Nurse Burnout and being overworked

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Feb 20, 2009

This may be the wrong place for your info. Have you read the other posts ? Most posts here are talking about the nursing burn out. Nurses come on here mainly to vent not to share about how much they love nursing.

I'm a nursing student and I'm glad I'm determined enough not to let their stories and experiences get to me. I'm not saying nursing is perfect but you wont find too much said about that on here. Good luck with your research.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2009

i am a student considered nursing as a profession and i have been doing a lot of research. i have come across a lot of material on burnout. the more i research, the more it seems like every nurse out there hates their jobs! is this really the case, or a very vocal minority? from reading all this material, i feel like it isn't worth it to go to nursing school seeing as i'll hate it in five years anyway. i know nursing is a stressful job, but is it the torture people make it out to be? patient rights- what about nurses rights? can they really make you skip all your breaks/lunches? can they really make you stay an hour after your shifts ends to do paperwork, unpaid? can they force mandatory overtime on a frequent basis? if this is how it really is being an rn, i don't know how anyone joins the field. i'm looking for the truth- how are you treated? what areas of nursing are notoriously overworked? or are they all treated this way? is it worth it?

most places i work, breaks are not taken. lunches sometimes are taken, never the 15 min. ones.

i would not cooperate with working off the clock. if i am there doing work, i am on the clock. if i'm not on the clock, i am not on the unit. period, no room for debate or interpretation.

yes, they force mandatory ot frequently. hospitals are trying to rid themselves of agency/travelers and other costs. as they do this, staff nurses are being asked to "fill out the edges" of schedules. people get tired, call off, others have to stay.

nursing is good and bad like any other career choice. it was/will never be considered an easy paycheck. most of the time though, the people who despise the profession as a whole could benefit themselves with a simple change of scenery. with the economy the way it is, that is easier said than done though.

Ayvah, RN · Feb 20, 2009

Sure there is venting, but it is also statements of reality, so it does not serve well to ignore everything that is said here. If someone is saying that they have had a few lunches over the last 6 months, they are not stating an opinion there, they are stating a fact for them. Of course, everyone's experiences are different, and most will have to experience an area for themselves to really see how it is for them.

Nursing varies greatly depending on where you work (hospital vs clinic vs private care, etc).

Now, on to the OPs questions

Can they really make you skip all your breaks/lunches?: Verbally management will not say that they will. They will encourage lunches. But when there is inadequate coverage, or your patients are not doing well, it is very difficult to take a lunch within the regular lunch time. I have almost always had a lunch break even if it is 5:30 by the time I get one. It is only a 15-20 minute lunch break, and it is often interrupted by the phone, but I make it a priority to get some food in me, sometime in the day. Yes, I do get deducted 30 minutes from my pay for my 15 minute lunch. I know there are some staff who never take lunch, yet get deducted 1/2 hour for it. As for non-lunch breaks, I can count on one hand the number of breaks I've taken in the last 6 months. The vast majority of the staff come in 1/2 hour early to prepare for the day, unpaid (we are told we will be written up for clocking in). Most, if not all of us do our email and online lessons at home, unpaid, since we barely keep our head above water at work. I have made a stink about our unpaid time to management, and they are not happy with me for doing so. I am trying to walk the line so I don't get fired for speaking up too much about this.

Can they really make you stay an hour after your shifts ends to do paperwork, unpaid? Can they force mandatory overtime on a frequent basis: You have to stay until your paperwork is done. Right now we get paid, though yelled at for overtime. They are planning on not paying us for any hours over 12 soon, though I'm not sure how that will work out (sorry, family of the person I'm coding, but I have to clock out right now). Right now we have no mandatory overtime; people get called off. There are a good amount of people who clock out and continue working so they won't get yelled at.

Most every job will be busy and have stress, but the difference with healthcare is that there aren't 2 week deadlines to get something done. You have a person who's health depends on you doing things quickly and accurately. You almost never have a slow day, and can not rearrange things to have a slow day such as if you are tired or just had family problems and need some downtime, like you can with most office jobs.

This is my current experience in hospital med-surg. Now, on the other hand, when I worked in a clinic, I would get 30-60 minute uninterrupted lunches, free 2x a week from drug reps, ample time to do email and online lessons at work, frequent parties at work (birthday, holiday, etc), and when the weather was nice we'd switch off taking walks outside. The only time we'd have to stay after work was when there was a patient emergency. (I do know that in another clinic area, the nurses had to stay late to finish up labs frequently, so it does depend on the department you're at).

