How do you like your job as a nurse?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Dec 4, 2009

Moved to the general nursing discussion forum

Quidam · Dec 4, 2009

So far...I absolutely LOVE it! It is the best job in the world! Best possible place to work, best people!

I start in January.

adpiRN · Dec 4, 2009

I work in labor and delivery, so I help woman through labor, am there when they deliver and take care of them and their babies for the first hour or so after birth. Then they move to postpartum. You can also be a postpartum nurse and work with moms and babies for the first few days after birth. Or you can be a NICU nurse, which is the neonatal intensive care unit and take care of premature or sick babies who are in the hospital for a long time.

Yes, most nurses work 3 12 hour shifts a week. And 4 shifts 1 week of the month at most places. Most new nurses start out on night shifts (about 7:30pm - 7:30am). At my job for the most part we pick which days we want to work in a particular month, but management may have to shuffle ppl around a little to make the all shifts have enough nurses.

I love that I only work 3 days a week, that I can help ppl in vulnerable times in their life, watch babies being born (which is amazing). That I have the option in my career to move to part-time or per diem after I have children, move around the country, make decent money, change specialties if I ever want to try another area of hospital nursing, home-care, school nursing etc.

The work can be exhausting though. I know it's only 3 days a week, but you're on your feet a lot of it's emotionally and physically draining. Dealing with doctors, hospital politics, understaffing etc are all issues nurses have with their jobs at some point from what I hear. (Though I haven't been a nurse long enough for this to really affect me)

And sure there are some nurses who maybe seem a little burnout and are rude to pts. At my job I feel like there are nurses who would have quit long ago, except they need the money, and for whatever reason they're too lazy or set in their ways to change specialties. I think sometimes a change of specialties can be good for burnout. But there are lots of great, caring nurses too who are wonderful with pts.

Jules A, MSN · Dec 4, 2009

I also love my job. As with anything there are some rude people but it has been my experience that they are few and far between. Most of the the nurses I have known have been wonderful. Its physically challenging because you are on your feet, running around but that makes the time go really fast. Best of luck to you!

UnionRN2 · Dec 4, 2009

I have worked for over 20 years in critical care and I love nursing and I love taking care of my patients. I work 3 - 12 hour shifts every weekend.

Where I work, the newbies tend to be on the day shift. The long timers are on the off shifts. (I think this is because long timers prefer not to interact with supervisors and administrators. Some people might say the pace is slower... but it is not slower in an ICU. You have the same work, but less support staff.)

What I don't like... is doing everyone else's job. Why? Because I have my own work to do. For instance if I call IS because a printer isn't working they want me to find a ladder, climb up the ladder, pull the printer out and do about 1/2 hour of problem solving for them over the phone. I don't have time to do that unless they send an IS employee to cover my work. Another example, clinical engineering has a piece of equipment they are checking out and they want me to spend 45 minutes running in and out of the room and messing with it. But they don't supply someone to do my work. It would be nice if they checked with the nurse to ensure the patient's modesty, identified themselves to the patient and family, and proceeded to do their own work. Various types of the same problems exist with pharmacy, doctors, housekeeping, dietary, etc.)

Another thing I do not like... the business/client/awesome experience that is the latest fad in administration. I work with ICU patients. If I have a patient crashing and the family member from the next room wants to use the bathroom in the hall, I am supposed to stop what I am doing immediately and walk that family member to the bathroom. Common sense tells me I should keep working on that crashing patient. But administration tells me I will be written up. I was literally told "The family member can complain, dead patients don't." This mentality has also resulted in nurses being treated as waitstaff instead of the well educated professionals that they are. I have teenagers demanding that I fetch a coke and burger for them or family members demanding back rubs.

Another thing I do not like... it is nursing's dirty little secret that nurses get a lunch and break. I can count on one hand how many times my co-workers and I have have had a break in the last 10 years. We get to eat lunch about once or twice a month. If anyone complains to management you are told you have time management problems and it is reflected in your next evaluation. However, we all know how short administrators like to work the floors.

What I do like is that there are tons of possibilities within nursing. Different areas to specialize in. Inpatient, outpatient. A bit more education and there are even more possibilities... nursing education, informatics, CRNA, NP, etc.

What I really love about nursing is the interaction with my patients. The memories are priceless.

adpiRN · Dec 4, 2009

The whole break thing varies widely from what I've heard from my friends and read on this forum. On some units there's no time and I have friends who don't take breaks and stay late to chart.

On my floor the charge nurse assigns breaks. If it's super busy and we don't get a break, we get paid for that extra hour.

I'm pretty good about keeping up with my charting, so I never have stayed late to chart.

But that may be cause I work L&D where I have 1 or 2 pts.

My friends in med-surg have 5-10, and I could see how charting could get overwhelming.

HopefulNurse90 · Dec 4, 2009

thanks guys...i can see that nursing has its ups and downs like any other job...but once again the experience and compassion u have with ur patients are priceless...like you guys have said.

So, is there any unit that isn't as busy as the others? Im just wondering in case i dont want to work in a super busy department..

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2009

I love my job. I enjoy the teaching, the skill, the learning, the fact that I am the front line for helping patients.

shift wise....some places work 3 12s a week, some places are 9-5, some are weekends, some are whenever you are needed...depends on the place.

sometimes, we are perceived as rude if we don't fluff enough pillows, kiss enough butt, etc....sometimes we are rude if we try to make people do what they are supposed to. I am very empathetic, but I am firm with doing what I have too. I have people skills though, but sometimes its rough to make it through.

My most telling moment was when I was a CNA.....I had a DD patient who was nonverbal. He was isolation, full gown mask gloves, and I was just done cleaning him up with a bath. said "feel better buddy?" looks at me, and explodes with dark brown vomit(bowel obstruction) all over....just took it in stride, got the nurse to help me, and got done....knew then that a simple act of cleaning can give such care to a patien

good luck with whatever you decide.

LaneyB · Dec 5, 2009

I work 5 days a week (8 hour shifts), no weekends, no holidays. I am at a health department. For the most part I really like my job. I love having different programs - I work immunizations, communicable disease, breast and cervical cancer control, etc. It is nice to be able to manage my own time, and I usually can pick which program I want to work on each day. When I get tired of one program there is always something I can work on in a different program.

The schedule works really well for my kids. My daughter goes to school about a block from my work, and she walks to the health dept each day after school and does homework in my office until it is time to leave. The hospital I worked at previously did not work well for my family. I was frequently mandated, and had a day/night rotating shift. I often had to leave for work just as my kids were getting home from school, which they hated. I also had to work every other weekend, which they hated. This way I have a very consistent schedule, and I can make it to all of their sporting events.

My coworkers are great, and only a few are rude. The hospital I worked at had a few really nasty pieces of work, and they made the floor quite miserable for many people. People were always trying to get off 3rd shift because that was the mean shift. Thankfully they ended up leaving. Looking back I wish more of us would have banded together and told them to knock it off.

Blackheartednurse · Dec 5, 2009

So far...I absolutely LOVE it! It is the best job in the world! Best possible place to work, best people!
I start in January.

How do you know that if you havent work there yet?

LaneyB · Dec 5, 2009

How do you know that if you havent work there yet? '

I was wondering that myself. I thought maybe I read it wrong.