Nursing is slavery Period!!!

[sonia211]

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. . .

[2BRN123]

Yes, exactly like slavery except you get paid, have health benefits, can leave whenever you want to and don't have to live in one room in a tenement with 12 other people.

[buytheshoes11, MSN, RN]

Would it be possible for you to find a different job? Like other posters have said, you've worked too hard to just throw everything away. There are days when I am physically and mentally exhausted after work, and days when I dislike my job, but I think all careers are like this.

[PennyWise]

The grass is not always greener in other professions. Alot of what I hear about being overworked, being treated as waitress is of of our own doing. Until the mind set of "its for the patient" ends we will continue to allow this to happen. Once I worked at a hospital who cut out the evening/night house keeping and wanted nurses to clean rooms. I refused, stating I did not have the time, never got in trouble. Some nurses stated they needed to do it because it was "for the patients". I tried to convince them that if they are cleaning rooms they are not doing patient care related things. Some got it, others didn't. The ones that didn't were the ones who stayed over every shift to chart & got called on the carpet for it. Nursing like any job is what you make of it. I worked in a factory before nursing and have worked ICU,ED,OR, Med/surg, homehealth as a nurse. Never have I been treated like the OP. Nursing is not for everyone, just like business is not for everyone.

Your sound a lot like me when I say "Sometimes you just have to let the system fail."

When the turn nurses into surrogate housekeepers craze was in full swing, I handled it pretty much the same way: I ignored it. My manager did complain and threaten me with write ups a couple times but nothing came of it. Fact was, if she were not standing directly above me demanding it be done (and even sometimes when she did), it didn't get done. It took too much energy from them for it to work and she abandoned it. Patient complaints about what the unit looked like and problems with it taking too long to transfer/admit also helped. It was a flawed housekeeping system, and everyone just stood by and watched while it failed.......then it went away.

Had the nurses done what they usually do and sacrificed to make it work (punch out then do the cleaning, working at a break neck pace), admin would have been patting themselves on the back for saving money and never would have fixed the problem.

Im very careful that patient safety is not jeopardized, and I am compassionate towards their needs...........but sometimes a short staffed unit is going to yield short staffed results. If I am having a night from hell, I don't get down on myself for not having time for things like cleaning up rooms or restocking supplies.

In short, if the admin only staffs/equips a unit in a way where just staying alive is all that is reasonably possible....................Im not burdening myself with being concerned with whether we get 3, 4 or 5 stars on the PG survey.

We all float down here.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

Life's too short to experience such misery. Change your career ... again.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Nursing is NOTHING like slavery. No one is forcing you to do anything against your will. I do take offense to this comment. I bet if Jews, African-americans, and indians who were slaves would agree as well.

If you cannot cope maybe you either need a new specialty or to get out of nursing.

Yes, some of us have felt this way but I would never compare it to slavery. Just my two cents.

I agree. The OP and others have made some valid points about the nursing profession. Equating it to slavery is pure hyperbole.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I don't think it is fair to condemn the use of the word slavery, and it isn't fair to compare working conditions in the US to those of any other country. If we don't stand up for ourselves, then we could become just like those countries who have no freedom, and have dangerous and terrible working conditions. My ancestors worked hard to make this country free, and relatively safe, with decent working conditions, and I am thankful for that. To bash this nurse for complaining about things that matter is ridiculous. I expect a decent salary, lunch breaks, time off, etc., or otherwise I might end up like those areas mentioned.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Your sound a lot like me when I say "Sometimes you just have to let the system fail."

When the turn nurses into surrogate housekeepers craze was in full swing, I handled it pretty much the same way: I ignored it. My manager did complain and threaten me with write ups a couple times but nothing came of it. Fact was, if she were not standing directly above me demanding it be done (and even sometimes when she did), it didn't get done. It took too much energy from them for it to work and she abandoned it. Patient complaints about what the unit looked like and problems with it taking too long to transfer/admit also helped. It was a flawed housekeeping system, and everyone just stood by and watched while it failed.......then it went away.

Had the nurses done what they usually do and sacrificed to make it work (punch out then do the cleaning, working at a break neck pace), admin would have been patting themselves on the back for saving money and never would have fixed the problem.

Im very careful that patient safety is not jeopardized, and I am compassionate towards their needs...........but sometimes a short staffed unit is going to yield short staffed results. If I am having a night from hell, I don't get down on myself for not having time for things like cleaning up rooms or restocking supplies.

In short, if the admin only staffs/equips a unit in a way where just staying alive is all that is reasonably possible....................Im not burdening myself with being concerned with whether we get 3, 4 or 5 stars on the PG survey.

Well stated. When administrators are constantly beating the mantra "service at all costs", we tend to subconsciously own it. Then we kill ourselves to make our managers happy/avoid getting written up and we fix problems that ARE NOT ours.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I talked with my brother today. As usual, he spent much of the time complaining about how short-staffed they are at work. * people have left within the last year or so and none of them has been replaced. He thinks the managers are idiots who just don't care anymore. He is an aviation mechanic.

Just a little while ago, I checked my niece's Facebook page. She was venting about how short-staff her workplace is. People have left and not been replaced. She is doing the work of 2 people now -- and winning awards for top-notch performance. But the boss doesn't seem to appreciate her and she has had to take 2 paycuts in the past 2 years to avoid being laid off. She sells insurance.

As others have said, a lot of what we are now seeing in nursing is happening in other industries, too. The "do more with less" mentality has taken route throughout our society. It's not just in nursing.

[Msmedic68w, MSN, RN]

Hmm, I read this and I can't help but laugh a little....

First off I am sorry you are having a bad experience. But I think you should use the term "slavery" very sparingly. Currently I am in the Army as a medic, if you wanna talk about not making any money, crappy hours, no meal breaks, back breaking work then I can tell you all about it. Run around for 18 hours a day in a full combat load kit on top of a mountain, dragging people around, people screaming and cursing at you, and you haven't bathed in a week, ....Oh and did I mention people are shooting at you? Sure that's the deployed like but it's also the training life even if you're not deployed, they will send you to the field for months and you play war-medic and that's how it is. Even if you're not training...You wanna talk about not feeling appreciated, imagine going to work and your boss could get in your face and say "Get on the ground and start knocking out push-ups you worthless f**** pieces of ****"

Yeah...they talk to you like that.

Look, I'm not trying to make this a "who has it worst" scenario, but what I'm saying is no matter how rough it is sometimes it could always be something else. I used to work as a CNA before I joined the Army and thought I worked so hard, but that job seems pretty darn relaxing now that I think about it....Sure I'm in a contract but even I could quit today, they can't MAKE me stay in...But even with all the crappy parts that goes into it when you see someone get shot or seriously hurt and you're the one who kept them alive to go back to their families it's all worth it, even if it's someone who got into a roll-over and cut their arm and all you did was clean it up and stitch it and they say "thank you" it makes it all worth it, so remember that next time when you're at work.

[Topaz7]

I'm interested in research but I thought you had to have a MSN or PhD to do research?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I don't think it is fair to condemn the use of the word slavery, and it isn't fair to compare working conditions in the US to those of any other country. If we don't stand up for ourselves, then we could become just like those countries who have no freedom, and have dangerous and terrible working conditions. My ancestors worked hard to make this country free, and relatively safe, with decent working conditions, and I am thankful for that. To bash this nurse for complaining about things that matter is ridiculous. I expect a decent salary, lunch breaks, time off, etc., or otherwise I might end up like those areas mentioned.

I don't recall people "bashing" this nurse for complaining (maybe one was particularly snarky). Several of us take issue with her equating nursing to slavery, as we have every right to do on a message forum which is entirely founded on the feedback principle. I already said I found many of her complaints to be legit. Nevertheless, nursing is not the same as slavery. Hyperbole, plain and simple, and really not necessary when the reality is perfectly worthy of criticism and improvement on its own merits.

[GwenDaNurs]

I have been a nurse for 23 years, I worked in a hospital immediately after graduating, to get in that one year of hospital expierence. But, I couldn't handle the pace...I have done SNF, Home health, Dialysis, and now am in Hospice. I dont make a dollar for every year of expierence I have..but then again, I get alot more from my work than a paycheck. I feel like I make a difference in my patients and with their families. And, that is why I became a nurse....