Nurses...Miserable?

pebbles, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2008

nursing isn't for everyone. people need to get before god, and ask what he would have them to do. he will lead and guide you in the path you should take. i actually feel that i'm supposed to do nursing. it has to be a desire from god because my whole family can't see why i would want to be a nurse. lol i am very creative and have a strong sense for fashion, and my family feels that nursing is totally opposite from my personality. they feel that i need to direct my career towards fashion and move to new york, atlanta, or some major city. yet, there is a desire for me to be a nurse, and i know that god has a purpose for me to become one. anyway, if you feel the need to switch careers, do so! it is never too late to go back to school and try something else.

i really get annoyed when people talk about how nursing is a "calling" etc. for some people who are religious, they may feel that way. but lets be careful not to denigrate those who are not "christian", or who aren't even religious at all. the rest of us count too, thank you very much.

too often, the "it's a calling, not like other jobs" is used as an excuse for management to give us lousy pay or lousy working conditions, or for some nurses to put up with lousy conditions.

i don't have any issue with people who went into it for the money. i only have issue with those people if their care is poor in the meantime.

i am a highly skilled and educated professional, and i expect to get paid for those things, just like other professionals do.

someone who's gonna make generalised statements like "nurses are lousy money managers" (excuse me????) and making judgments about the right or wrong reasons to go into a career - has a lot to learn about nurses and must have been doing some selective reading of this message board, imo.

luvmy3kids · Mar 31, 2008

I really get annoyed when people talk about how nursing is a "calling" etc. For SOME people who are religious, they may feel that way. But lets be careful not to denigrate those who are not "christian", or who aren't even religious at all. The rest of us count too, thank you very much.
Too often, the "It's a calling, not like OTHER jobs" is used as an excuse for management to give us lousy pay or lousy working conditions, or for some nurses to put up with lousy conditions.
I don't have any issue with people who went into it for the money. I only have issue with those people if their care is poor in the meantime.
I am a highly SKILLED and EDUCATED professional, and I expect to get paid for those things, just like other professionals do.
Someone who's gonna make generalised statements like "nurses are lousy money managers" (EXCUSE ME????) and making judgments about the right or wrong reasons to go into a career - has a LOT to learn about nurses and must have been doing some selective reading of this message board, imo.

ITA... you forgot to mention that she also stated that she is going to go into the patients room, do the job, and walk out. No personal relations... won't bring work home. However... nursing is a calling.

OK... sorry... I'm just irritated. I'll be quiet now.

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

I really get annoyed when people talk about how nursing is a "calling" etc. For SOME people who are religious, they may feel that way. But lets be careful not to denigrate those who are not "christian", or who aren't even religious at all. The rest of us count too, thank you very much.
Too often, the "It's a calling, not like OTHER jobs" is used as an excuse for management to give us lousy pay or lousy working conditions, or for some nurses to put up with lousy conditions.
I don't have any issue with people who went into it for the money. I only have issue with those people if their care is poor in the meantime.
I am a highly SKILLED and EDUCATED professional, and I expect to get paid for those things, just like other professionals do.
Someone who's gonna make generalised statements like "nurses are lousy money managers" (EXCUSE ME????) and making judgments about the right or wrong reasons to go into a career - has a LOT to learn about nurses and must have been doing some selective reading of this message board, imo.

Of course you wouldn't understand or relate to anything I said if you aren't a Christian. Also, you didn't read all of my previous posts. Make sure you go and read everything I said, instead of pointing out certain things and making rude comments.

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

ITA... you forgot to mention that she also stated that she is going to go into the patients room, do the job, and walk out. No personal relations... won't bring work home. However... nursing is a calling.
OK... sorry... I'm just irritated. I'll be quiet now.

Also, you didn't read all of my post either. I said by you keeping work at the work place and not taking it home with you, will save you from becoming burned out. Obviously too many people are taking work home with them and becoming too personal at their jobs. By reading all of these posts it looks as if all of you nurses are burned out. I will like to thank the people on this board because I've changed my mind about nursing and going on to get my MBA. I still stick to what I said before whether you are Christian or not. Nursing is a calling, and those who are anointed for it, do not get burned out as easily. It is a problem when you go into any career for the wrong motives. I"m not saying that you did, but many have and they are catching it because of the wrong decisions. Anyway, the wisdom that I have isn't a worldly wisdom. So many people can not relate to what I say, and that is okay because I will just keep my wisdom to myself and just give it to those who have a heart that's receptive.

luvmy3kids · Mar 31, 2008

Of course you wouldn't understand or relate to anything I said if you aren't a Christian. Also, you didn't read all of my previous posts. Make sure you go and read everything I said, instead of pointing out certain things and making rude comments.

Actually, I'm a Christian and I don't understand much of what you said either.

I also read all of your comments. For someone who has yet to work as a nurse, you sound very righteous and at times condescending.

While I'm still a student, I hardly feel that I have much to say as to why some nurses would/could feel miserable (or not). Until you've walked in their shoes... you should probably keep those comments to yourself. They won't be taken well by most. Good luck to you though. :rolleyes:

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

Actually, I'm a Christian and I don't understand much of what you said either.
I also read all of your comments. For someone who has yet to work as a nurse, you sound very righteous and at times condescending.
While I'm still a student, I hardly feel that I have much to say as to why some nurses would/could feel miserable (or not). Until you've walked in their shoes... you should probably keep those comments to yourself. They won't be taken well by most. Good luck to you though.

I'm just going on what has been said on this board. If you read most of the threads on this allnurses.com forum, it pretty much is the same thing being said over and over: I hate my job! In different words but it all means the same. I didn't say that they were miserable, they said it themselves. Also, with the comment that I said about nurses being bad money managers, if you go back and read the previous post, I stated that the one's I know personally, has bad money management skills. When people get offended they are quick to make comments before actually going back and reading what someone actually said. Also, I'm not condescending it just might be that you are quick to offense.

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

Good luck to you also "I love my Kids"! :)

luvmy3kids · Mar 31, 2008

i wondered about that also. do you have to be overly friendly to do your job as a nurse. i know my personality, and i feel that i will just be courteous and professional. i don't see myself getting wrapped up into the patients personal lives. i will just do my job and get out of the room! i'll just do what's expected of me, which is providing a service, and leave work at work and not bring it home. that is what keeps people from being burned out in any profession. you can't take work home with you. you have to have a life outside of the workplace. if you have trouble balancing a personal life with working, you might be working too many hours.
i find that many nurses aren't good money managers. they tend to overspend more than they actually make, and then they work all of those hours to pay for all the debt they have accrued through over spending. i know that this is off the topic, but that is how nurses get burned out because of overspending and trying to work long hours to pay for it. i know many nurses that are like that. they spend, spend, and spend and try to work long hours to make up. nurses need to realize that they are only bringing in a certain amount of money and need to budget properly so that don't have to work like a fool! oh well, that is just my theory.

this is your direct quote. you didn't say that the ones you know personally are bad money managers. you said "i find many nurses aren't good money managers."

there's a big difference between the two. i think you just hit a chord with me with the money statements, christian statements, bs degree statements, nursing is a calling, who gets burned out and why, etc. it just all seems condescending and righteous to me as you haven't even worked in the profession (let alone attend ns) yet.

yes, you can learn a lot from these boards. would i decide to not become a nurse because of some of the negative things i've read here?? no. i am making that decision for myself.

the difference about nursing is that nurses are really the only ones who truly understand what each other is going through. i'm just guessing here... but i doubt they have accountants.com. i think it's a whole different world, and i'm very excited to take part in it. christian or not.... calling or not... whatever the case may be. bring it on!

eta: i checked... accountants.com is coming soon. my bad.

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

This is your direct quote. You didn't say that the ones you know personally are bad money managers. You said "I find many nurses aren't good money managers."
There's a big difference between the two. I think you just hit a chord with me with the money statements, Christian statements, BS degree statements, nursing is a calling, who gets burned out and why, etc. It just all seems condescending and righteous to me as you haven't even worked in the profession (let alone attend NS) yet.
Yes, you can learn a lot from these boards. Would I decide to not become a nurse because of some of the negative things I've read here?? No. I am making that decision for myself.
The difference about nursing is that nurses are really the only ones who truly understand what each other is going through. I'm just guessing here... but I doubt they have accountants.com. I think it's a whole different world, and I'm very excited to take part in it. Christian or not.... calling or not... whatever the case may be. Bring it on!
ETA: I checked... accountants.com is coming soon. My bad.

