What kills me..... (VENT)!!!

[shoegalRN]

I'm sorry but this will be a vent. After working 13+ busy shift in the ER, I come home to log on to here and it simply kills me that NON-nurses (including those in nursing school, or taking pre-reqs, or those who have not even graduated from high school yet!) comes on here and think they know what it's like to really be a nurse.

Oh really????

All the "I will never be that kind of nurse" threads, but never spent one HOUR in our Dansko's......

And the kicker? Telling how you will "handle a doctor when calling one", when yet, you have not had to actually deal with a doctor regarding direct PATIENT CARE!

The superior-know-it-all-attitude simply kills me!

All I can say is when SOME of you actually get into a nursing program, get through the nursing program, pass boards, be lucky enough to actually land a RN job, and then start WORKING as a licensed RN, I sure hope you are TEACHABLE! Because I can only imagine how your orientation will go, because it's simply not easy to teach people who already know it all or got all the answers, without really knowing what they don't know! And then we'll get flooded with threads about how nurses eat their young!

[pers]

I really get dissed when they start with the "when I was on the floor" statement when they're not 'currently on the floor'.

That's one of my favorites! Or at least, it used to be when we had nurses who predated whatever floor experience any particular manager was crowing about. Staff would complain about staffing and management would start in with a "back in the day" story about 20 patients to each nurse, walking them a mile to the outhouse in a foot of snow, uphill both ways without shoes and no tp to wipe with! Just when the newest nurse was starting to feel guilty about their measly 8 patient load an old battle axe in the back would bark out something about 20 patients who could not only walk but hold their bladder/bowels till they got to the outhouse after walking a mile through a foot of snow, uphill both ways! Then after tucking the pt in bed would go get the thermometer for the doctor to take the patient's temp since they'd now been in the hospital for 4 days for something we wouldn't even admit them with today.

[mazy]

There is an interesting thread on the home page called "As good as, better or worse than you thought it would be" where new nurses talk about their expectations going in to the field and the reality of what they're dealing with actually working in the field. It's worthwhile reading for the pre- and current nursing students.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

That's one of my favorites! Or at least, it used to be when we had nurses who predated whatever floor experience any particular manager was crowing about. Staff would complain about staffing and management would start in with a "back in the day" story about 20 patients to each nurse, walking them a mile to the outhouse in a foot of snow, uphill both ways without shoes and no tp to wipe with! Just when the newest nurse was starting to feel guilty about their measly 8 patient load an old battle axe in the back would bark out something about 20 patients who could not only walk but hold their bladder/bowels till they got to the outhouse after walking a mile through a foot of snow, uphill both ways! Then after tucking the pt in bed would go get the thermometer for the doctor to take the patient's temp since they'd now been in the hospital for 4 days for something we wouldn't even admit them with today.

I have an aunt who does (did) this to a tee! She's years retired now, but added to the above some wild stories!!! A bunch of bull. I think she made up a lot over the years now that I think about it. Nobody else was "medical" in our family, so nobody could call her on it. She told a ridiculous story while visiting a year ago or so, and she forgot that I was present and would know what's what. The stories got pretty big... well, I balked and announced that you will not ever find me doing that... and then, she realized her gig was over, she got that "oh ****" look on her face!!!! Kinda felt bad for her, in a way. She's been doing this story-telling since I was a kid.

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

I don't have a problem with CNAs, student Nurses or Newbees chiming in, I learned alot when I was in school (a short 5 years ago) reading the advise you all gave. I still learn something everyday & love the learning. It's the people who jump in and comment who are NOT in the nursing field, who are here to see if they want to get into Nursing. To them my advice is .. get a job as a CNA, if you can hack that & still love the idea of being a Nurse then welcome to the family. In the mean time please don't tell me I'm a bad nurse because I didn't handle things the way you would. Read with your eyes, not with your hands.

[Moogie]

As my "title" says, CNA to RN so here it goes,

Currently in Progress..

I have called MD's because I had to.

I have done a great deal of paper work in Hospice Admissions (Assisting the RN in every area!)

I've been at the bedside of a person dying.

I've had to SHOW an LVN how to do her job, at the request of the Administrator!

I have been the back up support for many RN's and have frequently been called by the MD to assist with .....fill in the blank.

I do Hospice Work and Love it.

I love my Patients just as much as you do.

I don't know it all nor do I claim to know it all.

I work hard just as you do.

My feet hurt, my back hurts, my pants are wet, my hands hurt, my head hurts, just as yours do.

I get yelled at and cussed at by other nurses and I'm the first in the firing line with the family.

I don't take my breaks, quite frankly because I can't, my CN is asleep on the job, (3am, she says wake her at 430 and not a minute before)

I have done CPR both with and without success because the RN did not want to, she couldn't because of her wrists/hands or choose not to, even though a DNR was NOT signed...

I work doubles and triples, just as you do.

I never compare paychecks nor do I ask how much you make.

I believe in team work, there is no "I" in team.

I am sorry you feel this way about us "non-nurses"...after all we are looking to you for advice and hope that we can learn from you.

I am teachable. I don't know it all.

You can look me up. I've been around, seen so very much and have asked a zillion questions and gotten a zillion answers.

I am sorry you feel this way about us "Non Nurses"...

Oh, by the way, I'm off on workman's comp due to a patient related accident. I don't know if I will ever be able to practice in the Nursing field again. I've had 2 surgeries to reconstruct my shoulder and I only have 30% use of it and its been almost 8 months. So that makes my time wasted in school working towards becoming and RN...what do you suggest I do? My Heart belongs to Nursing...but because of my accident...

