i HATE my job. Does anyone else feel the same?

PMFB-RN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

I very much enjoy my job. However if I had YOUR job I would hate it too. Sounds like you put up with too much BS. I couldn't do it. Lucky for me I work in a non Magnet hospital that still realizes we are here to help the sick and injured heal, not be a hotel. Try other areas of nursing.

rnbyprof · Feb 14, 2013

my employer makes me hate my job

sugarwahine10 · Feb 14, 2013

I completely understand! I've been a nurse for approximately 6 years on a cardiac telemetry floor and you can only take so many times being understaffed and having heavy patients. We lately always have 5 patients during days and that might not seem a lot, but when one is complete care, another has a trach and a corpak, two others are incontinent-- need help up all the time too, and the last one has a rectal prolapse that isn't able to get surgery right away d/t her inr level--you have to keep pushing it back in every hour and clean up that patient's incontinence off the bathroom floor! My tech helps mostly, but they can only do so much! All the techs on the floor make sure they get their breaks and lunches though, more then I can say for the nurses. Then you have to deal with doctors and their orders, social workers, FAMILY MULTIPLE QUESTIONS--since the doctors' are too busy to spend more then 2 minutes in a patient room, rounds on patients for the floors, pass each patients million meds, and your suppose to have time to take a lunch break! Yeah, right!!! "You just need to take your lunch---what?!!--oh yeah and leave a bunch of stuff to wait 30 minutes so I can get more behind!!! Management lifts minimal fingers to help out! It's not MY time management--it's the expectation of all we are expected to keep up with and the nurses that never seem that busy are usually only doing the minimum they need to do to keep their job. I had one nurse I followed at 3 pm and she is not busy often, she didn't even have an assessment charted on the patient!!! Really?!! Friends and family visiting patients seem to think we are waitresses and always expect us to fetch them coffee and pop from our galley--I won't do it now unless they are in a wheelchair or a prison guard watching the patient. I recently told this patient's visiting friends, when they asked for coffee, that the galley is for patients or we tend to run out of food or drinks for patients--I told them about the cafeteria or waiting room area for coffee--they just stared at me in disbelief as if I told them to jump off the roof!! Why do they think I have the time to wait hand and foot on them? They walked their happy selves in, then they can take a short walk to get coffee! In their everyday lives do they expect coffee and food handed to them at the grocery store, bank, target, etc? I'm at work to take care of patients, not their friends and 20 extended family. Also, when you are independent at home, don't come to the hospital and expect to get waited on and your feet, back, hands massaged---your not an invalid, your are sick, but if you are to the point where you are on the verge of going to the unit that's another story. I've heard an independent patient's family tell them, "Oh you just sit back and relax, you let them do everything"--this isn't a spa or hotel--this is a HOSPITAL--if you aren't able to handle your ADLs than you need to go to a skilled facility and I will mention that to the patient if they are just being lazy. On our floor, 95% of the patients are morbidly obese-->300 lbs & up--usually closer to 400 & above--they are all worried constantly about their next meals. They all complain about the quality of food, but they sure have no problem shoveling it in. Don't expect to come into the hospital and have a laundry list of things you want looked at, like your toenails cut, your earwax, or a wart on your back--that's for your primary doctor to address. I really love when out of about 6 siblings of a patient, 3 of them call within a hour to talk to the nurse about the exact same thing--they can't talk to each other?--they were all hanging out in the room yesterday together, so call each other. I understand families want to know what is going on, but talking to more then 1 or 2 is something most nurses don't have time for when they have other families that are doing the same thing. I had three patients' families, multiple members all wanting to talk to me multiple times about the patients and only one patient had some issues going on--following me to other patients' rooms, when I had just gotten done talking to them. I don't understand how the patients' families can treat us as subhuman, but then expect superhuman things out of us. I just recently had a not so friendly patient's family member write in their little notebook every time I went in the room and for the whole time--yeah that's not weird. It takes everything I have to go into work every single time! There are some patients that make being a nurse so fulfilling, but more often than not I just feel so drained from all the stress from my job. I'm lucky to have a job I know, but if I had known what nursing was really like I would never have gone into it. The hospitals care about customer service and post surveys with patients , but they treat the patients like cattle with admits and discharges, they don't care about their employees' opinions--whose sweat and tears is what makes them tons of money every year.

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

Sugarwahine, you just described my typical day! Especially the part about management not helping out. We are expected to take 3 patients in ICU, without a tech and without a secretary, and 8 patients on med-surg. We are not allowed to tell anyone that "we have other patients."

martymoose, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

I;m noticing a common theme here- cardiac/telemetry stepdown units, which is also what I work too.

anyone else notice?

martymoose, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

Not gonna quote it, but sugarwahine10 you have said the complete truth in your comment! especially the cattle part- I liken it to mass production- assembly line mentality!

I sure agree/sympathize with you- you took the words right out of my mouth!

-applewhitern- we arent allowed to say we have other patients either, and say that " we have the time" despite that being a big fat lie!!!

VidaUrbana · Feb 14, 2013

I work on tele/step down unit as well.

This is why I'm taking my butt * I wanna write something else but you get my drift* back to school.

Lazy management, rude and demanding patients/families, nasty doctors, lack of help from PCA's or worse NO PCAs, one discharge... two seconds later a complicated admission.

I'm so done with bedside nursing. DONE!

Mulan · Feb 14, 2013

It's refreshing to see some honest posts.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Feb 14, 2013

Ah, thank you guys for not judging me! I feel like a horrible person stating i cannot stand my patients and their families. When i was talking to my manager about this lady as i discussed before i was nearly in tears telling her about how disrespected i felt with her.
I worked VERY hard for my degree and i dont appreciate being so disrespected. I did NOTHING wrong to this patient, but yes...i was making the decisions.
Like same thing that one previous person stated about not taking oral temperatures. YOU made the decision to not take an oral temeperature based on what you know about this patient, based on what you have learned and based on your judgement.
I've been a nurse for like 2 years and i can think of THREE patients i truley truley enjoyed and loved working with them and their families. When i have families like this, i go above and beyond for them. It sounds terrible that we treat nicer families like this but its so true. You would not believe the stuff i've done for the three i can think of. One was a hospice patient who wanted chinese food and not hospital food. They couldn't afford alot, so i gathered up nurses on my unit to pitch in a couple dollars and we ordered the entire family chinese food and had it delivered to their room, payed for by us nurses!! Would i do that for a demanding/disrespectful patient? heck no!

I had a patient alone from out of town for high risk surgery and had a very lengthy postop course with complications. He told me he liked a certain mystery writer and I got some novels for him at a half price books to give him something to do while passing the time. The human connection is what makes a difference in being a nurse when struggling with all the negative aspects of nursing.

DoeRN · Feb 14, 2013

I hate my job so much that I know am suffering from mild anxiety when I have to go into work. I'm going to go talk to my doctor about being put on an antidepressant. I'm in school for a career change but it had gotten to the point that I have to drag myself out of bed. I work just enough to pay my bills and have a little for savings. Nothing extra even though I am constantly asked to work more. I always say no.

And I have zero compassion. Tears do not move me. I tend to look at people with a blank expression when they cry. I had a patient yesterday in for abdominal pain. Her husband brought her Wendy's. Then she started crying hysterically because of her abdominal pain. She had 2 hours until her pain med was due. I told her she would have to wait and she should watch her diet and not eat things that will irritate her stomach and walked out the room. A hour later I'm doing my rounds. She is in a negative pressure room so I'm outside in the vestibule getting ready to come in. She's laughing and joking on her cell phone. I come in and the tears start again. Yeah I'm totally over the bedside. Can't WAIT to get out.

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SionainnRN · Feb 14, 2013

I LOVE being a nurse and it really saddens me to see so many people just itching to quit. I've had horrible days where I just wanted to strangle all my patients and their families, but it doesn't keep me from loving my job. Op you mentioned you have a very short temper, you may want to find something to help with that, and good luck with finding a new floor that makes you happier.

Jenni811, RN · Feb 15, 2013

I LOVE being a nurse and it really saddens me to see so many people just itching to quit. I've had horrible days where I just wanted to strangle all my patients and their families, but it doesn't keep me from loving my job. Op you mentioned you have a very short temper, you may want to find something to help with that, and good luck with finding a new floor that makes you happier.

Find something to help wth my short temper? how about a new job. I never had a short until i became a nurse. I used to have the patience of a saint.

Its like what everyone else has said, the patients who act like total babies. I will always say things like "Well you are expected to go home friday. How will you wipe your butt when you get home?" they usually respond with "I'll figure it out when it happens" then they bend over and say "now wipe!"

dear lord....i don't get it.

ad like everyone else has stated at some point. managment just keeps wanting more more more more but never give us more to work with. COnstantly adding to the things we have to do and then they throw at us "Oh yea, we are going down one nurse every shift."...Say what?