Negative and Positive parts of being an RN

I have never been 'burnt out' as a nurse but what I have been is ...

Negative and Positive parts of being an RN

Overworked!

Always overworked no matter where I have worked but sometimes I think we don't actually acknowledge or identify when we are not! I find that being bored is hard work too. LOL!

Underpaid

Well I don't really think I am underpaid but would never say no to a few dollars more.

Exhausted

Yes in 22 years I have often been tired in fact I think I am exhausted for half of those 22years.

Bored

Yep believe it or not even when busy busy busy I have been bored with the routine of some parts of nursing.

Fed Up

Yep get fed up with the lies.

Disgusted

Yep with peoples attitudes sometimes I think people forget that they actually have to work as a nurse and they don't do it for free.

On the plus side

I love my job and wouldn't consider doing anything else. I love the drama of it all. My co-workers have over the years had multiple personalities, moans and complaints but how we have laughed often and hard. How we have cried together and supported each other.

Over the years I have considered myself to be blessed with the majority of my co-workers.

Patients I have looked after every different kind of person, personality, race, religion, sexual orientation, color ever imaginable-I have learned about food from all over the world from the patients I have learnt about their culture, about how to handle delicate situations, extra marital affairs, I have learnt about discrimination positive and negative.

I have learnt not to say sorry when I didn't finish a task, and that is one of the hardest things to not say in nursing.

I have sat with dying pts and their relatives, I have laughed and cried with them. Brave patients who have taught me the meaning of life and how to respect it. When I am feeling depressed I can think of a 100 patients who would have loved the opportunity to reach my age and be alive.

I have seen human beings suffer so much pain, discomfort and agonizing treatments that I vow to refuse them if it happens to me!

I have learned the meaning of respect

  • Respect for my fellow human being
  • Respect for the bravery of others
  • Respect of peoples privacy
  • Respect for life
  • Respect for nature
  • Respect for freedom
  • Respect for spiritual beliefs and the miracles I have often witnessed

I honestly believe as a nursing community we have more to celebrate than bemoan.

If you are "burnt" out I am sorry It must be horrible for you, years ago it was easy to switch from job to job if you didn't like the one you were in, nowadays there are so few jobs and so little movement once you have found a job, you have to stay put!

Hopefully in the near future things will ease up again where you can try out a few different specialties until you find your 'niche'.

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madwife2002

About madwife2002, BSN, RN

RN with 26 years of experience many of those years spent in dialysis. I have worked in acute care, home, ICHD as a CN, FA, and currently a director.

26 Articles   4,777 Posts

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Specializes in OB/GYN/Neonatal/Office/Geriatric.

I wish I had a job I could get burn't out from! Nursing is one of those things that you become. It is who I am.

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I've been a nurse for 27 years & though I would not say I am "burnt out", my body is in disagreement. I suffer from severe lower back problems resulting from having to lay down in the passenger seat to prevent decapitation, (literally!) just micro seconds before driving under an 18 wheeler that had pulled out in front of me from a side street in dense fog. He didn't see me coming & I never saw him at all until it was all but too late. Now, my upper body, (spine, back, shoulders, neck & head) has been permanently twisted to the left approx. 30 degrees while my hips & lower body,(legs & feet) still point forward as they always have. This causes me great pain & is, I have been told, irreversible. I am unable to continue working as an nurse. So I went back to college for 8 months & obtained an AA degree & psych. tech. training. I am now a LPT "working" at a State Hospital making $120,000.00 a year & doing half the work. At the State Hospitals LPT's are over the RN's so I almost had no choice but to get my LPT if I was going to continue working there. Most LPT's are High School grads with one year of psych training. Get the picture? It's not nursing, but I can work 12 hour shifts & go home feeling human instead of like I've been run over by a steam roller just waiting for someone to put me out of my misery. So, it is possible to change careers after a great career as a nurse. I'm 54 years old doing half the work for twice the money & have a life after work that I have the energy to enjoy. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
psychnurse0809 said:
I've been a nurse for 27 years & though I would not say I am "burnt out", my body is in disagreement. I suffer from severe lower back problems resulting from having to lay down in the passenger seat to prevent decapitation, (literally!) just micro seconds before driving under an 18 wheeler that had pulled out in front of me from a side street in dense fog. He didn't see me coming & I never saw him at all until it was all but too late. Now, my upper body, (spine, back, shoulders, neck & head) has been permanently twisted to the left approx. 30 degrees while my hips & lower body,(legs & feet) still point forward as they always have. This causes me great pain & is, I have been told, irreversible. I am unable to continue working as an nurse. So I went back to college for 8 months & obtained an AA degree & psych. tech. training. I am now a LPT "working" at a State Hospital making $120,000.00 a year & doing half the work. At the State Hospitals LPT's are over the RN's so I almost had no choice but to get my LPT if I was going to continue working there. Most LPT's are High School grads with one year of psych training. Get the picture? It's not nursing, but I can work 12 hour shifts & go home feeling human instead of like I've been run over by a steam roller just waiting for someone to put me out of my misery. So, it is possible to change careers after a great career as a nurse. I'm 54 years old doing half the work for twice the money & have a life after work that I have the energy to enjoy. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

I am sorry to hear about your accident I too had an accident with an 18 wheeler which 5 years on still causes me a lot of problems and issues. I am so thrilled you were able to retrain as a LPT which sounds like you really used your brain to turn around your career. Tell me more about your job?

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I loved reading your blog, thanks for reminding me,,I need that every once in a while,,,take care

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I love your honesty in this blog. As an aspiring nursing student, I often times just drown myself with fantasies of how much I am going to be this super nurse that loves everything about the profession! I know that although sometimes I may feel like this, the idea is just not the reality. At the end of the day it is nice to read about someone seeing the positives and appreciating being an RN regardless of the negatives!

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Interesting! What city and state do you work in?

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

Nr Akron Ohio

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What is an LPT????

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