Does anyone have good experiences in the nursing profession

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I have been reading so many articles of the trials and tribulations and I can relate to more of them than I want to.

In ways, I wish I read the articles in this website before I put myself through the very tough nursing school. I am only a one year LPN, with 7 months under my belt.

In this short time, I had several jobs, homecare, facility, hospice. I took on the role as an HHA in the home care one, I was summoned with a bell to give the patient her meds when she felt she wanted them, not when they were scheduled. I left that position with the agency saying this is dangerous, they returned a response of "please don't make waves for us, just do as she asks". This meant bringing my own toilet paper, doing laundry, vacuuming, washing their lunch and dinner plates and sitting in an unheated room with my own blanket.

I did the facility gig, pushing the med cart. sitting in a dirty depressing break room and watching my trainer guzzle a sandwich quicker than anything less than normal. My feet expanded like a good year blimp, my throat was dry from lack of fluid which I guess is the point to limit bathroom breaks. When set on my own, I just could not keep up with the meds and treatments. The day passed well, but the cranky night nurse gave me trouble. I quickly replied "you can yell all you want, but I am not coming back here tomorrow". The other nurses laughed, not at me, but that I stood up to her. That was week enough for me.

Then I rested with hospice as a field nurse. This came with great relief. I worked independently, probably more than I should have. I took the job on with such joy, I was helping people and no one ever made a complaint. The patients were all so happy to see me, this meant so much to me. My case manager would send me to so many patients even though we were supposed to have a split schedule where each of us visited the patients once. However, she saw me as the gopher, sending me twice and gathering my data to enter into the system as her own visit. I would speak to her on the phone throughout the day to report in and hear her parrot in the background. I really didn't mind. But, then I became the brunt of bullying, over compensated punishment, viral emails reporting a trumped up issue. Long story short, I lost the job (as I posted this last week). It was shocking although it shouldn't have been.

Perhaps what shocks me, is that my case manager never stepped up to advocate for me. To clear the accusations or have them dismissed. For the 7 months, I covered for her, we went to dinners, had personal talks, she would call me until 10pm. Now that I'm gone, I have not had one phone call. Simply, I was used. Well, I guess now she needs to do double work and has no time to sit around with her parrot all day.

Honestly, I wish I never went to nursing school. Nursing is not what I thought it would be and from reading the posts here, I'm not so sure there are any happy nurses.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Nursing is for stallions: thick-skin, strong back. The only time my smiles are voluntary is when I'm caring for the elderly, and on pay days, with the latter fluctuating at times.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I am not the type of person who derives pleasure or validation from being needed by patients and their families, so most of the positivity in my career occurs each payday when a respectable amount of money enters my checking account via direct deposit.

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7 months in, and several jobs? Interesting.

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Some jobs are just crappy but, any job is sucky/stressful the first few months until you get a good routine going. For me a good 6 months in I start to feel more comfortable. It doesn't seem you've stuck around at any job long enough to get to that point.

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Specializes in Hospice.

With every job I've held as a nurse, I've had to ask, "Is this gig more good than bad or more bad than good?" Then I stayed or moved on, depending on the answer. Meanwhile, even the worst job kept food on my family's table and a roof over our heads.

The only perfect is heaven. So, unless you're ready to die and certain of your fate once you do, learn to tolerate less than perfect. Then you can do a more effective job of deciding where to draw the line.

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7 months in, and several jobs? Interesting.

Yes, totally interesting. I had 36 years of IT experience with the same company, a fortune 500 company as well and with none of the nonsense I have been encountering, imagine that !!!!

imagine not sticking it out in nursing positions I find problematic !!! albeit, I was let go for reasons unknown, perhaps I was the only one on the team of a certain race and I did not fit...consider that ...

Oh...and why did I leave my high paid cushy position with a full pension and 401k that was matched appropriately ??? well, to do what any good nurse intends...to give back

fortunately I was intelligent enough to realize I went to school for more than a washer woman and a slave to a patient that mistreated her nurses

fortunately I was intelligent enough to realize that keeping up with med pass was not going to work and I found it dangerous for the patients as well as stressing myself

lets see how far you go in 36 years with your presumptuous opinions...... and lets see how burned out you get with 10 years into nursing..... pension for you is not even heard of, and I bet you can't even bring enough salary in to even consider banking any of it for the future.

you sound totally like a nurse I would dread working with, negative and SUSPICIOUS !!!

So, please before you put on that presumptuous hat, consider the situation holistically and not with personal suspicion. I thought you were trained for that

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Specializes in Hospice.
Yes, totally interesting. I had 36 years of IT experience with the same company, a fortune 500 company as well and with none of the nonsense I have been encountering, imagine that !!!!

imagine not sticking it out in nursing positions I find problematic !!! albeit, I was let go for reasons unknown, perhaps I was the only one on the team of a certain race and I did not fit...consider that ...

