Does anyone enjoy nursing?

rn undisclosed name · Mar 2, 2011

Overall I enjoy nursing. Like someone else said I don't enjoy the politics that goes along with it. I don't enjoy my current place of employment. This is my 3rd job and it is certainly not for me. I don't mind the type of patients. I just don't care for the management and the way the hospital is run. The hospital was recently taken over and there is a general vibe - if you don't like it then leave. Well, I will be leaving. Been on a couple interviews and received a job offer today. Planning to accept it.

One reason I don't like my position is that I work nights and I am just not a night person. They know I want to go to days badly. Even told me I would be going to days eventually. That was 2 months ago. There is no sign of me going to days anytime soon. Can't pin down any dates from anyone. In the meantime a new person has started who was supposed to be on nights. While she was on orientation they asked if she'd like to stay on days. Doesn't have to go to nights at all. She will be off orientation for several months before I'll ever get to go to days. I must be chopped liver. If I complain I'm not a team player. Well, I believe in doing things fairly. Morale on the unit is bad. One of the long time nurses I work with said if she was younger she'd leave and go somewhere else. She's not happy with how things are now. The scheduling is not fair and if you get on the bad side of the person who does the schedule then look out you're never going to get what you want unless approved by mgmt ahead of time. Needless to say everyone tiptoes around her. Mgmt knows it goes on and does nothing! There's many other things. I'm fed up and I've only worked there for 8 months. I've never worked in a place like this. Just so thankful I won't have to stay much longer.

jedimom09 · Mar 3, 2011

Let me just say Thank you to everyone who posted a reply. You are all very compassion and understanding people. I have decided to go straight and get my BSN because it would limit any time I would have on a wait list. Thank you all again

Popwhizbangz, LPN · Mar 3, 2011

The great thing about nursing (one anyway..) is that there IS NO "JOB IN NURSING" - there are LOTS AND LOTS of very different jobs, varying by culture, by location, by specialty, and so on.

Given enough effort and persistence - move around if need be, I know I and many others had to for a while - many folks who hate their "job in nursing" could find something they like, either in the big tent that is nursing, or somewhere else if need be - nursing can be a great stepping stone to something else as well. There are many, many "jobs in nursing" I'd probably never take - but it doesn't matter, because I found jobs I LOVE. Repeat: I LOVE it. And if & when I tire of it, I can move on again.

Don't let the current economy fool you - times are tough in many careers now, but nurses still have a bright future.

There are no guarantees, of course, for anyone, (where are there?) and like any career, what you MAKE OF IT is a big part of what it becomes.

But nurses, just like all people, often would rather complain (easy and feels good but accomplishes very little otherwise, can even PREVENT progress) than make a better career and life for themselves - hard but where the real payoffs are to be found.

"If you believe you can, or that you can't, you're right" - Henry Ford

Don't give up!!! America needs good nurses!!! :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

RNforLongTime · Mar 3, 2011

Most days I love what I do. I enjoy taking care of patients....the ones who appreciate my care. I do get tired of the entitled attitudes that a lot of patients have adopted in this "customer service" era. It's all about making sure our patients are happy and basically brown nosing them so they give us a good Press Ganey score so we get decent Medicare reimbursement.

Meanwhile management expects us to do more and more with less everyday. In this bad economy, management is allowed to treat us poorly because they know most of us are afraid to lose our jobs in this economy so some facilities get away with cutting our pay and taking away previously earned benefits because they know we won't leave.

nae08 · Mar 3, 2011

I think most people enjoy nursing but it definately takes special people to be a nurse. You can't do it for the money because it is never enough sometimes. It is very rewarding at times but very sad at times. Keeping a balance with work and family is the key. You have to be able to let things go easily. You always have good and bad days. Always take care of yourself first though because I think most nurses would agree that you take better care of your patients than yourself somtimes.

johnnybravo8802 · Mar 3, 2011

Yea, I read the comments on this site quite a bit and wonder the same thing. It's funny how everyone is so negative until you ask the question directly and, suddenly, everyone loves their job!!! I used to work with nurses who were excellent nurses and swore up and down they loved their job but would bit#@ the entire 12 hours and were the most hateful people in the world. Yea, that makes a lot of sense!!!!!!! I'm rolling my eyes...... It's funny, the things that I love, I don't bit#@ the entire time I'm doing them...

orangeroom · Mar 3, 2011

Dear Jedimom,

I, like many here, absolutely LOVE my career! To me, it's not just a job, but a life long career. I graduated nursing school at the age of 38. At the nursing school I went to, we had many off-unit (non clinical) experiences. These experiences were very different compared to the clinicals we were participating in weekly. It showed just how varied nursing can be. There are nurses who; visit homes, have little to no patient contact, are in the hospital setting, doctor's offices, school nurses...elementary all the way up to universities, jail house nurses to name a few. I thought I got the short straw when one of my experiences was to shadow our own college's nursing office staff. However, I was able to refer a fellow student to them for meds later on in the semester. Did anyone else know that you can get scripts at your college? It was also a NP's birthday, and I got the best recipes! No other student came back with this type of knowledge after their off unit experience.

