I'm So Over Nursing. I would rather work at Costco!!

[rnfrombama]

I am ready to leave the nursing profession after 6 years. I have a bachelor's degree in biology and got my associate's in nursing. In high school, I decided that I wanted a career in nursing. By the time I entered college, I decided I wanted to become an OB/GYN. Halfway through college, I realized I didn't want to be a doctor. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I wasn't going to change my major and start over. Fast forward about 8 years, I considered nursing and applied to nursing school and here I am.....back at square one. I wish I had sacrificed and endured one or two more years of college by changing my major and pursued something else.

I often-times cringe when I think of going to work. My attitude changes, my heart races, and anxiety sets in. My coworkers are nothing less than awesome. Most of my patients rock. Both have been unexpected blessings to me and I thank God for our paths crossing. But management, the physicians, and the facility at which I work have made nursing a profession that I wished I had not entered. I never have to wonder how devalued I am when I'm at work. Our voices are not heard, and as a matter of fact, our concerns are considered complaints.

Not only am I a caregiver, but I am the business office, auditor, waitress, maid, logistics, IT, quality assurance, babysitter, personal assistant, and the list goes on. When doctors fall short, it is our job to clean the mess up.....and, no, I'm not speaking of mistakes that affect patient care. I speaking of simple documentation that they are supposed to take care of. I understand the importance of having all "I"s dotted and every "T" crossed, but when will the physicians be held accountable? I can't be chasing down physicians when they forget to check the correct box especially when it has little or nothing to do with a patient's outcome. That's not my job. We nurses are stressed, afraid, furious, and just plain depressed as a result of these added responsibilities. We already worry about our patients even after quitting time. After leaving work, many of us call back up to the floor or unit checking on our patients. We are genuinely concerned about them, but it is very obvious that management's agenda is not the patients. Whatever management's agenda is becoming our agenda, right? WRONG! I'm here to take care of patients, not physicians.

There are so many nurses, YOUNG, fairly new nurses, that I know that started their nursing careers with a clean bill of health. They are now on antidepressants, benzos, blood pressure meds, and others due to the stress and unhappiness. Nursing has gotten away from patient care. It's about making money for the organization which is about making the physicians happy. If that means being stripped of our dignity, we are to do what it takes. I feel as though it is second nature to provide excellent care to our patients. WE have saved many lives anywhere from observing changes in our patients to discovering mistakes made by others (physicians) and correcting them or directing attention to the oversight. I wish they would let us do OUR jobs and provide care and management can run up behind THEIR "customers". If we can keep those two jobs separate, that would be great.

We are a vital part in patient care, but yet, we are so underappreciated and taken for granted. We make a positive impact in many lives, but we are the first ones cursed out because someone is having a bad day. Not only are we unappreciated, but we are very disrespected, and in many occasions, we are unfairly belittled and we are just supposed to accept those words because "it's part of the job." I'm done accepting it. I'm reminded every day there are replacements waiting in line. I'm reminded that any fool can do my job. I don't want a pat on my back every time I do a great job, just acknowledge that I am a vital part of the team. I understand human resources has a stack of nursing applicants on their desks. I just don't have to be reminded of that everytime all my paperwork isn't on the chart (because I'm still working on it), or if I come back from lunch two minutes late.

I am not cut out to take jabs and low-blows without throwing them back. I have so many responsibilities that I take on from the time I punch the clock to the time I punch out and I refuse to be disrespected by someone with a title because I happen to not move fast enough or I am having to clarify an unclear and, most of the time, an unfinished or incorrect order. I'm helping YOU out!! We genuinely worry and care about our patients that it often consumes us. When a patient codes or expires, we are crushed. I once had a patient who got stuck at least 15 times by various staff members, including physicians, to get IV access. The patient took those sticks like a champ, but I still went home and boo-hooed because I hated to see him go through that. We hurt when our patients hurt. On top of carrying out our responsibility as nurses, we are holding in so much emotion associated with our patients.....yet we get very little to no respect. Don't get me wrong, there are some physicians that I'm in contact with whom are polite and value my opinion and I do appreciate them. Of course, I'm not always right or may not make the most intelligent statements, but they acknowledged my voice. Again, I don't want a cookie. I just want to be acknowledged as a professional.

I understand customer service includes dealing with angry, rude, and the dissatisfied. But when I have poured my heart, soul, and emotion into my job and my customers and I am still allowed to be mistreated and insulted, then that becomes a problem. I feel I have no rights as a nurse. Who is protecting me? Who is my voice? Who is standing in my defense?

So at this point, it's time for me to bow out from the nursing profession gracefully and while in good standing with the organization, my family, and myself before I am forced out or OD on my meds(or somebody else's). My family, happiness, health, dignity, and peace of mind is worth leaving. They tell me Costco employees never leave.

