losing my patience

I am in the same place as you are. I too have been a nurse a little over a year and have begun to feel burned out. I work in a facility that utilizes LPNs and CNAs. I have come to find that work that is not completed by the LPN or the CNA is my fault and leads to some of the frustration that I have with my job. How is it that I am the only one responsible for the patient, when often more than not, 2 other people are as well-with licenses. If I come up with some good advice for you, I'll be sure to let you know. I personally find comfort in knowing I will be beginning my masters program shortly and wont have to be a staff nurse too much longer. Good Luck

I wish I could help but I am getting some burn out myself. I am the charge nurse of a 34 bed med surg unit. This is actually an easy job for me, considering some of the others I have had over the 31 years that I have been a nurse. I guess my frustration comes from two areas: I love my manager. She is a real nice person, but if she does not start sitting down with some of these people and getting them into shape I am going to pull my hair out. I can't suspend them. If I could, I would have already done it. I give her all the documentation she needs. I need for her to put her ****** off hat on and have a sit down with some of them. I used to have to do it when I was a director. I have tried to teach her how and I have given her some pointers but nothing is working. And it is really frustrating when nothing changes.

Second of all, I am sick and tired of stupid. I was at the desk the other day trying to sign off orders on this mountain of charts on my desk when one of the nurses came running telling me that this guy had pulled out his chest tubes. I went running in there with some 4x4 and yelling for some vaseline gauze and to call for some help. This guy was REAL SICK and on isolation for possible TB. Had two chest tubes in the right chest. When I got in there, he had not pulled them out. The surgeon had them sutured well so it was OK. But later his son gets in my face saying that I was rude to him and I treated him mean etc. I told him, Sir, let me explain something to you. This man can die if he pulls these tubes out. I don't have time to call you (the pt spoke no English) or someone else to translate or to try to explain to him what I am trying to do here. I have to do what I have to do to keep him from dying. I am sorry if he thinks that is rude but he's not dead and that was the objective. Then I find out later that the guy DOES speak English, he just refuses to. Made me so mad.

Then I have this one nurse, I page and page her because her patient wants pain meds. She never responds to her pages. So I leave the pile of charts on my desk to look for her and find her on the phone in the break room. I asked her to go medicate her patient and she gets up and does it. Then I tell her I want to see her in the back. We go back to the storage room and I tell her that I don't want to see you on the phone while you are on duty. When you are on break you can do what ever you want to but when you are on the floor I want you out with your patients. Man, she got HOT. Accused me of prejudice (I am white, she is Muslim). She's going to write me up.. She is going to watch me and write me up when I am on the phone or on the computer etc. (I don't take personal calls or conduct personal business at work). She just would not let up. But I tell you what, she got up off her butt that day. Why does it have to be so hard.

I need a drink or a vacation.

Think about changing units...or working outside of the hospital setting...or try another specialty...explore your options while working. Perhaps you need a nice vacation. I do not recommend that burned out nurses pursue education as a way to get unburnt...that mostly means that we have educators and managers who cannot effectively practice nursing leading future and current nurses. Remember that unresolved stress can lead to burn out. Have you identified what your stressors are on the job? If you discover that you are just not cut out for nursing...ok...don't beat yourself up, just move on so that you don't turn into a bitter old nurse. YOU ARE NOT STUCK.

You know, one of my problems is this ongoing chronic back pain and it just puts me on edge. I am in the process of getting it taken care of but it gets old and serves only to provide me with additional stress. It is hard to work when you are in constant pain. I recently had a week of vacation but it was useless because I was in so much pain that I was not able to relax and enjoy myself.