I think the vast majority of frustrated and burnt out posts originate from hospital nurses (and LTC) (correct me if I'm wrong). Working conditions seem to be consistently better in clinic/specialty areas.

LilyBlue · Feb 20, 2009

I worked thirteen hours last night with not one break. I did eat a granola bar and later, an apple as I stood over my medcart. This, in my experience, has been the reality of nursing.

I was also stopped not once, but twice, by family members asking for cokes for THEMSELVES - not the patient. I cannot even make a five minute call home to my children - am constantly interrupted by someone screaming my name. I get so sick of hearing my name called.

To be extremely honest, I do not see nurses thrilled to come to work. I see them thrilled to leave. Maybe I work in a bad hospital, in a bad part of the country. But this has been my experience.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2009

Re: Nurse Burnout and being overworked

Sure there is venting, but it is also statements of reality, so it does not serve well to ignore everything that is said here. If someone is saying that they have had a few lunches over the last 6 months, they are not stating an opinion there, they are stating a fact for them. Of course, everyone's experiences are different, and most will have to experience an area for themselves to really see how it is for them.

Yep. Its not like, if you talk to people in person, its any different. Everywhere you go, talk to 10 nurses........and 8 of them are probably just sick of it all. Thats not a reflection of this board.

I think too, in person to person contacts, people are less likely to show their true colors. I despise 90% of hospital administration, they are parasites with no role or function to the hosptial or medical process. I talk about that freely in here. I DO NOT go around my place of employement talking about how worthless the bosses are. Not a smart career move. So, I think a lot of the venting is stuff people want to say and discuss, but cant out in the open, in the real world.

Dont be too quick to dismiss the warnings you get in here as simple "venting". A lot of truths no one will tell you face to face are revealed here.

MIC36FLA · Feb 20, 2009

You know nursing as a whole is wonderfully fulfilling. I work HHC and just seeing the patients is a reward, to know I helped them is wonderful. Overworked? Yeah, we all are. Its the office politics that stress me out, you know, the managers that have never seen a patient yet they are telling you who, when, and how many you can see each and every day. And documentaion...that in itself is horrible. How many of us have the need to go to the office supply store just to find the "perfect" pen so we can get otivated enough to document all the subjective and objective info they want to know about a patient they will never see in person. Yeah, burnout is prevelent, but if you enjoy nursing sometimes the rewards outweigh the negative.

reisling · Feb 21, 2009

I have to agree that it is a little more than venting. I hate my job because I cannot give GOOD patient care. Everything is half assed. I would love my job if I had more help. Too much time spent on documentation to keep the lawyers happy. I can even deal with the missed lunches and no breaks. I am in a "management" position, but I am mainly there to keep the troops in line. Our nurses and techs are all over worked. Someone is always yelling at you. If it is not some crazy doc it is the pharmacy, lab, dietary.....If I knew then what I know now....I don't know, prob would have chosen another profession

lbookie · Feb 21, 2009

" This is my current experience in hospital med-surg. Now, on the other hand, when I worked in a clinic, I would get 30-60 minute uninterrupted lunches, free 2x a week from drug reps, ample time to do email and online lessons at work, frequent parties at work (birthday, holiday, etc), and when the weather was nice we'd switch off taking walks outside. The only time we'd have to stay after work was when there was a patient emergency. (I do know that in another clinic area, the nurses had to stay late to finish up labs frequently, so it does depend on the department you're at). "

So how do I get THAT job? I like the idea of helping people, but I don't think I can handle all the stress of a hospital nurse. Being yelled at 24/7 and being unable to take a minute to breathe doesn't sound like something I can hack. How can I get a clinic/ private office job? I know from my research that they pay less, but I think that's where I could be the best.

Cindy_A · Feb 21, 2009

Like Eriksoln said earlier, much of the venting here is not just venting, it is the truth!While a few things may be exaggerated, many are not. Mgmt doesn't MAKE you stay over, you HAVE to to get your work done. Same way with breaks and lunches, you can't just take off if your pt. is not doing well, or the doc just came in and wrote a bunch of orders that need to be done. I enjoyed the pts for the most part (the families are another story). But, one smile and a "thank you" from a pt doesn't make up for all the other BS.

reisling · Feb 22, 2009

lbookie when my kids were small I worked in a doctors office very part time. the biggest stressor was wondering what the drug reps were bringing us for lunch. Sounds like a nice derm or cardiology office would suit you. No stress there, but the money sucks. I agree with Cindy A 1000%