Burnout in less than 2 years

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

I know how you feel. How about those patients who expect all of their meds to be given at the same time they take them at home? I've got five patients that need meds, I am not going to be able to come in here at exactly ten thirty on the dot to give you your pill. Oh, and you need new water because the ice has melted in your full water pitcher? Why didn't you ask the aide who was in here two minutes ago to do this? No, I do not know what time the doctor will be here in the morning. No, I do not have any control over when the nurse on day shift will give you your morning pills. No, I do not have a copy of your mother's living will from her last hospitalization a month ago. She is completely A&O; have you considered asking HER for a copy?

Give me an unconscious patient and visiting hours for family members, please!

Guess I'm feeling a little burnt out too.

snortzmom · Mar 5, 2009

How long have you been a nurse?

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Mar 5, 2009

Ditto, I am with you guys. Also an ER nurse here, only been a nurse for a year and a half, and not very satisfied with it thus far. I am also a paramedic, and enjoy doing that far more than I will ever like nursing, you actually get to assess patients and administer medications or whatever treatment they need without having to talk to a doctor!! It is a wonderful concept. Too bad the pay stinks .

I am waiting for a special care nursery job or NICU job to open up in my area that I can apply to. I am hoping maybe I am just sick of emergency medicine and need soemthing different. I enjoy taking care of kiddos, hate taking care of older people.

I did just cut down to eight hour shifts instead of three 12 hour shifts which did decrease my burn out quite a bit though.

Sweetooth

ozoneranger · Mar 5, 2009

I had a paraplegic pt.(in soft restraints), that was just nuts. He rocked himself to a sitting position, grabbed the rails & flung his body out onto the floor, where he flopped around like a fish out of water. It took 9 (5 were big strappin' security guards) people to get him back into bed. His doctor ordered 5 point leather restraints, so I called for a psychiatrist to eval & approve the order. 5 point leathers requires (here, anyway) q15 min. skin assessments......

The family of the patient in the next room, while witnessing this entire event, went off on me because they wanted a cup of coffee. I politely took them to the nourishment room, showed them their very own coffee maker.......

The next day, they told my manager I was TOO LAZY to make coffee for them.

Go figure.

Irene joy · Mar 5, 2009

I'd say get out of the ER. You have valuble experience thet you can use toward another specialty like ICU or OR.

diane227, LPN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

You will have A$$ holes to deal with no matter where you work, patients, drunk visitors etc. It NEVER goes away no matter where you work. I worked for many years in a very large county hospital in the ER. I loved my job and could not wait to get to work every day. I learned how to stand up for myself and how to put people in their place. I have been called every name in the book and I have had my share of people arrested for threatening me and for assault. I work med surg now and deal with nasty patients and families every day. It goes with the territory. I just don't let stuff bother me most of the time unless someone gets in my face and threatens me. That is when they go over the line. If they threaten to call their lawyer I tell them to do it now and I hand them the phone. I have been blessed with a very loud Texas accent, so I do well with putting people in their place. In fact, I look forward to it. I just look at this stuff as a game and not a pain any more. I love the patients we have, most elderly with multiple medical problems. Most are nice, sweet people with wonderful families but occasionally we get a few (families mostly) that are a real pain. I try the "help" approach first and I try to explain stuff to them because they have usually missed the daily physician visit. Most appreciate that and they thank you for helping them out. But like I said, sometimes I get people who are very threatening. Standing by my desk and making rude remarks. I have them hauled off the property if they don't behave themselves. I remember one guy who stood at my desk, threatening me for the entire shift. I could not get rid of him. He was very frightening. I was afraid that he was going to follow me home. Now I carry a gun.

cloister · Mar 5, 2009

I've been a nurse for almost 22 years, the majority of it in SICU.

I can relate to what you're saying about some folks' expectations. Unfortunately, as Ron White would say, you can't fix stupid......or rude , in many events.

My own personal coping strategy for dealing with these armpits on the body of mankind is to mentally detach myself and then narrate the scene as I would write it in a book (which I might just do someday!) Honestly, it helps me to remove myself from the situation while still being physically present. It also helps me not to take it personally as I stand there thinking, "you just can't make this stuff up....."

Try it sometime. Find your mental happy place and become an amused spectator the next time some errant, irate soul comes screaming your way. If nothing else, you might drive them crazy trying to figure out why you're still smiling while they're pitching a hissy fit. That alone can be worth it!

Good luck to you, and hang in. The first years are the hardest.

diane227, LPN, RN · Mar 5, 2009

I agree with Cloister. Just have some fun with it. I love seeing someone standing there acting like an A$$ hole. I had a woman the other day (daughter of the male patient) that I was not going to talk to her any longer. I told her that I was only going to talk to her mother. She was so mad and it was fun to watch her. She was so strange. Her eyes did not go in the same direction and she was kind of like a lawyer, asking you the same question over and over again, expecting a different answer each time. She was something else. The more I work with people the more I am thankful for my own mental health.

snortzmom · Mar 5, 2009

Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone in feeling this way!! I will for sure follow the advice given by the more seasoned nurses. Next time someone yells at me for not giving them a cab voucher, I will just smile. :bow:

cloister · Mar 5, 2009

Good! It does wonders for your mental health to observe the relative mental instability of the general public, up close and personal.

I had a patient's wife throw a bag of laundry at me as a new grad - no, she didn't hit me! I knew I had it coming as soon as I opened my mouth to tell her that I would have changed her husband's wet bed, because it was my job. Should have listened to the still, small voice.........

Had one recently that wanted the O2 CANNULA from her dead relative. Took me a minute to understand what exactly she was requesting ("The oxygen thingie, under her nose"), but I never batted an eye as I sailed into the room, bandage scissors held aloft, and cut the cannula after I had taken it from the deceased (who still lay here, doing the Q-sign thing).

"I have just the place in my house for this!" she cooed, as I presented it to her. (The wackmobile, not the patient).

Go figure............

Worst case of rage? A patient in resraints who threw his ankles over his ears and shot out a stream of Hep-C positive fecal matter at a nurse who was trying to pull him up in bed. I was momentarily stunned.....again, you can't make this stuff up! The general public has no idea of the kooks we see on a daily basis, because they watch shows like "ER" and "Scrubs". Hell, those writers lack imagination! Follow the average ER nurse on any given night, and they'd have WAY better scripts!

Keep smiling...........

beachgirl17 · Mar 6, 2009

Cloister, your posts crack me up! I am laughing so hard as I read them aloud to my hubby!:chuckle