New & Ready To Move On To Bigger & Better

[NewGrad07]

I hate this job. It is so hard to think of my job as a "career" when I get paid the same as a waitress & get treated like one too. I am disrespected on a daily basis by patients, their families, and especially the doctors. I am ordered around by doctors like I am a damn slave. Even with the most seasoned nurses, all integrity goes out the window when a doctor comes to the unit. I HATE that I have 15 minute lunches (that's usually all I have time for), yet I automatically get 1/2 hour cut out of my paycheck. I hate that my unit gets praised for it's "Top 10% in customer service" rating, yet the hospital gives bonuses to all the administrators and not the nurses who earned the honor in the first place. I hate that I am treated like a waitress by my patients. I hate hate hate that I wasted.. yes WASTED... 4 years of my life to become something that really could have taken me less than 2. I hate that I cannot sleep the night before I have to work because I dread going to work the next day. I hate smelling like poop when I go home.

[love-d-OR]

To the OP, sorry that you are feeling this way. Im sure it must feel horrible to feel as if you have wasted 4 years of hard work. As someone else said, no experience is a waste of time.

To Emanuel Goldstein, I dont think students are deceived by instructors, at least not intentionally. A lot of instructors will tell you that cleaning poop and giving bedbaths is what the nurse aide does but because you need to supervise and delegate you need to have a knowledge of those things.

Im a senior student, and I started working as a nurse aide the day I decided to start taking prereques for nursing. One thing that I have noticed among my classmates is that more than 50% of them had no real idea of what a day as a nurse was like. During fundamentals when we were told to give bedbaths some of them seemed shocked. To this day I know more than half of my class has never given a bath or wiped poop. This is all after 2.5 years. During clinical, we as students tend to focus on the clinical (medical) experience.

I dont want to sound arrogant, but myself and some others in my class will do both meds and direct patient care. But most students only have eyes for careplans and meds. Has your patient gotten a bath? I think the aide gave him a bath. Your patient needs a diaper change. Oh, uhm...

My observaions have finally led me to believe that nursing students would do much better if they were introduced into nursing as aides before they were admitted into school. Okay, so maybe Im strecthing it, but maybe if they were required to shadow a nurse for a day or two it would help, instead of requiring volunteer experience.

[sequin121]

Oh my gosh! I have never seen so many new nurses be so critical of my profession. Perhaps you are all correct when you say you have chosen the wrong profession. If so, please leave as soon as possible for your own sanity as well as the sanity of our patients and your colleagues. Did you honestly think you could work as a nurse and not help meet patients' needs? Those needs may include cleaning a behind or bringing water. And doing those "waitress" things are just part of working as part of your team. I can tell you (although you may not be seeing it now) that what you are doing everyday has more impact on peoples' lives than a lifetime of waitressing. If you are not motivated by the thought of making a difference in people's lives and are more motivated by your own needs, then this is not the profession for you.

This is not to say that you shouldn't expect an environment where you can do your best work. You should have management teams who advocate for your needs just as you advocate for patients' needs. If you are not in an environment where that is happening....then you need to find a place where it will happen. You also need to be assured that as your skills and confidence grows, you will gain more respect from physicians. However, you don't get respect without commanding it. You are medical professionals who are educated and have much to offer. Don't allow anyone to take that from you.

I don't know what city you all are in and how many options are open to you professionally. But life is way too short to be this miserable.

I wish you all the best...