Is Nursing worth it? (a rant)

JKL33 · Sep 21

That's a proper rant! I don't really disagree with a good amount of what you wrote about some of the issues in nursing.

I have experienced a period of being significantly disgruntled during my time as a nurse although for me the dissatisfaction was almost always about the way employers (large corporations/health systems specifically) treat nurses, as opposed to being disgruntled with what I think nursing actually is (or is meant to be, or could be if nurses were not abused by employers). I've never ever been dissatisfied on the whole with the core work that I chose--providing health care to people.

I think you need to figure out/make sure you have examined carefully for the underlying/categorical source of your distress. That is going to determine what you do about it. Mine was the example I wrote above (mostly the utter disrespect and abuse from large employers). Yours might be different. Bottom line, some people don't like nursing and some people are simply having trouble with things peripheral to nursing or a specific stressor associated with nursing in this time/place.

Then comes the hard part which is that, at the end of the day, no matter what you have determined as the core of your dissatisfaction, the question is what are *you* going to do about it. I'm not chastising you, I've been there. I did eventually say to myself >> you're not wrong, but being right isn't changing anything. You cannot change others. You can't make them care about what you care about. Either find a way to see things differently (I.e. stop being angry) or else do something different.

That's what you need to do and no one can tell you what that looks like specifically for you. I really wrestled with this and I think you should too, because others just making suggestions of "try xyz" don't really require you to go through what is a very hard process of examining your own thoughts and your own reactions to things and your own ability to take some kind of accountability for your own well-being and happiness. In addition, if you work your way though that process you are more likely to be fully invested, including emotionally and mentally, in your next steps.

Take care~

allnurses Guide · Sep 21

JKL33 said:

That's what you need to do and no one can tell you what that looks like specifically for you. I really wrestled with this and I think you should too, because others just making suggestions of "try xyz" don't really require you to go through what is a very hard process of examining your own thoughts and your own reactions to things and your own ability to take some kind of accountability for your own well-being and happiness. In addition, if you work your way though that process you are more likely to be fully invested, including emotionally and mentally, in your next steps.

JK said it so well. Nursing for a while was the Sisyphus and rock. I have suffered from Major Depression and CPTSD for most of my adult life. Some things I experienced in Nursing were extremely triggering and 20 years ago culminated in a near successful suicide attempt. This led to my being identified as an impaired nurse and all that goes with that. Today I am still in nursing in a specialty I mostley like but want need to retire to to health issues.

Just about everything you said is true but like JK said you need to examine the core cause of how you feel and do something about it. There are many specialties that you probably haven't tried but that journey begins where our suggestion leads off.

Peace and Namaste

Hppy

LLLovely, BSN, RN · Sep 21

I don't know your life circumstances, but there are options to get where you are going without incurring more debt. While I think the PHN certificate is great, I think many certificates are not valuable if they aren't required and tied to a specialty that only hired those with certificates. I don't know enough about PHN to know of the certificate does that. However, it certainly makes you more competitive for graduate school.

You could do some travel nursing and pay off debt and save up for grad school, or you could work at a university medical center where employees get free tuition. There are probably schools with great grant programs and other options for free schooling. I was in the military for 20 years and know many who joined to get their schooling free or paid off after the fact. However, the military is not for everyone, grants are not guaranteed. Graduate assistantships are another way. Those students generally get tuition free and a stipend, plus better parking.

Of course, not everyone lives near a university medical center or a good grad school with widely available grants, so then you have to decide if you are willing and able to move. There are a lot of moving parts and it can be an enormous burden. I moved half way across the country to go to a grad school that works for me.

I'd start with finding a nurse who does what you want to do. Whatever nurse role is embedded in the foster system, find one and shadow them. Find out what the options are for doing what they do, what the pay and hours are like, what job satisfaction is like, etc. Maybe work is the way you want to be involved in the foster system and maybe it isn't. I know many people who became foster parents, and they felt that was one of their callings in life, but it wasn't career-related for any of them.

Remember, there are *** in every crowd. Sometimes one bad apple spoils the bunch. It's okay to move on if your floor or the facility is a crap environment. If you are miserable, move on. Good luck in contemplating changes.

Majie RN · Sep 23

I agree with you, as I've been witnessing incivility and patients abusing a CNA and nurse. I hope you find ways to cope with your situation.

"...specifically nursing, is hierarchies, bullying, cliques, debt, charting over patient care, doctors who just cannot be bothered, violent patients and their equally violent and demeaning family members, being bit, kicked, punched, dead-ends,..." I worked in memory care. I encountered one resident who slapped me but barely caught me. I was able to avoid her hand. She said, "You don't love me.” I responded, "Why would I love you? I care about you like I would for my grandmother, whom I loved dearly.”

I have spent about eight years working as a CNA and LPN in healthcare. I generally have positive experiences with my coworkers, patients, and their families. No coworkers or men tried to do anything crazy to me.

