OK, maybe I've been reading the wrong Threads....

Nurses General Nursing

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I had no preconceived notion of WHAT Nursing was when I went back to school at age 30. Twelve years later, this is what I've learned about Nursing:

Nursing is NOT a Fairy Tale...there very often is no "happily ever after." Yes, there are many times of great joy and accomplishment... but you're never given a guarantee.

Nursing is HARD... as Nurses we face countless situations and crises each and everyday. Many of these have no solutions, no happy endings, no logical explainations. We deal with people who are not at their finest hour; they're scared, angry, confused, disillusioned and looking for something/someone to lash out at for their misery.

Nursing requires FLEXIBILITY... we have to think fast, act even faster, be all things to all people all at the same time, react to changes in patient status quickly and expected to make the right decision.

Nursing demands that we think OUTSIDE the box...that means looking at our Profession as more than just assisting a delivering mother, suctioning a trach patient, titrating a drip in ICU, to include educating family/friends/physicians/each other. To expect that the "typical" patient very likely will become "Atypical"... and at the worst possible time... and to accept that this happens, because it is entirely out of our control.

Nursing is not about CONTROL...see above. You can't MAKE the COPD or PVD patient stop smoking, you can't MAKE the diabetic adhere to their diet, you can't MAKE the at risk mother-to-be follow doctors orders that can help ensure a safe, successful delivery, you can't MAKE the substance abuser abstain and you can't MAKE a new nurse not do all those things that new nurses do that make us all roll our eyes.

Nursing is NOT 9-5, Monday thru Friday, Holidays Off...it is on occasion not spending your days safely cloistered in your specialty "niche"... because sometimes...even though you don't know everything about other areas of Nursing... you CAN provide a certain amount of care... care that would otherwise be unavailable at possibly a crucial moment on that Unit you've been asked to go to.

Nursing requires COMPASSION; for our patient's (compliant or not), physicians, New Grads, families, ancillary personel, administrators, TPTB AND each other.

Nursing requires TEAMWORK...even when you don't want to be a part of the team.

Nursing is FRUSTRATING...and the best any of us can do sometimes, is to simply remember why we're where we are... and know in our hearts that today we did the best we could do for THAT particular day...and do this even when we don't feel like it, even when we sense something is unfair.

Nursing offers OPPORTUNITIES... to make change in a patient's status, to comfort a grieving family, to realize changes in policy/protocol/procedures because we believe in what we do and we know that our actions can lead to an improvement in our Profession. Nursing offers countless opportunities for ourselves....

Nursing is REWARDING... when miracles do occur...we're here to witness them in all their Glory.

Nursing requires an Open Mind and an Open Heart...

We need to support one another...regardless of what circumstances or situations brought us into the Profession called Nursing. We all come to this place with our own gifts and talents...and we need to ENCOURAGE each other so those gifts and talents may shine. We need to ACT in a Professional manner in dress and in conduct so that others around us will know and SEE the Professionals that we are.

I'm not suggesting ANYONE just lie down and take what they're handed at work without question... We need to promote what needs promoting and work hard to rid our workplace of what needs to be removed. But there are those times in our Profession, as in Life, when we need to say "OK... today isn't the day to challenge this or that...today is a day to be the best Nurse I can be and face the other challenges at a more appropriate time."

Choose your battles...time and place. Make those times of battle count and don't make EVERYDAY a battle. No one wants to work with someone like that. If you're argumentative on a regular basis, you're wearing out your co-workers... and your goal, however admirable and just, won't be heard.

I appreciate and respect the opportunity this site provides for everyone to voice their opinon... TO VENT THEIR FRUSTRATIONS and to share their joys and victories... their fears and sorrows. I hope those of you who read this post will respect and appreciate my taking this opportunity to share my own views, and to read between the lines of my message. And if I've ever offended anyone on this site, my apologies... sometimes I feel the need to vent too.

I love nursing... I admire and respect Nurses... and each and everyone of us deserves more recognition than any of us will ever get.

Be kind....

