Feeling kind of sad and discouraged for the new generation of nurses

[LonghornChic, BSN]

Through out nursing school and clinicals, nursing core values have been drilled into my head. My clinical instructor has been at my school for 30 years and she's wonderful! She's really tried to impress the notion that nurses are more than just "task oriented". They embody compassion and sympathy amongst other core values. However, I feel like my clinical experiences (med-surg, ED, ortho, ICU, GI) have demonstrated a little of the opposite. I observe that many of the floor nurses are hardened and, to some degree, bitter. They are also overworked, understaffed, held back by corporate red tape, bullied and subjected to the patient who wants a "hotel experience". It seems that this has really taken a toll on nursing and affected the way we provide patient care.

Understandably, no one would be happy to work under any of these conditions but I get the sense that people expect us to just deal with it and put on a facade. I know that there are exceptions out there but the mistreated nurse is starting to become the norm. As a student, I am afraid that I will be subject to these same issues (especially when dealing with big facilities) when I first step into the field and will ultimately end up in the same shoes as those nurses that have been dealt the short end of the stick.

I am not sure if this is a generational issue or not but I just feel that over the years, nursing has becoming more corporate and task oriented than anything else. Is there anyway to avoid the unavoidable? Or maybe I just had a really crappy clincial semester and needed to vent. Either way, thanks for listening.

[nlitened]

It has everything to do with these corporations that have taken over these hospitals...all about the mighty dollar:no: