People outside healthcare just don't understand it like we do. How can you leave that poor 80 year old lady lie there in the stretcher with "excruciating" stomachache, how can you not promptly give dilaudid or morphine to these people in pain? How can you not do all these for 3 patients? We know in our hearts that is because we have one patient who is septic, one patient who has stemi or stroke, one patient who is hemorrhaging and going down fast or a pediatric code..... and you have patient and family members complain to you as you're passing into that one critical patient's room 17th time in last hour to save him/her, saying "when is the xray result showing?" or "when is the doctor coming into see my nausea/vomiting?" or "I called the call light twice and no one came to get me a blanket."...... I have no compassion to give, I have no love for humanity left in my heart. Patients don't register to me as human beings anymore, but they only seem like numbers or a head count.
Bring compassion back to healthcare, harp all the hospitals across the nation, but we know that is a lie as we see the administration and management punch in stats, numbers, and data in order to save money instead of focusing on providing quality care with good staffing. You want to take care of people, but in reality, you can't because you're taking care of Mr. Documentation.
I am sick of healthcare, hospital administration and bedside nursing. I don't even know why we need to save peoples' lives anymore. In the world where charting and reimbursement is more important to healthcare, I guess that trickles down to burnt out and bitter nurses. I am paying my dues now... but I pray to Lord that I can leave the bedside soon for patients and myself for the person it is turning me into. It is not for me. I also pity those who are as miserable as I am.
Thank you for listening to my rant, I have been keeping it for many months.
After 12 years of bedside nursing, 10 med-surg/ortho, and 2 ICU, I recognized I was burnt out as I was feeling my lack of compassion and patience. I also switched to school nursing and while the pay stinks compared to the hospital, I love coming to work and having holidays off! I still keep a per diem position at the hospital, because I'm not ready to give those skills up. Best of luck to you!!
I just finished my MSN in Informatics, and I am halfway done with an MSN for Nursing Education. I am not staying at the bedside forever! 11 years of ED next month.
I worked in a trauma center and then in a very busy suburban ER over 17 years. I am now a school nurse as well. The hours are great. The pay stinks compared to the hospital. But I keep my ER certifications up to date just in case. The kids I work with are great, parents are mostly great, sometimes they are hard to deal with, but not as bad as the hospital. Summers off, holidays off, winter break/spring break it's not a bad gig. I get a belly laugh from a kid everyday. I get to help kids everyday. It's a good feeling.
Sometimes I think that I want to go back to the ER because I miss the adrenaline rush, but all of those life sucking patients and families aren't worth it. I am not talking about patients and families that actually need to be in the ER, unfortunately they are a very small percentage. And I am sick of working to death and not getting a lunch break because of customer satisfaction. I am not a nurse that can go eat lunch while there's an assigned room for my patient and make them wait an extra 30 minutes. What happened to nurse retention and satisfaction, oh right, there's no such thing. How do hospital CEO's and administration get paid the big bucks when we are dying for more staff in the ER? I felt like their inflated salaries were made on my sore back.
We as a profession need to demand better pay and working conditions. Unfortunately administration sees us as disposable (at least I felt that way).
GatezRN
117 Posts
After 12 years of bedside nursing, 10 med-surg/ortho, and 2 ICU, I recognized I was burnt out as I was feeling my lack of compassion and patience. I also switched to school nursing and while the pay stinks compared to the hospital, I love coming to work and having holidays off! I still keep a per diem position at the hospital, because I'm not ready to give those skills up. Best of luck to you!!