Peace:)

Iam one of the outspoken trouble makers at work and am forever telling people to stop whining and get active and do something about the situation. I agree with most of what you said Lori. I also agree that there are far too many people in life now who wait for the other guy to fix the things they don't like in their life.

Well thought out and written Lori!

Specializes in Home Health.
Originally posted by Fgr8Out

...Nursing demands that we think OUTSIDE the box...that means looking at our Profession as more than just assisting a delivering mother, suctioning a trach patient, titrating a drip in ICU, to include educating family/friends/physicians/each other. To expect that the "typical" patient very likely will become "Atypical"... and at the worst possible time... and to accept that this happens, because it is entirely out of our control....

Nursing is NOT 9-5, Monday thru Friday, Holidays Off...it is not spending the rest of your days safely cloistered in your specialty "niche"... because sometimes...even though you don't know everything about other areas of Nursing... you CAN provide a certain amount of care... care that would otherwise be unavailable at possibly a crucial moment on that Unit you've been asked to go to....

Nursing requires an Open Mind and an Open Heart...

We need to support one another...regardless of what circumstances or situations brought us into the Profession called Nursing. We all come to this place with our own gifts and talents...and we need to encourage each other so those gifts and talents may shine. We need to ACT in a Professional manner in dress and in conduct so that others around us will know and SEE the Professionals that we are....

If you're argumentative on a regular basis, you're wearing out your co-workers... and your goal, however admirable and just, won't be heard....

I appreciate and respect the opportunity this site provides for everyone to voice their opinon... to vent their frustrations and to share their joys and victories... their fears and sorrows. I hope those of you who read this post will respect and appreciate my taking this opportunity to share my own views, and to read between the lines of my message. And if I've ever offended anyone on this site, my apologies... sometimes I feel the need to vent too....

Peace:)

Yes, you have offended me at least. None of us are perfect. I agree nurses must act as a team, and I agree with a lot of what you said, but, we are not above needing to whine and vent just because we are nurses.

To address a few things you said specifically...Nurses need to think outside of the box...I can't disagree with that at all, it's called critical thinking.

Nursing is not spending your days safely nestled in your specialty niche.... Why not??? I really don't see what is wrong with a nurse wanting to excel in one particular area. Doctors do it. Nurses who have those specialty skills are in great demand now. Just b/c we choose to stay in a specialty area we are not able to think outside of the box?? Hardly!! Have you seen the ads and sign-on bonuses for expereinced OR nurses?? Upwards of $10,000. I am sorry but I have never seen an ad saying "nurse of all trades" $10,000 sign on bonus. It is not about the money that I am pointing this out, rather about the demand, a demand which meets the needs of patients! Then you say we need to support one another, and that we all have our gifts and talents. Yes, my gift is cardiac nursing. Does that mean I am not a team player b/c I wouldn't want to be pulled to L&D or PP????? I personally don't think so.

Nursing requires an open mind and heart. Once more, this is a BB, and we vent, it does not mean we are always argumentative just b/c we don't all see things the same way. You have no idea what kind of nurse anyone here is when they are actually on the job. What about nursegoodguy, who had a pt rub HepC blood on him, he should feel OK w that b/c he should be understanding and have an open heart?? If he had come on here and said he hated working w psych pt's, I wouldn't automatically assume he had a closed heart, or that he really hated psych pt's, just that he had a bad day and needed the support of his fellow nurses. We are, above all alse, only human.

I do indeed respect your opinion and right to voice it, as I hope you will mine.

Lori I'll be sharing your description of nursing with my new grads.

You said it all so beautifully.

I have only recently started reading these boards on a regular basis (doesn't cost me as much as shopping on ebay.) The more time I spend here the more value I see in the discussions that go on here. It's nice to have a place to vent the frustration and anger and get feedback. Critical incident debriefing really is a necessary part of all nursing not just emergent, disaster situations. That's what I see us doing for one another--providing a safe place to talk about those things that we all know and understand but are so hard to describe to outworlders.

Originally posted by hoolahan

None of us are perfect. I agree nurses must act as a team, and I agree with a lot of what you said, but, we are not above needing to whine and vent just because we are nurses.

