leaving

You are soo right. I find it difficult to work in an entirely estrogen fiilled profession at times. Good luck.

I found a job where this doesn't happen. People who don't "fit" and work as part of the team are actually asked to leave.

This doesn't happen where I work, either. Nursing is my second career and I found the situation you describe in all of the other jobs I have had before I became a nurse.

It is so refreshing to work in a unit where we are a team. We help eachother, look out for eachother and recognize when a fellow nurse is 'drowning' and help. It's not perfect, we are often understaffed and overworked. We have nights when each nurse has an extra patient on our assignments and there is no CNA to help but we work together. I became a nurse when I was 37 and it was the best decision I ever made.

Anyway, I'm sorry you have had a bad experience in nursing. I hope you find what you are looking for in another profession.

Robin:redbeathe

OP- I can totally understand your feelings. I, too feel frustrated with nursing and am making some changes so I can get out. I think that one problem is that nursing is seen as nurturing, I can only describe it as being like "professional mothering" I mean we tolerate bad behaviour from the docs, the cnas, families, patients. One thing that I have noticed about nurses, they will write another nurse up in a minute, but will tolerate disrespect, laziness, incompetence from everybody else. I always wonder why if say, a dr disrespects a nurse in public, i.e, in front of patients or peers, why does the nurse always take the stance, oh I didn't want to be unprofessional- and remain silent, or even worse, cry. I feel that if you have done the deed in public, then in public you will be reprimanded. Now that doesn't mean being loud, cursing, whatever. It means letting the person know right then and there that that behaviour is unacceptable. It also sends a message to whoever witnessed the thing that the offender said or did that you are not to be disrespected. I don't understand why in the hospital all rules of normal society become null and void. If you hit someone on the street, you will be hit back, and the person is w/in their rights to do so, but in the hospital people can curse, spit at, hit, threaten the nurse w/out fear of consequence. I think that w/in our "profession" there is a serious culture of both low self esteem and worth. I think also that how we present ourselves to the patient, and to other members of the team also determines how we are viewed and treated.

Just logged in for the first time to say I am leaving nursing and explain why. It has been 24 years of full-time misery. Teachers changed their profession and work conditions. Why haven't nurses? What is it in their personalities (too busy fighting with EACH OTHER?) that prevents them from seeing the big picture and doing something? Why can't they understand that fighting for better working conditions IS "patient advocacy?" It is not selfish. It ensures safety. Why aren't nursing schools REQUIRED to teach on legal issues? Just look at some of these blogs - these nurses should not be in the dark and not have to pay for a lawyer to understand when they are really in a risky legal situation and what they should do. Why have nurses not taken control of their own creation - NURSING ASSISTANTS? Licensed nurses are their direct superiors and they get abused by them too often - and I was threatened too! Why are nursing assistants behaving this way and not losing their "certifications" or licenses or whatever they have? You KNOW a nurse behaving so would have to answer to the State Board in a second. These aides have put our clients in harm's way - just read the news! And why are nurses so petty and small with each other - covetous, sabotaging, backstabbing...it's shameful. I now work in a professional office environment and there are very FEW women like that - and their behavior is rare and DISCOURAGED. They are definitely a minority. So to conclude that this behavior is "just working with women in general" is false. Retention? Sooner or later a person matures and can not deal with this stuff any more. I agree with the blogger who noted that individuals who are unhappy cause trouble of this sort. But why so many in nursing? It is as if the profession itself ATTRACTS petty individuals. I in no way mean to bash indiscriminately - that is why I logged on to a nursing site and not a general public site. My description of nursing as a profession: It is all the responsibility and all the accountability with no control and no authority. What kind of a dysfunctional individual would agree to do such a job? Time to move on...

Hello- amwh, I was reading through some other posts and came across yours. It was scary, because I could have written it myself, it fits my situation completely. I have been a nurse for over 17 years and recently just had enough of the BS crap and backbiting and on and on that I feel like it would have other place instead of just my facility. Kind of a long story, I'll try to keep it brief.

When I started out in the early 1990s as a nurse, I was fresh and ready for whatever came my way. I had decided to be an RN while I was in jr. high after my grandmother had a stroke. It just seems like back in the "good old days" when staff pulled together to help out and less backstabbing and the other crap that goes on in most facilities. I have only found 1 small rural hospital where the staff lean on each other and trust and be confident that you had your fellow nurses to help others out, pull together in codes, ect. My stress level at work had gotten so bad that I started having labile HTN *it got as high as 230/146. I started having Bigeminy and PVCs. I stopped to take a good long look at myself and my dh and I discussed our options available to us. My health problems

have gotten better. (Not resolved but at least better than it had been.)

I have been a stay at home mom full time for approx. 2 years and love it. My dh and I know that it was the best option. Sure we do miss the extra paycheck, but we have made some changes that do help

I know that it may seem like I am a wussy or think the grass is greeer on the other side of the fence. I know that most professions have some of the people that act like that. I also know that this decision was the vest option for our family and I sleep like a baby knowing that we made the right decision for our family. And I LOVE being at home full time with my sons and my puppies. I have learmed how to make some crafts like candles, fleece throw blankets, Painting birdhouses, and other things that before I never took the time to learn before.

Please feel free to pm if you would like to.

Anne

Maybe it is just because I am male. But I literally have my coworkers telling me they love me every day. Seriously, they say, "I love you" or "thank you"

Maybe I'm just a newbie, or maybe I'm just naive. But I enjoy my job. I let the cattiness roll off my back. Let em all talk trash. I tell everyone that listens that I don't give a darn what they think. And I mean it. To h-e-double hockey stick with whatever shift is following.

The only people's opinions that I care about are my patient's opinions. If I'm good with them, then I'm in like flynt. To hell with everyone else. If I walk home at the end of the day and my patients are healing and happy then I'm satisfied with a job well done. And I guarantee that (more likely than not) I went out of my way to help a coworker's patients feel the same way.

I completely agree with OP. I have only been an RN for a few months and I'm already ready to throw in the towel. I have cried, thrown up because of nerves, been yelled at, talked down to, been hit by patients, I am seriously just done. I hate working, I hate everything about nursing most of the time, esp my patient population. I'm looking to get out and do something else FAR AWAY from direct patient care. Sad thing is, our managers (who are VERY nice and supportive, BTW) dont get why everyone is LEAVING to go to CRNA school or anything FAR from direct pt care. I mean come on! Who WANTS to be treated like that???? I know I dont!

I found a job where this doesn't happen. People who don't "fit" and work as part of the team are actually asked to leave.

Give me a plane ticket and I'll be there...tomorrow....please!!!

I too am fortunate to have a team that works together and makes things go the way they should. Sure I have those who like to complain ; others who like to think they are the boss; and some that I call the "EEyores" HOWEVER; when push comes to shove i can rely on each and every one of them to do what needs to be done I have had bad situations before in other facilities; so I looked for something better within nursing. There are so many different things and avenues to explore... perhaps OP should look into a more "independant" type of nursing such as HH or school nursing.. less other staff to deal with and with all of her experience she will be valued greatly!!

Give me a plane ticket and I'll be there...tomorrow....please!!!

Can't give you the ticket but I can give you the phone number! We're looking for people, too.