i hate my nursing job

bootiffi · Sep 24, 2010

I work nights on a crazy busy, med-surg floor that here lately has been more of a psychiatric/nursing home. ALL of my patients the past 3 weeks have been total care patients with altered mental status as at least 1 of their diagnoses. So, of course, along with that comes neuro checks every 2 hours. On top of this, every other nursing responsibility. All of my patients currently have bed alarms that go off one right after the other. I enter the room only to find that th pt is out of the bed and has urinated all over themself, their bed, and the floor. So, I begin to take care of this only to hear their next door neighbor screaming nurse, nurse.......I have been nursing for 2 months and I HATE MY JOB! It is NOT what I signed up for. We are understaffed and babysitting full shifts at a time. Sitting pts behind the desk with us, just so we can get stuff done. I quickly realized after starting that pt safety is not at all what my employer prioritizes. They say that they do, but actions speak louder than words. If we are still clocked in "charting" at 800, our floor manager rudely asks, "Why are you still here? Leave." Come to find out the floor manager gets a bonus check if they keep man hours under a certain number. On top of all of this, our physicians have God complexes and do not respect nurses. The case managers act and treat us as if they were never nurses, and can't understand why this hasn't been completed, etc. Our charge nurses are unfair and bossy...night supervisors have no backbone and say nothing if we are being mistreated. Maybe I'm mostly venting here, but every single night that I work, I feel that my competency is on the line because my stress level is so high. My hands pure shake all night long and it takes hours after I get off to calm down. Just want some advice. I feel that I am too new to bring attention to the chaos that is ignored. Also, no other opportunities around me except nursing homes but RN's only do paperwork there. Hospice and Home Health are an option, but not sure that I have the experience needed yet to be completely confident there. I have a young child at home and my husband works 50-60 hour weeks. I miss them like crazy and sleep all the time when I am off and absolutely can't help it. Rambling now.....you get the point. Not the compassionate, caring, pt centered world that I imagined. HELP!!

Mylife · Sep 25, 2010

wow, its been 5 years since my original post.

i currently work in a private oncology practice for the past year and a half. before this, i did home care for 2 years.

oncology is where i think i will be for a while; i work in the infusion room for 2 doctors and the staff that i work with are super supportive, we respect each other (except for 1 doctor), and work well as a team.

i currently plan to get my oncology nurse certification by early next year.

based on my past experiences; a good nursing job isn't just being in a cool specialty or a big hospital with huge benefits. what counts in the long run are liking the patients you treat and the people who work with you.

maybe you can say this about other jobs (or maybe not judging by what my friends do); no pain no gain....

it gets better at year 2...,.=)

kdc290 · Mar 7, 2011

I am trying to get out of the nursing home I am in b/c of the administrators and managers that are on duty both day and night. They are down right verbally abusive and I can't seem to get out fast enough. I am on third shift and I am working so much I have no time to look. I just had an interview, but I was too tired to respond to questions w/o sounding like an idiot. I work 4 nights one day off then 5 nights. I can't keep this up with 2 small children! My kids get home @ 330 and my husband @ 8 or 9pm. Im too tired to know what I'm doing @ night. I'm going to have to cut down to part time just to look!! Any suggestions?