Toughest week I've had.

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

Had a hard week. I've cried, I've asked God for the ability to handle what is happening. I've talked doctors/surgeons into what is best for my patient(s).

I come home and love on my child. I tell my husband that I'm exhausted. I cry in the shower. It's not because I have to go to work. It's because I've had to encounter some difficult things with a specific patient.

Still love the job. I'm even okay with staying over and talking to the doctor's to advocate for my patients.

But it's been an emotionally draining week. I've done my job. I've advocated for the patents. Still hard.

So tell me the moment you discovered you were a "real" nurse. Not the time when you passed the NCLEX, or the time you got an A in a class. Tell me the defining moment in your career. I'd love to hear it.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

This isn't what you're looking for, but I think you are throwing way too much emotion into this. That's a recipe for some serious burnout.

The moment I realized I was a real nurse was when I passed the NCLEX and got my first job. Really. You don't have to have some kind of mystical Nirvana enlightenment moment to be a real nurse. You are a real nurse because you passed nursing school and boards. Elevating it to some kind of impossible standard of holiness or whatever is just going to wear you out. It is job, it is not the be-all-end-all of who you are as a person.

Advice for you is: stop being okay with staying over to talk to physicians about patients. You have to LET GO after your shift is over, and let the person coming in after you take over. The nurse working after you can talk to the MD about the patients. These patients are not your sole responsibility - nursing is a team sport. You are putting way too much weight on your shoulders and it sounds like it is already starting to tear you down. Don't do that to yourself. You deserve gentler treatment than that.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Strongly agree with PP. Advocating for patients does not mean drifting into co-dependence. You need to maintain personal boundaries at all times. It's OK to care for your patients 'as if' they were your family.... but keep that distinction. It may be a good idea to contact your EAP for some assistance by a qualified professional if you feel that you've become too emotionally involved with your patients.