Leaving Bedside Nursing

lisakeenan9 said:

Unless we band together and take a stand things will only go south as hospital move to improve reimbursements thru hotel-like treatment. Pts come to the hospital to get better, not to be treated like they're at the Hilton.

I actually had a patient tell us she was there to get pampered. She was serious, not joking.

I couldn't believe my ears.

It truly is a ##$! Show. From all angles. Like a spray tan of $#@! ME TOO! CONGRATULATIONS!

Edited Apr 26, 2016 by April1abbott
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I've been a nurse for 3 years now. I have felt the exact same way. I got in it to help, but most of the time I go home feeling like a I didn't do anything of the sort. There have been so many times I have questioned my decision to take this on as a career. I'm a good person and a good nurse. There are days I have to constantly remind myself of this, just to make it through my days. Its definitely not easy!

I hope, for your sake, and the sake of your sanity, that this case manager position works out well for you. We all deserve to find that area that works best for us. Good luck! I'm rooting for you!

I do wellness care for an insurance company. I follow charts, prior authorizations, medication compliance. There is a nursing job for you.

Kiminindy said:

I'd love to hear some comments from people with idea's on how to start fixing things. For those that agree it is real and in need of fixing...what can be done as 1 person and so on. I do think it starts with education. Perhaps bring some guided empathy somehow. All testing and cramming may be a burn out...perhaps assignments interviewing grandparents and asking how they felt as patients, did they notice decay in the care and system...something needs changed. Something needs to also bring nurses together. I noticed the cycle a bit today at work. 1 person was called out and a few of the nurses joined in right away. I don't get that at all. If you see yourself doing that...stop! I was approached by a charge nurse to see if I wanted to get on a list of nurses reporting a nurse we worked with...a list. Oh, she meant a paper trail. Any good manager would see a list and know right away that's a case of domino's...1 then 2 then 3 then more! I vow to not do this!

Yes, education is key. Based on what I see (and read here) here is a list of things that should be addressed in nursing school:

1. It's about the patient; not you. You are not there to get your own self-esteem needs met, or to expect accolades galore.

2. Labour laws for nurses: nurses should be much better versed in the labour laws that apply to them; what unions are and what they aren't, what good management should look like and how to recognize poor management.

3. The hospitality industry is a poor model for the delivery of health care. It isn't working.

4. Work ethic and colleague relations. Nurses should be taught to show accountability, respect and loyalty to one another. When this isn't happening, it usually starts with poor management (see #2).

The problems we encounter in bedside nursing are usually created top-down. They're not going to be fixed that way anytime soon. We need to get way more cohesive and creative at finding solutions from the bottom-up.

Maybe you need to work other jobs not in healthcare to realize how great nursing is.. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I worked a 9-5 for 3 years before starting nursing. Sitting in a cubital for 40 hours a week staring at a computer...now that is depressing. No matter what career you work, you'll always come across crappy coworkers. And the rude patient thing... I mean thats going to happen too, maybe you needed to switch hospitals/units. I work in oncology in a huge city hospital and maybe have one difficult patient a month.

I've read many of the comments on this post. I can't believe how many nurses would bash a colleague. I can understand how she feels. I love bedside nursing, but it doesn't love me. My reasons for no longer being a bedside nurse are different. I worked in both orthopedics and nephrology. Anytime a nurse is assigned to care for more than 6 patients, unsafe conditions are created. I was caring for 7-10 patients, each shift. I didn't even have time to chart in the EMR until after shift change. Imagine caring for ten patients for 12 hours, giving report, and charting for four more hours! This has nothing to do with efficiency. It's just too many patients for one nurse to manage. . . I got into traveling for a couple of years and really enjoyed it, with the caveat that I would care for no more than six patients. EVER!

