What is all the stuff that nurses have to put up with

[mcclot1993]

I hear nurses have to put up with a lot of crap. What is all the crap nurses have to deal with other than falls and incident reports.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

Just when you think you can't possibly handle one more piece of paperwork..here comes a new policy and guess what...it's the nurses responsibility to do the work. Management will always dump more on the nurse as far as work but will always work you short and then preach about the budget when you have to stay late to finish. You get abused by docs, pts, families, management and then they can't figure out why you won't come in on your day off. Getting mandated is a special treat as well!

[lisajtrn]

We are like a bunch of abused housewives and lets face it if nursing were historically a mans job this would not be tolerated.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

accountibility for other's incompetence or jobs (aides, drs, dietary etc). mandatory ot , working short staffed and that can lead to pts saftey issues and you are the one held responsible.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

well im a nurses aide and I have put up with a lot of that dealing with feces and the urine. talked nasty too and been hit and it does not bother me a lot.

The disrespect is awful but what I really hate is that nurses have tons of accountability and responsibility but no authority or autonomy. a suit says jump, we must do it. then be mandated and asked why the aide didn't jump or why the dr's jump wasn't high enough. 6 pts and expected to really walk them all, meds, turn and repo them, bathe them. charting done as it happens.

[brownbook]

Well lets see, where to begin? How about being physically attacked by patients, I have been hit, bitten, which led to a series of HIV tests, pinched, punched, hair pulled, almost knocked out when a patient clocked me with his cast, spit at, vomited on, **** on, peed on, and both have been thrown at me, had my belongings stolen, including my lunch out of staff fridge. Have had my uniforms ripped and my eyeglasses broken. Attempts by management to bully, yelled at by far too many people to mention, dealing with drunk and disorderly, mentally unstable family members, finding patients passed out with needles sticking out of them from where they had just shot up with stolen hospital supplies.

That's just skimming the surface.

Lisa, where do you work? An acute care locked psych facility? A prison? Even if that is the case I don't know why you are not able to read your patients body language? It is hard, but not impossible, to read your patients, visitors, families, body language or verbal language and know when they are escalating to the point of violence. Your facility is not in compliance with federal regulations if it doesn't have measures in place to protect you from violence in the work place.

It is hard but not impossible to read your patients body language, that pale, haggard, look to know when they are about to puke.

I did bedside nursing in an acute care county hospital for 21 years. Your experiences are unbelievable!

As to the main post. Every living human has to put up with crap, moms, dads, bosses, workers, etc. I guess some people seem to fall into it more than others?

[monkeybug]

Exposure to body fluids, threats, being treated like a servant by patients and family members (it's the family members that usually drive me the craziest), being yelled at and condescended to by doctors, driven crazy by ancillary departments in the hospital, and just taken for granted in general. The worst, though, seems to come from management, administration, and the accreditation folks. Pay cuts, demeaning write ups for patient satisfaction issues, constant interference in day-to-day nursing activities. If there's an efficient, easy way to do it I guarantee you that soon you will be prevented from doing it by TJC or risk management.

I've also had people trust me when they were terrified, name their child after me (once), praise me to the heavens, and thank me for doing my job.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

For my money, the worst crap that intelligent and thoughtful nurses "have to put up with" are threads and discussions like this, based on ignorant assumptions, that pander to somebody's worst opinions, put everybody in the same box, try to make everybody feel bad, bad, bad, and that make others feel they earnestly have to justify an excellent choice of profession with more opportunities than you can shake a stick at. Plonk.

[mcclot1993]

thank you. I am trying to follow my heart but you guys make this a little discouraging

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

See what I mean? Here's someone who comes in asking how awful things could be, some fools confirm his/her worst preconceptions, and even though he/she came looking for discouraging words, now he/she is surprised to be, well, discouraged.

Bah.

OP, there are other threads here that will give you a lot of encouragement about choosing nursing as a profession. Ditch this one and go find better ones. :)

[MARYRN2009]

Unfortunately that is what we have endured and it is sad but it is the truth. I wouldnt recommend nursing patient care for everyone. Perphaps advancing your career or getting a specialty certification would be different. That is what im trying to do.