I've Had It! Nursing is NOT what it use to be!

TennNurse · Nov 11, 2003

Boy, do you need a hug! ((((( :nurse: )))))

Do you really hate what you do, or just where you do it and the people you do it for?

This may not be an area you're interested in pursuing, but it may be worth looking into before you invest years in another degree. When I first got out of school I worked in an office (happened to be OB-GYN). I had reasons for leaving, but I will say that at least 85% of my patients deeply appreciated me (and said so!); I really felt that I had their trust and respect. There were some I loved and had lasting relationships with. I also had great relationships with the Drs I worked for, and during any rough times, I had their total support. I still keep in touch with 2 of them; we have expanded our boundaries and I count them as true friends. In these respects, hospital nursing came as a bit of a shock!

You do have to go to work more often, but there are no nights, weekends, or holidays. Don't know if you've ever done this, but if you're truly fed up with bedside nursing, the office may offer a nice change while still maintaining your skills and identity as a nurse.

I'm so sorry to hear of your trouble, and I hope you find the solution that works best for you. We spend entirely too much time at work to be this unhappy with it. :kiss

alphafe · Nov 11, 2003

Oh man. This is bad. I feel for you.

A while ago I posted something about "are nurses still the doc's "handmaidens?" and got a resounding NO! However, despite ALL skill and experience, aren't nurses ALWAYS following orders, the equivalent of a paralegal or an executive secretary in a way? That is where I get hung up on pursuing a nursing career -- I'm a really autonomous person. I can work in a team in a crisis or when the "flow" is happening, but if it gets nasty/petty, I'm just not a "team player." And if I feel abused, I'm outta there. I don't have one ounce of the martyr in me!

I'm starting to prattle but, I'm SO sorry for your experience -- it makes your screen name more poignant! :scrying:

plumrn, BSN, RN · Nov 11, 2003

Sounds like you've been burned like so many nurses these days. We are so overloaded with patients that it is a struggle to take care of the priorities, much less the things that comfort, and bond us with our patients. We are given more than we can handle, and then expected to meet our "customers" every need- "whatever it takes". The patient feels shortchanged, and we feel a horrible frustration.

We hit the floor running, and continue the pace for 9-12-14 hours, and then we have to apologize for all we could not get accomplished. We've all been there. We were told in a meeting last week, that we are still overstaffed and will be going by a stricter staffing grid soon. Oh boy. That means less time to accomplish pt needs, and more complaints than ever.

I love nursing, and am not ready to give it up yet, but it is getting harder every day to feel a sense of pride, and to just feel safe in the care I can provide. Good luck to you in whatever you choose to pursue. Another good nurse leaving the ranks. I'll say it again, "there is no nursing shortage, just a shortage of nurses willing to work in these conditions."

live4today, RN · Nov 11, 2003

tennnurse......thanks a bunch for the hug! sure need lots of warm hugs and tlc right now. no one to vent to when i come home since dh is overseas. i cry a lot. too much pressure dealing with things that are so asinine in my opinion. i miss the days of nursing from years back. they have surely changed, and not for the better when it comes to bedside nursing. i simply must get out of hospital nursing.

i have always loved being a nurse! i returned to nursing this past year because of the fond memories i had of being a nurse. never before in my almost 17 years as a nurse have i ever been so unhappy and so whipped by the garbage dished out where i work from visitors, family members, some patients, and yes...even some staff and management. i am reading on the bulletin boards that many many many nurses are dealing with the same garbage at their respective places of employment, so it isn't just where i currently work. something has seriously gone wrong in nursing, and the issues are not being dealt with.

nursing is going further and further down the tubes. nursing was never like this as i recall. why should i bother to further my education in nursing when all i'm going to get is more abuse as a nurse? and they wonder why nurses are leaving the field! they need to look "outside the box" for a change. they can reel them in, but they can't keep them. that should tell them something is seriously wrong with how the nurses are being mismanaged and abused.

