What makes nursing stressful for you? - page 4

1. 
   Oct 30, '12

   Never having enough staff. Not having the supplies I need. Meds not being on the floor when I need them & having to harass pharmacy several times, over a scheduled med that they should have sent hours ago.
2. 
   Oct 31, '12

   Honestly it's that dang phone they hand us at the beginning of shift. When it's used as intended it's not bad. Numbers are in the pt room so they can reach us directly, which is great most of the time. Unless your UC is from the day when we had no phones and feels it necessary to call you 80 million times a day over silly things........makes it hard to keep your train from derailing lol. Especially as a new nurse. I'm sure it gets better, but right now I could cheerfully chuck that phone straight out the window!
3. 
   Oct 31, '12

   Everything right now. Everyone has to clock out on time, last night was insane. I clocked out 15 min late and did very light charting. I never felt like I had enough time yesterday to even do the basics. I made a mistake that might get me fired. I feel incompetent because I know it was all my fault because I was too busy and felt very rushed the whole night. Im so embarrassed to go into work tonight. Im also exhausted beyond belief and all I need right now is sleep. I dont know how Im going to get through tonight.
4. 
   Oct 31, '12

   Yeah, the paperwork is overwhelming. Unfortunately, Medicare, Medicaid, and the insurance companies require a LOT of it! In creating more and more laws and regulations to "provide better patient care", they have increased the paperwork burden tremendously!!
5. 
   Oct 31, '12

   I'm in a Long-Term Facility. Too few nurses, too much paperwork, & inconsistency in what we are supposed to do--with rules changing daily. We are constantly being threatened, "if you do this you will be wrote up!" A doctor that won't answer his phone or his phone messages are full, but we are required to talk to him. On top of that, if a nurse or CNA calls in, WE have to find a replacement.
6. 
   Oct 31, '12

   TOO many meetings that require us to show up in the middle of the day on our days off!!!
7. 
   Oct 31, '12

   We had walkie talkies in the long-term care facility because we spent too much time looking for aides. They took them away because the company didn't like the idea!
8. 
   Oct 31, '12

   I'd have to agree. Its about the higher people telling you to punch out and get the work done on time no matter what.... Well, the stress level goes high when you have a re-admit at 2:30, and a fall at 2:45.... plus the everyday paperwork to do. What then? Oh not to mention, nobody else "is able to" help you since they claim (insert excuse here).
9. 
   Nov 1, '12

   OMG you are soooo right.
10. 
    Nov 1, '12

    OMG, MotherRN, i cried when I read your posting. I can relate, but with "different" stories. So wrong. Thanks for getting it out here; i am one of the few who listen and understand. I really still cannot believe how cruel and evil human beings can be.
11. 
    Nov 1, '12

    Quote from merrywhiterose

    We had walkie talkies in the long-term care facility because we spent too much time looking for aides. They took them away because the company didn't like the idea!

    The first hospital I ever worked at was constantly short on everything. Staff, supplies, money. We griped because we never had a unit secretary to answer the phone and there were lots of times when no one was at the desk to answer a call. And, we were expected to do phone triage (L&D unit). Administration's answer was to get us cordless phones! If I had a nickel for everytime I had my hand in some poor pregnant woman's vagina doing a cervical exam and my pocket would ring! Very awkward and embarrassing to have to explain, plus huge possibility of confidentiality issues to be stuck in a room with a patient up in stirrups and having to discuss another patient's issues on the phone. And boy, we got some strange phone calls, too!
12. 
    Nov 3, '12

    As a new grad, the biggest frustration for me is that nursing school really doesnt prepare us at all for how much behind the scenes things we do. Patients have no idea how many fires we put out all day long and issues we fix. For example, pt going for abdominal ultrasound was suppose to be npo before hand but the doc didnt make them npo at midnight. US calls me and asks if the pt ate, I say yes, they say well then we cant do the ultrasound until late afternoon/evening. Then I have to call the doc to tell them, they ask me what time US can do it? I call US sound back, then the doc back, etc. Then the pt is mad they have to wait for the procedure and I'm the one that has to answer for that. I dont know why ultrasound and the doc cant just talk to each other, and why nursing always has to be the middle man between everything.
13. 
    Nov 4, '12

    Yes to all of the above...

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