A Nurse's Life, Now With Open Eyes

[TrudyRN]

I just read "Nursing Against The Odds". :uhoh21:

I finally see that my unhappiness, my frustrations are not nearly

all my fault. I have been a victim of the age-old disrespect and maltreatment heaped upon women and upon nurses by Admin

types and by doctors from way back. :angryfire:madface:

I feel I have wasted my life by having stayed in Nursing, although I know I have been a very good nurse, have positively influenced students, have helped many patients and families, have supported

my family and myself, have been a good citizen, and have prepared

for retirement as best I could. :thankya:

I see that my frequent job boredom, thus frequent job changes, does not lie completely with me. It is the circumstances under which I've had to work that have eroded my happiness and my confidence, not to mention limited my pay and curtailed my productivity in general life.

What a sap I have been!

Now, what to do about it. I'm stuck for a while because of finances and retirement issues. I feel I must continue where I am until the time I can retire. It is not a pleasant feeling. But I sure have some plans on how I will spend my life after that! :balloons: :biggringi :smiletea: :smiley_aa

Do any of you feel this way?

What is wrong with us that we stay in these abusive situations? Of course, a lot of us don't. We get out of Nursing altogether or we find jobs that don't endanger us, our patients, or our licenses and all that we have worked so hard for so long to achieve.

My hat is off to nurses :pumpiron:who lead the way in developing staffing ratios, in getting rid of mandatory OT, in making conditions tolerable for themselves and safe for patients, and who strive :smiley_abto develop collegial relationships with physicians and Admin, to replace the outmoded, paternal, often evil relationships we have traditionally had with them, although I personally have had mostly decent relationships with doctors and bosses - as best I recall, anyway.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what nurses and nursing are about.

[emmycRN]

I have been a nurse for almost exactly a year now. I am also looking for a different path. I have reapplied to retail stores for work until I find something that suits me better. I am already burned out of the way that administration, physicians and other nurses treat the staff. My graduation present from a BSN program was that I moved back into my parents house. I don't know of anyone in my graduating class that supports themselves. Everyone either has a roommate or is a married. This is what I have to show for a bachelors degree and working OT?

So sorry your experience has been so negative. You aren't alone. This is exactly why we have a nursing shortage. For example, in my small area there are at least 4 nursing schools who pump out large classes of graduates. The hospitals around here snatch them up and have burned them out by the time the next graduating classes are ready for hire. There is a constant revolving door of new grads coming through the hospitals. At least that has been my experience over the last 6 years. I truly believe the only reason I have stuck with it is that I have never had to work full-time.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

However, the poster in question stated they were working overtime. That's a sad state of affairs for an RN to work OT, yet still have to move in with their parents.

Student loans?

Yeah, it bites. I made more as a word processor.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

I've read this book. It made sense to me. I'm a pre-nursing student. I think I'm aware that there is obviously a great deal I'm still unaware of.

That said, I go into this becoming an RN process with the understanding that I will need to develop my career very, very carefully in order to find fulfillment and preserve my sanity. That may mean moving to another state, finding my niche here or there, etc. I imagine later on it will mean getting an MSN or more so I have more options and automony.

One thing I will not do - graduate and then go work at a hospital in my city just because I live here and that's the next thing to do. Then let years go by being unhappy and feeling trapped.

However, I am freer than most. I'm single and without children tying me to any location. I also don't do debt besides some student loans. My frugality means I can leave a bad situation on a dime without worrying about paying the bills.

It's also probably worth mentioning that job burn out and disillusionment is pandemic in many occupations, not just nursing.

Maybe it comes down to controlling your career and not letting it control you. Doesn't that just sound like a bumper sticker?

[brwneyegal]

OK, I know that nursing can burn you out. I have been there. But you have to know that you and only you are in control of your career. As a nurse we have many options. If you do not like hospital nursing, try home health or clinic nursing. There is always something you can do. Being a nurse gives you many options.

SO if you hate where you are move on to the next place maybe it will better and if not move on. :monkeydance:Thats the beauty of this profession. Not many other professionals have the options we have as nurses.

[slu_rn]

In response to you question about debt, I am very lucky. Between scholarships and my family, I have no school debt. That is an amazing feeling. I can't imagine anyone in this area with school debt and trying to support themselves.

The poster who spoke to a hospital in their area using the large output of students in the city for a year and burning them out feels like here. The low wages and benefits are attributed to a "large" number of nursing schools and hospitals in the area. No one has to be competitive. However, I can tell you that our unit runs short staffed almost on a daily basis. Don't ask what happens when someone calls in sick...

[oramar]

OK, I know that nursing can burn you out. I have been there. But you have to know that you and only you are in control of your career. As a nurse we have many options. If you do not like hospital nursing, try home health or clinic nursing. There is always something you can do. Being a nurse gives you many options.

SO if you hate where you are move on to the next place maybe it will better and if not move on. :monkeydance:Thats the beauty of this profession. Not many other professionals have the options we have as nurses.

The problem is that if everynurse that was unhappy with bedside nursing suddenly found a nice non-bedside position and exited, well there would be no one at bedside. That is practically what is going on at moment. Do you really want to show up in ER and need admission to floor and wait 24 hours for a bed? Because of the unhappiness of bedside nurses that is what is happening. 12 hours is the normal wait but 24 hours is not unusual. It could and will get worse if managment does not heed. How about a new health care slogan, "SAVE THE NURSE, SAVE THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM" or even "SAVE THE NURSE, SAVE THE PATIENT".