To address a few things you said specifically...Nurses need to think outside of the box...I can't disagree with that at all, it's called critical thinking.

Nursing is not spending your days safely nestled in your specialty niche.... Why not??? I really don't see what is wrong with a nurse wanting to excel in one particular area. Doctors do it. Nurses who have those specialty skills are in great demand now. Just b/c we choose to stay in a specialty area we are not able to think outside of the box?? Hardly!! Have you seen the ads and sign-on bonuses for expereinced OR nurses?? Upwards of $10,000. I am sorry but I have never seen an ad saying "nurse of all trades" $10,000 sign on bonus. It is not about the money that I am pointing this out, rather about the demand, a demand which meets the needs of patients! Then you say we need to support one another, and that we all have our gifts and talents. Yes, my gift is cardiac nursing. Does that mean I am not a team player b/c I wouldn't want to be pulled to L&D or PP????? I personally don't think so.

Nursing requires an open mind and heart. Once more, this is a BB, and we vent, it does not mean we are always argumentative just b/c we don't all see things the same way. You have no idea what kind of nurse anyone here is when they are actually on the job. What about nursegoodguy, who had a pt rub HepC blood on him, he should feel OK w that b/c he should be understanding and have an open heart?? If he had come on here and said he hated working w psych pt's, I wouldn't automatically assume he had a closed heart, or that he really hated psych pt's, just that he had a bad day and needed the support of his fellow nurses. We are, above all alse, only human.

I do indeed respect your opinion and right to voice it, as I hope you will mine.

ITA w/hoolahan.

Look, this is a place to vent. I refuse to sit here and speak all p.c. and nicey-nice about drug mothers, beliggerent docs, lousy hours (and yes, I realize it's part of the job), and floating. I don't HAVE to be nice here.

You're losing sight of the bigger picture here. We come here to vent. Why in the hell is that such a bad thing? Do you EVER have a negative thought? Does that make you a BAD NURSE? I seriously doubt it.

I'm a GREAT nurse. I have a book full of thank-you notes from patients and certificates of merit in my file of work to prove it, if you feel you need that kind of proof. I can still be a GREAT nurse and feel that the pt. I'm taking care of is a jerk, that the doc I'm working with needs to take a long walk off a short pier, and that I wish I was at home in bed with my husband at 3 am rather than AT WORK.

The difference is, I keep those thoughts to myself and give GREAT CARE, regardless of my personal feelings. However, when I come here, I don't think it's okay to be chastised and chided because I want to vent and express myself.

Sorry if you associate personal feelings with bad nursing. I disagree.

I don't hate my job, as a matter of fact, I LOVE my work. And I have been an advocate for change at my hospital when I felt that things needed changed. But I think that the negativity here has a place and a purpose. I come here to vent frustrations about coworkers, patients, management, and physicians to help clear those feelings from my mind and my soul. I can vent here to my allnurses family, and no harm is done. If I were to say some of the things at work that I say here, then I could be creating a lot of hard feelings with my peers. I can vent here, get support and advice, and take only good feelings back to work with me.

There are some positive threads on this BB, you just have to look for them. I started a thread about good nurses, and one about good doctors some time ago. Perhaps you should try reading them. I go back to them myself when I want to lift my spirits.

Wonderfully said. Thank you for posting a reminder of what nursing "is" be when we give what we can to a job we love.

Isn't it wonderful to have a place where we can gripe,*****, complain, moan, vent, however you want to label it?!? I'm fortunate that I have a sister who is also a nurse and understands what I mean when I talk shop. But not everybody has that, so that leave home family and work family to listen. Both probably get tired of hearing it after awhile.

fgr8out.........reading and typing between the lines......way cool thread and makes people think and discuss.....

no you cannot fight a battle every day.....

Hoolihan.........thinking outside the box.......

well said...........

and to come here to vent......

nursing can be a pita at the same time that it can be rewarding.....

but then at the same time....when I try to envision myself doing anything else.....well, I don't look real good saying "would you like fries with that"

I do know I have become more ??? about the whole nursing vs the rest of the medical arena in my second decade of being a nurse.

