Nursing is pathetic...

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It's to bad you feel this way I work in the E.R.and am constantly exposed to hiv, hepatitis,and a host of other diseases you can protect yourself. Why did you really go into nursing ws it for the money? If it was for that then you missed the whole point of what a nurse is. It was never meant to be anything more than the giving care to those in needof your services if you allow yourself to feel all these negative feeling it's time for a vacation from nursing and try something else for a while or have you considered trying a new area that may have sparked some interest. It might be something to think about?

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i agree. oh, yeah!!!!!!if i had known then what i know now i would never have went to nursing school. and it's been getting worse even in the last ten years. that is how long i have been at my current job, almost eleven. our staffing has been cut and our duties increased unlike any of the other depts. i would definately be in therapy or something else. sorry if this is discouraging to any students that may be reading but my thought is you should come in this profession with your eyes open, please take this to heart. been there done that.

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yes brita,i know what you're saying exactly. where i work, no one has much responsibility at all except nursing. and the therapists will tell the pt. "well, nursing should have done this or that." now, they are so much into this multi-disciplinary care it is ridiculous.

they have cut back our bedside nursing staff but they are now paying an rn from the bcu to come for wound rounds once a week. she walks around with the physical therapist and one of the nurses has to go with and makes recomendations as well as take the time to explain what she thinks caused the wound.i still just can't see why pt has to see pt wounds... they have conferences on each pt once a week but are in there wasting time laughing and talking about non-pt related things. all this time the pt is missing out on therapy---but never mind that. there is such a conflict between nursing and therapies that admin. decide to have monthly meetings with a couple from each dept attending. naturally they had it at 0730 am when i am busiest. but i went cause my manager asked me to. these people-including the "big boss from admin" were discussing everything but the pt. it was sickening to listen to the carefree world of non-nursing.

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Wow, i can't believe all the replys! I"m a nursing student and reading all of nursedudes's replys is really discouraging. AFter college I really want to be a pediatric nurse, and later get my masters. Right now i work at a children's hospital and the majority of the nurses I work with love their job. I love all the patients there and enjoy making a difference in their lives. I have seen nurses make tremendous changes in children's lives and can't wait to do the same. And I guess they don't make a lot in the pittsburgh area because in the northeast the average pay for an RN is around 40,000. Sure its not a profession thats going to make you rich, but I'm definitely not in it for the money.

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Nursedude,

I would recommend nursing as a career only if the person's heart was truly into helping others and sacrifices for people you don't know.

I work in St. Clairsville. I'm not that far away from you and I have known some people who worked at alleghany. If you want to discuss things further let me know. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I have been a nurse for 15 years. I was first an LPN then went back for my RN. I did that because of the higher pay scale for RN's. I've had the same job for eight years.

Bjo

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mana-if you went into therapy instead of nursing you would still be able to work with babies/kids if you like only you will not have to rush the pt. or worry about what is going on with your oyher 8 pts. while you are working with one. unless the therapy duties change.

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BJO,

Where is St Clairsville?

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"I would recommend nursing as a career only if the person's heart was truly into helping others and sacrifices for people you don't know. "

One more thing BJO...

I really do enjoy helping and working with people however, I have two young children and a wife. I don't understand why I have to cause my wife and kids to sacrifice because my wage as a registered nurse stinks...

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I have mixed thoughts on this thread. I have been a nurse for 23 years on the same medical floor and for the most part I love it! The variety of illnesses in med nursing is so varied, that I never get tired. (Unlike the year of ortho nursing I did.) Due to the chronic nature of the illnesses, I have been able to follow many of the same paatients over the years. And yes, sadly, sometimes through the dying process. The doctors know me and I know the doctors. I have one doctor who have told me several times, "if you think of something they need (an order) just put my name to it and I'll sign it." (Should also let you know I work the graveyard shift. 11-7) I am respected by co-workers as well.

