I dont need any judgement with this, b/c it truly is a deep concern. I am a 1st term nursing student, and a tech at a well known hospital in my town. I can say with all honesty that I hate my job. My floor is a small med-surg floor with only a handful of rooms, which isn't so bad, except all they do is float me. Its rare that I work on my floor more that 2 times a month. I get floated everywhere, including areas that I have not one ounce of training in. ICU is the bane of my existence. Ive never had any training in ICU and I get sent there all the time. The first time I floated there, I was so scared that I cried on the phone to my husband in the break room for 15 mins. I hate bathing people, Im so sick of cleaning up feces, Im tired of being bossed around and treated like a waitress, Im tired of pulling elderly people out of bed by myself to get them on the toilet and throwing my back out b/c no one will help me, spending 45 mins in one pt's room just to get them to the bathroom and back, getting run ragged every night...
I actually threw up in a pt's bathroom the other night b/c she sprayed diarrhea all over the toilet and I had to clean it up. Everytime I have to work I dread it the whole day, and I cry the whole drive there. It breaks my heart to have to leave my husband and kids to go to a job that I hate. My back hurts 24/7 and Im contently exhausted. Ive begged my manager to let me cut back my hours but she wont
So my question is this: If I hate being a tech, does that mean I will hate being a nurse? Im almost done with term one and Im just scared Im wasting my time and money.
I hated being a tech. Absolutely never wanted to go to work. Not because I had to do turns, and incontinence care, and sitting, etc. But because that was all I did. I knew I could be doing more (as in... in addition to these basic nursing skills). I also was a float too, so I never had the chance to really establish relationships with staff so I was often working by myself with few help. Also, because I wasn't consistent with my presence (varied shifts, floors, days, etc), nurses didn't know me and had the tendency to talk down to me. Or blow me off if I had a concern about a patient. My patients were often impressed I pulled them up by myself because I didn't want them to have to wait forever while I tried to find help and my callbells were never answered if I was tied up in a room.
The worse is when I was a sitter for up to 12 hours and the nurses would walk into the room and pretend I wasn't there.
There is no respect given to being a tech. You are often overworked, underpaid, and non-appreciated. It is not fun. However, it did help me become a nurse and I learned a lot from the experience.
I hated being a tech but I love being a nurse. I am challenged and (somewhat) respected in this role. I feel as part of a team and feel I can actually maybe do something on my shift. An abbreviated explanation but it works.
See how you like clinicals as a student nurse (don't being utlitized as a tech, but using your critical thinking, giving meds, looking up patho, doing assessments).. it's different and that's what motivated me.
I'm a student nurse and a tech, as well. This is a decision best left up to you, of course, but what I WOULD add is that there are many options for nurses out there.. you could get a job in an area where you wouldn't be dealing with these types of things: NICU, OR, PACU, and others. You could go right on for your MSN when you finish your program and become an APRN, midwife, nurse educator, or nurse researcher. There are options. You'd still have to bite the bullet for a while, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you can make it through. Good luck!
I worked as a tech all through nursing school and it was hard, back breaking work. Most of the time I would have 20+ med-surg pts, many of them were total care. I was on workman's comp twice in two years due to work related injuries. That being said, I love being a nurse. As a nurse I have my 3-5 pts to take care of and am responsible for. Alot of times I am in there changing diapers, bathing pts, feeding them, etc, but it's not just about that. It's also about being able to advocate for my pt, notice changes, follow lab work, etc. I personally enjoy the tech work when it is combined with the nursing work, but I know not everyone will.
I might also suggest you try working as a tech in ER, peds, psych, or another area of the hospital where the techs have a different type of role than med-surg.
Its surprising that I would have to deal with this as an RN b/c the ones at my work dont help me one dang bit with any of the things I listed above
And please dont get me wrong. I know theres an insane amount of paper work and charting with nursing. I see it every day. But when Im running my rear end off all night and you're just sitting at the desk chit chatting about a vacation and dont even offer to help me, thats what I have a problem with
I agree with everyone and then some, but I did want to mention that the nurses you work with would be raked over the coals if they worked with my current nursing crew, and how things are being run at your hospital are NOT acceptable in the least.
