At the end of my rope...

AWanderingMinstral · Jan 22, 2012

Wow Madfowl....This is a place to vent not be trashed for the way we feel....There's alot of Nurses who have had it with patient care, myself included. Companies don't want to deal with the real problems in Nursing...they will replace the Nurse with another, then another, then another....I've been in Nursing for quite some time and I've seen many good Nurses get booted out for no other reason than they were a "threat" to management. Nursing has major issues; schools can pump out all the Nurses they want, they won't last either....[/quote']THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! The reality is that we all make choices. It is common knowledge that LTC is a bear and the staffing is horrible. That's why I don't do it. We all make decisions, right?

AWanderingMinstral · Jan 22, 2012

op, have you considered a volunteer position, in your dept of choice?find out who is who, and contact them (in person), relaying your enthusiasm in learning this specialty.in this competitive environment, we often have to think outside the box in order to realize our goals.i too, struggle with the pervasive environment of entitlement...whether it is in the hospital or community.that said, i'm not fully understanding how your academic achievements, relate to your disdain in appeasing your pts.is it only the educated, who should be offended in responding to such abject and menial requests (from pts)?i am only seeking clarification. :)i do wish you well, and find what you seek.leslie

No, that's not AT ALL what I meant, Leslie. I am simply tired of being expected to fulfill every patient's wishes all the time while working with fewer hands. I worked full-time as a bedside nurse while going to graduate school full-time. It I time for me to move forward in my career now that I have earned a graduate degree in an area that I enjoy. Make sense?

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 22, 2012

I suggest getting some relevant experience in Infection Control related projects. You can do that from a Staff Nurse position by being active in a committee or task force that deals with IC issues. If your current employer doesn't have such opportunities, you may have to switch to a Magnet Hospital that has such committees and projects going on. From there, you can do a research or evidence-based practice project designed to improve practice. You can present those project results at a conference in the form of a poster, or publish an article, etc. You would to do some staff education, policy development, etc. Such "experiences" can be highlighted on a resume -- showing that you not only have an appropriate academic degree, but experience in the action skills and tasks that are necessary to improve practice.

A lot of people these days are getting the academic degrees, but failing to get the job experiences along the way that develop the "know how" to use that academic knowledge to accomplish goals in the clinical arena. I've known many nurses who don't get involved in practice-improvement projects as a staff nurses because they want to focus their energies on getting the degree. They don't realize that getting the degree knowledge is only a portion of what is required for success in the clinical area. "How to" skills are also needed -- and people wanting to get those advanced or specialized jobs need to develop those skills by participating as a staff nurse in those projects. Those who try to skip over that step of career development are often disapointed when they first try to move into a non-staff nurses position.

Smart employers looking to hire someone with a good chance of being successful ... look for both the academic degree AND experience in applying knowledge to improve outcomes. That means getting involved in projects as a staff nurse. Degree only" applicants are usually ranked lower than those who have both the academic degree and also a track record of involvement and increasing responsibilities in the staff nurse role.

Good luck to you.

Bella'sMyBaby · Jan 22, 2012

That's right!!

So glad my office is upstairs so that my boss & I can vent about crazy patients & their psychotic families....LOL!!

AWanderingMinstral · Jan 22, 2012

I agree entirely with your post. I am a member of apic and i attend thwir regional monthly meetings. I was involved with the ic committee at a former employer too. It is becoming a catch-22...how do you get the experience if no one will give you a chance?

i suggest getting some relevant experience in infection control related projects. You can do that from a staff nurse position by being active in a committee or task force that deals with ic issues. If your current employer doesn't have such opportunities, you may have to switch to a magnet hospital that has such committees and projects going on. From there, you can do a research or evidence-based practice project designed to improve practice. You can present those project results at a conference in the form of a poster, or publish an article, etc. You would to do some staff education, policy development, etc. Such "experiences" can be highlighted on a resume -- showing that you not only have an appropriate academic degree, but experience in the action skills and tasks that are necessary to improve practice. A lot of people these days are getting the academic degrees, but failing to get the job experiences along the way that develop the "know how" to use that academic knowledge to accomplish goals in the clinical arena. I've known many nurses who don't get involved in practice-improvement projects as a staff nurses because they want to focus their energies on getting the degree. they don't realize that getting the degree knowledge is only a portion of what is required for success in the clinical area. "how to" skills are also needed -- and people wanting to get those advanced or specialized jobs need to develop those skills by participating as a staff nurse in those projects. those who try to skip over that step of career development are often disapointed when they first try to move into a non-staff nurses position.smart employers looking to hire someone with a good chance of being successful ... Look for both the academic degree and experience in applying knowledge to improve outcomes. That means getting involved in projects as a staff nurse. Degree only" applicants are usually ranked lower than those who have both the academic degree and also a track record of involvement and increasing responsibilities in the staff nurse role.good luck to you.

leslie :-D · Jan 22, 2012

No, that's not AT ALL what I meant, Leslie. I am simply tired of being expected to fulfill every patient's wishes all the time while working with fewer hands. I worked full-time as a bedside nurse while going to graduate school full-time. It I time for me to move forward in my career now that I have earned a graduate degree in an area that I enjoy. Make sense?

absolutely makes sense... thank you.

it's always interesting how much one's perspective can change, with only a tad more info.

i really do wish you well.

leslie

MinnieMomRN · Jan 22, 2012

Wow Madfowl....This is a place to vent not be trashed for the way we feel....There's alot of Nurses who have had it with patient care, myself included. Companies don't want to deal with the real problems in Nursing...they will replace the Nurse with another, then another, then another....I've been in Nursing for quite some time and I've seen many good Nurses get booted out for no other reason than they were a "threat" to management. Nursing has major issues; schools can pump out all the Nurses they want, they won't last either....[/quote']
Thanks for saying this Bella. When I read Mad Fowls reply this morning, I thought it WAY too harsh. I didn't reply because my response would not have been as nice as yours. I've learned the hard way to think long and hard before typing!
The OP is expressing the frustrations that go along with bed-side nursing today. Most of us have experienced a shift where you have one patient who really needs nursing care, but somehow you are stuck in the black-hole vortex room of the patient for whom the ice isn't cold enough. It is frustrating, and with the customer-service satisfaction surveys that rate nursing not on clinical outcomes, but on customer happiness a nurse can't help but get discouraged. I have recently left bed-side nursing and am now doing a mix of school nursing and clinic nursing. I am happier not answering to the Hospital powers who expect more and more from nurses with less resources (as a side note, we got all rooms re-done complete with flat screen TVs. Part of the price we paid for that was losing our patient sitters. Those TVs have a cost...) But I digress...
I also wanted to say that others who commented to think outside the box for opportunities are right on. The OP mentioned that he has Public Health experience and Peace Corp experience. I would think these would be of interest to ID. Maybe there is a way to better highlight this to potential employers? Is it possible to link these experiences? Just a thought. And, BTW, hats off to you for your Peace Corp volunteering. :)
~Minnie

AWanderingMinstral · Jan 22, 2012

Thanks for saying this Bella. When I read Mad Fowls reply this morning, I thought it WAY too harsh. I didn't reply because my response would not have been as nice as yours. I've learned the hard way to think long and hard before typing! The OP is expressing the frustrations that go along with bed-side nursing today. Most of us have experienced a shift where you have one patient who really needs nursing care, but somehow you are stuck in the black-hole vortex room of the patient for whom the ice isn't cold enough. It is frustrating, and with the customer-service satisfaction surveys that rate nursing not on clinical outcomes, but on customer happiness a nurse can't help but get discouraged. I have recently left bed-side nursing and am now doing a mix of school nursing and clinic nursing. I am happier not answering to the Hospital powers who expect more and more from nurses with less resources (as a side note, we got all rooms re-done complete with flat screen TVs. Part of the price we paid for that was losing our patient sitters. Those TVs have a cost...) But I digress...I also wanted to say that others who commented to think outside the box for opportunities are right on. The OP mentioned that he has Public Health experience and Peace Corp experience. I would think these would be of interest to ID. Maybe there is a way to better highlight this to potential employers? Is it possible to link these experiences? Just a thought. And, BTW, hats off to you for your Peace Corp volunteering. :)~Minnie

Thank you, Minnie, for your supportive response. I am not a monster. I am just burned out with patient care. I feel like my efforts are never good enough. A nurse could complete 99 of 100 tasks flawlessly, but it the one that they didn't complete well enough that is remembered by the unit manager, etc. Be well and happy 2012!

FireSpriteRN · Jan 23, 2012

Burnout has been a Huge and ongoing issue for nurses for a long time. We as nurses try our #&$# to give the best to our patients (and for the most part - their families) but as time goes on, the undermining attitudes of management and the lack of control of over anything consequential take their toll. It's unfortunate and as long as companies view us a (for lack of a better word) replaceable, it won't change. My first degree is actually is buiness and don't understand how constantly training and replacing nurses is good for the system OR the bottom line. Usually the first question from a patient is 'how long have you been a nurse?' followed by 'how long have you been here.' (I can't imagine it positively affects their press-ganey scores when they're constantly told that the unit is staffed with new people.) Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to attempt to reasonably address the concerns of the Professional staff. I have a feeling it's not a Wolfgang Puck cafe they're asking for (usually it's more likely to be adequate dressing supplies, etc.) I digress. However, I have found it does get better with Magnet institutions. I hope your new position - where ever it may be - is in an institution that values its nurses.

Piglet08 · Jan 24, 2012

Wishing you luck. I only read the original, and skimmed a bit of the rest; I do agree, you don't need to be ripped up for being ready to move on.