Floor Nursing?

[mr.rn-2010]

What is so bad about fllor nursing?? I hear other nurses talk about it as if it were the EBOLA VIRUS!!! I posted this in this forum because one i finish with school i would like to work med-surg so i can have a good foundation. So all you great nurses out there tell me the Good, The Bad, And the Ugly!!!

Thanks

"The Hopefull One"

[deeDawntee, RN]

At risk of offending some of the other posters. I believe that 99% of success as a floor nurse in general and medsurg in particular is what YOU bring to the game.

Of course stressed out families do not understand all that you have to do. Most of the time they come into the hospital terrified because of all the bad press hospitals get from the media with hundreds of thousands medical errors every year etc etc etc, and all they hear is "be a strong advocate for your family member", so that is what they are trying to do.

It is all in your approach. One nurse can turn it around for a family in a few minutes. I have seen it done time and time again. Of course, sometimes, you will just have a personality conflict, but even then you can make it work if you handle it correctly.

I believe with Docs it is the same way, more often than not, with the notorious 'mean to the nurses' Docs, if you approach it in the right way, you can get what you need for the pt and come out unscathed.

And yes, there are floor politics. My number one rule. Stay out of it, don't gossip. Be a positive force and if there are issues that need to be handled, do it correctly, by following the chain of command.

Now, on the other hand, this is NOT EASY, it is an art to handle people skillfully and something you will develop as you go along, unless you happen to be blessed with some miraculous gift. But it CAN BE DONE. People who are in severe stress are not the same as people out in the world. And another point, when you are new, you are going to be under a great deal of stress as well!!! Just do the best that you can, go with the flow!! You will hold a hundred things in your head, but will only be able to do one thing at a time!

Nurses thrive on this kind of non-stop activity!!! Holding it together and keeping everybody happy is very rewarding. It can be done.

You can do it. Go for it!!

:yeah: