Nursing is slavery Period!!!

Nurses Relations

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I am probably going to offend some of you and I apologize in advance for that.

However I really need a safe place to vent my frustrations about nursing and

this is the place.

A little background:

I have a Bachelors in Business. I worked in that field for just under 8 years. I liked it but it was starting to get boring and I felt I needed a challenge. I got my BSN and started working as a nurse for a big hospital. I didn't expect it to be all roses however I have to say what I have found in this profession has quickly turned me negative. I have been in this profession for over 2 years now and while I know that isn't long I have to be HONEST and say that I don't feel that I can honestly make it in this job.

Here is what I have noticed about the roles a nurse plays:

to administration: cogs (yet they don't want to pay the price required to keep us

so they keep increasing our task list, Responsibilites, documentation requirements,

etc while not increasing our pay)

to Dr: waitress/slave

to families: waitress/slave

Every job I have done went by satisfactory meaning I have never been written up or even had a verbal warning given. In this job people get written up for stupid stuff and no one thinks to give verbal warnings. The amount of demoralization that takes place on new grads is profound and now I understand why the smiles on new grad faces quickly turn sour. Every Dr I have s/w told me the same thing which is "get out of nursing or go higher fast . . . but do not stay in it"

Thus the message is clear that this profession needs a Major rehaul. Policies change on a daily basis (No Joke) and there is no effective means of getting the information across to all employees such that NO ONE has any idea what is the proper way of doing anything anymore. Everyone I've asked has a different idea and the new policy is not always on the intranet. The more nurses I talk to the more I realize they are not leaving this profession only because they do not have another option. The ones that do take it QUICK!

I keep hearing people tell me that nurses make such great money at the bedside but I have to say Nurses earn every single $ they make NO JOKE. We are expected to work tirelessly without taking bathroom breaks, lunches, etc. There is no regard for our healthy while all focus is given to patient safety. Now I know why nurses burn out at the rate that they do.

And after all is said and done the amount of responsibility and liability that a nurse carries is starting to increase. We live in such an age of Entitlement where people want the best care and they do NOT understand the stressors that are forged upon nurses such that if you don't bring them their cup of tea on time they get upset with you. I thought about pursuing my MSN in the clinical arena however after much deliberation I realized despite the fact that my desire to help people is strong I don't want the amount of liability that comes with it. I am working on getting out of it. Although I do feel like a failure because I will always remember that I wasn't able to make it in nursing.

I have spoken to other new grads about this and they feel the same way in fact a lot of them didn't even finish 1 year bedside nursing before they turned around and enrolled themselves in NP programs to get out of this dreary profession.

Please feel free to comment on this post. . .

Specializes in LTC.
I dunno...I know some people who come from indigenous tribes who think the term Native American is politically incorrect. Since they were hear before the continent was even called America. Complicated matters.

True. Let's just call people white, brown, pink, black, and purple and be done with it. How about....Native Continent that Divides The Oceans People. Or just simply People That Were Here First. Then of course they would fight about who was here first. Techincally caucasians aren't even white. Let's call them Beige or Cream. Americans really are European Americans...if we wan get techincal.

Im tired. I get silly when tired. Totally not being insensitive. Just I think the labels get a bit funny after awhile :p *wink* I'm going to bed before I say something and get myself in bigger trouble.

Specializes in Sleep medicine,Floor nursing, OR, Trauma.

Holy hell! Are we still beating the crap out of this dead horse?! ......Nice.

People that find only the negative in nursing are not truly nurses

If you passed boards and got your license, you're "truly" a nurse.

and they should find a different career path because I sure as hell would rather have a nurse that puts all my priorities ahead of their own in my time of desperation.

That kind of attitude is what causes burnout and destroys backs. "Well patient's priority is to get pulled up in bed RIGHT THIS SECOND and I have to put that ahead of MY priority of keeping my back healthy so that I can keep working until I retire, but he's 'desperate' so I'd better pull him up all by myself!....Crap, there goes my back. Have to retire at the ripe old age of 23...."

That's what a real nurse does and they don't think twice about complaining about it. We dont do this job for recognition or money we do it because it is what we were put on this earth to do.

I assume you don't accept a paycheck then?

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

If people choose to subscribe to the notion that a nurse is an angel, a saint or a martyr - those are your reasons, but to impose those associations on fellow nurses and expect that they similarly be willing to sacrifice their health and work for free just isn't acceptable or fair, and probably contributes to the internal fracturing we've been plagued with for such a long time.

Specializes in Pulmonary, Transplant, Travel RN.
Ok, first of all, no one said nursing was going to be easy. It is a calling, plain and simple. Clearly you don't enjoy the compassionate side of nursing either. Yes, it's hard work, but didn't you realize that in nursing school???? Did you ever stop to think maybe your thought process (negativity) is what shapes your view?

Sorry, but it sounds like you went into nursing for all the wrong reasons to begin with.

I don't think it really is that simple. I never had a calling. I went to nursing school for purely practical reasons. Had there been a huge demand for graphic artists or window display specialists back in 1976, I would've done that in a hot second. I hope nobody thinks less of me because of that. I'll say that I had an aptitude for science and always felt a special affinity for taking care of my elderly relatives when I was a teenager, but it did not rise to the level of a calling.

If you are a good nurse it's nobody's business what your reasons were to begin with.

I agree, its not that simple. Different people bring different things to the team, and each individual's contributions mean more when delivered in a team approach. The frame of mind that geminigirlee and so many other nurses possess is damaging to nursing.

There are those who are in the field due to having felt a calling to it. Then there are those who find it challenging (like the OP). Some like the pay, or the scheduling or the socialization. Whatever your reason for being there, as long as you keep quality patient care as your focus, you are a valuable asset to the team. Different people, who are there for completely different reasons, will bring different qualities to the team and benefit everyone.

Many who believe they experienced "a calling" fall into the misconception that only those who have the same experience should be allowed membership into the nursing club. The driving force behind this misconception is another false belief: the belief that only one who has experienced a calling to nursing can be compassionate and competent.

This thought process is flawed on so many levels you could create a new nursing site/forum dedicated to only it. Imagine a sports team that tries to function under this principal:

A baseball team decides only those who can hit home runs are truly playing baseball the way it was meant to be played. It stops worrying about signing players who can field or pitch or run the bases well...........cause they don't hit enough home runs.

A football team decides that since the QB is the most important player on the field, they must be the best player too. Instead of getting a good QB then building a team around them (with pieces that are very different from said QB), they decide to recruit only players who have similar skills and a matching mind set. Linemen no longer are judged by their size and ability to block, but must prove they can throw the ball well. Linebackers become more concerned with practicing their ability to drop back after taking the snap than with being able to tackle.

Hard to imagine either of these teams winning a single game at all, much less doing well over the course of a season.

What members of the "nurse calling" club fail to realize is that their ability to act out on said calling is supported by their fellow nurses who don't perhaps feel the same way, not hindered by it.

Also, by proclaiming that anyone who is unhappy with the direction healthcare is taking is "in it for all the wrong reasons" and needs to get out, they are hurting the very thing that can place them in a position to fulfill their "calling". Those who mean to do our profession harm and have no respect for patient care feed on these individuals. Their pension for accepting poor work conditions and unsafe work practices, while being lead along by the idea that they are fulfilling a higher "calling" (like a donkey with a carrot inn front of its nose) make them invaluable to healthcare administrators.

We all float down here.

Oh golly gee whiz... We are back to the "Nursing is a calling" mantra. Why is it nurses have to have a calling? Is this the way some rationalize or justify lousy work conditions? Do Physical Therapists have a calling? Do Pharmacists have a calling? How about hospital CEOs or the hospital attorney or maintenance personnel?

Are nurses who have a "calling" morally precluded from joining a union to protect their rights? If they are there for the sole benefit of the patient (and by extension, hospital management and share holders) than I believe the answer would be a rock solid yes. Honestly, I don't care for the religious like convictions some have that ONLY those who have the "calling" should partake in this career. That smacks of elitism.

The facts of life are that this job is brimming with the potential to grind you down, and there are people who are higher up the corporate food chain who will suck every last calorie of energy out of you. If you are still young and naive and have a Mother Teresa complex, than go ahead and do as you are told by smarter people in the corner office; after all, they work in the hospital too, therefore they also must have the "calling" and want only what's best for the patients.

Just don't drink any coffee in the morning, you know how that stuff makes you crave that bathroom break you sacrificed.

Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

Yeah and cost of living is also higher in those areas.....

Yeah, that's true but with some comfortable creativity one can live within these areas and not feel that impact of the high cost.

Sent from my Samsung Stratosphere using allnurses.com

#1 Nursing is a calling #2 Nursing is not like an episode from Grey's Anatomy #3 Real nurses are devoted, competent and caring. They work very hard b/c you are worth it. #4 Nursing is not perfect. Nothing is. #5 Either it's worth it to you and you do everything you can to make it better; or it's not and you walk away.

Signed, a nurse for 35 yrs who knows the good, bad and ugly and keeps nursing

Finally, someone has put into words exactly what I have been feeling. I have been a bedside care RN since 1998. It is no longer a good job. I am miserable and can't wait to get out.

Specializes in Peds; rehab.

This makes me so sad for you! I'm a new nurse, one year yesterday. I work in a small rehab hospital, bedside nursing, although not acute care. I'm paid well and feel appreciated. While I realize all places are not this way, I feel so fortunate to be in the position I'm in. Before you throw away a license you worked so hard to get, consider another area of nursing. Acute care may not be your bag, but that doesn't mean there aren't other areas that could be a great fit. I absolutely love what I do and where I work. We have fun, coworkers and patients. Every day isn't sunshine and roses, but the good days certainly outnumber the bad. I hope you find a place you love as much as I do!

Specializes in Emergency, Haematology/Oncology.
As much as bedside nursing sucks at times it seems that someone who would write this has no passion for truly helping people. Yes, families, docs, patients and bosses can all be demanding and downright cruel at times but the reward that you feel when you know you've helped save another's life makes it all worth it. We have to remember that we are with our patients at the worst moments in their lives so if the families and patients are on edge it would be expected. The people that we help will remember us for a lifetime, they will remember that warm tea you brought them after being up all night worried if their husband will survive to see his children again. They will remember your hug or touch when they found out thier cancer has spread. They will remember the extra time you spent making sure their mom was comfortable at her last breath. They remember everything you do for them so if waiting a little longer to eat your lunch or take a bathroom break seems like the end of the world you have your priorites all wrong. People that find only the negative in nursing are not truly nurses and they should find a different career path because I sure as hell would rather have a nurse that puts all my priorities ahead of their own in my time of desperation. That's what a real nurse does and they don't think twice about complaining about it. We dont do this job for recognition or money we do it because it is what we were put on this earth to do.

I have read the original post a couple of times and all I have really picked up on is that the OP needed to get some stuff out of her system. It also appears that she works in a facility that places some unnecessary demands on it's staff and she needed to de-stress. I think it's fairly unkind to attack this person's motivations for choosing nursing, or for venting about not being able to have a break during one's entire shift. I became a nurse for want of anything better to do and I can assure you, my patient's aren't missing out on anything. I cuddle, advocate, resuscitate, counsel, educate. I will do ANYTHING for my sick patients and consider myself priveleged to be part of a team that saves lives. However, I have been significantly assaulted twice, had a knife pulled on myself and fellow staffmembers, been sent home because I was so soaked and covered with a trauma patient's blood I had to wash my hair (lunch wasn't a priority that day funnily enough). I guess I am not a real nurse because I promise you, I've thought about all of these occasions and plenty of others more than twice and felt inclined to complain a little. Unfortunately, sometimes the downright cruel and demanding gets the better of us and we are entitled to discuss this with our colleagues, and in a nurses' forum without being insulted. I don't appreciate the self righteous comments and suggestion that if I air my frustrations occasionally, I need to change career. My existential dilemma would be a whole different thread, and I certainly wasn't "called" but as for why I do my job, well, I love it.

All the negs keep insisting "nursing is hell...nursing is no breaks...nursing is no appreciation...nursing is slavery..., etc."

I've been a nurse for 16 years, and I've never had that experience. So nursing is not any particular thing categorically. If you find yourself in that kind of situation, get out of it. Look for something different. Because it's out there. I had a great situation in the ICU where I worked. Sure, it was hard work. Certainly had bad days. But it wasn't slavery, I wasn't treated badly by the administration, my NM was awesome, my coworkers were great. Now, I'm out of the hospital in a facility which runs M-F, no holidays, no nights. Good coworkers, nice bosses, etc. So from my perspective, nursing is NONE of the awful things being described. Take control of your life and find a better situation if yours is so bad. But don't paint "nursing" with a broad brush, because as seen from many posts on this thread, "nursing" means a lot of different things besides the horrific picture painted by the OP and others like her.

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