I'm-so-over-nursing-I-would-rather-work-at-costco.pdf

[eatenbylocusts]

I love my job most days and love my co-workers. My hospital is a large HMO with terrific benefits and retirement. I have been a nurse for 13 years and don't regret it a bit. My hospital is Union. I do have bad days, but I had bad days working in retail security and got paid diddly. My friend who works as admin. asst. and often has problems with other co-workers and doesn't get paid well.

[Ecs268]

I would go to Cost-co in a new York minute, but I am still enjoying the stress, chaos, mayhem, flack from management, angry patronizing doctors, and the fly by the seat of my pants work atmosphere, oh and the lovely scheduling. I love the abuse. Besides I want to cook somewhere, l love food. I'm thinking a restaurant somewhere They must have high paid agency cooks somewhere, theres got to be.

[MDobg]

Dear Nurse

I have not read thru all the replies, but please accept this note from a well seasoned OBGYN Physician.

You are not alone, and also know that you are not unappreciated. Just un-rewarded. It is a tragedy that Nurses and Doctors have been pitted against each other and that tension used to muscles in Corporate and Investor control of Medicine and Nursing.

The middle class MD's and RN's are both being replaced, and the treatment now is pretty much the same for both, and mostly inhuman which is sad for a caring industry. Clinically expert Physicians and Nurses are replaced with non-professionals to care for patients. The authority also has been shifted to the essentially non-clinical Academic supervisory staffing (Masters, PhD and Sub-Specialty Ceritifed) to boss you and me around and take all the scut-work and blame.

Nursing is a great and noble Profession. So is Physician-ing (we dont even have a word for it huh). They are not the same thing, and it takes many years and hard work to see it.

All I can suggest is to take a deep breath, and take care of yourself. Teaching and academic program funding is being used to subsidize the losses, but it will ultimately crash. Perhaps a reach-out to a good Independent Physician you know can provide support for each other as we try to put back the pieces.

Thank you for your caring.

[Eschell2971, BSN]

In the past month, I've heard more than a few good nurses express what you're expressing in this post. As a nurse, I know that it's easy to get comfortable in one position, one facility, for much of our career. I'm not saying I never have down days or days where I question my being in this profession, but, I am a huge advocate of 'thinking outside the box,' and this goes for nursing, too. I am a big advocate of what I call non-traditional nursing, in that I advocate for nurses to have another stream of income, using their skills, but not necessarily in a traditional nursing/hospital setting. As a rule, I don't do overtime, and I don't take work calls when I'm off duty.

I know this is not the whole gammet of what you're expressing, but, if I have anything to say, it's that you need to have an out-a different experience, a passion, a hobby, something that is equally important to you that you will look forward to leaving your job for, at the end of the work day.

I wish you well!

[dragonladymlb]

Guess what? I don't do the task they wanted performed. It's that simple. I don't tolerate it.

Sure, they can be crappy when I ask a question. That's their prerogative. It's also my prerogative not to get that test done that I was asking about.

You do realize that failing to "get the test done" can have repercussions not only to your patient but to you. You can be written up for ignoring a doctor's order.

[Mommavik, ADN]

Been there with ya! I'm no longer working due to disability but that was my biggest complaint also; we at there to care for our patients (not"clients"as some hospitals want to name them) and we cannot give the care they deserve if we're having to be responsible for,in addition to caregiver, dietary, inputting orders, checking the doctor's documentation, fixing the printer, computer, fax, etc. Our facility did not have staff at night covering dietary so if a patient wasn't able to eat at supper or didn't return from a procedure or admitted after supper time,either they get no food or we had to go to other floors (or calling) to see if anyone else had a food box or left over food from dinner trays available for my hungry patient to eat. If I had no unit secretary and got a patient back from surgery I was responsible for entering their post op orders and ensuring nothing was missed or duplicated; this in addition to my other 8 or more patients and heaven forbid they came back close to bedtime when I'm trying to get bedtime care (snacks,glucose checks and meds) done on my other patients; then either they are late on their care or this patient is neglected while it's done. Forget trying to do a Backrub on a patient with back pain or preventive care for bedsores:that used to be standard for ALL patients at night but now it's very few and far between. Also trying to find time to sit with a patient who just needs to talk about their medical issues or a problem at home (which might be affecting their recovery or preventing their home care ) again there's no time unless you steal that time from other duties and make them late. No easy answers but management either doesn't hear us or doesn't care unless it affects their bottom line-profits

[Batya]

KindaBack said:

To me, this is the root cause of your issues.

Personally, I do not worry about my patients. I assess them and intervene as I'm able. After that, I accept that things will run their course and I do not fret about it.

When a patient dies, I generally remains dispassionately detached from the occurrence. I have had a couple of experiences with children that have made me sad and for which I've shed some tears but even then, I keep it at an arm's length... and I am never 'crushed' because I don't let myself care too much about it... because... this is my *job* and my job is to provide nursing care, not to become emotionally connected to what's happening. Sometimes I do begin to care more than I should and I actively nip it in the bud.