I think those of us who are experienced often forget what it's like to be a student. Frankly, I have learned a lot from "Non Nurses" such as yourself and I am grateful to have gotten to work with some exemplary people who have graciously and generously shared their wisdom with me. I am similarly grateful to many of the students who post here and give me a reality check. I hope I never reach the day when I think I know everything and think I am too good to learn something from a student or a CNA. Should that day happen, I hope I am smart enough to recognize that it's time to hang it up and get out of nursing altogether.

Having said that, I do understand the frustration felt by many experienced nurses when someone we don't know gets on these boards and proceeds to tell us that he/she knows "everything" about nursing because he/she is a student, a pre-nursing student, was once in the hospital, watched two episodes of Mercy. KWIM? It is frustrating whatever one's job is to have someone who doesn't have knowledge or experience tell you everything you're doing wrong because he/she knows what it's like to do your job even if he/she has never done that job for even a day. For example, when I was a young mom, I remember getting all sorts of parenting advice from a friend who didn't have children. She didn't have her own kids but she was an expert in telling me how to raise mine. That didn't set well with me and eventually ended the friendship (but I digress...) I think it's the same thing here, especially when people who don't have experience seem to have all sorts of advice for those who do. And that's what's frustrating.

I enjoy the open and honest dialogue that we often get here on AN and I have learned quite a bit from people with whom I disagree. It's interesting and enlightening to see someone else's perspective and it is especially helpful for me, as someone involved with nursing education, to get the point of view of nursing and pre-nursing students. But again it is difficult to engage in discussion with someone who has completely shut off the possibility of other points of view and who appears to be judgmental and condemning, especially if it's someone who hasn't been around for long and seems to be more interested in trolling than in generating discourse.

BTW, Annacnatorn, I really enjoyed your post and I am rooting for you. You sound like a very caring person and you would be an outstanding nurse. I would be proud to have you as a coworker or as a student.

[shoegalRN, RN]

I work at a magnet hospital and can assure you nurses do eat their young.

Regardless, I feel your stress as I am overwhelmed after work quite often as well, but why channel the negativity at others? Particularly those who don't truly know what your going through? Getting into nursing school and passing the NCLEX while by no means easy does not make you superior anyone else. Nursing is hard, but ideally nursing is predicated on compassion and empathy, something you are not exuding at the moment.

You know NOTHING about what kind of nurse I am. Who are you to say I do not show compassion or empathy????

I came here to VENT about an issue I see day in an day out. Really, this is my FIRST thread I have created about my frustation with NON-nurses trying to tell me how to do my job. And no, I never said I was superior to anyone, but I will speak up when someone who is NOT a nurse come at me with a superior attitude like they know it all and never worked one day as a nurse.

[I RN A]

I can't believe there are so many angry people on this website. And they do eat their young. They have forgotten about being a nursing stident, getting their first job and trying to learn and fit in. There are experts now. Does it give them a right to put down new nurses? Nursing is a team work and should stay this way.

[NightNurseRN]

I can't believe there are so many angry people on this website. And they do eat their young. They have forgotten about being a nursing stident, getting their first job and trying to learn and fit in. There are experts now. Does it give them a right to put down new nurses? Nursing is a team work and should stay this way.

Wow. You obviously missed the point of this thread. Please reread. There is no "eating their young" involved. Also, use spell check. Thanks! :redbeathe

[SWS RN, ASN, RN]

AACCCCKKKKK.....

I have got to chime in here.

This topic is one of my big soap boxes...read the thread I started about 2 months ago "where are all of the experienced nurses hiding"....

Some of the responses in this thread are identical to my vent statements!

By far, my favorite response has been "it isn't as hard as you say"...or whatever it actually was.

I had to actually stop and go back and read that one again...it was beyond comprehension.

How could anyone THINK such a blanket statement...much less POST it on a public bulletin board? That defies all understanding.

With that one....I rest my case.

s

[PatMac10,RN, RN]

I remember discussing, in my Psychology class, that young people or people in general going into the health care profession with the attitude "I'm going to learn as much as possible as soon as possible because I'm going to save and change the world." That's what I believe many of the "non-nurses" are going through, including me. It's a phase, after a while we realize that we are going to have to take it one step at a time and we can't save the world right now, and it kills us to have to wait to be something as great as a nurse, but we have to. Yea, there is a "know-it-all" every once in a while, but I really think that many of those you think are trying to be a "holier-than-thou" person, are those that are just excited and want to get into nursing as much as they can until they become nurses themselves. Well that at least describes me.

Any of us should never judge nursing as a profession or nurses we don't personally know, though at anytime even though this is a public forum. I don't think the OP meant to offend anyone, as he made that very clear in his later posts. Lolz!!! :)

[PatMac10,RN, RN]

Boy, ya'll are serious about this spelling and grammar thing. Honest question, does your browser have spell check, because I don't see it on mine. I'm still trying to remember not to post with my lazy typing and English. If it's not writing for school, work, or(formal and informal) correspondence I do not think about using it. I slowly getting there though.

[Blackheartednurse]

i, too work at a magnet hospital and can assure you that nurses do not indeed "eat their young." empathy and compassion or not, everyone is entitled to a little venting in the appropriate forum. that isn't "eating" anyone.

oh yes they do..my first nursing job (magnet hospital) was a terrible experience.i work in home health now,and never even came close to what i have experienced in the magnet hospital...people at my current place of employment seems so much more understanding;i'm not being ridiculed,if i dont know something i get help.so yes it does happens.