Worked twenty years as a nurse and still at the bedside--

Nurses General Nursing

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We were discussing career options at work over the weekend, and one of the nurses commented that in her humble opinion, "nursing is the only career I know of that people don't "move up the ladder."

""Look at the number of nurses here still doing direct patient care. They are doing the same tasks today that they did in their first year out of nursing school.""

One said it hadn't occurred to her when she was in school than in ten years she'd still "be doing the same thing."

And she told how she had attended a ten year high school reunion and was shocked at the positions her friends held in their workplaces. How they were advancing and attaining middle management positions and she was doing "the same thing" as she had started.

She expressed particular dismay at the thought/expectation of:

""I'll STILL be doing this in twenty years."" She said I love nursing, but it hadn't occurred to me that from the first year to my twentieth or thirtieth year, I would not advance from nursing basics.""

Any opinions?

I have been a nurse for 20 years now and I must say that in my experience bedside nursing is a step up from the other roles. I have been a nurse manager and worked in a clinic but my latest job on a mother/baby unit has been my most rewarding. I have been recruited twice in the last couple of years to go back to management but I turned it down. I love my patients and don't see me leaving this role until I retire.

I don't consider being at the bedside something to be ashamed of. I've done this for 16 years and it's a necessary and vital service that I'm providing to society. What i do take issue w/ is the pay. I have lots of expertise, certifications, and experience. I am reliable and a resource to others. PAY ME FOR IT! I do this because I like it and I am good at it. I don't want administration or advanced practice right now (sometimes I dream of being a CNM), but I'd love to see a clinical ladder that paid and recognized me for the knowledge, education, experience, and dare I say, responsibility that I have. That's one thing really wrong w/ nursing we need to reward longevity at the bedside. Nurses shouldn't have to choose between better wages and leaving the bedside, since that is where they are most needed today. Just being a nurse is like just saving someone's life. No small task indeed The lack of respect that we get from some patients and physicians (esp. when we save their behinds time after time) appalls me.:angryfire

the lack of respect is right!!!...I'm appalled daily at the disrespectfulness shown to my coworkers and myself by physicians and management.....well the age of keeping quiet is over...we speak our mind and they don't know what to say sometimes........and talk about saving their butts...sometimes I feel like I do their work and my work just so the patient is taken care of in the best way......and the pay is not good

From what my mother has told me (she's been a bedside RN for over 30 years), your perception of nursing and the aspects you find satisfying change over time. When she began her career, she was seeking stability & a guaranteed salary so that she could take care of herself financially. When having children, nursing became a flexible job that allowed her to help support her family while also spending daylight hours with them. Once her kids moved out of the house, nursing became a higher purpose, a reason to get up in the morning & feel useful. Eventually, it was a means to travelling around the world. Now she really enjoys bedside care, and spends quality time with patients, gives them baths, combs their hair, etc... She told me that after 30 years, nursing tasks come very easily & you can do a lot of them on autopilot (ie. time-management is easier) -- that frees her up to focus on simple, meaningful interaction with her patients.

Anyway, she emphasized to me that nursing offers exactly what you need at a given point in your life -- it can be anything you want it to be. She's found tremendous satisfaction in bedside nursing. Her perspective convinced me to go to nursing school!

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