How come people portray nursing so negatively on here?

manusko · Oct 20, 2010

Yes, unfortunately it is that bad. At least being a hospital nurse is that bad. There may be other nursing jobs outside the hospital that are better though. I've only ever worked in the hospital. I am looking for different jobs at the moment. I was like you when I was a nursing student...excited, hopeful, thought I could make a positive difference. I was disillusioned quickly though. It's something you won't understand until you are a nurse.

I work in a hospital CCU and love it. I would not want to work anywhere else in the hospital. If I was offered a clinic job, M-F and for the same pay I would not accept it. I would be bored out of my mind. The hours would be nice, but the atmosphere is not for me.

Unfortunately people get burned out and need to vent about it, but some of these people need new jobs or chose nursing for the wrong reasons. When someone has nothing but negative stories to tell, then it is probably a good time for them to look for a new job.

pistolchick · Oct 20, 2010

This is something that I don't get. Why are many nurses so cruel to others?!!?

An excellent question that does not have a simple answer, but it has to do with oppressed culture and expectations. I highly, HIGHLY recommend "Ending Nurse-to-Nurse Hostility: Why Nurses Eat Their Young and Each Other" by Kathleen Bartholomew. It's pricey but available at some libraries. It is truly eye opening.

link51411 · Oct 20, 2010

I'll start with the word "complain" and go from there - I won't say we don't gripe, but a lot of the posts I see are not necessarily complaints, they're stories from disheartened nurses who wanted to get along with their co-workers, do right by their patients, and having staffing that allows for the care they intended to give.
The assumption that the "complaining" nurses would complain about any job is just asinine. On the contrary, much of what is bothersome to many nurses is that we aren't given the opportunity to do as great of a job as we wanted to do. There are various reasons for this, but the point remains - it's not the hatred of hard work that gets many of us down. Sure, we all know nurses who would rather sit in the dictation room and read a magazine or file their fingernails than answer a call bell, but those aren't the nurses you're reading "complaints" from on here: these are hard working, caring individuals who want to help and do the right thing, and can't stand that the often fall short because of circumstances beyond their control.
And your assertion that these nurses are all trampy, slovenly Big Mac toting couch potatoes who drown their sorrows in Bacardi is just plain offensive (not to mention absurd!) I'm sure I needn't defend that statement, as others will follow suit.

Your right I was out of line. unfortunantly alot of my coworkers do fit this description, but this is kinda the reality in any job this day in age. and my venting here was no better than what everyone else does. I will say i get so frusterated at other nurses and its sad when I do not want to turn my pts over to particular nurses because I know their home habits. but luckly its not my job to have to worry about them. again my bad guys.

Spikey9001, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2010

Nursing is just a job that we all punch in and punch out of, just like all other laborers out there. The greatest thing about nursing is only having to work 3 nights a week, and having 4 days off. And when you get sick of that, you can always use your PTO and take a breather. :) It's not as bad as it sounds. just remember, you're just an orderly there to carry out orders. Clock in, take care of business, then clock out; and leave work at work.

It seems like a lot of people on here don't get that statement... When I'm off the clock, I'm off the clock, period.

NurseFrustrated · Oct 20, 2010

When someone has nothing but negative stories to tell, then it is probably a good time for them to look for a new job.

...Which is what I am doing at the moment.

NurseFrustrated · Oct 20, 2010

It seems like a lot of people on here don't get that statement... When I'm off the clock, I'm off the clock, period.

Off the clock isn't the problem. It's when you are ON the clock that is the problem when you are in a terrible nursing job.

leslie :-D · Oct 20, 2010

just remember, you're just an orderly there to carry out orders.

no, no, no, no, and no!

we are not there to (mindlessly) carry out orders.

if we followed orders that were inappropriate (and that happens often enough!), we would be just as liable as the dr who ordered it.

that's why critical thinking is mandatory in our profession.

please...don't go telling students that we're just there to carry out orders.

leslie

manusko · Oct 20, 2010

...Which is what I am doing at the moment.

That is probably the best thing for you to do, but not every nurse feels that working in a hospital is really that bad. I have only worked in one area of the hospital and love it, but I cannot comment on the other areas of the hospital. Now if I have worked in several areas of the hopsital and stated that being a hospital nurse is horrible then I might think that maybe I am the problem and not the job.

manusko · Oct 20, 2010

no, no, no, no, and no!
we are not there to (mindlessly) carry out orders.
if we followed orders that were inappropriate (and that happens often enough!), we would be just as liable as the dr who ordered it.
that's why critical thinking is mandatory in our profession.
please...don't go telling students that we're just there to carry out orders.
leslie

I agree. Telling students this type of statement makes them feel anxious about what they are going to experience when they start working. "Nurses eat their young", I can not tell you how many times I was discouraged about my profession while going through nursing school. Telling you all the bad stories and none of the good. I work in a very nice atmosphere as far as critical care goes. There is still a lot of stress with keeping patients stable and managing their care, but when you go through clinicals you get a feel for multiple areas and hopefully you find a good fit for you.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Oct 20, 2010

It seems like a majority of the threads are about how BAD nursing is and not how good it is. I'm currently a student and chose nursing for the following reasons.
-Job security
-Well compensated (to me at least; I have never made over $8.50 an hour)
-Flexibility
-The fact that your job actually makes a difference.
I don't get how a job you have to get a degree for can be so negatively portrayed. It can't be THAT bad, can it?

Yes, it can.

There is little job security, that is a myth.

It is very poorly compensated IMO. I do not think $30/h is a lot of money, nor do I think it is commensurate with the responsibility of my job.

Yes, it can be flexible. So can stuffing envelopes, lol.

The last comment is in the eye of the beholder. If that make the rest worth it to the individual great. I think what you are realizing is that to many, it does not.

Spikey9001, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2010

Well, I think I need to get off this site for a while to see if the way YOU guys portray nursing is a general consensus or something that is just unique to here... I mean if nursing were THAT bad, then people wouldn't do it... right?

Why slave away at school for 2/4 years when you can just get a manual labor job or a job that just requires a HS diploma?

multi10 · Oct 20, 2010

Don't go. Nursing is a great profession. I recently completed an RN refresher course with clinical at Hopkins. The nurse manager was fantastic and was completely supportive of her nurses. I worked days, nights and evenings, and it was a joy to be back in the hospital. Maybe it was a function of the positive nurse manager. My preceptor was also wonderful.