Is this nursing?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 3, 2019

On 3/1/2019 at 9:35 AM, morelostthanfound said:
Unfortunately, I respectfully disagree. It can hardly be disputed that there has been an erosion of civility in todays' society and to me, people just don't seem to be very kind to each other anymore! It has also been my impression that consumers (including healthcare), are often just downright rude, unreasonable, demanding, and with an inflated sense of entitlement when dealing with those in the service industry. Adding to this has been the ever popular HCAHPS surveys and well, I'll stop there. With that said, I think there are areas (as hherrn as suggested) where this is not necessarily the rule-one area of nursing that comes to mind and which may appeal to you is, the OR. In that arena, your 'awake' patient interaction is minimum and there is usually limited family involvement, other than periodic updates. My advice is to hang in there and not toss aside all of that hard work and money spent on an education that will not serve you.

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From hherrn:
Nope. That is not nursing. It is, apparently, for some people, but certainly not all. My pay is reasonable for my level of education, and allows me to live a lifestyle I appreciate. And, yes, I feel I am worth more, but I knew what the pay was like before I started.
I am frequently thanked by patients and families. I sometimes get stopped in Walmart by a family member who thanks me and updates me on a family member I likely don't remember.
The docs I work with are collegial, and accept and appreciate my input.
I feel like management does a horrible job managing, but they are decent people, and we get along well.
I am not discounting your experience, but it is your experience. Maybe look at other specialties or consider moving.

I think you're both right. The thing is, you elicit the responses you get. If you are looking for incivility, you will find it. If you're looking for entitled, rude, unreasonable and demanding, that is what you will find. You teach people how to treat you and I think how people treat you says as much about YOU as it does about them.

When I was new, I found rude doctors, unreasonable patients and demanding family members. Once I had settled into my role as a nurse, things were different. I work with collegial, respectful and friendly providers, professional and ancillary staff. I have a few rude, entitled, unreasonable and demanding patients, but most of them are pleasant, cooperative and grateful.

My pay enables a comfortable lifestyle with a nice house, reliable car and some nice vacations. I knew what the pay was like before I started. I have stable work, good benefits and nice working conditions. I don't have to stand outside in below zero temperatures, or temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, in the rain or the snow or the brutal sunshine. I have an interesting, challenging career and I know that I can make a positive difference in people's lives. My manager is kind and supportive.

You generally find what you're looking for in life.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2019

19 minutes ago, Delcon said:
I’m sorry to see you feel this way. I was trying to decide between computer science and nursing.
I’m a hands on person and I love running around. I like that in nursing no 2 days are the same. I tried to sit down and learn programming languages but it bores me to tears. I don’t know if I can sit at a desk all day staring at code 40+ hours a week.
But hearing nurses vent about under staffing and how much they hate their jobs really scares me. I eventually wanted to pursue being a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner. I just don’t know. Now I feel like I will be unhappy if I choose either field.

You could shadow a nurse or become a cna so you can see more with it.

TAKOO01, BSN · Mar 3, 2019

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 11:28 AM, Catalin said:
I'm in disbelief over how nurses are treated. I've worked in several areas and completed internships in many more as an lpn and RN. I've been licensed for 3 years and I'm already fed up.
Patients, doctors, and management treating me like nothing. And what is up with all this bureaucracy!? I dealt with it in a SNF, but hospital settings? Why aren't patients held accountable for attacking RN's to the same level as police officers? Where are the laws for safe staffing ratios?
I spent five years getting my license and Bachelors. You all know how hard nursing school was, even though we don't use the majority of things we were taught. Yet my friends with majors in engineering and computer science easily found first jobs that already pay significantly more than me even though I have experience. Don't even get me started about how hard it was for me to find a somewhat decently paying job. Seems near impossible to find work outside of low paying Ped Home Health companies or another SNF.
Venting aside, how do you put up with this? I'm already ready to hang up the stethoscope and go back to school for CS. I'm completely losing my flame to care for others at this point.

I agree with everything Jun 1988 said. I actually just had someone ask me if she should enter nursing, and I struggled with my answer. I don't want to discourage anyone, especially someone who may actually love the work and culture of nursing. My truth may not be someone else's. But my answer from my gut is "don't do it!". Right now I am finding my nursing niche, because I have no plans of letting this education go to waste, for lack of a better phrase. But it would feel disingenuous to recommend this field to anyone I like.

I think someone else mentioned that all careers have their drawbacks. Before going to nursing school, I looked into computer science, accounting, speech language therapy, physical therapy, and several other fields. Nursing won because it allows you to work after only two years, the cost of schooling itself is relatively cheap,the salary can be decent in the right job, jobs are plentiful (relative to other fields and dependent on geographic area) and women don't face the same barriers they may face in male dominated fields (mostly). When I went to nursing school I was surprised and dismayed by the culture, and the culture extended into my post graduate working world.