nurses are caught in the middle of all that goes wrong. we are the ones who get the finger pointed at us. we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't. we are not respected, treated like human beings, or believed. we are "guilty until proven innocent" instead of the other way around like our good old constitution says. you know...the old "innocent until proven guilty" theory. whatever! that does not apply in today's nursing.

i am looking into clinic positions just to get out of bedside nursing, and i truly truly love being a bedside nurse......but not at the cost of my license.

i do not wish to go to work everyday and bust my butt for others when all i get is disrespect.

whatever happened to the nurses being able to direct patient care? now, it's the visitors who tell us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it or else. :rolleyes:

gotta go have a cry and get some sleep because i've got to go back and be tortured again for 12 hours plus tomorrow. :stone

thanks everyone for the support and love. i am sad because i cannot be the kind of nurse i remember being allowed to be years ago. so much has changed in nursing over the past 5 years it hurts!

warrior woman · Nov 11, 2003

I feel ya Renee. I just got fired from an LTC job that I actually loved, because the family members ran wild and called the shots and the nurses aren't backed. When I actually had the stones to stand up for myself, and give my DON proof that a med was actually DC'd instead of the family member saying I didn't give it, The administrator called me into the office the next day, and fired me. You know what? when I went to pick up my last check from that place, Jill the admin. walked by and didn't even LOOK at me, like she was too good for me or something. So, I'm in home care now. Maybe It'll be a little better. If not, then I sure hope my book is a hit!! Hang in there babe.

Town & Country · Nov 11, 2003

Now, it's the visitors who tell US what to do, when to do it, and how to do it or ELSE.

I hear that! It's ALL about "Customer Satisfaction!" {GAG}

For what it's worth, you have my sympathy! What you have to put up with out of patients' families is TRULY mind-blowing!

Town & Country · Nov 11, 2003

When I actually had the stones to stand up for myself, and give my DON proof that a med was actually DC'd instead of the family member saying I didn't give it, The administrator called me into the office the next day, and fired me.

That sounds about right. The micro-second you begin to stand up for yourself and/or your patients, your job is expendable.

Burns me up!

warrior woman · Nov 11, 2003

Makes me think that I'm expendable too... I probably am.

hbscott · Nov 11, 2003

I am not going to tell you to stay in nursing. I am not going to tell you that things will get better. I will tell you that no job is perfect so pursue the opportunities that come your way that gives you some personal satisfaction and fulfillment in your life. We all have to make a living some how but if you can do the thing that you love as you labor to provide for you and your family then be content with that.

I had the courage and conviction to leave nursing when others chastised me for doing so. I am so glad that I did. I have found work that allows me to help others and yet avoid all the negatives that nursing has become in some environments.

I am at peace and quite contented with who I am.

God Bless You Cheefuldoer and by all means keep faith in your daily endeavors.

-HBS

live4today, RN · Nov 11, 2003

Shezam, WarriorWoman, and Hbscott. Thanks a bunch for the support! :kiss

Here it is 2300 hour, and I should be sleeping for tomorrow's rough shift, and I can't turn off my brain. :bluecry1: All I want to do is to enjoy being a nurse, but can't seem to do that with all this "customer service and the customer can do or say no wrong" mentality we have to put up with on our jobs. :rolleyes:

RNanne · Nov 11, 2003

Remember when patients and the families respected nurses? Actually treated nurses civilly? Remember being part of a team? Remember when you worked at a hospital you were one of "theirs" and they took care of you? Remember when no one needed Liability Insurance and there were no threats against your license and well being? Remember when there was enough staff to deliver safe quality patient care and the job description was so well defined that you weren't flying by the seat of your pants? When going to work was fun because the staff and the patients were all in it together and we all pulled together? Remember when nurses were throughly and adequately trained. When there was no political correctness or politics and there was real leadership? Remember when the paperwork was minimal. Remember, remember. That was the way it was and they changed the rules on us. I quit too because of the same stuff.

Sorry that it has come to this. ((Hugs)))