I wish someone would write a book about....

Published

I wish someone would write a book about being a nurse....specifically designed for spouses to read. My live-in future husband thinks all I do is walk around handing out meds and warm blankets (in the air conditioning). I wish he knew what I truely went through in a day. No matter what I say, I don't think he will ever understand. I say this b/c I am new to nursing.... I have always babied him.... now, I want to be babied when I get home. My days aren't as easy as he thinks. I need some compassion TOO!! Anyone go through this?

Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

I REALLY wish there would be a "take your spouse to work" day, so they could see first-hand what we go through every day....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
I REALLY wish there would be a "take your spouse to work" day, so they could see first-hand what we go through every day....

You know, I have mentioned that to my husband several times :).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
Check this out & have him read it. He might come away enlightened.

www.allnurses.com/forums/f58/my-life-nurse-mans-perspective-48365.html

Thanks for the link. I needed that laugh, it is so true.

:roll

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

I think its just husbands. I tell mine all the time when i get how little i do at work that my job is as much mental as it is physical. His is physical. Its two different kind of tireds. So when im not wanting to cook supper or jump into cleaning on my day off i dont feel bad at all. After all when he does it on his days off,, then i might be more willing to give up all my days off for cleaning.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Surgical/MedSurg/Oncology/Hospice.

This just makes me all the more relieved that I'll be divorced by the time I finish my first semester of nursing school this fall!:lol2: My soon to be ex had always complained about how I "just stayed at home all day" being a SAHM for the past 7 years (even though our youngest was undergoing cancer treatment for the first of those years!)...he never had a clue no matter how many times I explained in detail what my day entailed! There's no way he would have been anymore understanding after I start working as an RN!:trout:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Give him time , the more you talk about your day the more he'll come around. Infact he will prob. understand more about nursing than our governing nursing boards and powers to be do. Tonight I went to a Mary Kay party. There was a teacher there, she said that she can hardley wait until September, when school starts. She said she can't sleep the night before in anticipation. And she's been teaching 26 years. I just sat there not knowing what to think. I feel beat up-I get beat up every day. - I've become the master of restraining OD's and Drunks, , I get called names most people can't imagine unless they're watching a cop show., a break is rare and not a day goes by that I don't get a call begging me to come in and work because the staffing is low. I try to keep a positive attitude but after 26 years of nursing I'm just trying to make through a day let alone "loosing sleep because I'm excited about going in. Wow , that would be wounderful !:rolleyes: Do you ever wounder if nursing could be like that? Maybe Pres Gainy will make a difference for us........yeh when He -double tooth pick freezes over.:angryfire

Up Vote Up Vote ×

AMEN! Thye dont "get it." You are right, NursingAgainstdaOdds...We dont expect our friends to "get it, " but then again....they are NOT married to us either. Emotional Support would be nice. I further agree...you need another nurse to talk to about it. I have a friend that is a nurse. we compare stories and, at times, "vent" about a BAD day!!!

My husband works in a pizza shop. His "bad days" r nasty customers that dont tip and bad directions to the houses. " Overtime " for him is when the last delivery has hime cioming back to the shop after time for him to clock out....or if the next employee is running late. poor thing.

At my last job? I had a 40 min drive. I worked 2-1030pm. IF i got out at 11pm? i was doing great. I got home at 1145pm. good for me. He looked at the clock on the wall, looked at me and said ....YOU R LATE! Excuse me? well, he went on to remind me that " your shift ended at 1030." well.....thats jsut an estimate. LOL. When do we nurses get out on time, despoite our bosses yelling about OT. RIGHT? In hospitals and nursing homes( I work as an RN in long term care), its not like we get all the work done on time Just our luck that the r calls back wiht a million orders 15 min b4 shift ends, etc.

Yeah.....I wish the spouses "got it," but til they do....we keep going as we always have.

Peace!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac Care, ICU.
At my last job? I had a 40 min drive. I worked 2-1030pm. IF i got out at 11pm? i was doing great. I got home at 1145pm. good for me. He looked at the clock on the wall, looked at me and said ....YOU R LATE! Excuse me? well, he went on to remind me that " your shift ended at 1030." well.....thats jsut an estimate. LOL. When do we nurses get out on time, despoite our bosses yelling about OT.

Peace!

Too true. When I worked day shift on a cardiac unit, the shift may have ended at 7:15 pm but the paper work usually went on until 8 P or so. I had a really great day once and got home at 7:30 and my DH looked up and said to the kids "Clock must be wrong. It says 7:30 but mom is home ( he was joking).

Any one had this happen. You walk in at 8P after a long day and DH looks up from the TV and asks, "whats for dinner"? About the third time that happened I replied, " I'm having a bowl of cereal and going to bed. I don't know what you and the kids are going to do". He got the message and from then on at least had something in the works by the time I got home.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I used to talk to dh about my day all the time, without him asking. Sometimes if it's been particularly rough, I still do and he's a good listener.

Once when we'd been married a little less than 2 years, I brought up the fact that he never asked me about my day. His response: "That's because every story about your job grosses me out."

I've learned to talk to other nurses about my day. I decompress, and nobody gets grossed out. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in neuro, med/surg/, cardiac care.

muffie,

We all listen to your spewings, that's why we love working with you. My husband is pretty good and he now knows that my "nursing" stops at the front door, all out of compassion for his little boo boos. I will take out a splinter for him if he is really nice in asking. He was quick to figure out that we don't read and sleep all night either when we work, thus explaining why I pass out the minute I get home after a shift. Having lots of nursing friends helps too, if they are subjected to alot of the "talk" then they should figure out it is no glamour job and we are not capable of looking like the General Hospital tv nurses when we come home from a hairy day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion