I am a brand new nursing student, and I was instructed to join allnurses.com for a class. Now, as you can expect I have this picture of my head when it comes to nursing of helping others, having awesome co workers, and just having an awesome job in general! I understand that it is not always sunshine and rainbows, but I hope the good will outweigh the bad that could possibly happen. This is why I decided to become a nurse, but coming onto this website scares me! All of the threads I see are titled "I hate my job", "I should not be a nurse", "My co workers hate me", and things like that. It seems to me like these are all new nurses just starting out and still trying to find there way in the nursing world, but all of these posts are very intimidating to someone who will be in their shoes in just a few short years. So, I guess this brings me back to my original question. How many of you actually enjoy your job?
80% of the time I love my job. There have been days when I felt overwhelmed with everything that had to be done, especially charting (more and more and more!). There have also been more ethical issues then I thought there would be. But, I have never disliked my clients or my choice of Nursing. I usually love my job.
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Yup, love my job; my niche is PDN and it is so fine to get to relate with my patients who are mostly in their nineties. Some hold their own, and some are on the way out, but I really, really enjoy them!
I've done lots of other kinds of nursing.....my favorite was 9 years of Home Health. Prior to that I worked in a Hospital as a float and loved that, but that was , oh, gosh, close to 30 years ago. Have also worked five other hospitals both as staff and temp.
I have only had two jobs I hated because of the facilities and the way they were run.
One place was totally satisfied being mediocre to poor and I lasted there 6 weeks and got canned. Best thing that ever happened to me, as it turns out.
The second one was at an LTC which supposedly had a good reputation, but only because they were attached to a very fancy-schmancy retirement community. The reality of that place was they chewed up and spit out REALLY GOOD conscientious personnel all the time. There was a core group that were there for quite a while, but it was like the place had a revolving door. You had to wear 7 hats and had no time for the patients, but I was told 'that's the reality nowadays.' To which I said, "Well, that's not NURSING and it's not fair to the patients and I don't have to do it this way!"
My agency has gone down-hill over the years, which is very disappointing; of course everyone blames Obamacare for EVERYTHING, but their downhill slide started years before he ever thought of running for President.
Overall, looking back on my career, I have absolutely never regretted my decision to become a nurse. There were times when I was in school when I would phone my mother every week, crying and wringing my hands. There were times I was SO angry about admin and management decisions. After a while I realized "This, too, shall pass.".....and so it does, and so it goes.
If there were an Alllawyers site, an Allplumbers site, an Allpoliceofficer site, an Allmailcarriers site, etc., I'm sure you would get the same grumbling, complaining, venting, about the job you read from nurses.
The great part about nursing is the flexibility. If you end up working in a hospital, unit, area, that you dislike you have good options (after getting some experience under your belt) of transferring to another unit or another hospital.
I like my job the majority of the time. I love my speciality, love my coworkers, like my patients, and usually can't stand their family members. There are always good days and bad days, but most of the time I like my job.
It took me several different nursing jobs to find one I truly loved.
My first nursing job had an awesome schedule (Monday - Thursday 8am - 4:30pm, Friday 8am - 12n, no weekends or evenings ever). I so didn't love that job - it just wasn't a good fit for me in so many ways.
My 2nd nursing job was a fantastic learning experience, but a hard job with long/ irregular hours. I miss caring for the patients but there are many things I don't miss.
Now I'm working in a job that I do love. I love the type of nursing (and it's an area I never in a million years guessed I would be in) and the schedule is a good balance of work and actually having a life outside work to recharge. The best part is the team I work with and the manager; it truly is a professional team. My personality and skills set "fit". Learning is encouraged.
I mean this with no disrespect, but are you sure you are in the right field? I worked for many years in a field that I hated. That's why I went to nursing school later in life. Now I hate some of the bull that goes on at my place of employment, but I love being able to take care of patients. Anyone who genuinely hates what they do should probably find something else to do. Life is too short to spend the majority of it unhappy.
99% of people are lying if they say they love their job... unless you're a millionaire who gets paid millions to play a sport.
