don't need to be here anyway, but I'm going to smile and apologize for the wait, and offer you another damn warm blanket, because that's good customer service). I hate waiting on people hand and foot. I hate being treated like a servant. I hate doing repetitive tasks that a trained monkey can do. I hate when people care more about getting their crackers and juice right away than they care about getting their life saving medications. I don't want to do this for the rest of my life!

I echo your sentiments. I know it's hard to stay positive when you do so many amazing things then get treated like nothing more than a waitress. Esp if you came from a challenge career field. I did the same as well. But remember why you did it. Remember the big picture. I'm convinced we'll always be frustrated simply because nursing pulls us in so many directions.

Sounds like you have a lot to be thankful for and proud of. Also sounds like you work in an ER. And possibly need a good, long, well-deserved vacation. I'm on one right now! My unit is short-staffed (like they are every shift of every day). But I'm taking every minute of it for myself, so I can return in good health (emotionally, mentally, and physically). Don't become a burn-out victim!

If all else fails, look to another unit? Or another area in nursing entirely.

Good luck, OP!

Specializes in PCCN.
If I can be so bold as to help you articulate your point, is that you are trying to say your job as a nurse is to use your "SKILL."

Those other things need to be done by another person while we are busy getting POUNDED by our jobs that require our skill. Usually a CNA is also too busy getting killed as well. I have worked in a few places that have patient care reps, or coordinators, or candy stripers to a degree. Someone who can roam and relieve those non essential requests that are NOT emergent but further deter us from our immediate tasks.

And hello, who created this image of "fluffing pillows" as basic nursing care? Yes, comfort, is key for a patient, but fluffing pillows is no more my desire for nursing and all that it encompasses than it is a car mechanics job to vacuum my interior when they're busy with my ENGINE.

i wish i could kudos this post a thousand times.no wonder some of us are fried!

MassED, BSN, RN

2,636 Posts

Specializes in ER.
i wish i could kudos this post a thousand times.no wonder some of us are fried!

thank you for that, my friend. :hug:

iNurseUK, RN

348 Posts

Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.

Nursing pulls us all in a thousand directions. Part technician and part carer.

Our role has expanded over the years. We are now plebotomists, junior doctors, dietitians and physios. God forbid that any of those professions get their hands dirty any more.

My ward is overrun with "specialist" nurses that do nothing but bark orders at the overstretched ward staff. Palliative care nurses who demand a syringe driver but who won"t set one going. Head and Neck specialists who demand an NG tube but who would not be caught dead actually passing one. Colorectal specialists who wouldn't change a stoma bag if you were paying them a million dollars a minute.

Too many chiefs. Not enough Indians.

Specializes in PCCN.
thank you for that, my friend. :hug:

:up::up::up::)

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