??? of late.....

just a few and maybe some of them are selfish....but is k'cause being selfish is k'

why do "they" count on "us" always saying, sure, we will stay over, rather than planning ahead and staffing correctly....

nurses are human too and do get tired.....

nurse to patient ratios: a patient doesn't = a patient, but it seems that that is how things are determined.....

how come some organizations refuse to use travel nurses......like overtime is cheaper or even worse not safe nursing to patient ratios.........

and not that I am in nursing to make a $, but well, fact, I do have to make a paycheck.........

what of a nurse that is already 1.0(40+ scheduled hours).....to offer this nurse 1 1/2 time to stay over, etc. is a mute point.....it is 1 1/2 for that nurse anyway........what if i demanded double time.....then maybe I would think about it.......sometimes.........

and then there is the thought that nursing, well is just like anyother field out there.......there are frustrations with any job.......

truth to some degree,

but when you work so closely(way closely) with people as we do in health care(nurses, RT's, lab, etc).......there are some different dynamics that do occur.........

an added stress..............yes

and why shouldn't we be rewarded a bit for that.........

i love to read the cascadians when they thread.....they have seen much..........but still keep on keepin on..........

To be a nurse takes a special drive and a special people!!!!!

keep on keepin on everybody.........

micro will do the same

frustration= :chair: :uhoh21: :idea: :nono:

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.

The pessimists keep the optimists from being taken advantage of? I like everyone to take care of themselves! If everyone waits for someone else to do the rallying, what will ever get done? Pollyanna or not, we have issues that need rallying behind! That does not necessarily make the rallyer a pessimist. It more like burying your head in the sand, and hoping someone else will get the dirty work done. While you worry about nothing but your patients and positive thoughts, others worry about fighting for safe staffing, increased wages, nursing autonomy issues, unionizing, just to name a few issues worth a good fight.

A little fight from all of us would make it easier on all of us.

If we all rolled over....?

Great thread. I agree with your statements of what nursing is and is not. However I have to agree with hoolihan that nurses are not perfect. Nurses are human beings who feel sad, angry, unappreciated, stressed, and over-worked at times. But, WE ARE NURSES, who should give, give, give. Don't let it bother you that mgt. does not appreciate the care you give the pts. Don't let it bother you that family members want more 1:1 with their loved ones, when your so busy you don't have time to use the bathroom. Don't let it bother you that you are expected to finish any work that has not been done. Don't let it bother you that your working short staffed again tonight. Don't let it bother you that you can't get that time off for that special vacation you have been planning on for a year. Don't let it bother you the verbal abuse you receive from some pts. and their families. I guess what I'm trying to get across is this is what the Boards are for. It helps us to reach out to other nurses who understand the difficulties were going through, since they have been there themselves. Now don't get me wrong, I love nursing and their are those special moments that happen, such as a pt. grabbing your hand and saying thank you, or a hug from a family member for taking good care of their loved one. What we experience is life, and all its emotions. Nurses cannot bury their feelings and be happy and smily all the time. Now I know you have to act professional, but on these boards I am me with all the baggage included. I'm glad of discussions here..I don't want a rosy picture of nursing because it is definetly not. I want truth with feelings on this board. I want to know that another nurse out there feels the helplessness that I do at times, and what we can do to solve these issues.

I am with Nurse Ratched. Sure I whine and vent on this forum, but it has helped me immensely. Nurses on this forum from all over the world have offered me so many good ideas and suggestions that I would never have come up with on my own. And they have improved my workplace for me and my colleagues and my patients with some of those suggestions! And when they don't have solutions for my problems they keep me sane by sometimes just saying "Yeah, that really sucks". Sometimes threads take on negative and ugly tones, but for the most part I have found the nurses on this forum to be a wise, caring, helpful and supportive bunch. I don't think we're negative or mean, just truthful, which can sound that way sometimes.

I do pick my battles at work, and I think that is the best suggestion I see in your post. If it doesn't have to do with patient safety or my own self respect, I let a lot of things that bug me go. But it is nice to be able to come here and vent about it to other nurses who understand:)

So Lori, what you're saying is, "suck it up"?

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