Now having said all this-I do feel underpaid for the education and all the responsibility that goes with the job. It really ticks me off when I have to pay a plumber $60/hour to umplug a toilet that took him 15 minutes at most. Though he only worked 15 minutes there is usually a 1-hour minimum charge. Some contractors start charging from the time they leave their shop. I refuse to hire these. I don't get paid from the time I leave my home-why should they? I am also bad about tipping. I don't tip hotel maids if I feel I didn't leave any thing beyond a normal mess. Why should I pay them extra just for doing their jobs?

I know I got off the original thread here, but some of this really burns me up. Next week I will be going on vacation for 2 weeks and can feel that I need it.

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To Nurse Dude:

I'll bet your a very good nurse! I'll bet you go that extra mile for your patients too! I'll bet the staff all think your wonderful that you are so efficient and can do the work of three Nurses and get it right! I'll bet you take your patients problems home with you everynight also . I'll bet you give your all when on the job! I think your burning out from too many demands in such a short time frame. From to much expectation from your superiors, from never a kind word like hey! Dude you did a good job tonight or day.

Nursing started out years ago when undesirable females were taken off the street and chained to the patients beds to do all the dirty work and yes they were rewarded with Gin. we haven't come very far lately, as a matter of fact I think we are taking a few steps backward. but were still good nurses even if we complain about the short staffing, the mandatory overtime, the skinny wages, and the thankless attitudes of our superiors. Nurses are people too! they have a right to speak up for themselves and should do so! or things will never change! Nurses have feelings, or they wouldn't be Nurses. some people express their feelings differently when they are upset. Find a different area of Nursing it may change your outlook!

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dude just says what we all know but dont want to admit.

our jobs make NO sense.

so in order for us to make sense of them we rationalize that we are in it for a higher reason than money.

if that were completely true we WOULD band together and do something about patient safety because we wouldnt care about the money.

thats not the case tho.

i love what i do but it truly does piss me off that my friend makes the same money or more than i do and she cleans houses.

no education. no real skills.

but she gets that because that is what her customers are WILLING to pay.

what do you think would happen if we took the control of our salaries out of the hands of the hospitals and insurance companies and took our rates into our own hands?

what if we were all like private contractors?

our profession really needs to get it together and the time is now.

people NEED us.

hospitals and snf HAVE to have us.

so why are we LETTING them tell us what we should make?

we should be telling THEM

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Excellent point frustrated...

The nursing agencies tell their customers how much they are worth... Why shouldn't nurses?

I think you are right on target w/the private contractor idea. My hunch is that the majority of nurses won't buy it- they can't because most can't think outside the box... "We've always done it that way..."

ND

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so dude what do we do?

things are going to change. they have to. more and more nurses are leaving the profession. these nutses who hang on to the status quo are going to be awfully tired of working overtime with extreme patient loads.

the union...at least the one where you worked was ineffective. nurses are leaving that hospital in droves and joining the "competition" in pgh.

or signing up with agencies.

the hospitals are losing their grip. they are trying to sweeten the pot. have you seen the ads for the new incentive agh and others in that system are offering?

its too little too late.

our facility is desperate. they are having to close units due to lack of staff. docs are refusing to admit patients. we are losing money.

patients and docs are complaining about being shortstaffed.

when we do get nurses they dont stay.

so can private contracting be a far fetched idea?

i dont think so.

where are they going to go to for staffing?

how far off can this be?....

you and me and 8 other RN's from pgh start our OWN agency. (for example)

we set a price and go in and bid on jobs. (we can give you at LEAST 800 hours of staffing per week at "name your price" except for the union hospitals...id bet we would get hired at any price we asked.

the group we have splits the overhead equally. we would get discounts for being a group.(insurance, ect)

all 10 members equal partners.

i think this would work. i think thats what its going to come to. and those nurses who keep doing it the way its always been done can just keep doing it that way.

our facility has added beds to the er because there is not enuff staff on the units to accept anymore patients. some pts stay in the er and never see a floor.

the other night i had 12 patients...just me and one assistant. 3 were admissions, one was a transfer and one was a discharge.

the resource nurse wanted to give me one more but i flatly refused then called the supervisor and reported it.

how long do you think they can keep working us like that? even the status quo nurses are starting to break.

i think the way that i described is a great idea. why join an agency when you can be your own?

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