I was a CNA for about a year at a small hospital before I got my RN license. It was very apparent that some nurses felt that there was "nurse work", and then there was "tech work". Everything unappealing, of course, was "tech work". I've had nurses there leave their patient's rooms pretending they didn't notice the smells of dirty briefs! It was typical for a nurse to pass a med, then walk out of the room to tell the CNA, "Hey, patient so-and-so needs to use the commode", then sit down and play Bejeweled on a computer in the nurse's station.
I've moved on to a larger university hospital as a nurse, and every unit here promotes teamwork. On the floors, the nurses and CNA's work together to keep people clean. In the ICU, the nurses don't have CNA's, but if a fecal explosion is too much to take, it's okay to ask another nurse for help.
I think it's worth mentioning that it's normal to be disgusted by cleaning up patients when first starting out, and it WILL get easier to handle over time. I think most of your complaints are probably really about your lousy co-workers than the nursing tasks itself. I think if you worked someplace where the teamwork is great and everyone (CNA and RN staff) takes their turn dealing with unpleasantness, then you'd probably be much happier.
But most importantly: If you do decide to continue school and become a nurse, PLEASE remember how miserable you feel being the one doing the grunt work now, and don't stop basic nursing care after you're a nurse. Delegating everything gross to the CNA's will not get you any respect, especially if you get a job someplace like where I work. If you turn into one of the lazy nurses who made your CNA job awful, you're paying all that misery you feel forward, and in the end, you won't any better than THOSE nurses are.
Specializes in PICU now, Peds and med-surg in the past.
I don't know how much Peds experience you have but in MY years in peds and PICU they are NOT always easier to care for. Many of my patients are adult size teens who either are severe MRCP that create messes as big as any adult or could be a teen on a vent for any reason that is unable to participate in their own care. The worst two "code browns" I have experienced in my nearly 7 years as a nurse have come from teens. Don't generalize Peds as easy!
For the OP, just realize that what you describe as the behavior you see from nurses you work with is NOT acceptable and not what you should aspire to be. I work on a unit which does not use techs/nursing assistants and the RNs are it for patient care. If you can't accept that you are (or should be) expected to be VERY involved in physical patient care, even the tedious things, then you have some thinking to do. Decide either that you WANT to be a nurse and are willing to provide that care for your patients or trudge through school and some experience until you can get a no direct patient care job. If neither of those options sound good for you then you may need to consider another line of work. I wish you the best!
I'm sorry; it must be very stressful for you. I think you should try another area of nursing or another facility. Pediatrics might be a little easier because they're easier to lift if nobody is there to help you. I am a tech right now and have to deal with all the things you talked about but my unit has supportive staff with coworkers who always ask if I am doing okay, need any help...so it helps a lot. Maybe you should look into another hospital? Good luck with everything! As far as cleaning up diarrhea and stuff like that, if you think about how it helps the patient feel much better, relief, that should make you feel better.
I understand this is a hard decision for you. You are also probably tired and stressed as well.
However, nursing is just a tough, back breaking and sometimes utterly disgusting job...that's is just the reality of it.
I worked in ICU and PICU for most of my career and we never had techs or cnas so we always gave total care...changing the linens/baths/diapers...code browns as well as code blues....so that will not change at all.
I also threw out my back and neck more times than I can remember.
I worked 12 hour night shifts and it was always busy in the unit, I can honestly say I don't remember ever taking a dinner break in the last 10 years I worked....except for the cold pizza we would scarf down while charting.
On the other hand, nursing can be life altering for the nurse. It certainly puts your own life in perspective...and you learn what is important and what is not...and to not sweat the small stuff.
I saw what I would consider actual miracles when I worked in PICU where kids who should never ever have lived through accidents or conditions... did...and thrived...when you see that and you think that you had even a small part in helping that patient get well...that's huge!
It's really your decision...the things that seem to be bothering you are not going away when you become a nurse--in fact they may escalate...and you have a license to also protect!
It really is not a good time to become a new nurse right now, the new grads are having such a hard time getting jobs as are the experienced nurses.
If you really are not sold on this nursing thing, you may want to look into some other options...it would be so very sad to be trapped in something you are miserable in:crying2:
Specializes in Critical Care & Medical-Surgical floor.
