Main Problem In The Nursing Field?

[blueyesue]

What do you see is the main problem in the nursing field? I am supposed to do a 10 page report on a major problem within nursing and the solutions to it. I would like to have 3 of the main ones to choose from. Thank you in advance for your input.

[sandlewood_nurse]

Major problem in the nursing field? How about Nurses! I speak of the grumpy self-righteous,backbiting type who make your job a living hell. It may be the poor staffing, poor funding, and poor management listed above that turns someone into this kind of co-worker, but it IS one of the major complaints I have with our profession.

Agreed!!

What if instead of nitpicking on each other and giving new nurses a hard time people gave out a hand to each other.

I'm in a new department, and back on the floor after a few years. I'm being MOBBED!! I lose sleep, I get headaches (I never get those but now I do :s), I feel sad all the time, I consider working at a coffeeshop for a third of what I make now and it actually brings a smile to my face .. well until I remember the bills I have to pay (and I live a very modest life).

Just couple weeks ago, there was a nurse who has been working on this floor for about a year now. She's joined the mobbing crowd. She comes over to me (forty-five mins before evening meds are due) and says in a sarcastic tone "Hey are you sooooo organized that you're already doing your meds", as if that were a bad thing. Really I was just getting organized, I usually note on my patient notes sheet whose gets meds when, and look up any new meds I'm not sure of. Guess what, she ends up making a HUGE med error and starts crying. So I go over to her and say, look I"m sorry this happened to you, is there anything I can do for you, do any of your patients need anything while you're doing the incident report and you need time to relax. Do I get a thank you .. briefly, only to get mobbed two days later for showing up to learn a new skill a bunch of nurses were talking about watching when I wasn't schedualed to work. Mybad!! I had no idea I had to ask manager, but hey the fact that I'm taking initiative means NOTHING because right now I'm the one everyone is having fun ******** all over, despite my every attempt to be part of the team.

Right, I'm doing this job until I can figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Probably go for business. If I'm going to put up with BS I might as well major in BS .. seriously . Then five years from now when I have my BS degree and a nice cushy office job, I'll watch the news every ones in a while and deep down inside I'll know why there's a nursing shortage. Might even write a nice letter to the hospital I work at now, as well as the nursing board as to what my thoughts on the nursing shortage is.

IF NURSES CAN'T TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT, THEN WHY THE HELL SHOULD THE DOCTORS. THE DOCTORS ARE NOT THE MAJOR PROBLEM, WE ARE!!