Nurse with Disdain

[StuckInTheMiddle]

Hi. I've got to vent here, since I have no "friends" that are nurses, and I want the input of some perhaps unbiased individuals.

I'm a mid-30s male career changer. I left a career I had for a decade (not sure why actually) and got a second bachelor's to be a nurse. My previous employment involved traits remarkably different than those that the profession of nursing wants to embody involving command, pointed direction, and disregard for feelings of others. Sure, I've cranked out many reports, position papers, and documents pertaining to administration so the paperwork end of nursing isn't the issue. I'm ok with that.

I actually deleted three paragraphs stating specifically what don't like, but I decided to filter it for all of you as after reading it most of you would probably be up in arms against me.

Without revealing any other information about myself I am actually in a practitioner program to become a NP. I thought perhaps I might find fulfillment there since patient interaction is short and to the point, and the purpose is to provide treatment which I thought I was going to do when I went for that second degree in nursing. I still may like it. I'm halfway there at this point so I'm going to press forward, and I understand that many of you might object to this.

I need to find other work for now though. I am absolutely on the edge, dread going to work, and even more so I hate actually doing the work. The neediness of patients infuriates me. I can't go back to where I was, and I hate myself for thinking I could feign an interest in this field.

[Susie2310]

I think there are many areas of nursing that the OP might find better suited to the OP's traits. Additionally, I would expect that the OP would get better at expanding his skills to better handle things that he currently finds difficult. I would expect it would also get easier as the OP gets into a position that is a better match...as he would not be stressed by feeling mismatched.

There is a time for being warm/fuzzy and a time for being analytical. There are certain jobs that require more of one and less than the other.

RNfaster, I just wanted to mention that being warm/fuzzy is not the same as being empathic and caring. Being empathic and caring is also not incompatible with using reason and analysis.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Ok, how about a Physical Therapist? Or Chiropractor school? Something with functional patients who need to have a goal of increasing and maintaining function and have the motivation to do so?

[mappers]

Have you thought about the OR and Anesthesia instead of NP? Very technical, not much patient interaction.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I am confused as to why you even came on here if you are so worried someone will identify you. Trust me, with what little info you've given us no one can identify you.

There are probably hundreds of nurses with the same story and dislikes. does not serm that unique at all! op, also iv therapy teams. some bigger hospitals have these. uou put in ivs, piccs, access ports. short pt interaction and procedural nursing

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

My advice is to seek out areas with less pt contact or high turnover: clinics, OR, pacu, iv teams, or..... go to work and treat it like work. put on a good act and suck it up for three 12 hr shifts a week.. i think many people do that! you dont have to enjoy it, you are getting paid to do it so do it right! if i can convince others it helps to convince myself.

[Violach]

Omg, I'm working on my BSN now...prior to this, I was a flight attendant for several years. It used to infuriate me when needy passengers would ring the call light over and over and over.... I will have to deal with this yet again, just in a different setting. Awesome.

[jme2018, LPN, EMT-P]

On that note, I totally get where StuckintheMiddle is coming from, and EMT (less time in training than Paramedic) or Paramedic may have been a good choice. I come from a Paramedic background (10 years) and chose to go into Nursing to (hopefully) find a bit more stable of a schedule, and of course, better pay, and also for personal reasons related to ambulance work that are hard to explain. I never wanted to work in a hospital setting for the exact reasons Stuck mentions, and I suppose short visits are what I'm used to (treating patients in the back of an ambulance for a short amount of time and then turning them over to the ER). I'm still finishing my RN program (6 months to go - fingers crossed!!), and somehow found myself working as an LPN in a spinal cord injury unit (read also - long term, inpatient care), and I absolutely HATE it! I dread going to work! I don't like having the same whiney, entitled, patients for 8 hours at a time, I don't like having those same patients for 3 shifts in a row, I'm tired of being swore at and treated like crap by both patients and families, and I don't like arrogant Charge Nurses (I know not all RNs/Charge Nurses are arrogant) who take the easy assignments and give the LPNs all the really hard work and sit back on their #$%% and watch while we run around like maniacs. I can't be without a job, so I can't quit at this point. I do have resumes and applications out there all over the place, and am excited about a clinic job I recently interviewed for, as well as a recent interview for a job teaching First Responder/EMT classes. I also hope to do some ER work once I'm done with my RN (hopefully!) I know this makes me sound like a terribly cold-hearted person who should never have gone into nursing, but that's truly not the case. I actually do enjoy working with patients, and being around people, and I'm proud to be a nurse. I just feel as though I made the most ginormous mistake ever applying for this current job. I have discovered what I kindof always knew - that inpatient/LTC is most definately not my cup of tea. Good luck StuckintheMiddle!!

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Omg, I'm working on my BSN now...prior to this, I was a flight attendant for several years. It used to infuriate me when needy passengers would ring the call light over and over and over.... I will have to deal with this yet again, just in a different setting. Awesome.

I often think of flight attendants as our sisters (and brothers) in the sky. Just like nurses, the primary responsibility is to keep everyone safe. But exactly like nurses, the public thinks the primary responsibility is to bring beverages.

[LillyFish]

Dear StuckInTheMiddle,

If you're still reading, I just wanted you to know that I hear ya. Some people who are career changers and go into nursing, go because they think it'll be a good fit. No amount of researching and exploring could have prepared you for what the nursing profession actually is. Unfortunately for some of us, it just isn't a good fit for our personalities, lifestyles, etc. It's not at all what we expected. It's not just the patients, it's also the environment, especially in the hospital. I get it. I truly do. And so do others. I'm sure there are a lot of nurses on this forum who are contemplating their options. And others who have left this forum because they figured out what to do with their lives outside of nursing. Best of luck to you.

[NottaSpringChik, BSN, RN]

If you don't mind working around inmates, I think you may be a good fit for a correctional NP. Those positions usually pay very well, and the inmates are transferred out if they're REALLY ill. Most of the time, they pretend something is wrong, because they want a trip to the hospital. Seriously, you should look into it, or maybe an occupational NP in a plant. Those pay even better, and all you do is push paperwork and do yearly physicals. See if you can get a clinical placement and try them both out. Good Luck to you.

I agree - you might like it.

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

I'd like to also voice my understanding for the OP. While I may not feel the way he does every day on the job, I get what he means.

Sounds to me like he's a ex-military guy who bought into the BS nursing schools sell, telling us nursing is an "applied science" that utilizes all kinds of deep technical skills & hard scientific knowledge. Then he got into the real field - and discovered what so many of us have, that nursing has devolved into a role of overpaid babysitter of people with zero personal accountability who widely abuse the system. That would rub ANY person with a military background the wrong way.

It's too bad. I think he could reconcile his value system with this profession if he found the right job. I GTFO of bedside and into case management purely so I'd never have to answer a whiny call bell or play beverage servant ever again.

[wanderlust99]

If you hate nursing now, don't try to become a nurse practioner. It's the same BS. Just quit nursing all together if you hate it. Life is too short to do something you hate.