When will being an RN stop sucking?

suzil · Oct 12, 2014

I totally agree with you needshaldol. Nursing care itself has gone drastically downhill but the paperwork looks good! That is all that matters to administration.

liberated847 · Oct 13, 2014

No, you are totally wrong. When non-medical people come in and tell nurses and physicians how to do their jobs they are messing with the well being of the patient. They totally do NOT understand patient care or medicine. There is absolutely no coordination with nursing and medicine of things they know nothing about. You talk about them being able to keep the lights on? Do you really think I'm stupid? I've been around a very long time. It is all about the top administrators making a profit. They make cuts to nursing to save their own paycheck.

Irrational generalizations, impossible to debate. Good day

subee, MSN, CRNA · Oct 13, 2014

Nursing has always being subservient, those non-medical people also keep the lights on allowing for your pay check. You have no understanding of their role yet you accuse them of not understanding yours? Before you get mad please consider this, I am merely pointing out the fallacy in your argument not attacking you.

That is THEIR job - to keep the lights on and get the paychecks covered. However, I disagree that their job is to manage workers who are supposed to be "professionals" and one definition of a profession is that they control the quality of their work output. Working conditions were historically always challenging. However, since nursing gave up control of their destinies to the bean counters who have no understanding of the nature of our work, conditions have spiraled down. Nursing has no more representation in upper management - no one person dedicated solely to the interests of the largest cost center of a hospital. A vice-present of patient services is not a director of nursing. Conditions will change when BSN becomes mandatory and we become more scarce. Hospital management is well aware that we are cranking nurses out like doughnuts. The physicians aren't happy, either, but have maintained more autonomy over their services than we have.

liberated847 · Oct 13, 2014

That is THEIR job - to keep the lights on and get the paychecks covered. However, I disagree that their job is too manage workers who supposed to be "professionals" and one definition of a profession is that they control the quality of their work output. Working conditions were historically always challenging. However, since nursing gave up control of their destinies to the bean counters who have no understanding of the nature of our work, conditions have spiraled down. Nursing has no more representation in upper management - no one person dedicated solely to the interests of the largest cost center of a hospital. A vice-present of patient services is not a director of nursing. Conditions will change when BSN becomes mandatory and we become more scarce. Hospital management is well aware that we are cranking nurses out like doughnuts. The physicians aren't happy, either, but have maintained more autonomy over their services than we have.

That's a lot of assumptions you're making there.

subee, MSN, CRNA · Oct 13, 2014

Many years ago I was a DON and I think there's plenty of evidence to support that those professions that have control over their numbers have more pleasant working conditions than we do. And they all did it by increasing the educational requirements into the profession. I worked on the floors in the 70's. ICU's were new and beds were very limited. We had vented patients on the floors. Everyone worked hard BUT, we had respectable staffing numbers and non-professional support so non-nursing tasks were not a problem.

We had an extremely supportive DON who made it possible for us to devote our time to the patients. Of courses, the forces are now against humanized care - it's a different world:(. But after working in nursing for 45 years (and keeping up with observational skills and education), my assumptions from from my head and not from the other end.

liberated847 · Oct 13, 2014

after working in nursing for 45 years (and keeping up with observational skills and education), my assumptions from from my head and not from the other end.

Generalizations do not usually come from the head, nobody is arguing about whether Health Care is better now, I'm pointing out your clear self imposed ignorance with regard to administrators role in Health care.

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2014

I had a position that I loved for the most part. Unfortunately, the long hours did not fit with our family's needs. Now I'm in an hourly position where we are basically set up to fail and are given responsibilities at the very edge of our scope of practice. It's a very difficult situation most of the time and I have absolutely no support from my co-workers or management despite being brand new. I was basically thrown in there and left to find for myself.

I've been in this situation before and was eventually able to prove myself. However, the amount of stress placed on my whole family because of this job make me question a career change. I honestly want out of healthcare at this point.

mark123 · Feb 8, 2015

I had 8 nursing jobs in the past two years. I love it so much.

suzil · Feb 8, 2015

Are you always so full of yourself? Geez, how do you walk through the door?

Palliative Care, DNP · Feb 8, 2015

Never liked floor nursing at all. I'm in graduate school now for more options. There are other options if you are done.

JWG223 · Feb 8, 2015

Why does it suck to be an RN these days, it is everywhere, in every area, I am so tired of being treated like dirt! We nurses do most of the work and the docs and big hospital systems treat us like peons. When did we lose the professionalism? WHen did being an RN become a negative profession? Where did all the jobs go?

It's different for everyone, but the typical age of retirement is 65, I think?

lifelearner1 · Dec 31, 2015

What area do you work in instead of floor nursing? Curious as I'm looking for other options, I hate floor nursing with a passion