Nursing is pathetic...

fyrnymph · Mar 22, 2001

I love being a nurse but I find it insulting when other nurses put each other down becasue we want more money

it is back breaking work that we do

we put ourselves, family and loved ones at risk

F. Nightengale is long gone who and what is going to take care of us when we have back backs and old.... I do not want an underapperciated, tired, overworked been treated like she/ he is %hit nurse taking care of me....

Originally posted by Nurse Nola:
I do not think it is bad to be able to indentify the short-comings of being a nurse.
I agree that other professions that require less education have less risk involved and more income.
As a psych nurse, I have a potentially dangerous, albeit exciting vocation. My husband has a great job, so I can afford low pay in order to enjoy my chosen (low pay ) profession.
I am working with a special sub-set of our society: veterans. For the most part, they are homeless, drug addicted and poorly motivated. I get burned out too. Then I will encounter a patient that I can really help-make a long term difference in his life. That's why I became a Nurse. To make a difference.
It's okay to be burned out. We need the lows to appreciate the highs.

fyrnymph · Mar 22, 2001

How long have you been a nurse???

six months???? get abck to me in about five years and lets see how you feel

Originally posted by jbresolin:
The pay in nursing is good, but if a person worked all the time they might burn out because of the pace. To do a good job requires emotional and physical energy. I think that if a person was mainly interested in making a lot of money fast, that they'd be better off getting an MBA.

Nurse Sunshine · Apr 19, 2001

NurseDude--

One piece of advice, CHANGE CAREERS! At some point money became more important than caring. While that is unfortunate, it does happen. One must earn a living. I still recommend nursing as a career choice to the right individuals. One must be the right combination of caring, determination and dedication to survive without burning out. We all have needs and limits. Good luck in whatever you do, but please take a break from nursing at least for a short period and then re-evaluate how you view the issues.

osiris7 · Jun 23, 2001

I'm right there with ya, nursedude. Nursing sucks because it is "women's work" and is therefore grossly undervalued. It wants to be white collar but is blue collar. The other thing is that we male nurses have a double problem: role strain. This phenomenon occurs because people don't quite know where to fit males as nurses. The recent movie "Meet the Parents" featured a male nurse whose occupation was looked down upon. People want to realize their stereotypes about what a nurse is, so they will do things like assume that a male nurse must be gay. We just don't fit, which is part of what makes a difficult job for us even more difficult.

Males are often found in the more "macho" areas of nursing, like ER and Psych, but beyond those type areas, we just don't fit. I would love to get out of the profession, but I am currently working on getting more education so that I can do just that. I would never advise a daughter or niece of mine to go into the profession. Doctors and hospitals work to make sure that we fight amongst ourselves rather than fight the powers that be, and we are grossly undervalued.

thriftymom30 · Jun 24, 2001

I just want to say this is a very interesting thread. I can see both sides.

Sallyn · Jun 26, 2001

I feel after reading some of these responses that the shortages are a result of the lack of people today that have compassion. Nursing is a NOBLE profession and to be in the profession you must be noble yourself. It is a career of giving. If you don't feel like doing that then PLEASE get out of the profession. I would much rather have to deal with short staffed then uncompassionate and uncaring staff. This profession was never meant to be about money. That is just what has happened to our society. We are a people today that is all about money. My embarrassment comes with knowing our country puts more importance on money than life!!!!!

tiger · Jun 27, 2001

sorry if some of us embarrass you but i do feel my job is important and i should be compensated fairly. i could care less if it started out to be a "noble profession". i always show compassion for my patients and that wouldn't change if i were making more money. healthcare is money making business and why should we settle for less than others. maybe you should just volunteer your services--wouldn't that really be the most noble thing of you?

Sallyn · Jun 27, 2001

I think you are missing my point.

I agree fair compensation is necessary. But fair compensation varies form nursing position to nursing position. The industry pays more for a nurse who consults than delivers direct care. I think what needs to happen for this board is to state the differences in nursing positions and then ask the question. To be a nurse you can choose many many different positions to work in. The floor nurse is going to have a different opinion than a corporate nurse (the wage alone is an enormous difference). A nurse in geriatrics working the floor will feel differently than one working in home care or assisted living. So when asked "would you recommend nursing as a career" your responses will be as broad as the question.

I was more responding to the statement "nursing is pathetic". One thing I learned is you have to earn respect it doesn't just come your way.

About "compassion for patients". Again, one's own opinion of compassion may vary from person to person. But to provide compassionate care for a patient it takes more than just a smile as you inject their next med. The dictionary's definition of compassion is: sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help. Sympathy means the capacity to share feelings: the ability to enter into, understand, or share somebody else's feelings. That means putting yourself into their situation and then delivering the kind of care yourself would expect or want. Constantly asking yourself "if this was me how would I feel?" Too often direct care nurses are fighting against time to get everything done that needs to be. Thinking about how the patient feels becomes secondary to making sure the MUST GET DONE work is done. Whenever you combine two elements like compassion and work into the same equation your bound to get a situation like we have in today's world of nursing. On one hand it is your job and you are held accountable for it and on the other hand you have a patient who is looking at you like your actions will determine life or death for them. What I mean about a noble profession is that. The decision becomes the caregivers's when dealing with patients. There are some people who can't put themselves into other people's shoes to share their feelings therefor being uncapable of delivering compassionate care and they don't even know it. Ask yourself "would you want YOU to be your care giver?" And this isn't a question for your 'best day' it is for all of your days including your worst. If your answer is no then you should not be a nurse providing care.

I think one of the issues that we face, is putting a different priority on the nursing positions in the industry.

The hardest positions are the least pay-which is normal for most industries. The higher up you go the more you make the less you work (physically). So maybe because nursing is a profession that includes peoples' lives we should reverse the wages? The nurses who provide direct patient care makes more than a nurse sitting at a desk all day consulting for 3M.

tiger · Jul 1, 2001

yes.i agree that the pay scales should be flipped. us staff nurses do the hardest work yet are paid the lowest. case managers, evaluators, and all those non pt./contact jobs should be paid less. sorry if i was a little bitter in my last comment--i think i had just gotten off work. we also have a problem with therapists, asst., tech., roles. nursing to do everything for them. anyone else work in rehab???

nursedude · Aug 16, 2001

Noble-

no-ble (nbl)

adj. no-bler, no-blest

Possessing hereditary rank in a political system or social class derived from a feudalistic stage of a country's development.

Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: a noble spirit.

Proceeding from or indicative of such a character; showing magnanimity: "What poor an instrument/May do a noble deed!" (Shakespeare).

Grand and stately in appearance; majestic: "a mighty Spanish chestnut, bare now of leaves, but in summer a noble tree" (Richard Jeffries).

Chemistry. Inactive or inert.

What exactly does nobility have to do with a field that has so earns so little respect respect? When is the last time you recieved a paycheck that was paid not in dollars but with "nobility"? Perhaps then, you are suggesting that because nursing is a profession of "nobility" that accepting any form of monetary compensation is hippocritical?

Certainly, I understand your point but really, come on... has anyone paid attention to the want ads- the nursing shortage that is encroaching? Perhaps it's not that nursing is a pathetic field, rather, it's because there aren't enough "noble" people out there...

Your same point has been discussed here before... Let me see, Oh yeah, sounds just like the old "what kind of nurse are you- all you care about is money" and "nursing is a caring profession"...

Please, tell me why it is that doctors earn so much if they to are in a caring profession? Or perhaps you can explain why a veterinarian earns more money than a well seasoned nurse??? Certainly, veterinarians are in a caring profession and many vets are "noble" as well I'm sure. So why is it that a nurse who takes care of HUMAN BEINGS must be more NOBLE than a vet, an MD or even an electrician????

Sorry, I am not in it for the money but I do need to pay my bills. I have a family. I have basic needs- food clothing shelter etc. and you are going to blow some story about being NOBLE here?

Maybe I should tell my bill collectors that they can't bill me because I am a NOBLE nurse. Maybe I don't have to pay any tolls on toll roads- I can get in the Noble Nurse lane and pass through after showing my NOBILITY ID card... Maybe they won't charge me for parking, Instead I can park in the NOBLE Nurse space and I can flash my NOBLE nurse card at the checkout at my grocery store and wheel right out the door....

Yeah, yeah... I'm in the wrong profession, I EXPECT a fair wage for an honest days work, not a bunch a BS about NOBILITY and CARING...

Brita01 · Aug 20, 2001

I wouldn't recommend nursing as a career unless you absolutely love to be stressed. Like a previous poster said, when I know that I have a shift coming up, I dread going to work. I wonder will I have the psycho, demanding patient on the floor that nobody else wants to take care of. Or the 300lb patient who has a "without fail" order to be up in an ortho chair every shift. Or the patient with the 20 family members always in the room always complaining about something and trying to invent new reasons to sue. Or the patient who has 25 pills to take, can only take one at a time, and needs a whole glass of water after every pill. Or the patient that curses at you and calls you names for no other reason than you're in there trying to help him.....I could go on and on. I used to be an accounting technician and there are so many days when I miss my nice peaceful desk job. I didn't have people who were mad at the world in my face and taking things out on me (this includes doctors, patients, and fellow nurses). Unfortunately, I couldn't make enough money doing the accounting and I only had enough money for one year of LPN school. I thought nursing would be a rewarding and fun career. Boy, if I had known then what I know now. :rolleyes:

Brita01 · Aug 20, 2001

And YES Tiger. Why IS it that we're ultimately responsible for doing everybody else's job and nobody is responsible for our jobs but us. Dietary sends the patient the wrong food, it's the NURSE'S fault. P.T. leaves the patient sitting in a chair instead of putting them back in bed when finished, it's the NURSE'S fault. Respiratory misses a tx that has been ordered, it's the NURSE'S fault. Pharmacy puts the wrong pills in a labeled brown bottle (yes, I've had this happen) and it's the NURSE'S fault for not recognizing that the wrong white pill has been put in the bottle. And, oh yeah, it's the NURSE'S fault for not being able to decipher a doctor's chicken scratch. Give me a frickin' break! Maybe if I was paid these other people's salaries on top of my own I might be more willing to do their jobs for them.