why so many negatives about nursing?

dream61792 · Dec 2, 2013

It all comes down to personal experience. I have noticed that nurses in the Hospital settings are the ones that endure the Harsh environment the most. My mother is a nurse at a correctional facility and she would not go back to the hospital setting for nothing.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2013

The point of this original post was why are there so many negative views of nursing. I know I have a license…I do not understand what you are saying? Anyone can be sued whether license or not. If a police officer kills someone they can lose their job and be sued. I am not saying nursing isn't difficult. I KNOW that. I have been doing it for 8 years. I know we have 12 hour shifts. All I was saying is take the negative comments with a grain of salt. Many people who are lazy and get fired blame nursing as a whole.

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Dec 2, 2013

People are going to complain no matter what field they are in. I have worked for many different companies in many different fields in my lifetime. From retail management, to pharmacy tech, to insurance, and no matter what work you do people complain. Everyone in every job says they are understaffed, the management sucks, and people in general are rude. Yes people are rude, yes you could always use more help, yes your boss may not be the kindest, but we all have to suck it up and go to work. I have found it's just human nature to be negative. The difference is whether or not you listen and let the negative people influence you. It can honestly be like a cancer sometimes. One negative person can undo a whole group of people. But how you react and live your life and greet each day is up to you and you alone.

Dranger · Dec 2, 2013

Out of curiosity for the nurses who have replied - what keeps you in nursing?

Money as well. When you get into a career with bills and a mortgage you can't just say one day, "I think I am done doing this". You have to keep working, this isn't like switching a major in college every decision you make can make or break you.

People saying to ignore the naysayers are generally students or very new grads who haven't been in the trenches. Nursing in many ways is blue collar shift work. You are usually union so you deal with union BS (seniority and holidays), you deal with management who just cares about ratings, you deal with stressful patients, you deal with dangerous disease and risk of infection, you are liable for everything you do and if you mess up people die. It's not all four-leaf clovers and rainbows, it can be a nasty reality that can suck the life out of you. As a new nurse you will worry constantly after a shift if you did everything right. Where in retail or most other jobs does this stress occur?

Most people I met stay in nursing because its their livelihood and they have a family, try telling your family you hate your job and you need 2-3 years to settle in another one. Not going to happen...

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2013

Money as well. When you get into a career with bills and a mortgage you can't just say one day, "I think I am done doing this". You have to keep working, this isn't like switching a major in college every decision you make can make or break you.
People saying to ignore the naysayers are generally students or very new grads who haven't been in the trenches. Nursing in many ways is blue collar shift work. You are usually union so you deal with union BS (seniority and holidays), you deal with management who just cares about ratings, you deal with stressful patients, you deal with dangerous disease and risk of infection, you are liable for everything you do and if you mess up people die. It's not all four-leaf clovers and rainbows, it can be a nasty reality that can suck the life out of you. As a new nurse you will worry constantly after a shift if you did everything right. Where in retail or most other jobs does this stress occur?
Most people I met stay in nursing because its their livelihood and they have a family, try telling your family you hate your job and you need 2-3 years to settle in another one. Not going to happen...

Nursing isn'tusually Union unless you are in California.

Dranger · Dec 4, 2013

Nursing isn'tusually Union unless you are in California.

Well my state is mostly union and it isn't Cali

elkpark · Dec 4, 2013

She's also one of those 'older nurses' who is trapped in an unsafe, unethical position (a NICU with a 4:1 ratio) because hospitals wants BSNs and she's 'too old' to pursue another degree.

You're never really "too old" -- I used to work with an RN (my direct supervisor, at the time) who was working on a BSN (she was an ADN grad) part-time (like, one course a semester, while working full-time). She was so close to retirement that there was no way it was going to benefit her professionally (she wasn't even sure she was going to have it finished before she retired :)), but it mattered enough to her, personally, to do it. I've known other people who have gone back to school late in their careers. People do it all the time. You just have to want to do it.

elkpark · Dec 4, 2013

Well my state is mostly union and it isn't Cali

There are some regions of the country that are heavily unionized, but there are also large parts of the country where nurses don't have a (realistic) chance or hope of having union protections and benefits.

ixchel · Dec 4, 2013

There are some regions of the country that are heavily unionized but there are also large parts of the country where nurses don't have a (realistic) chance or hope of having union protections and benefits.[/quote']
We have one hospital locally and it NEEDS a union. Underpaid, under valued, threatened with layoffs left and right so the workers are basically bullied into giving back vacation and sick days if they want to keep their jobs.... I have a chronic condition that prevents me from being hired at the hospital, and this probably sounds nuts, but I'm a little bit GLAD it forces me to never be tempted to apply there.

Dranger · Dec 5, 2013

There are some regions of the country that are heavily unionized, but there are also large parts of the country where nurses don't have a (realistic) chance or hope of having union protections and benefits.

Honestly, my old job was non-union and I liked it a lot more. I am reserve military so benefits are kinda meh to me and I hate the idea of seniority>merit. Just because you have been at a place longer shouldn't mean better pay. That's a recipe for the good ol' boy system that is toxic. I am all about performance dictating compensation. If I had the choice I would be non-union in a heart beat, but that's just me.

DadStudentPerhaps · Dec 5, 2013

Mr. Welch at GE used the 20-70-10 philosophy to motivate his employees. The top 20% of workers, based on job performance, were rewarded. The middle 70% were given their normal pay increases, but no bonuses. The bottom 10% were released.

goddess9 · Dec 7, 2013

I'm not a nurse but I work in a helping profession. We all complain about what we do - especially those who help for a living, as it can definitely drain you. I do counseling/social work in a hybrid and we complain about the pay, some of the staff, most of the higher ups, etc. etc. If you asked me if I liked my job and I said all of that, you'd probably think the field is awful.

Well, it's not. There are a lot of wonderful people doing their jobs and lots of wonderful people to counsel and advocate for. We have a high turnover rate AND a high burnout rate. We get paperwork dumped on us without notice. Yeah, it's rough. But it's not the worst thing in the world. I'm guessing nursing is much the same. And if it IS really that awful, at least I have some career flexibility.