Pepper and Bean Dip (keep reading, it's really good)

1 green, red, orange and yellow pepper chopped

2 cans drained black beans

1/2 c basil (or cilantro) chopped

1/2 c fresh parsley

3/4 c olive or vege oil (can use a smidge less)

1 c cider vinegar

3/4 c sugar

Mix first four ingredients

Blend last three and pour over first four ingredients

Chill

Serve with tortilla chips

gardengal1, ASN, RN · Mar 3, 2011

You need to remember that this forum is here so that nurses can safely vent their frustrations from their day, their week, about administration, etc. without fear of reprisal so you need to take everything we say with a grain of salt. That is why many posts are negative - we are doing just that. If it were a happy place, probably no one would read our posts. Nursing can be very rewarding, it can be extremely frustrating and most of the time, sits somewhere in-between on most days. If you can live with that, follow your heart. Personally, I am counting the days/months/years until I can get out and retire. I have done my tour of duty, have many wonderful memories, but am frustrated with the "doing more with less" due to our economy which is making an extremely stressful work environment for all of our staff right now. This too will probably pass as the economy improves but at my age, I have the choice to say enough is enough and I don't want to do this anymore.

lamazeteacher · Mar 3, 2011

Have you heard of any other vocation wherein a worker who just won multimillions of dollars in a lottery, went to her scheduled night shift saying she couldn't leave her team short?

That happened in Santa Rosa, CA in the '90s

when an OB nurse wasn't about to eschew her responsabilities just because she came into money.

That's the stuff of which most of us are made!

NCHarleychic · Mar 3, 2011

I still like nursing... I just hate that it's all about money and that your given more to do than is humanly possible.

Everytime we huddle at work it's something else about, "we have to do this this way to get the Medicare dollars and if we don't, we'll lose the money which will affect the hospital, employees, and even the community!"

Most days I run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I've found that the longer I'm in nursing, the more pressure there is to give "Excellent service", which I've always strived to give anyway... patient care is very important to me, always has been and I've always given my all.. but then management wants you to take 7-8 pts on a busy med-surg unit, have all of your assessments in the computer by "9ish" at the latest, and still have 8am meds out on time. Since the change of meds having to be given 30 minutes prior to or 30 minutes after the scheduled time, I find it next to impossible to get it all done and give "Excellent pt. care" at the same time, especially when our CNA's have 14 rooms each. (Bless them, they work their butts off!)

I don't have a lot of great days. Most of the time I'm stressed out about not getting charting in and meds out on time, but I'll be danged if I'm gonna let my patient sit with a full bladder because I'm late getting my meds out. I will stop and help him/her to the bathroom, straighten the bed up and get them safely back to it before I move on. Period. And, I probably just prevented a fall which would constitute more paperwork and put me even further behind.

Do I like nursing? Most days, yes. Everyday? No. And a lot of days I ponder a career change.

Just before shift change last night I discharged a patient to a SNF and forgot to send her personal meds with her. I called her daughter to let her know and before we hung up she said, "Thankyou NCHarleyChic for the excellent service you gave my Mom. (yes, she said excellent service *rolls eyes* I couldn't believe it either) You went above and beyond our expectations to make sure she had everything she needed and we appreciate that so much.

And that.. is what keeps me going back. Well, that and the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

james2309 · Mar 4, 2011

I love being a nurse more now (after some nearly 30 years doing it) than I ever have! The organisational/political nonsense goes on as it always has - never enough money, nurse education is not what it used to be, etc, etc... but I can honestly say I just can't imagine myself doing anything else...

I didn't always want to be a nurse - I fell into it, as a young man wanting a career I could travel with - but now I feel so privileged that I can have such a positive effect on someone's journey (be it patient, student or colleague) that there are so very rarely days I don't go home feeling like I warmed someone's day!

There aren't too many jobs where you can say that.

The slog of being a student and a beginner practitioner will no doubt have you question (and likely, many, many times) your decision... but if it's the right decision, maybe in 30 odd years time you'll be able to write to someone in a forum like this and share what a positive three decades you've had?

Good luck and know that whatever decision you make, it will be the right one!

"People regret what they DON'T do far more than what they DO do!"

James

Clinical Nurse Educator

TiddlDwink · Mar 12, 2011

Just for the record: You mentioned that you are young, and that you have young children.

Unless you luck into, and find that you enjoy, a job with a doctor's office or clinic, you will probably be working evening or night shifts, at least for a while. Remember that YOUR children are home during the evening, and you won't be there to help with baths, homework, etc. You might miss a lot of their "first" moments.

You also will probably be working weekends and holidays. When your children are going to Grandmother's for Thanksgiving, you'll be cleaning poop and trying to locate doctors who are trying to finish the turkey. You won't get to see your own child's face on Christmas morning, because you'll be pouring formula down feeding tubes and suctioning trachs. When they're barbecuing or going to the lake or watching the parades/fireworks on the Fourth of July or Labor Day or New Years Eve/Day, you'll be wondering where your relief is so you can make it home before the food's all gone.

I'm not being mean here, just realistic. Please understand. I went into nursing when I was single and had no children. I never even considered what it would mean to my family (AND me) once I had children, to not be there for so many events in their lives. I wouldn't change my career, though. It has paid for the home and clothes and college my children have enjoyed for 25 years. BUT... I have sure thought lots of "what ifs..." over the years.