I'm so unhappy with my job.

[UGAgal]

I guess I just need to know I'm not the only one to experience this. I have been a nurse for about 8 months on a med-surg unit. Our patient load ranges from 4-6 but lately we always have 6 because we are short-staffed. I wake up feeling sick to my stomach and dreading what the day might bring. I get to work and just do the best I can, but 99% of the time my day is miserable. At first, I had good days. Now I feel like I haven't had a good day in a few months. Half of the time when I get off, I just cry and go on about how much I hate my job. There are days when I feel like I've made a difference, but those are few and far between. I spend my day taking crap from patients and families and being way more than a nurse. I'm a barista, a maid, a caregiver, etc. People are so inconsiderate. I do my job and the tech's job half of the time and when I ask the tech to do anything I get attitude. It's always something and I'm just so sick of it already. What do I do? I like helping people, but I can't deal with 6 people at one time. I have stomach ulcers from this job already. No job should make you feel that way.

[angelxeyes]

Sorry to hear that you're having such a bad time UGAgal. I think that taking crap from everyone is part of what we do..I myself get it from patients, families, doctors, lazy coworkers, management..etc. Its all about how you cope with it. Patients and their families are not on their best behavior d/t the stress of being sick, or having a sick loved one, so they can get demanding, pushy and flat-out irritating, but how would you be if that sick person was your mom/dad/grandma/child? I've learned not to take anything personally when dealing with patients and families. And yes, the job does involve doing other peoples job, on a given shift I could be picking up trays, cleaning diarrhea off the floor, emptying overfilled trash cans, drawing blood, giving respiratory treatments to intubated/trached patients, answering the very busy main telephone line in our unit, acting as a referee/mediator when families fight amongst each other, and a lot of other side jobs I probably have no business doing, all while taking care of my patients. I've been called every offensive name I could think of, I've been bit, kicked, slapped, spit and vomited on, been knee deep in bloody stool and probably have MRSA, VRE, CRE, acinetobacter and every other bug out there but at the end of the day I don't know what else I would be doing if I wasn't a nurse. Stripper maybe? j/k

A big part of it is that I work with a great team of people at both of my jobs whom I can laugh with about the events of our shift. I've found that you have to have a sense of humor in healthcare..unless you like being depressed all the time. I work in ICU and Emergency, I see things I don't want to see and experience death almost on a daily basis, like you, I used to go home and cry about it, but as time passed I dealt with it better. What helped me was focusing on other things, like hobbies, running helped me relax, so I would run daily. Now I run anywhere from 5-11 miles a day, try it, very good stress relief. Plus the side effects of increased stamina, more energy and being able to eat and drink whatever I want helps.

I've floated to a Med/Surg floor many times so I know how it is to juggle so many patients, especially if its an Ortho floor, pain meds, pain meds, pain meds, ugh. When I find myself getting overwhelmed and wanting to go batsh*t crazy on everyone I take a deep breath and take it one step at a time because that's all I can do, if I'm there past my shift so what, as long as the job is done right, no one can complain.

Anyway, I wish you luck. No one should be unhappy at their job, give yourself some "me time" to cope with the stress :) full-body massage, a closet full of new shoes, a trip to the Bahamas..it helps. And if push comes to shove and you still can't hang, there are other hospitals or other units to transfer to that you may be happier at.

Best

[TriciaJ, RN]

Med-surg is brutal. Management constantly pushes the envelope on staffing. First thing: work real hard on your time-management skills. Learn to work smarter, not harder. Two: Get tough about saying no. Fetch drinks for visitors? "I'd love to get your drinks but it may be awhile." Three: Are there any coworkers you can reach out to? Anyone worth seeing outside of work? Sometimes just getting away together can help with creative problem-solving or at least know you're not alone. Four: If it's still making you sick when you've been there a year, start looking for the exits. Life is too short. Wishing you all the best.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

The first year of nursing is brutal, and I think just about everyone goes through the period of going home and crying every day. I cried all the way to work and all the way home. It gets better. As stated above, time management is crucial. Get yourself a good brain sheet and learn to use it. Don't fetch drinks for visitors -- you're there for patient care, not visitor care. Take care of yourself -- get enough sleep, eat healthfully, go to the gym. If the job is still making you miserable after a year, start looking around to see what you would rather do. But give it at least a year. That's how long it takes usually.