And I certainly do not hurt when my patients hurt, even when we must poke them time and again, or when urology struggles to place a catheter, or difficult intubations, or chest tube insertions, or all the other invasive and painful things that we do to patients in order to treat them.

I always recognize my role and that is of the professional nurse who is being paid to provide a service, one which I take very seriously and strive to perform at the highest level. My heart is my own and is reserved for my personal life.

I would encourage you to seek counseling in an effort to learn to separate yourself from your work.

Nursing is not a calling nor a mission; nursing is a job... and one which will chew you up if you get too close to it.

Professional detachment...

We all have different personalities, and we do not have the right to say that they need to change theirs to do a job. It's better for the person to change the job, otherwise they will be miserable because they can't be themselves. Not everyone has the ability to detach themselves. I am someone that is very empathetic, and I can't turn that off. I can't become a robot. I do believe for some that nursing is a calling, I have no doubt it was for me. I learned that floor nursing was not for me, so I have been able to find my niche in a specialized area and still be able to care for patients with the compassion that drives me. Do I get frustrated at administration? Of course I do, that's part of most jobs these days. But because I'm in the area I am, it doesn't affect me as often. I love that I care so much. My patients, their families, and even some physicians appreciate that I care so much. I entered nursing to make a positive difference in people's lives during their most vulnerable times....because I had caring nurses that took care of my son, and us, during the most scary and difficult time in my life. I refuse to become an uncaring robot, it's not who I am.

[stepaukob]

You could leave your current facility and/or change the area of nursing your working in which isn't so stressful.

My current position I get to shoot pool, watch tv, hang out and eat dinner with the guys (patients). There's a free rec a trip going out to breakfast this morning.

I don't think Costco can beat that. ?

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

BostonFNP said:

But there is a very important difference (from a buisness perspective) between RNs and APRNs/doctors/dentists//lawyers.

Maybe not so different. MD, NP, DDM, CRNS- most work in a corporate culture and are becoming increasingly unhappy. Maybe it will change when the next generations occupy all these jobs and no one will remember the days she we just came to work to take care of the patients.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

casias12 said:

After reading your article, and all of this thread. It seems many of the main complaints are purely personal.

I was a nurse for 20 years. I always found peace in 3 things.

I bounced around and tried to stay out of politics. In almost all of my jobs, I worked float in large hospitals. So I was never in one place for more than a day or two in a row.

I focused on my patients and let everything else roll by. Unit politics rarely affected me, and I didn't have trouble relating to physicians.

Every day I tried to make a significant difference in someone's life, and then I left work and counted on the team to take over. That's the way the modern hospital system is designed.

I couldn't be responsible for what happened after I left.

I do take offense at your attack of physicians (I include myself since I am a provider now). I really didn't have serious issues with providers (MD, DO, PA, NP), anywhere I worked. On occasion, one would go off or vent (kind of like you). Usually, I would say, "OK, now that you are done, you can buy us lunch". Or hand them a bill for $50 for counseling.

Sometimes, they have reasons for their rants that you don't know about.

But I am going to say that from the providers point of view, sometimes your nursing colleagues make it challenging to be a nurse. When I walk down the hall and see nurses with their heads buried in their phones (texting or surfing the net), or listen to them stand at the desk and complain, I lose a little empathy. I will see somewhere between 15 and 20 patients in a day. I will receive calls from nurses, pharmacist, case manager, social worker, family, etc. And I have to field every one of these because being a provider is the business I chose.

I didn't realize how much work I could get done when I had to.

When I was a nurse, I used to say "I used to be a roofer, but this is indoors and year-round". I don't know anything about your past, or how much you think people on the outside make. I don't know what you think non-nursing jobs are like. But I can tell you, if you truly feel the way you do, get out now. Anyone who copies articles from the internet to take to work, anyone who calls in on their day off to check on patients, anyone who lets menial clerical tasks affect their professionalism, is way to close to the problem.

Take care of yourself. You owe me $50.

You're still a nurse. "Provider" does not equal doctor. I "provided" anesthesia for almost 40 years, but never had to inflate myself to

identity as anything but a nurse.

[Jbgood]

You don't want to work retail, trust me. I worked various retail jobs throughout my early 20s and those were some of the worst jobs I've ever had! People were so rude...I was verbally assaulted on a daily basis, disrespected, had things thrown at me, was physically threatened. The customer was always right. I once had a manager tell me if a customer spit on me I was to smile and tell them thank you. The pay was crap, even as an assistant manager when I worked at the mall. I would do anything else before I'd go back to retail...anything!!

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

Couldn't have said it better, I am glad I am in last decade of my working years for same reasons and it will get worse as more reimbursement is tied to satisfaction. Now, along with every new regulation, policy etc...comes less staffing in the trenches as all the 'work' involves people tracking the minutae of everything we document, last I checked I do not have the God-given power to render everyone happy, happy, happy all of the time.