I got into nursing later in life and thought I knew what I was doing but now I am not so sure. The past 4 years of this life transition have been brutal. My first year out of a tough nursing program I worked on a med/surg floor. The nurse to patient ratios and patient acuities were high with no aides and management accepted nothing but 100% on customer satisfaction scores. I loved the work but hated how nasty some patients could get despite the disgusting things you did for them. One night, I started the shift with 2 patients coming, 2 patients going, a patient load of 8 patients, and two patients in crisis. The one crisis patient had an escalating blood pressure issue. During an attempt to give the patient meds for the BP, it was discovered the patient had been hoarding meds all day including some potent narcotics. The patient had a history of suicide. The other patient in crisis had DKA. I was in and out of the patient room all night trying to stabilize the patient. In the morning, the patient's roommate complained to management. The complaint cost me two days pay. Three months ago, I transferred to a trauma level 1 emergency center hoping to avoid being called off 1-2 times per pay. It was a huge mistake. Only processing 38-58 patients during a shift, I was considered too slow and it was recommended I "continue my journey as a nurse" elsewhere. I've loved nursing but hate the beating I've taken as a new nurse wondering if it ever gets better. Firemen, Policemen are treated like heros for sticking their neck out for another person. People will tip a waitress or hairdresser. For some reason, no one ever thanks a nurse. Instead, for some reason, people think they have the right to literally beat the crap out of a nurse without just cause and that is OK.
