Hi. I'm about a decade into my nursing career (exp includes ICU, IR, Cath Lab). I have my BSN & CCRN. Good creds. Doesn't appear to make a difference however.
I've worked with patients who were very, very sick. Level one trauma. Cases that would last 9+ hours in the labs. At the ICU I had Impella / IABP / CRRT / Arctic Sun / LVAD patients. I've worked so hard over these last ten years to care for my patients however it is demoralizing and IDK if I can do it anymore. I've been hit, kicked, threatened, spat on, shouted at and more. There were times where I found out what was going on with a patient when a MD couldn't hone in on a Dx.
My co workers were the worst. I've advocated for patients when they wanted their treatment plan changed. I've worked with CNAs/RTs/Speach Therapists/ OT/PT to ensure the best possible care was given to our patients. However the more I advocated for a patient the more I was bullied by my peers. They didn't want to help with turning patients or cleaning them. The more I asked for help the more I got crap from them. Random rumors were created and then spread. Even though I wasn't doing anything wrong, people made stuff up, and over time, more people believed that I was a bad nurse: incompetent, untrustworthy, a "know it all", nosey, anxious, not dependable, etc. The more I tried to do the right thing , the more I got slashed by my own "team." It didn't matter if I helped them do a turn, a clean up, help with an admission, help with a code, discard narcs, help gather supplies for whatever situations... the help I offered my co workers was not reciprocated. I did go to my manager but nothing good came out of that. Same with HR.
So I want to ask if you guys have experienced this. Have you ever felt taken advantage of? What did you do when you have had terrible work experiences, other than just leave? I don't even know how to stand up for myself anymore in this work environment without risk of being fired, slandered, or being hated. It's become a terrible profession.
