PLEASE tell me there is more to nursing then this.... otherwise, it's for the birds..

fungez · Jul 6, 2010

Yeah, a lot of days I feel like a glorified pill passer.

I assuming you're fairly new. Things do get faster with practice.

But really, that's all nursing is. Say hi, throw some pills at them. Admit, discharge, admit. Don't forget your hourly rounding logs! They're very very important!

The tech and I, about 97% of the times our jobs are exactly the same. That's not to put down the techs. It's just the nature of hospital work. A lot of it is really tedious.

I suggest you change your environment. Doc's offices can be very rewarding, plus no hols or weekends. ICU's can be more technically challenging. Good luck to you.

marielina85 · Jul 6, 2010

Yeah, a lot of days I feel like a glorified pill passer.
I assuming you're fairly new. Things do get faster with practice.
But really, that's all nursing is. Say hi, throw some pills at them. Admit, discharge, admit. Don't forget your hourly rounding logs! They're very very important!
The tech and I, about 97% of the times our jobs are exactly the same. That's not to put down the techs. It's just the nature of hospital work. A lot of it is really tedious.
I suggest you change your environment. Doc's offices can be very rewarding, plus no hols or weekends. ICU's can be more technically challenging. Good luck to you.

lol at throwing pills at patients.

CNL2B · Jul 6, 2010

Go to an ICU. You'll get more time (better ratio) with your patient AND get to use all your skills.

caliotter3 · Jul 6, 2010

lol at throwing pills at patients.

If you have them open their mouths wide and you have a good aim, just think of the time you can save if you throw the pills at them from the door!

PMFB-RN, RN · Jul 6, 2010

I work on a very busy general unit. I am lucky to get a lunch. It seems all I do is give meds, and clean up patients. I might hang an IV bag here and there, but that is it. Mostly all I do is give meds. (a bazillion of them), and clean up nasty floors where patients have had an accident or clean them up. I don't mind doing that (and it does need to be done), IF and I mean IF I actually got to practice my RN skills along with it. SOME REAL RN SKILLS. The assessments are rushed and sometimes I don't even get to finish them. I hardly get to talk to my pats. at all. Forget it! There is no time for it. When I do, I get a nudge to come on and go. I have tons of charting to do and that is rushed like mad as well. PLEASE tell me this is not all nursing is. :barf01: When can I use my critical thinking skills?? I am very good at talking to pats. too and have a very good bedside manner. When I do get to talk to them, I have been told by them and their family members I am excellent and the best RN they have ever had. :) I am getting my basic experience and then HOPE to move on from here. This is so disheartening. :igtsyt: I want to be a RN AND use my brain AND interact with my patients. ......................

*** Your description of your job sounds nothing at all like mine. I work in a busy CVICU/neuro/trauma ICU. I don't give much in the way of meds except titrate drips which is very interesting to me. Our assessments are not rushed and are absolutely critical. The physicians I work with absolutely expect that our patients are getting a high quality and thorough assessment at least every 2-4 hours and they expect us to find things that are going wrong immediately.

While I talk to my patients a lot they very seldom are able to talk back (ya!) but can often communicate in other ways. We don't have physicians in our unit except when they round in the AM. The residents and attending who cover the ICU are also responsible for covering surgeries and traumas so when we need them they are often not available to come to the bedside. This means we have tons of protocols and standing orders to deal with things ourselves. Our ICU nurses also take turns covering the rapid response beeper, code beeper, and trauma beeper. Critical think skills are the most important part of our job.

I suggest you try to get a job in a busy surgical ICU.

marielina85 · Jul 6, 2010

If you have them open their mouths wide and you have a good aim, just think of the time you can save if you throw the pills at them from the door!

haha too bad i have such bad aim lol I'll probably hit them in the eye and really be in trouble. lol

Epona · Jul 6, 2010

Yes. Good points! ICU and Trauma are right up my alley! Love those areas. As a fairly new grad., I tried for those, but got the door slammed shut because I had "very little experience." I can see myself there. I really can.

I took this job because it was full time in a hospital. The only place it seems that is hiring fairly new grads. is on the med surg floor. There you have it.

I will put in my time, but then I am flying the coop!!!! Med Surg fits some folks fine, but it's not for me.

TonyaM73, ASN, RN · Jul 6, 2010

At least you got into a hospital. None of the hospitals in my area have been hiring new RNs. When I first graduated in Aug., they said that you had to have 1 year of experience. Now when I look, they say you have to have 2-3 years of experience. I have been working in a LTC with a skilled unit and hope that this will sufice for experience when the time comes. We have 20-30 patients each, so we really do throw the pills at the door and hope they go into the patients' mouths!!! :)

arabianeyez83 · Jul 6, 2010

ICU and ER (Level 1 Trauma Center)..assessment is critical...you will definitely be challenged mentally..get a new job!

cabanaboy · Jul 6, 2010

I work on a very busy general unit. I am lucky to get a lunch. It seems all I do is give meds, and clean up patients. I might hang an IV bag here and there, but that is it. Mostly all I do is give meds. (a bazillion of them), and clean up nasty floors where patients have had an accident or clean them up. I don't mind doing that (and it does need to be done), IF and I mean IF I actually got to practice my RN skills along with it. SOME REAL RN SKILLS. The assessments are rushed and sometimes I don't even get to finish them. I hardly get to talk to my pats. at all. Forget it! There is no time for it. When I do, I get a nudge to come on and go. I have tons of charting to do and that is rushed like mad as well. PLEASE tell me this is not all nursing is. :barf01: When can I use my critical thinking skills?? I am very good at talking to pats. too and have a very good bedside manner. When I do get to talk to them, I have been told by them and their family members I am excellent and the best RN they have ever had. :) I am getting my basic experience and then HOPE to move on from here. This is so disheartening. :igtsyt: I want to be a RN AND use my brain AND interact with my patients.
:tku: for listening......................

I'm only a new grad, but in school clinicals I experienced both what you describe your situation to be now, AND what you describe you want your nursing career to be like. I think it has a lot to do with what kind of unit you are on, the culture of the unit, and what you put into the job. To me, it sounds like you just haven't found the right fit for you yet, so don't give up!

cmonkey · Jul 6, 2010

If you have them open their mouths wide and you have a good aim, just think of the time you can save if you throw the pills at them from the door!

There's money in developing a doorway pill-launching device.