I don't hate nursing!

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

long story, short version. the last 3 months at our hospital have been crazy. we have a new doctor that admits every hang nail that walks in her office and a new surgeon. both add to our daily admisison and total patient load. so basically, we are a small hospital, usually staffed well for 20 or so patients. but, we've been about 30, with no extra help in sight.

every shift i have worked has been a mad house, with 2 or admission just for myself, and really no help becuase everyone else is crazy too. the last two days i thought was the last straw. i come home prepared to quit, swore i'd never go back, and knew i hated nursing and was wasting my time.

this morning the phone rang. the house super wanted to find one extra nurse, just to make it more bearable. i initially said no, but then i thought about how many terrible shifts i have done lately that would have been worlds better if just one extra nurse was there, so feeling like i was going to my exacution, i called back and agreed. so, for once i worked with a well staffed floor. know what else? no admits!

guess what? i had a great day. i helped a patient put on her makeup, i colored with a patients daughter, and i felt like for the first time in 3 months or so that i really did a good job, all my patients were happy, and i wasn't stessed to the max.

it was great...and i remembered that i really do love nursing

[rnmomtobe2010]

That was touching and thanks for sharing.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

What a wonderful recollection of your experience!

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

One good day out of three months' worth.

It isn't enough to keep me happy.

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

One good day out of three months' worth.

It isn't enough to keep me happy.

Well, I work with a great group of nurses, and have great supervisors. They are in the process of hiring more nurses. And I have had 3 good years at the same facility. I can endure some bad days till they get things straight, they been really good to me over the years.

[littleredmare]

Thanks for your post-I feel you.

I gage my days by the amounts of hugs I get. A few days ago I had a 3-hug day. 2 patients gave me a hug and thanked me for all of my ( and the other staffs') hard work. It was all worth it. I think we all bust our butts, and all I really want is to be appreciated. It makes it all worth it. To work with other nurses that make you laugh. To have a patient thank you. I work in GYN Oncology, and our unit is more like an ICU most of the time than a unit. It really does come down to where you work. I worked for a year on a totally toxic unit with miserable staff and unsafe conditions. I was putting my license on the line daily. Now where I work it's not perfect by any stretch, but you actually do have good days. Don't get me wrong, some days I really hate my job. But more recently, I glad I'm in this profession, and honored to be helping these people in the most vulnerable of states.

Littlered:redpinkhe

[Imuneek2]

That is really awesome! I love being able to spend time with patients and not feel pressure that there are other things that have to be done! Thanks for sharing!