I deal with it by trying to model behavior that I want to see in others at the workplace. I make sure that I have my hobbies and my family ( I still need to make more time for friends, though). I do not accept jobs that make me do things that are completely outside my comfort level (working varied shifts in one week or being mandated to work double shifts without warning). But I understand that there are certain uncomfortable things that do come with nursing (possibly working weekends, possibly picking up a shift to help out friend who needs to take a day off and managers don't provide coverage). I remind myself that there would be drawbacks no matter what field I worked in. I remind myself that I control myself and my actions, which can swing a situation in the right direction even if someone is giving me a hard time.

This is my long winded way of saying that I hear you and I feel you. If I were you, I would look for another position in another nursing specialty, but I completely respect you if you've had enough and move on for your happiness. Know that you are not alone, and good luck to you.

Delcon · Mar 3, 2019

10 minutes ago, TAKOO01 said:
I agree with everything Jun 1988 said. I actually just had someone ask me if she should enter nursing, and I struggled with my answer. I don't want to discourage anyone, especially someone who may actually love the work and culture of nursing. My truth may not be someone else's. But my answer from my gut is "don't do it!". Right now I am finding my nursing niche, because I have no plans of letting this education go to waste, for lack of a better phrase. But it would feel disingenuous to recommend this field to anyone I like.
I think someone else mentioned that all careers have their drawbacks. Before going to nursing school, I looked into computer science, accounting, speech language therapy, physical therapy, and several other fields. Nursing won because it allows you to work after only two years, the cost of schooling itself is relatively cheap,the salary can be decent in the right job, jobs are plentiful (relative to other fields and dependent on geographic area) and women don't face the same barriers they may face in male dominated fields (mostly). When I went to nursing school I was surprised and dismayed by the culture, and the culture extended into my post graduate working world.
I deal with it by trying to model behavior that I want to see in others at the workplace. I make sure that I have my hobbies and my family ( I still need to make more time for friends, though). I do not accept jobs that make me do things that are completely outside my comfort level (working varied shifts in one week or being mandated to work double shifts without warning). But I understand that there are certain uncomfortable things that do come with nursing (possibly working weekends, possibly picking up a shift to help out friend who needs to take a day off and managers don't provide coverage). I remind myself that there would be drawbacks no matter what field I worked in. I remind myself that I control myself and my actions, which can swing a situation in the right direction even if someone is giving me a hard time.
This is my long winded way of saying that I hear you and I feel you. If I were you, I would look for another position in another nursing specialty, but I completely respect you if you've had enough and move on for your happiness. Know that you are not alone, and good luck to you.

If you could go back in time what career would you pursue instead?

Delcon · Mar 3, 2019

22 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:
You could shadow a nurse or become a cna so you can see more with it.

I was thinking about becoming a CNA it’s pretty expensive in my city about 2000 for everything but they make a decent wage. But if I work for a facility that accepts Medicare the school said the company will reimburse me for the cost.

I was going to start my pre reqs for nursing school this fall.

Flylik3abr1 · Mar 3, 2019

1 minute ago, Delcon said:
I was thinking about becoming a CNA it’s pretty expensive in my city about 2000 for everything but they make a decent wage. But if I work for a facility that accepts Medicare the school said the company will reimburse me for the cost.
I was going to start my pre reqs for nursing school this fall.

Be careful getting into CNA work as a student nurse. Not to talk poorly about CNA work, it is very important, but be careful with certain hospitals, nursing homes, and health agencies. They will work you to near death even as a student. Say what you want about nurses but you really truly need to have a heart for caring for others if you want to be a CNA and work through nursing school and not lose your mind.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2019

40 minutes ago, Flylik3abr1 said:
Be careful getting into CNA work as a student nurse. Not to talk poorly about CNA work, it is very important, but be careful with certain hospitals, nursing homes, and health agencies. They will work you to near death even as a student. Say what you want about nurses but you really truly need to have a heart for caring for others if you want to be a CNA and work through nursing school and not lose your mind.

See if you can work per diem if you aren't able to work full time or part time and the other great thing about being a CNA is you will be looked at more closely when it comes to job selection for an RN job after you graduate. Most of the people that I know whom were techs or CNAs got jobs as nurses with no problems.

TAKOO01, BSN · Mar 4, 2019

2 hours ago, Delcon said:
If you could go back in time what career would you pursue instead?

I like this question. I don't think too much about it, because I'm already in nursing. I try to concentrate on the here and now to make the best of it. But sitting here thinking about it, nursing worked best for my situation at that time. Even if I went back in time, the others wouldn't work.

I cant say that I regret going into nursing, because I like the availability of jobs and I like the pay. I have met some great people in nursing, too.

