How many times have you cried???

[CareBayer]

How far are you into your first year and how many times have you come home and cried?

I've been off precepting for five weeks and have come home and cried three times....most of the time it's because I was so overwhelmed on the floor....once I almost started crying at the nurse's station because I was being pulled in a million directions!

How about you?

[racing-mom4, BSN, RN]

I am so sorry for you, I have never cried due to work, I have cried due to pt deaths though. All i have to see is a family member start to cry and my eyes well up.

I have known and seen nurses in the linen room crying due to stress/conflicts and frustration. There is nothing wrong with crying. We work in a high stress/high emotion field and alot is on our shoulders.

Hugs to you!!!

[tamz04]

by the time i get home i am way too mind numb to cry but I am in my third month and I have cried 4 times at work. It just gets too much and I cannot hold it in anymore.

[SoundofMusic]

Several times, actually. Too many to count, especially on the way home. But I'm a crier -- I get it OUT, quick, and then I move on.

I have cried on the floor in the ICU once -- but many of the nurses there patted me on the back and said "If you haven't cried on the floor, you haven't really worked here," so I didn't feel so bad.

I think I would feel worse on the floor here where I"m at now. If I did, I'd just check into the supply room or the bathroom or breakroom or something and let it out.

It can be embarrassing, but I would never think less of any nurse who did cry for any reason. We DO work in a very stressful and sometimes very sad environment, depending on where you work.

Our floor is so nuts with dementia patients we spend more time cracking up than crying. I guess I should be thankful for that aspect of it. .

Lately, what worries ME is that I can't cry. I tend now to just feel more dead to it all than anything, and that worries me more. I"m more angry and anxious and have it all pent up -- not good.

[Chloe'sinNYNow]

I don't know. I can't count that high. :grin:

Chloe

RN-BSN, BA

[imanedrn]

I am pleased to say that at 4 months, I don't cry much any more! Only a month ago, though, I could not say that at all! I couldn't even imagine myself NOT crying!

As for the number of times, I too lost count!

There were days I cried on my drive to work, in the bathroom during work, on my drive home after work, at home after work... There were days where I'd just received report and had to do everything in my power to hold back the tears.

On most days, I wasn't even really sure WHY I was crying either! I have now realized that (at least I think...) it's mostly due to the unpredictability of nursing. I am such an anal-retentive, need-to-know-everything-in-detail sort of person that the anxiety of NOT knowing what could/might/will happen drove me over the edge. I think I'm finally coming to grips with it as a "normal" part of my career now.

I imagine most other NGs (and even experienced RNs) cry for different reasons on different days. In any case, I hope you have decent emotional support -- whether inside or outside of nursing.

[jessi1106, BSN, RN]

I'm at 10 months ~ cried several times.

The other day a brand new nurse (second week off orientation), was crying, saying, "I think I made the wrong career choice. I just can't do this".

I felt so bad for her...and while trying to comfort her I started crying too. lol.

I knew just how overwhelmed she felt.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

10 months in and I haven't cried for a while now. I don't feel sick to my stomach before work anymore either.

[PeachyERNurse, BSN, RN]

Less than a week out of orientation....haven't cried once yet. It's weird. I consider myself to be a very sensitive person. My mom can tell me she's disappointed in me and I'll start crying. I'll read a news story about a rape victim and I might start crying. We code people at work, and it doesn't faze me. But, I did get teary eyed both times I had to shove an og tube down an intubated patient's throat (they reminded me of my granddaddy and I felt like I was torturing them), but so far no crying before, during, or after work.

[tarapom]

I am so sorry for you, I have never cried due to work, I have cried due to pt deaths though. All i have to see is a family member start to cry and my eyes well up.

I have known and seen nurses in the linen room crying due to stress/conflicts and frustration. There is nothing wrong with crying. We work in a high stress/high emotion field and alot is on our shoulders.

Hugs to you!!!

I do think there is definately something wrong with crying! That isn't to say I have not cried, or that people who cry over work have something wrong with them. I think that a profession that is so stressful that can cause you to lose your wits and break down and cry, well that is just not something I am interested in. I am quickly making plans to find another kind of job in nursing, so I never have to cry about work's stresses again.

[SoundofMusic]

I hear what you're saying Tarapom. It's bad that it causes the best of us to just break down and cry. I don't know what else to say or do about it .. .it's just a highly stressful job with a lot of unpredictability and a lot of accountability. I wish the higher ups knew how bad it really can be for new people.

I don't cry as much as I used to either -- but there are still days.

I love days where I go home actually in a very GOOD mood, because it was a good day. Those days I really celebrate.

I am a Catholic and I have taken to saying the Rosary in the way to work, as well as a prayer before the shift. I swear it really helps!

But seriously, it's sad that one has to do that and resort to prayer just to get through a day. I NEVER had to do any such thing in my former career.

Nothing compares to nursing, that is for sure.

[Thankful RN,BSN]

I have never cried because of work. I am usually very happy and proud of myself for surviving a tough night or situation at work.