I corrected my statement, about bad money managment, when I wrote a reply to Valerie Salva ( I don't know if that is the correct spelling). I said the ones I know personally have bad money management. Actually, I was in nursing school and I hated it. It might have been the school that I attended but it was rough enough for me to not want to become one. I just decided to go back to school and get my Bachelor's degree in something else. I don't know where the desire came from, for me to try nursing again, but after reading these posts on this forum it reminded me of what I hated in nursing school. I couldn't decide if I wanted to get my Masters or go into a nursing program again, but this forum has actually helped me make my decision. My family were always against the nursing idea anyway, so I'm sure they will be proud of me. LOL

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2008

I'm just going on what has been said on this board. If you read most of the threads on this allnurses.com forum, it pretty much is the same thing being said over and over: I hate my job!

I randomly looked at the first 15 or so posts presently at the top of the general forum. Most were asking for advice on certain problems. Not all were positive, but none of them had the theme "I hate my job". I know it seems like it's over and over again, but the negative mind tend to stand out more.

Now, there are quite a bit of threads asking how we deal with certain situations, but most aren't ready to throw in the towel with a cry "I hate my job".

Funny how two peeople can read the forum forum and have a different view.

vanillavirtue · Mar 31, 2008

I randomly looked at the first 15 or so posts presently at the top of the general forum. Most were asking for advice on certain problems. Not all were positive, but none of them had the theme "I hate my job". I know it seems like it's over and over again, but the negative mind tend to stand out more.
Now, there are quite a bit of threads asking how we deal with certain situations, but most aren't ready to throw in the towel with a cry "I hate my job".
Funny how two peeople can read the forum forum and have a different view.

I'm not referring to this thread in particular. I'm referring to the allnurses website all together. There are a lot of threads that nursing are venting about their jobs. There are only a few positive threads compared to the vast majority of negative threads. Yes, I understand that people complain about their jobs but it isn't to this extent that I"m reading on this allnurses.com website. I have had previous jobs that I cried before going to work, but never to the point as some people have described throwing up and having panic attacks. (referring to other threads) I've heard other people complain about their jobs but not like how nurses complain. It's at another level of discontentment and that's scary.

HealthyRN · Mar 31, 2008

that is why you have to choose a career that you are passionate about. nursing is a calling. if you aren't called to do it, you will run at the drop of a dime. i don't know if you are a christian or not, but there is an anointing to do certain professions. people have to be anointed to be a nurse, and if you are anointed to do the profession there will be a gentle ease. i suggest people to do what they are naturally passionate about. when you are passionate about something, it isn't work for you. you will love it so much that you could do it for free! i think that many people get caught up into what nurses make and not actually sit back an evaluate the profession.

i've read all of your posts and it seems that you really have all the answers. until you walk a day in a nurse's shoes, i don't think that you can fairly evaluate why and how nurses get burnt out. it is ideas such as the above that contribute to the many problems within the nursing profession. i am a christian, but i don't believe that nursing is a calling. nursing is a profession just like law, medicine, accounting, teaching, or any other profession. because nursing is a profession, we deserve to be compensated fairly for our work. the idea of nursing being a calling is what contributes to the low pay and poor working conditions. after all, if something is a calling, such conditions should be tolerated. irregardless, your thinking is illogical. even in professions that are thought of as a calling, such as clergy, i'm certain that there are challenges and there is no "gentle ease" about it.

you are quite right about nursing being on a different level from other jobs that you have had. in nursing, you are at times literally dealing with life or death situations. when nurses are new, it is not unusual to experience the intense emotions of fear or anxiety that you describe. it takes awhile for a new nurse to acclimate to the idea of being responsible for another individual's life for 12+ hours. the vast majority nurses do overcome these anxieties (or move onto a different type of nursing) and i'm certain that the posts you are reading about panic attacks and throwing up before work are coming mostly from new nurses.

i don't believe that all nurses are miserable. many nurses are dissatisfied with the current conditions in health care and within the profession. i was very unhappy until i found my niche in nursing. the wonderful thing about nursing is that there are many different options.

by the way, what do you mean that your "wisdom isn't worldly"?