Oh...and why did I leave my high paid cushy position with a full pension and 401k that was matched appropriately ??? well, to do what any good nurse intends...to give back

fortunately I was intelligent enough to realize I went to school for more than a washer woman and a slave to a patient that mistreated her nurses

fortunately I was intelligent enough to realize that keeping up with med pass was not going to work and I found it dangerous for the patients as well as stressing myself

lets see how far you go in 36 years with your presumptuous opinions...... and lets see how burned out you get with 10 years into nursing..... pension for you is not even heard of, and I bet you can't even bring enough salary in to even consider banking any of it for the future.

you sound totally like a nurse I would dread working with, negative and SUSPICIOUS !!!

So, please before you put on that presumptuous hat, consider the situation holistically and not with personal suspicion. I thought you were trained for that

S'cuse me? I'm 46 years in and nowhere near being burned out. Please take some responsibility for your own behavior and lack of awareness of what you were getting yourself into. Your response to Cob94 makes me suspicious, too. I suspect working with you and your whinge-ing hostile attitude is no day at the beach, either.

Since the reality of nursing does not fit your goals and expectations, why not go back to IT and collect your pension?

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Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

I really do try to be encouraging, I have been reading your posts over the past few months and it's pretty apparent to me that you, with your present mindset, are not compatible with the culture and demands of being an LPN.

i have had bad jobs. I have worked at meat grinder employers where the company feeds a steady flow of new inexperienced employees into the job and spit them out the other side 6 months later. They exist, so does bullying.

However... Several jobs in such a short period of time, in different specialties, and employers, there is only one common denominator with them all and it's you.

I would really advise you to sit down with a therapist and review the past few months. They can help be introspective and assess what the underlying issues may be. If I was an employer interviewing you I would want a very good answer to what YOU learnt about the terminations in your past. Not just what I read here which sounds very defensive, and shifts blame completely off of yourself.

I really do hope you are able to find your place. Im not trying to put you down here, but something in this situation has got to change and frankly it won't be the world of nursing.

Good luck.

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ok happy people.... you took your swings

you all must make the fit....yes, you are right, I cannot fit into this sector.

I do not need a therapist as a crutch or meds to open my eyes to a very miserable profession you all seem to complain about. I'm complaining and only in to 7 months of it

I watched a DON yelling at an HHA (not coaching them) but in a full fledge yelling in the dining room of an Alzheimer wing (nice place to do it, because these patients don't have the capacity to make a complaint !!). I could hear the yelling while I was doing a wound care in a closed room. I came out to see her blasting the HHA, the poor HHA with a shocked face , the DON turned her head like in the exorcist and put a smile on her face as she looked at me (for real ??? and I have a problem ?). This crap was never tolerated at my professional place of employment.

to be honest, I came to vent, but I no longer need to think any of you could advocate, support or not be nonjudgmental. I doubt you are happy with your jobs and if prozac keeps you going, that is your choice, but it is not where I'm going to let me be pushed.

where ever I go to seek a profession is my concern, I need no advice from mean spirited health care workers who have no business advising or making evaluations of such things.

I am disappointed here with all of you....... well.... you can keep your crappy career.... Fortunately I have choices

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Alex, I did not have TErMINATIONS..... I quit the home care...like I said...if you can read

I quit the cart pushing job.....if you can read

I was let go in my hospice job....yes..... and this was because I was not a good fit ..as the HR person put it....I was the only one of my race employeed on the team.....ok ??...get the reading on the wall right

I very much take responsibility for myself and my actions... I could have continued to push a cart and not cared if the meds were done or if I had to make short cuts (like all of you do). I spared those patients by bowing out gracefully. Funny, the director came running out to my car to ask me if there was anything he could do to keep me there.....

you need to read better AND your spelling is atrocious learnt is spelled LEARNED

I really do try to be encouraging, I have been reading your posts over the past few months and it's pretty apparent to me that you, with your present mindset, are not compatible with the culture and demands of being an LPN.

i have had bad jobs. I have worked at meat grinder employers where the company feeds a steady flow of new inexperienced employees into the job and spit them out the other side 6 months later. They exist, so does bullying.

However... Several jobs in such a short period of time, in different specialties, and employers, there is only one common denominator with them all and it's you.

I would really advise you to sit down with a therapist and review the past few months. They can help be introspective and assess what the underlying issues may be. If I was an employer interviewing you I would want a very good answer to what YOU learnt about the terminations in your past. Not just what I read here which sounds very defensive, and shifts blame completely off of yourself.

I really do hope you are able to find your place. Im not trying to put you down here, but something in this situation has got to change and frankly it won't be the world of nursing.

Good luck.

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Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

Yep my spelling and grammar are crap. Sorry for the poor read.

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