I'm about ready to kiss nursing goodbye for good. No one today seems to appreciate a strong assertive nurse like myself. I won't be a wimpy nurse! I won't take crap! I refuse to be abused and walked on! I won't stop fighting for my rights as a human being at work! I am NOT a robot! I am flesh and blood! I bleed and hurt and cry and misunderstand and get angry and upset just like every other human being. Perfect I am NOT!!! Never have been...never will be!
Should I quit nursing and go work for Wal-Marts? Perhaps I can get a job at Barnes and Nobles. I love being surrounded by books and the smell of books, so maybe I should do that?
HELP!!! I'm tired of crying on my days off about the ill-treatment I undergo on my job. They don't want a good nurse. What they want is a warm body who is "task and servant oriented" who doesn't talk or speak for herself/himself. They want a person without a bladder, without a need to deficate while on duty, without a need for nourishment while on duty. They want doormats and handmaidens. Nurses are not needed anymore in today's realm of nursing from what I see as a nurse now.
Five patients.......one me...........they all want NOW....I can only attend to one at a time.....it takes time to care for one patient.......perhaps longer than the other family members or patients want to wait for.......why not give us nurses a room with five beds in it where we can treat all five within sight of the others and their loved ones so they can see what goes on in nursing. They can't see through walls that Mr. so and so needs this or that, or that I am trying to save a life, or that I'm feeding the old man who can't use either of his hands because the PCTs are overworked and there's no one else to feed him, and........
There's not enough room to voice the drama we live with in nursing today, yet we get written up, gossiped about, talked down to like toddlers or like dogs who've just peed the new carpet.
I love your comments "cindylouwho" and "wife-of FL". :rotfl:
No one has seen me AT MY WORST, and let's hope they never have to. :chuckle
Thus far, no hope of getting off my current unit since I didn't have enough of the right type of experience required by the unit I THOUGHT I'd be transferring to part time nights. I'm still looking for a unit to transfer to, as well as checking jobs elsewhere. Until I can make a smooth transition from one place to another, I remain employed on the nightmare from elm street unit. :rotfl:
I am a survivor! I've had to contend with many many disappointments in my life, and this one will simply be but a memory one day and added to the list of upsets I've endured, so not sweating it anymore. I'll keep on keeping on and searching for the right job for me. :)
I agree, you certainly need a vacation, but maybe you should think about working in a different type of nursing. I work in a nursing home, which a lot of people think is horrible. However I have been there 9 years. After you get to know your residents, it really is enjoyable.LD:)
Thanks Lori-Emma. I have considered working in a nursing home, too. I'm open to just about anything that will prove to be less stressful and more of a positive challenge for me. Every suggestion given here has been worth its weight in gold to me because I have seriously given a lot of thought to everyone's comments as to what would be to my best interest. To be truthful, working in a library right now wouldn't be so bad except the pay wouldn't support my living expenses. I've much to think about with many decisions to make that will be to my best interest healthwise and financially. :)
That is strange, I did library work many many years ago. The pay is really bad. I am a MDS Care plan coordinater in a ICF . I still work on the floor some and help with meals. This works for my health as full time work really aggravates my asthma.
The nursing profession has taken a nosedive-but it's not the nurses. Huh??
I think it has to do with the administration and bottom line of money. Those few people who have made it to the top rarely are nurses--and those that are, seem to quickly forget the long hours, weekends from friends and family, and the patients that
received care.
Nurses can and should be assertive-not aggressive. We indeed have feelings and rights. We deserve respect--and we should be able to show respect also.
I have a reputation for being a troublemaker--and in my mind I am only trying to make the system better and look out for the patients' well-being. However, we are the ones with our licenses on the line---------so if situations do not improve, it is sometimes best for all to look at other options.
Isn't it amazing--we all probably go into this profession for the caring of others and we forget to care for ourselves?
You need to do what is right for you!
