What is Your Biggest Challenge as a Nurse or a Nursing Student?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

Take a brief survey here : What is your biggest nursing challenge?

We've had several articles and threads recently dealing with many problems and challenges that nurses are facing today. We get so caught up in caring for others that many times we forget about taking care of ourselves. So many issues nurses face on a daily basis can lead to emotional and physical burnout, job dissatisfaction, anxiety, illness, and more, unless we learn how to cope with the stresses that won't go away. Although the root of many of these challenges seem unsurmountable, there are things that can be done for how we react under the stresses many of you are experiencing.

This got me to thinking…...what can we do about this? I know many of you come here to vent about the challenges you are facing. And that is good. But how can allnurses be more supportive to you than just offering a sounding board?

I'd like to know: What is your biggest personal challenge as a nurse or nursing student? What's keeping you from enjoying your job or your preparations to be a nurse? What is taking the joy out of your life?

I'm really curious and I want to know. In order to help, we need to know more about those stresses you are facing at work or in school. So please take a few minutes to answer some questions.

Click here to answer a few questions.

Your feedback by participating in this short survey will be instrumental in helping us as we develop things that we hope will help you with your challenges....before you reach the state of burnout. This is your chance to have an impact on our plans for future developments and offerings through allnurses.

To express our appreciation for you taking time to answer a few questions, we will be having a random drawing of (4) $50 gift cards to those who complete the questionnaire.

I look forward to hearing from you!

After taking the survey, please feel free to share your feedback in this thread. Go ahead and vent. Sometimes talking about it is very therapeutic.

Thanks

Overcoming my own depression, and past failures. my cumulative GPA was 3.28 last semester its about the same after earning two Bs last semester. I am in a good position to get an A in a prerequisite, but it will only bring my GPA up to about 3.3/3.4. After hearing how crazy competitive nursing school can be I am beginning to wonder if I am cut out for this. I am dedicated, and I love school. It just seems like it might not be meant to be. Getting up to the 3.5 range is feasible before I apply getting up to that 3.75 range would take years, and tuition I simply cannot afford to waste. I have yet to take the tease test. I am not giving up though I intend to pursue this until I have exhausted every option in the state! Keeping my mouth shut, and not telling every one how excited I am to pursue nursing. ITS ALL I THINK AND TALK ABOUT ALL THE TIME! That, and my classes which I absolutely love.

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Thank you for your response!

It would be so helpful if you would go to the link above and answer a few questions.

Click here to answer a few questions.

Specializes in PCT, RN.

I completed it.

I'll post some of it here:

I struggle greatly with anxiety (I mean full blown anxiety attacks sometimes). It's never triggered by anything in particular (such as stress at school or work, etc), it's just something I can feel is going to happen. I can wake up in the morning and think to myself, "Today is going to be bad." and I can mentally prepare myself for a meltdown later. This is somewhat new; I never had issues with this until the past year and it has gradually gotten worse.

I'm afraid to speak to a doctor because I don't want to be put on medication, but I'm getting closer and closer to it every day.

Specializes in OMFS, Dentistry.

Mirandaa: going on medication isn't necessarily a bad thing. I didn't want to either but the panic attacks came out of nowhere and got increasingly worse. I sought help and was put on 0.25mg of an anxiolytic. I only take it when I feel it begin. I'm thankful now because it was really scary having those attacks. I hope they get better for you.

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I'm afraid to speak to a doctor because I don't want to be put on medication, but I'm getting closer and closer to it every day.

I was in that situation just a little while ago. I'm now on medications, and I regret the fact that I didn't do it sooner. The rescue anti anxiety meds have been a life saver and I'm building up on the antidepressant. Neither intended for permanent use, but definitely worth it.

I realize that AN has a viable job board, but perhaps something a little more personal, member-wise. A member to member 'referral' service where job leads can be 'anonymously' posted. For example, a nurse knows that her hospital just posted three openings in the ICU yesterday in XX City, in YY state. So this nurse comes to AN and posts in a special forum, about the three openings, without having to give away their real identity or their AN screen identity. Every 30 days, this informal job board would be automatically purged. This would not be meant to circumvent AN's job service, just provide a little more help to those who need it. There is more unemployment in the nursing community than a lot of us would like to admit and this might put a tiny dent in it. Just an idea.

Specializes in my patients.

The results of this should be interesting!

While I love my co-workers, there are a few who I struggle with. There are nurses who will copy my charting and document it as their own. I've brought this to my manager's attention and nothing is done. This is very frustrating to me.

Secondly, some of the people I work with are lazy (charting wise) and fail to document things that I think are baseline, important, and relevant. I shouldn't stress about things I cannot control but it is a source of frustration for me. Anyone have ideas?

Done. Hope it helps.

Specializes in ICU.

The most difficult part for me is maintaining my life outside of work. I work nights and every other weekend, so It's hard to attend family functions consistently! I have a lot of days off, but because everything is done on weekends, everyone assumes that I'm at work all of the time.

My biggest challenge is showing up for work, lately. It's all I can do to talk myself into going in.

I'm on my third new job in less than a year and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do in this unit. I did get four shifts of orientation, which was nice. It's a new specialty, though, which is making it hard. It's not as acute as some specialties I've done, but it does have its own quirks.

I have had three shifts from hell in as many weeks and I just can't believe this is what nursing is supposed to be. I feel like a firefighter with a garden hose trying to put down a three alarm monster most nights. At least the charge brings a bucket for me and my fellow nurses aim their little hoses my way when it gets really bad. Then they have to go back to their own fires and I am left to burn.

Specializes in Intermediate Cardio/Vascular.

Not having enough staff to appropriately take care of our pts.

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