Why do you want to be a nurse? All jobs have negative aspects, people dislike. You need, to decide what is your "dream nurse job." Some nurses do research, some teach, some are leaders and yes some of us work in hospitals. There are icky, gross body fluids we need to deal with every day. My answer is "I can make a difference in a person's life." Maybe, it is the patient, maybe it is their significant other. That is what it is all about to me. The rest is aggravating and annoying but bedside nursing is the most wonderful, rewarding, terrifying, degrading, heartrendering and challenging professions which exist. If you hate what you are doing and their is no reward in performing simple tasks to give your patient's comfort, bedside nursing is not for you. That is really OK, best wishes in finding a job you love. Nursing is very hard work and if you cannot find joy in giving a patient a bath, wait til the more difficult challenges come up. You have to be tough and dedicated. Noone ever said it would be easy but is anything worthwhile ever easy?
K, No you wont hate being a nurse because you hate being a tech, I hated being a CNA with a passion it was just a stepping stone in preparation for nursing school, some of the best nurses have a tech or cna background, and contrary to what alot of nurses are telling you on this thread there really are lots of nursing jobs where you don't have to do much bathing toileting etc, cuz I am with you on disliking all that part lol, get done with school you will find as an rn you can supervise in a nursing home you rarely will deal with pt care there, you may work in a dialysis clinic, a wound care clinic, there is the o.r, nice pretty dermatology and plastic surgeons offices, wonderful desk jobs with homecare agencies, etc. etc. etc. You can always be a phone triage nurse in a peds office too, there are lots of nursing jobs that dont require the bedside basic nursing that we so despise and might I add just because we hate it doesnt mean we arent good at it or capable of pulling it off, keep going k!Thats the besttttttttt part about this field is there is a match for everyone, good luck honey!!!!!
Your concern is very valid and genuine. Perhaps you can consider some options you may not have thought about:
- you'll learn about team vs primary nursing and may even have clinicals in both areas (one area you have cnas/techs who can help with patient care; the other area, the RN has to do TOTAL care as they may not have any techs on the floor) - in other words, you have to get used to it
- You should ask someone to help you with lifting esp if you don't have lifting machines to assist you. a hurt back can damage you for the rest of your working life. (i.e. one of the techs in our hospital hurt her back and can no longer work as a tech due to her injury) - Don't expect people to help if you don't ask, you Must take initiative - it's safer for you and the patient
Its surprising that I would have to deal with this as an RN b/c the ones at my work dont help me one dang bit with any of the things I listed above
And please dont get me wrong. I know theres an insane amount of paper work and charting with nursing. I see it every day. But when Im running my rear end off all night and you're just sitting at the desk chit chatting about a vacation and dont even offer to help me, thats what I have a problem with
Unfortunately, there are RN's who are like that... it makes it rough when I have to share partners (CNA's, LVN's) with them because they always seem to run my CNA's to the ground, and I end up picking up the pieces from my end. It's always the same repeat offenders, so I always check to see who my aides are working with when the assignment is out so I can plan out my day with them. It's too bad: we're supposed to be a team on the floor, and when you work people hard like that, it isn't right, regardless of what profession you're in.
Cleaning poop, feeding patients, bathing them, etc. should never, ever stop when you're an RN. I get my best skin assessments from doing bed baths on my bedbound patients (especially the ones coming in from SNFs), and I always ask to, at the very least, look at my patient's poop (which means I end up cleaning it, too) because the poop says a lot about how a patient is doing... and if you think that's bad, wait until you have to disimpact someone.
raskol
53 Posts
I hated being a tech. Absolutely never wanted to go to work. Not because I had to do turns, and incontinence care, and sitting, etc. But because that was all I did. I knew I could be doing more (as in... in addition to these basic nursing skills). I also was a float too, so I never had the chance to really establish relationships with staff so I was often working by myself with few help. Also, because I wasn't consistent with my presence (varied shifts, floors, days, etc), nurses didn't know me and had the tendency to talk down to me. Or blow me off if I had a concern about a patient. My patients were often impressed I pulled them up by myself because I didn't want them to have to wait forever while I tried to find help and my callbells were never answered if I was tied up in a room.
The worse is when I was a sitter for up to 12 hours and the nurses would walk into the room and pretend I wasn't there.
There is no respect given to being a tech. You are often overworked, underpaid, and non-appreciated. It is not fun. However, it did help me become a nurse and I learned a lot from the experience.
I hated being a tech but I love being a nurse. I am challenged and (somewhat) respected in this role. I feel as part of a team and feel I can actually maybe do something on my shift. An abbreviated explanation but it works.
See how you like clinicals as a student nurse (don't being utlitized as a tech, but using your critical thinking, giving meds, looking up patho, doing assessments).. it's different and that's what motivated me.