Hardest/easiest part of your job?

Nurses General Nursing

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What is the hardest and easiest part of your job?

CASTLEGATES

424 Posts

Specializes in Addictions, Acute Psychiatry.

Catty gossip, inflexibility, people writing people up rather than trying to help them.

Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

Clocking in/clocking out.

bigbub3000

105 Posts

One of the hardest is dealing with aides. Some are wonderful but others are very hard to take. They seem to believe they were hired to sleep on the job and disappear, take extra breaks, and refuse to do any work that they just don't feel like doing. Some talk back to the nurse, who is supposed to be their boss. I know a lot of nurses see the nurse-aide relationship as that of teammates and that it is, to a certain degree.

Someone has to be in charge, though. By law, by training, by licensure, the person in charge is the nurse, not the aide. But, as I said, getting some aides to accept that is extremely painful. Some aides don't realize how ignorant they are - I'm not being rude, I'm saying that they have not been to school and there is just a lot of information they do not have. Not saying they're lower class or anything akin to that - just that they lack knowledge. Some, who have raised children or cared for sick family members, for instance, are much better aides than those who have neither schooling or experience.

A nurse has to be made of iron to face this day in and day out.

Another very hard thing is unsupportive managers and administrators. When they back the aides instead of the nurses, it's miserable. When they don't really respect and appreciate the nurses, it's miserable. When they're only there for the check, that, too, is miserable.

Easy things - well, when the job isn't too physically demanding or when there is a reasonable amount of patients and work tasks, it's great, rewarding.

Otessa, BSN, RN

1,601 Posts

Hardest-trying to please manager, managers, and employees when conducting classes AND finding enough time to do it!

easiest-love teaching-just wish I had the prep time!

RNperdiem, RN

4,592 Posts

Easiest: the simple tasks like taking vital signs, changing IV tubing, giving meds, etc.

Hardest: invisible mental work- getting back on task after multiple interruptions, shuffling my priority list when new problems arise, thinking clearly under stressful conditions, the uncertainty of patients "going bad", the heavy weight of responsibility a nurse carries every shift.

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