Discouragement in nursing

Nursing Students General Students

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Wow, I spent time reading through these comments, (I haven't been online in awhile) & couldn't believe some of them. Yes there are alot of nurses out there who are disgruntled, disatisfied & unhappy wishing they had not chosen the path & telling others not to. The present nursing shortage is not because there are no nurses, it's because the nurses do not want to work in nursing!!!!! Unhappy nurses are the voices you here because they do all of the talking.

I did my thesis on mentorship in nursing & we do EAT our young!!! Instructors eat them, experienced nurses eat them & some new nurses get out & belly up to the table to begin the feast!! It is time we break the chain. I can proudly say I have been a nurse for 25 years, I LOVE it, it's a passion that burns in your blood. I left hospital nursing to teach because I thought if I cannot change the attitude of the "old guard", I can breed new ones to carry the torch. I have found that teaching also has challenges, old vs. new thinking, students who are looking for "easy" money or job security. Nursing is HARD work, but fullfilling.

The person who wrote not to go to med/surg- forget it, Med/surg is where the best are born & raised. You can take a good med/surg nurse & put them almost anywhere in a hospital & they CAN FUNCTION!!! It is where you learn assessment of all persons/diseases,etc.. Enter the field & do the prerequisites, it gives you EXPERIENCE, then make a choice of where to go. You'll probably change areas about every 5-7 years for challenges. Listen to the "old guard" & say thank you for your input, but if it isn't productive information, -I'll make my own way. Stick to your guns & share insights, experience & guide others on a productive path. When someone new enters the fold, help them- it's called "mentoring", you don't have to be told to do it, or paid for it, just do it-this makes a team.

The old ones or new ones who complain, ask them what they're doing about it. Get involved in your state association, nursing unions, committees, whatever to make nurses voices heard. Nurses tend to let "others" make decisions for us & then bellyache about the results. If nursing were to unite as 1 entity we could overthrow the American Medical Assocaition, our numbers are that big. Disatisfaction comes from administrations that take advantage of us, DON'T stand for it, know your state practice acts & follow them. Be informed & back up your comments with KNOWLEDGE, it's the best defense. Many states are gathering members to form nursing redesign consortiums, find out if your state has one & get involved. Let's change nursing to be proactive & professional, as ONE group, not divided by degree or specialty. Many people say "we have met the enemy & it is ourselves" let's change it to "united we stand" & promote our profession.

Whew, I'm tired after that!

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Yes yes yes nursing is hard work but fullfilling.

I tried other jobs and I found that they all had their challenges in some way.

Being a beach bum even has its bad side!

Having the responsibility of someone's life and being on the front line to be sued if things go wrong - well I ve stuck it for over 35 years for some real reason? Perhaps it is because of the fullfilling bit, love to be needed, appreciated, or something to do with my work mates - co nurses. Yes lets stay nursing, set an example and be professional. Thanks for your - "united we stand" promote the professionalizm of nursing. I'm glad that I stayed in the PROFESSION OF NURSING.

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thank you!

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Well, all I can say is that after going through all this work to get through nursing school, nobody better try to eat me, because if they do they will get in return a mouth full of poison. I will not put up with that. I already went through that in the casino industry.:(New or not, if these sob sisters don't want to work as a team, get out of my way and let me do my job.:stone

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Hi, I'm in the midst of 1st semester nursing. Up early trying to study!Just wanted to add a brief thank you for above comments also. I must admit that we are blessed at my school Arkansas Northeastern college Blytheville AR(formerly Mississippi County Community College) We seem to have EXTREMELY caring instructors. The one I admire most talked to us at the start I told us to first really learn your stuff, be confident in what we do, and when faced with conditions in hospitals etc. that compromise patient safety or our own personal safety, to stand up, and this may include leaving for another job. I believe if more nurses will stand their ground and demand better conditions, improvements will come. I plan on being one of them!

God Bless

Judy

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Ever notice the ones saying it isn't worth it are still the ones working as nurses? Some part of it must be worth it. And always consider the source and the moment their saying it (aka..is it a bad day on the floor when their telling you this and they happen to be the one in charge of the chaos at the time?)

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Thanks so much! I can't believe some of the attitudes around here! I am in my first real nursing semester and all I read about is how nurses need to be objective, not judgmental... of course my readings are talking about with pts, but I keep thinking that it should be practiced with others too!

Thanks for the encouragement!

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I also teach my students to stand up for themselves, question (appropriately & professionally) Dr.'s, co-workers & yes administration, to protect both yourselves & your patients. If we allow staffing to be unsafe, or allow delegating skills to other staff that really need an RN to do, than why will they need RN's? RN's have invariably been a docile group because they don't like to make waves, or people above them must know more than we do, or we're afraid we will lose our jobs.

I quit hospital nursing after being in the same institution for 23 years because staffing at the beginning of a 12 hour weekend shift was; 2 RN's, 1 patient care tech for 14 patients. We were told " you're experienced, you can handle it". Well we did, but I resigned on sunday morning, much to the surprise of the Physicians, whom I still respect & adore. They still ask me why, & are beginning to question themselves, if administration is really doing the "right" thing. The staffing concerns are nationwide, the quality of care concerns are nationwide, so we as a nationwide group of nurses must work together to get things changed.

Hang in there, this too shall pass!!

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Thanks, Debb, for your refreshing insight and your well stated thoughts. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the politics of it all, just like any other job, and we all need to refocus once in awhile and concentrate again on the reasons that brought us to nursing in the first place. It is our passion, and we should never lose sight of that. I'll bet your're a great teacher too!

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Specializes in med/surge.

You know, when I was working as a health care assistant earlier this year, getting experience, and convincing myself that I really did want a complete career change, I was amazed at the number of times I heard the senior nurses around me say to me privately those magic 4 words: I LOVE MY JOB.

I can tell you that in 10+ years in marketing & PR, I never heard anyone say that. Admittedly the nurses words were often followed by a "but".... like, "but the money isn't brilliant" (it isn't, in the UK) or "but I'm really nervous about additional courses because I don't know how to use the internet...(this from an excellent senior nurse with 15 -20yrs experience!)

I found their private enthusiasm more encouraging than anything else.

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