If I had fewer obligations and more time for schooling, physical therapy would be my pick out of the allied health choices. They don't have as many advertised jobs, and the flexibility is not as great. But they do have some amount of flexibility, pay is decent and they get more respect from what I have seen. They have patient interaction without having to fetch drinks and have things thrown at them.

Outside of health, computer science would be my choice. Good money and if you choose the right job, less interaction with people. It would feed my introverted soul.

I agree with others that perhaps you may want to work as a CNA or even a hospital volunteer, just to see how things are before you make your decision. And also keep in mind that nurses work in many places, so you may not like what you see in a hospital, but there are other choices.

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2019

On 3/2/2019 at 2:10 AM, Krispy Kritter said:
I am tired of people putting the same priority on nurses being servants as performing complex drug calculations.

The truth is the job is nasty,thankless but if you have no other options you can be in another branch of nursing,there are many options,perhaps the pay not as good but it will give you a chance to find your niche,I went thru many trials by fire,sink or swim because there are bad hospital cultures where they eat their young.I really think the bigger the institution the worse it is,elitist hierarchy,bs administrators,no real chance for self fulfillment.

Look,talk to agencies, good luck.

Persephone Paige, ADN · Mar 4, 2019

I think it depends on the facility.

The place I work serves the under served. It's like a free-for-all. And I'm not kidding... It's actually a great hospital, buy reputation. But the patients and the staff are a little rough around the edges. There's none of this holier than thou fakeness. If you piss someone off, you'll know about it. And you can tell another exactly how you feel too.

There is plenty of room for professionalism, but the only reason a nurse has to take abuse is if she wants to be a Daisy, which would be a personal hell, imo.

I am paid well. I don't have to pretend to know something when I don't. I can ask questions and tell someone where to stick it too. Perfect!

Places like this do exist. I stumbled upon this one. I've worked in the fancy places where everyone has a rod up their *** and that's where I was most miserable. My hospital is about life, but accepts that 2/3 rds of our patient population have a death wish. The health departments are like that too, to a degree.

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 4, 2019

I've worked at 4 hospitals in my career so far, some amazing, some so so, some horrific. I think part of the problem is the growing pains nursing is having as a discipline that have never been addressed - as a discipline, we have not entirely caught up to science yet. "altered energy" as a nursing diagnosis? Please.

Ideally, in my world when I am supreme ruler , I would see medicine and nursing merge into one field and have the different roles be different educational stops, which would help everyone to recognize the value and role of others, IMO.

I think sometimes there is a problem because nursing is traditionally a "woman's job", and unfortunately some women are not comfortable with confrontation or aggressive behavior in themselves, so will avoid those things, even when it is to our benefit, to stand up for our role and practices.

With the patient abuse, I have two minds on it. A lot of the abuse that occurs that I've read about at least, comes from people who are mentally ill or with dementia or other mental issues, which makes it nearly impossible to prosecute them. Even with the police, the only way they can prosecute someone for being violent is if they are reasonably in their right might. Unfortunately, we deal with patients who frequently are not, and who are often terrified, sick and have other issues compounding them. Of course, that doesn't account for all of it, and if there aren't mitigating factors, of course prosecution should be pursued, but in many cases, it's a difficult position. If it isn't a matter of us being able to prosecute, we have to figure out a way to keep people safer in spite of that.

Our issues can be very similar to police issues, because we are also dealing with populations that may not want to deal with us, who may have been hurt by us before or had family members hurt or abused by us, and there can frequently be huge trust issues. Additionally, you do get biased and jaded eventually, which is completely normal and natural, but it doesn't help either. With police, they tend to step up their authoritarianism, and sometimes we will too, but the other option is to retreat entirely and leave the profession. I don't think either is probably ideal for dealing with the issue.

Personally, I love nursing. I also went into it with open eyes, knowing the pay scale, knowing the hours/weekends/holidays it would entail, knowing that a lot of medicine in general is not direct patient care, that documentation is just as important, and that there would be a lot of difficult people who would not appreciate what I was doing for them. It's my second degree and a later in life career, and I don't know, this is entirely anecdata, it seems to me, people who became nurses when they were young often are the ones who have more dislike for it, but that again could just be my own anecdata. The older people going in seem to be expecting the negative aspects of the job more, so they are able to cope with them more.

I've been a retail manager, a costumed character at an amusement park, a costume designer for the theater, a stay at home mom, an executive administrative assistant, an animal handler at a zoo, a hostess, waitress, nanny, kennel tech (think PCA/CNA for a vet hospital), unit clerk, PCA, RN and now NP. NP is my favorite, even with the ups and downs and negatives at times.

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2019

You made some great points. I think that appropriate staffing could make a difference in all of the areas you discussed. I had a friend get punched and cursed at by a patient because she took to long to get back to the patient. Nursing is having the appropriate staffing to do all things a lot better or to ateast have a chance to do things better. How are we really helping patients if we are rushed and can't get to them in time?