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

[Jenni811]

I absolutely despise my job. I work as a nurse in a intermediate/telemetry type floor. We are in the process of moving to a new hospital, so we were a telemetry unit and we are splitting into telemetry/intermediate care. We will be split eventually but right now kind of combined...its weird.

Anyway, I HATE HATE HATE HATE my job. I get so worked up on the way to work, up to the point I start getting massive headaches and offset my vertigo issues. I've always struggled with unexplained vertigo that comes with stress/anxiety. I can't stand patients and families who are so demanding and disrespectful.

I do my absolute best to put on my "fake smile" to please them. I'm a person of very short temper so it takes every ounce of energy in me not to slap some of them in the face. I got in trouble one time because a patient's daughter was giving me a really hard time and everything she said that came from her mouth started with "Well I'm a nurse and...." it would have been totally irrelevant to what she had to say. For example: "Well I'm a nurse and I had an egg salad sandwich for lunch."

"Well, I'm a nurse and I have a kitten named Dutchess" (that was actually a real one).

She was SO disrespectful, rolled her eyes every time I talked, very short answers. Finally I had it...I looked at her and said "I don't care if you are a nurse. I'm her nurse now and i will make the decisions on what I think is best for my patient."

Yup...I got in trouble for that one but I explained everything to my manager and she, deep inside, I knew agreed she was being ridiculous and I told her I just couldn't take it anymore. It went on for THREE DAYS, in 12 hour shifts and I was on day 4 with her. I snapped...yup.

Anyway, my point with that story is it wasn't this one time...it is ALL the freaking time. Patient's are so demanding. What on earth makes you think I want to "wipe your butt" when you can do it at home just fine? Ok...you have two broken arms, I will help you but if you are here for I don't know...Chest pain observation and you can feed yourself the 50 trays of food you just ordered and open the soda bottle your family snuck you in, why would you not be able to wipe your own butt?? What makes people feel the need to be so darn needy like this?? Don't put on your call light for me to pour you a glass of water from the water pitcher sitting next to your hand. You are perfectly capable of doing it yourself (I'm talking about people who CAN do it.) You are not a 65 year old baby, you are an adult who has wiped your own butt and poured your own water for I don't know, 63 years now??

I'm sorry I have to vent. Makes me feel better. Does anyone else feel this way about nursing? I feel so stuck in it and I want to get out. What else can I do with my degree that I would enjoy??

Once my fiance and I are married we want to start a family right away. He has agreed for me to quit my job at that point to be stay at home. I'm afraid I will enjoy not being a nurse so much I may never go back. What other career choices do people ENJOY as a nurse? I have my BSN.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

LOL, I thought I was burned out!!!!!

[SionainnRN]

i'm a person of very short temper so it takes every ounce of energy in me not to slap some of them in the face.

OP I'm just going by what you say about yourself, and if you are really on the verge of physically attacking your patients or their families, please quit now. You are not doing them or yourself any favors by staying at your job.

[multi10]

OP, Have you considered critical care? I learned so much and loved it.

[plf2323]

I think most nurses who have worked in a hospital have felt this way at one time or another. I remember almost losing it when a patient's family (who were sitting around on their butts all day) asked me to get them a pitcher of water. It wasn't even for the patient. I felt very disrespected and angry. I think some family members and patients forget just how hard nurses work and think we are their personal servants. I left the hospital setting and never looked back, although I didn't always hate it. I worked for several years as a medical review nurse at an insurance company, then a school nurse and now at a clinic. I just did not enjoy bedside nursing that much. It was too stressful and often made me miserable.

Oh, and I took several years off to take care of my kids and be a SAHM. I know not everyone can afford to do that, but you said you were planning to. I am so glad I did. You will not regret it. Just don't stay out too long if you want to go back to nursing.

Good luck!!!

[QTNurseBSN]

You have definitely head the nail on the head. I was an Orthopedic Nurse for two years, so of course the load was heavy, especially

because we were dealing with mainly hip and knee surgical patients. I had a patient once tell me to clean up her room. Mind you she had tons of visitors, food wrapping and just a mess everywhere. I look at her and told her my job was NOT to clean up her room or a mess that she allowed her visitors to make, she was at a hospital not a hotel and the only thing I will clean up is a path to her bed to do my assessment or give her meds...the other trash was irrelevant to me. I left the bedside two years ago and have done Patient Education and Case Management. I miss the "hands on" part of nursing, but would prefer to either do Peds or ICU if I ever had to return to the hospital. Med surg is definitely not what I want to do in regards to nursing, especially when the focus is not on providing quality care but being maid, slave, and down right disrespected. And unless you are truly unable to wipe yourself, I am not wiping your back or your front. Where are these patients dignity and self respect??

[wanderlust99]

I'm in my 7th year as a RN and feeling the burnout now. 3 years ago I liked what I do, now I hate it. I've considered going back to school and getting my masters, but why would I want to obtain a masters in a field I hate?

I feel like I am locked in to nursing for the rest of my life with no way out. I really wish I had chosen a different path in life.

[DoeRN]

I'm in my 7th year as a RN and feeling the burnout now. 3 years ago I liked what I do, now I hate it. I've considered going back to school and getting my masters, but why would I want to obtain a masters in a field I hate?

I feel like I am locked in to nursing for the rest of my life with no way out. I really wish I had chosen a different path in life.

There are other areas you can get into. You don't have to get a MSN.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

i cant stand most families. even with 24/7 visting nights gets less of it. i will get a cot for the visitor when that becomes the priority. seriously. i have actual patients to assess. ugh . and problems with the tv or wifi i have no idea how to handle almost any of them and wont waste time on it either .

[dina118r]

I completely understand you. I have always worked in outpatient care, decided to go into nursing, now in my last semester and thinking I made a big mistake. I know I will never want to stay at the bedside, will do my bare minimum to get experience then run. I absolutely hate it. As previously mentioned, I have had a patient ask me to hand her her water two inches away from her, wipe her face, yet she can do fine eating and stuffing herself all without any help. I have no compassion for theses ppl, its just not in me. Maybe because I am not used to it, but I am outraged and shocked at the abuse nurses take! Since when is this ok? I have never seen this type of abuse in any other job field! Mangement does not stick up at all, even if you get physically HIT/KICKED, and people have come to think hospitals are hotels. This just sickens me, doesnt matter who you are/how sick you are, you cannot go around thinking you can treat others this way without some type of consiciences. Nurses are a big group, we need to band together and demand respect for ourselves. Patients do not act this way around doctors, I almost always see a completely 180 when the doctor comes in...

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I'm in my 7th year as a RN and feeling the burnout now. 3 years ago I liked what I do, now I hate it. I've considered going back to school and getting my masters, but why would I want to obtain a masters in a field I hate?

I feel like I am locked in to nursing for the rest of my life with no way out. I really wish I had chosen a different path in life.

my sentiments exactly.

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

My beef is family members who come in at random times of the day and demand to know "When is the doctor going to be here?? He didn't come yesterday." "Uh yes ma'am he did, I was here and in the room, and he made a progress note." "Well *I* didn't talk to him, he needs to CALL ME." Um, how about you ask your 46 year old alert and oriented sister IN LAW for an update? People who think they're owed an update for some reason. Get it from your mother, she was there. If she knows who she is, where she is, what year it is and why she's here she's capable of telling you what the doctor said, and he has no obligation to track you down and talk to you.

[Fuzzy]

Reading posts like this makes me so glad that I went on the other (animal) side. My pay is crappy but my joy is wonderul. I love going to work daily with few exceptions.

Fuzzy