There are books and counselors and websites galore for nursing positions--check them out and stay healthy in mind and soul.
You just need a decent manager for your floor who knows what kind of nurse you are. Sometimes they are only in smaller hospitals. It does not matter if you are the best nurse in the world, there are those who are so unhappy with their circumstances, and if their doctor does not live up to their expectations, they will ALWAYS blame the nurse, cause who does NOT want to believe their Doctor does not care about them? And that is the fact of the case so many times. Doctors have enough patients without cow-towing to abusive goofy wives, so we are left to suffer the wrath. OH WELL. Such is life. Did all I could do. A good manager recognizes manure from a bull.
Hey 1GR8TRN! First of all you are just that! And don't forget it.
Second of all, I feel you! Although the nursing role is new for me the field of nursing isn't. I've worked side by side with RN's for 16years and I know what you're talking about. It's that thing that happens when some nurses "move up" into management and get amnesia regarding life on the floor because they now are in the butt-kissing role. If they don't do their fair share of kissing up, they are easily replaced. Now PLEASE don't think I'm making any excuses for that. I'm not. I've just seen the circus and know the ending of the show. Nothing changes. Anywhere. So, what do you do? The best you can do, cover your butt, protect your license, and pray. You sound like me. No one intimidates me-doctors, nurses, management, patients, my husband(heehee! he was smart and gave up trying) In this new job I have been in for 2 days, I keep my mouth shut and eyes and ears open. But you know what? They already know I'm not one to take any ****. I commend you for not letting the stress change you as a person or a nurse. Don't quit, please!!! People like me need people like you. I was a patient for 3 whole months and would have loved to have someone like you caring for me and my husband. The field of nursing is too vast for us to settle and get abused and burned out. Try something new. Or just try a new facility-you know same crap, different location CAN be refreshing. That's where I am in life right now. It's the same stuff here-all the nurses are unhappy, feel under appreciated, under paid, over worked, all the stuff you feel. And I understand. But for me I feel a little disconnected because I've been there. I refuse to let the job ruin my sanity, spirit, and health. I am here to help people. Period. And all the ones who make you feel like you're doing what you're supposed to be doing? Remember them.
So much love, peace, and blessings your way, sister!!!!
You can only be the best you you can be and if you still feel this way after a vacation, change or whatever, then you may have to re evaluate things..But, you are a wise, learned and wonderful nurse whether or NOT you choose to make it a part of your past vs a part of your future...I feel what you feel....Maybe we have just achieved all we can where we are......Hang in there...Give it time.....Things are not handled the way they used to be in nursing. Management is a wild animal all to itself...Sad but true..In the past they used to actually ask you what went on and weigh both sides vs just charging in and making the customer correct all the time....I miss the old days.....
"In the past management actually asked what went on and weighed both sides vs just charging in and making the customer correct all the time...I miss the old days".
Here here! mother/babyRN...couldn't agree more...and I miss the old days too. Things are crazy out there today.
I think life is too short to short change yourself in what you are really capable of doing. Sometimes we do have to take a step back and decide if our "heroic" efforts are worth our own peace of mind or health. I have decided nursing is not worth those things because life is too short. There really are other ways to make your income and help people as we nurses are used to doing. email me and we'll talk.
live4today, RN
5,099 Posts
I love your comments "cindylouwho" and "wife-of FL". :rotfl:
No one has seen me AT MY WORST, and let's hope they never have to. :chuckle
Thus far, no hope of getting off my current unit since I didn't have enough of the right type of experience required by the unit I THOUGHT I'd be transferring to part time nights. I'm still looking for a unit to transfer to, as well as checking jobs elsewhere. Until I can make a smooth transition from one place to another, I remain employed on the nightmare from elm street unit. :rotfl:
I am a survivor! I've had to contend with many many disappointments in my life, and this one will simply be but a memory one day and added to the list of upsets I've endured, so not sweating it anymore. I'll keep on keeping on and searching for the right job for me. :)