Bedside nursing got the best of me. I was in a serious auto accident with a teenage driver who was drunk and high several years ago that caused significant damage to my lumbar spine (three compression fractures, serious disc loss and tears, and bony overgrowth pressing into nerve roots). Conventional medical treatment with PO meds and steroid injections worked for several years, but it became less and less effective once I became an overworked bedside nurse. After a year of three doctors (my PCP, pain management and a neurosurgeon) arguing for insurance preapproval, I have a spinal column stimulator implant (SCS). Although it works well, it put a screeching halt to my days as a bedside nurse. I looked for ways to maintain my licenses on my own terms. I've found that being a legal nurse consultant is the specialty for me and I am in the process of the certification program.

There are plenty of things a nurse can do to keep her/his license that don't involve bedside nursing. All I have to say to those nurses who want to judge a colleague for the job that she chooses is "You haven't walked a day in her shoes. You have no idea what her circumstances are. Those who live in glass houses. . ." Anyone of you could be in an auto accident today. If you are lucky enough to survive and be able to go back to work, would you be able to pick up where you left off? For the circumstances with which I have lived, most of you would have just quit and claimed Social Security Disability along ago.

Edited Apr 26, 2016 by taigarn0825
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Yes I would but on a different level, I won't be providing direct patient care. I don't mind going the the motions of dealing with people.

Debuzz, I hate to tell you but you may have gone from the frying pan and into the fire! Case Management is a different type of nursing but you'll still deal with families and patients. Trying to satisfy them and find placement for them. Dealing with insurance companies is no picnic either. Congrats on getting the job and "away from the bedside" but you may have traded one stressor for another! I've been at this for much longer and have tried a lot of different things and have yet to find the perfect job in nursing. I love my profession though and stayed at the bedside for 26 yrs before leaving the bedside for a career in informatics. I still deal with patients, staff and physicians! Good luck on your quest to find the perfect nursing job.

OMGosh. So true! Its not as much the patients but the HCAPS, the patient and family's expectations, and all the "Standardized Care". My patients have never been just "standard" and who started all this crap anyway? I know our government but who had all these brilliant ideas and why is it always the ones who've never done the job that make all the rules? I've been in nursing about 25 yrs and most, but not all of it med-surg and the changes will make your head spin. I understand safe-practice, etc but it is getting a little carried away. Since all this extra mandatory charting is necessary to generate the revenue and kick backs from the govt they should see the time it has taken away from the patient care. You'd think with all the education Administration has they'd see this and staff a little better. And the white boards? I don't know about ya'll but after my patient has 4mg of Dilaudid IV they don't really care what their nurse's name is or their plan of care for the day, only when their next dose is due.

No I'm not "burnt out", I'm only sad for all the changes. I'm sad for all the newer nurses out there that will continue to have to deal with all this as yes, it is only going to get worse. Maybe it will be okay because they won't know any different. I just miss the days when being a nurse was fun. Never again would I ever complain of paperwork. At least we had time to actually take good care of our patients (oops, I guess now the proper term is 'clients', what's that tell ya).

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better!

How did you come across this job? I am just no longer cut out to be a bedside nurse as I have been for many years. I did enjoy LTC but it too is becoming more and more "standardized", at least regarding RN documentation. I'm just more and more depressed and tired as it seems we are working harder and being less appreciated. But I worked too hard all these years to just throw it away and am too old and lack the funds to learn a completely new career.

I threw my resume out to every job board there was and a small hospital corporation finally took the bait and hired me into their quality and informatics department. Not only did I have 26 yrs of critical care nursing, I had a little quality and a lot of staff development. I just was in the right place at the right time I suppose. It hasn't been a bed of roses though. I've been through jobs like they were potato chips because of one thing or another.....luckily none where I was fired. Informatics isn't one of those jobs that you start in and stay forever. Since it's such a big push for the computerized physician orders and documentation, they are looking for all kinds of informatics nurses. I mostly have done implementation and training. I deal a lot with staff education. That has it's own set of issues!!! But I love it and love being away from the bedside.

1.5 yrs....wow. sad. but what exactly did you imagine nursing to be?