Man, you guys make nursing seem HORRIBLE! If I knew this before school...

Otessa, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2011

And you would know that how? Have you gone to all doctors dot com, or all lawyers dot com and read their stories? believe me, they DO exist.
We come here to vent our frustrations because almost ALL of us understand. In the real world, while on the job, we have to keep the smile on our face and keep our mouth shut or face the wrath of our bosses.
Yes, there are cuthroat nurses out there. yes there are cut throat teachers/doctors/lawyers.
I have good days and bad days...luckily the good ones outnumber the bad ones.
Please though, try to not handslap us veterans. when you've worked in the real world a few years, come back and tell us how you REALLY feel then

AMEN!! :yeah: :redbeathe:redbeathe:redpinkhe

eyeball · Apr 25, 2011

William Tecumseh Sherman had a famous quote: "War is hell." I oftentimes mutter "Nursing is hell" to myself on a regular basis throughout my nursing day. I wish for all of our sakes that nursing wasn't hell but for too many of us , it is. It has nothing to do with expecting a cushy, clean, easy job....I love challenge and I like to keep busy. The demands of nursing are so ******* hard that each day is a battle to survive for me. It's harder than anyone who hasn't done it thinks.

Mrs. SnowStormRN, RN · Apr 25, 2011

You obviously havent read a teachers forum, or any other profession for that matter. You have 2 choices, get out in the nursing world and judge it for yourself - or dont go into the profession at all. Its not an easy career thats for sure but it is a rewarding one.

carrotstix · Apr 25, 2011

On the whole, I love my job and the vast majority of my coworkers. But that doesn't make for a very interesting thread on AN. I don't need advice on how to manage my job satisfaction. Nursing is not perfect, but it is not "horrible" to me either. It really depends...

netglow, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2011

OP, you are correct. I like to see things as they are too, and I never make good out of what stinks. I think you are smart to try and navigate either out of nursing, or use your RN somewhere else than bedside. Lots of people I know are in the process of doing that, as soon as possible. Here's the scoop, you are in school for an RN. Think of it as potentially being a good or a bad purchase. You won't know it until you drive it around if it's gonna be a lemon or not. If it's a lemon, get rid of it. Remember getting your RN is a financial transaction you made with a college not a life sentence. If you have big time intuitional DONT GO FORWARD feelings, look into what you can transfer into with what you've done so far. You might be very wise in doing just that.

Fiona59 · Apr 25, 2011

You fail to understand that for every ten patients that I interact positively there is one patient and their family who is BSCrazy. Nothing and no-one (Flo included) could satisfy them.

Read other forums. The police have several groups that make this one look like sunshine and flowers. Teachers, omy, now there's an unhappy bunch of campers. The military, try a few miles in their boots. Heck, my neighbours kid works in a recycling plant and you would have a hard time believing the stories he's told about how people act their.

I stay nursing because I plan on retiring in the next ten years. I've found a job I enjoy most of the time. But I won't hang in past 62.

My unit is undergoing some terrible stuff all because a few nurses won't retire and we are carrying their work load. The patients complain to administration and nothing is done. So instead of having my three patients to care for, I wind up caring for a few of theirs and dealing with the families that keep asking WHY there are nurses on my unit older and deaer than the patients. We have new grads who feel entitled to the OT that is limited but available.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2011

When I was in college I was a waitress.

Talk about a HORRIBLE job.

Seriously.

I'd rather be a floor nurse than do any sort of retail or restaurant work. Because even on my worst day, I just might be saving a life!

Do I sound corny? Maybe. But I actually didn't enjoy being a nurse for about three years, and now I can say the above truthfully.

gigglymo · Apr 25, 2011

There's a post like this at least once a week. If you want the sunshine and roses, then choose your posts selectively. They're out there, and you can generally tell what's what by the title. But please don't criticize from the relative safety of school - regardless of how unsheltered you may believe you are, the real world is a whole different story. This board is just as helpful (and much cheaper) than group therapy, IMHO.

loriangel14, RN · Apr 25, 2011

The OP needs to remember that we come here to talk to others that know what we are talking about.As sympathetic as my family is if I have a bad day, they are not nurses and haven't walked in a nurses shoes.Posting out of frustration doesn't mean we don't love our jobs or we regret becoming nurses. I have a sister that is a teacher and she gets just as fed up with her job some times too.

Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2011

You fail to understand that for every ten patients that I interact positively there is one patient and their family who is BSCrazy. Nothing and no-one (Flo included) could satisfy them.
Read other forums. The police have several groups that make this one look like sunshine and flowers. Teachers, omy, now there's an unhappy bunch of campers. The military, try a few miles in their boots. Heck, my neighbours kid works in a recycling plant and you would have a hard time believing the stories he's told about how people act their.
I stay nursing because I plan on retiring in the next ten years. I've found a job I enjoy most of the time. But I won't hang in past 62.
My unit is undergoing some terrible stuff all because a few nurses won't retire and we are carrying their work load. The patients complain to administration and nothing is done. So instead of having my three patients to care for, I wind up caring for a few of theirs and dealing with the families that keep asking WHY there are nurses on my unit older and deaer than the patients. We have new grads who feel entitled to the OT that is limited but available.

Your first sentence is the one thing that gets me about nursing - although I can tell you for a fact it happens in other professions too. I can do a thousand things right, but its that one mistake that they remember. And to be frank, I am getting tired of working in a profession where someone can die and you can get sued.

Most professions are going through alot of stress and problems now. I work in the school system and all of our teachers are worried about what is going on with the Union busting and the Budget (and yes, I mean that capital B on purpose). Its scary when you are dependent on the tax payers, and the nuts are starting to take over the asylum.

DaisyMountain · Apr 25, 2011

I have been a nurse for almost two years. I work in a very high stress atmosphere, and I need a place to vent or to at least read other nurse's thoughts to know I am not alone.

When you first start working you share all the craziness with your friends and family, and it honestly gets to the point where you realize no one gets it unless they are in the health field. You can never fully explain an entire insane 12 hour shift to your boyfriend/girlfriend when you get home. People outside of nursing cannot imagine the work we do. You start mentioning drugs and treatments to them and they have no idea what you are talking about. I guess it's nice when people just listen while you talk, but in the end I want someone who can actually understand what I am telling them and who can relate.

This forum is the perfect place for all of the politics, venting, and questions us nurses can share with one another. You will soon see how stressful the job is. This forum I guess can be a little negative, but it's a safe house for us all and I think there is a mutual understanding and respect for everyone on here that may not be in the workplace. It is what you make it and if you do not want to get caught up in the madness then you may really want to consider another profession. It takes a strong, committed individual to dedicate their spirit and time to such an awesome career. Good luck on your journey.

hogan22 · Apr 25, 2011

Just shut up and show em up. If you want to escape the negativity and immaturity you see on the floor (and it is often rampant), just further your education so you can obtain more autonomy, or try to get a job working in sales or for an equipment company or something. I know a guy who travels around and teaches how to use new IV pumps and various other equipment. He likes it allot more than being a floor nurse. You do have to see the humor in all this though...I mean you have to be reasonably intelligent to become a nurse. Sometimes I wonder how all these smart people can act so stupid. I wonder why there is all this backbiting all the time. Its like the various cliques will randomly choose who they like and who they don't like for some stupid ass reason, and then give the poor person hell because they looked at someone wrong one day when they had something in their eye which made them squint. I was that person in school and this immature/high-schooly type of behavior was so foreign to me when I first encountered it. It was disgusting. I probably felt like you do now. Anyways, I learned that if you have a bunch of idiots spewing negativity all over the place, using up all their energy, you can just ignore them and concentrate on what you need to do at work or school or whatever. Then you will excel. While they waste time talking trash or being mean, you just do your job, you will overstand them by default eventually. Just remember to control your mouth and what comes out of it, a minimum number of words is the best Ive learned : ) Not judging others is important too.