My previous job was way worse than being a CNA or LPN. Maybe it was because I was a lot younger. I felt that perverts liked me. Too many men were coming to the bar and restaurant where I used to work. Sometimes, I was a server. Some guys grabbed my bottom. This happened in and out of the restaurants. The last employer attempted to rape me. I was grateful I was able to escape him.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Sep 24

JKL33 said:

That's a proper rant! I don't really disagree with a good amount of what you wrote about some of the issues in nursing.

I have experienced a period of being significantly disgruntled during my time as a nurse although for me the dissatisfaction was almost always about the way employers (large corporations/health systems specifically) treat nurses, as opposed to being disgruntled with what I think nursing actually is (or is meant to be, or could be if nurses were not abused by employers). I've never ever been dissatisfied on the whole with the core work that I chose--providing health care to people.

I think you need to figure out/make sure you have examined carefully for the underlying/categorical source of your distress. That is going to determine what you do about it. Mine was the example I wrote above (mostly the utter disrespect and abuse from large employers). Yours might be different. Bottom line, some people don't like nursing and some people are simply having trouble with things peripheral to nursing or a specific stressor associated with nursing in this time/place.

Then comes the hard part which is that, at the end of the day, no matter what you have determined as the core of your dissatisfaction, the question is what are *you* going to do about it. I'm not chastising you, I've been there. I did eventually say to myself >> you're not wrong, but being right isn't changing anything. You cannot change others. You can't make them care about what you care about. Either find a way to see things differently (I.e. stop being angry) or else do something different.

That's what you need to do and no one can tell you what that looks like specifically for you. I really wrestled with this and I think you should too, because others just making suggestions of "try xyz" don't really require you to go through what is a very hard process of examining your own thoughts and your own reactions to things and your own ability to take some kind of accountability for your own well-being and happiness. In addition, if you work your way though that process you are more likely to be fully invested, including emotionally and mentally, in your next steps.

Take care~

I second this comment.

So important to discover what your needs are, when to make compromises, what to let go and when to put your foot down.

Shortages are regional. Where there are shortages, the bad jobs are the easiest to get and the good ones are more elusive. You have to dig through to find the goodies.

Red Shirt 6, CNA · Sep 24

I am curious Where are you looking to find Public Health Nurse employment?

Like what employment sites? School placement? (if available), something else?

DallasRN · Sep 25

Excellent rant and on target in so many aspects. Also great comments from all the previous posters.

I've aged out of acute care nursing, but to pay ever-increasing bills, I now work very part-time for a small agency. Basically, I'm a caregiver. Not much in the way of pay, but surprisingly, I find it more rewarding than working as a RN.

One of the things that surprised me as a new nurse and even for years after was our healthcare system in the US. I, too, thought I was going to help make people well. I thought people actually wanted to be healthy. I thought doctors aimed for wellness. It never occurred to me there isn't money to be made in wellness. I should have seen it. I should have seen it when hospitals kept popping up everywhere and big corporations started scooping up smaller facilities. I should have seen it when every admission diagnosis sheet listed every conceivable diagnosis. And of course, consults were requested for those mundane diagnoses. I should have seen it when every. single. patient. was referred to rehab post-discharge. No matter the ability of family to provide care in the home. We (a collective we) keep people sick. That's where the money is.

There is so much more to be said. This ties into your rant a bit - not entirely/more my rant - but I'm glad to see someone speaking up and telling it as it is. Thank you!

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 26

I LOVE bedside nursing (I know, some think I am crazy). I like working 3-12s. I like the people, I like the doctors. I recently left my job of almost 12 years, which was 99% of my nursing career because of organizational changes that were horrific. I was very lucky to find a job almost identical in population, closer to my house and higher pay.

I have like 5 years left to retire. Covid really messed things up but I can't imagine doing anything else.

My rant would be that managers have to have the worst jobs EVER. You get grief from the people under you and you get grief from the people above you. The hours are horrible and the pay is not worth it-I know that I made quite a bit more as a floor nurse. My last manager, they pushed into the position knowing they weren't up for it. Just as they pushed the same person into an assistant manager position that they didn't want b/c the manager at the time was a power hungry person wanting upper management and didn't want an assistant that would advocate for the nurses and pts (manager was a cards person in an ortho world and didn't understand the population or care about us). The manager where I left was so incompetent, I feel bad for the new nurses that are getting gaslighted and bullied.

jobellestarr · Sep 27

I understand where you are coming from and have experienced that myself. Nursing will harm you psychologically, physically and spiritually. I left mainstream nursing after a patient hit me in the head with a full water pitcher. My solution was to work for Indian Health Service and I lived on a reservation for many years. I realize that this isn't possible for everyone but I had a wonderful career. I am now retired. The patients are appreciative and may even treat you like family (pow wow's, etc). The mission is different and similar to being in the Peace Corps. Loans can be paid off, housing usually provided and is reasonable. Good pay and great benefits. I wish you peace as you move forward in your journey ❤️

Majie RN · Sep 28

I feel bad for all of us. At the end of the day, some people want the five stars service and hotel paying a penny to paying nothing. Scams.

Golden_RN, MSN · Oct 7

PHN jobs in my county require a BSN (not MSN), even the ones that deal with the foster system, so I know there is something out there for you.