I really enjoy my job too! It's tiring and can be stressful but I like my coworkers and my patient population. I never think "I don't want to go to work HERE".
I'm one of those people that has generally liked all jobs I held, only once did I hate a job and I left it after a couple months.
I have to say I don't enjoy my job. Sure I've saved lives, made a difference and yes have met some amazing people, both patients and coworkers, but I don't think the stress to my mind and body is worth it. I'm doing all I can to retire early or at least have the freedom to move to a less stressful job by getting my mortgage paid off as soon as I can and saving for retirement and emergency fund. I really hate all the alarms that we are subjected to it is never ending and they have added a phone with tele alarms that go off incessantly almost always for artifact because they don't want to pay for a tele tech! The computer charting and med pass is such a hassle and takes so much time. I understand the computer med pass is a safety issue and of course use it at all times, but it is not user friendly and bombards you with questions just to pass a simple med. It's too early or late or you just gave this med why are you giving it, on and on! I hear the VA computer system is much better, I don't know. The VA is the only system that provides a no lift environment complete with ceiling lifts so if you do stay in nursing check it out. They have very generous student loan reimbursement and tuition reimbursement the best benefits in the industry!
I've discovered hover mats can save the day when dealing with 300-500+ pound patients! Why did it take so long to even try it out. I've been injured and maybe I wouldn't have been if the hospital had provided hover mats. They don't automatically provide them, by chance I discovered them and that we can get them thru the bariatric bed supplier. They should be automatically ordered for any bariatric patient! They will save your back! They glide and make it so easy to move or transfer an obese patient. After I was injured I actually yelled at the employee health nurse why didn't she advocate for us, why did she just document all the injuries and not speak up. Isn't that part of her job. We didn't even have sit to stands at that point and had non functional hoyers without the battery or sling to actually use them! Well her solution was to give out cheap plastic garbage bag liners to put under patients to slide them. I kid you not! Cheap as could be! Hover mats actually work without straining your back! Finally we got sit to stands but it took years! We were the last hospital in the system to get such basic equipment when our nursing home down the road already had them! I think it will take a federal law to provide a safe no lift environment or a strong union like National Nurses United to ensure adequate lift equipment so healthcare workers aren't left injured, disabled and in chronic pain. Frankly I think Hover mats should be used for everyone to protect our backs, necks and shoulders. WHy should we have to strain to boost and turn our patients when their is safe effective equipment that can save the day!
If you stay in nursing I would advocate planning on going all the way to be an NP for your own safety and peace of mind! Make hospital nursing a paid residency and leave it at that!
I like caring for people when I have adequate staff and working equipment, but that has been a very uphill battle! I enjoy using my mind to assess my patients and catch any problems early. I like my little old patients as I always loved the elderly and loved my grandma more than anyone in the world!
The reality of nursing is too many patients, not enough staff or aides to help, many altered mental status patients that can be violent, and either working short or being mandated to work 16 hour shifts. Good luck finding a good job in nursing. It is like searching for a needle in a haystack!
I greatly enjoy the science of nursing and the ability to really help patients. I loved working hospital med-surg but the working conditions were very poor so it took a bad toll physically and mentally. I am now in a job where I don't get to practice the depth of nursing skills I'd like, but it has good working conditions which means I'll stay for the foreseeable future.
I am so stressed and overwhelmed. I feel stretched in many directions and like a piece of machinery sometimes. That being said, I feel worse knowing I work with good coworkers, at a great teaching facility, with amazing management.
I think it's the new grad blues. I feel anxious about what will happen tomorrow. I feel sad about the thought of being a complete failure. I do dislike the entitled young patients that think I am their maid and have awful coping mechanisms. Note: I am 22 myself.
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myrachandler
10 Posts
80% of the time I love my job. There have been days when I felt overwhelmed with everything that had to be done, especially charting (more and more and more!). There have also been more ethical issues then I thought there would be. But, I have never disliked my clients or my choice of Nursing. I usually love my job.