Nursing is not what it is made out to be..

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If your thinking of going to school to become a nurse please take a moment to reflect on my experiences during the 17 years I have been in nursing. To be honest up front, nurses are treated like dogs. If you have the compassion to take care of others then thats awesome but I must warn you that no one is going to foster that compassion once your in the real world. You will be expected to never make a single error and even to the point as having to consistently correct a physicians mistake. Oh yea, thats right. You must tell the physicians what needs to be done all the time and catch all their errors or else you the nurse will be punished or scolded. Most of you who are not a nurse probably think nursing is very rewarding. Wrong again. Nurses are not commended for a good job done because it is expected even when you correct errors there is no special recognition. Also the attitudes of todays patients aren't very grateful but can be downright mean and hateful towards nurses. Furthermore, physicians hardy even assess their patients adequately leaving you to wonder if the doctor really saw everything with the patient that needs to be assessed. For instants any skin issues or wounds. Most of what is the duty of the MD the nurses wind up doing.

Look, I can go on and on but here is some helpful info to help you decide if you wanna be a nurse for the rest of your lives.

Do a google search for "the truth about nursing" and see what comes up. This is a great way to see just how awful the nursing profession is.

Thank you, and good luck choosing a career.

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17 years and counting . Why have't you left ?

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I've been in nursing a lot longer than 17 years, and that hasn't been my experience. I have worked hard and been held to high standards, as I believe any reasonable person would expect in a field in which other people's lives depend on our competence and integrity, but I don't feel I have ever been "treated as a dog" by an employer. Perhaps that is because I have never been willing to be treated badly by an employer. It's true that I have not been warmly commended or recognized by employers or coworkers for doing my job, but, as a reasonable adult, I don't expect any special celebration for showing and doing what I agreed to do when I accepted the job. That's just basic adulthood. The physicians I've worked with over the years have been competent and thorough, for the most part, and the oversights or minor mistakes that I've caught haven't been any big deal. Healthcare is all about teamwork.

I'm with Atl-Murse -- if you are this unhappy with the basic realities of nursing, why haven't you moved on to something else you might enjoy more? Life is too short to waste it hating what you do.

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Specializes in CMSRN, hospice.

Potential future nurses, this career is what you make of it. There are, unfortunately, jobs, managers, and employers that contribute to very negative experiences, as the OP illustrated. Likewise, there are jobs, managers, and employers that are overall very good. Nothing about nursing is one size fits all.

Yes, this is tough, tiring, occasionally grueling work - and it will FEEL like work! Not every day, or even most days, is easy. It's not right for everyone, and some people find out once they're already in the field. But - just my experience - I feel fulfilled by what I do, I find my work stimulating and important, and I have found a team I enjoy working with, led by a manager who does notice my efforts and does her best to recognize them. Your mileage can and will vary. Read about others' experiences if you want, but do your research, shadow a nurse, volunteer at a hospital (or better yet, work as a nursing tech); YOU need to determine if the rewards and pressures of nursing fit YOU.

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I don't think the answer realistically is to leave as I have worked very hard to be where I am today and have spent a lot of time and money to go to school. I know I am just one life but its mine and I am not about to flush everything down the drain. Where is the compassion for the people who are expected to be the most compassionate people in the world so to speak? "If we don't like it then just get out"?. If I took that approach with a patient I'd be fired. Why can't someone understand us as we are to be sooo understanding of others? I know for a fact that I am not the only one who feels the way I do. Why doesn't the system improve? I guess since we clean crap, others think we can just eat crap too.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.

Point / Counter-point...

I've been a nurse for 7 years, following almost 20 years as an engineer.

My only regret is that I didn't choose nursing 20 years before I did.

Are their crappy bosses and crappy organizations? Of course, as in any field.

Are their crappy customers? Yep, just like every field.

Are their crappy co-workers? Yeah, there sure are... no different than any consulting firm or plant floor.

Is every nursing job well-paid? Nope. Of course, there are dead-end engineering jobs, too.

Nursing offers an amazing array of options throughout a career... far more than any other single discipline that I'm aware of.

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Specializes in ER.

My dogs are treated very well, just saying...

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Just as a reminder, I wasn't asking for anyones opinion or discussion. I am aware that not everyone will feel the way I do. I am only a portion of many perspectives out there and I just wanted to share *MY* experiences with others who may be considering nursing as a career. Just because you guys feel different does not mean my perspective shouldn't be treated with any less value.

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Just as a reminder, I wasn't asking for anyones opinion or discussion. I am aware that not everyone will feel the way I do. I am only a portion of many perspectives out there and I just wanted to share *MY* experiences with others who may be considering nursing as a career. Just because you guys feel different does not mean my perspective shouldn't be treated with any less value.

You weren't asking for opinion or discussion but would you have been okay with everyone blowing off your post without so much as an acknowledgement?

Look, I'm not a nurse yet at all but i am older (47)and worked for many years before deciding on this path to nursing. I have worked at companies that treated my entire department like a bunch of children who needed to constantly be managed. I have worked at companies where you'd be hard pressed to get any sort of pats on the shoulder for doing a good job. But while I know that employers need to acknowledge workers so as to keep morale up, sometimes it is just a case of us needing to do our jobs because, well, we get paid to do what we do.

I really just do not think (in fact I know) that the things you mentioned are not limited to nursing. It's a little unfair to paint a broad strokes of the field it when others express different experiences you react negatively. You may have had some bad shifts and that stinks. However,I totally understand how others who really love the field and their current jobs may be a little put off by your assessment of the field.

I hope things get better for you or at least that you find the strength to push through. I know how terrible it feels to have to do something that you dislike.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Just because you guys feel different does not mean my perspective shouldn't be treated with any less value.

And vice versa. :)

You might not have been soliciting discussion, but that is kind of the point of a threaded discussion board. Yes, sometimes we label things as a VENT and that gives us more latitude as far as signaling "Hey, I've had a bad day/week/whatever and I need to let it out." But you can't expect to make a blanket statement like "nurses are treated like dogs" (as I sit here typing with my dog curled up on his very own comfy bed, haha) and expect everyone who has had a different experience to not say anything.

Have you considered other avenues of nursing? Or what would you rather be doing?

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Just as a reminder, I wasn't asking for anyones opinion or discussion

If that's the case then why post this on a DICUSSION board? If you have a thought and you don't want anyone's input best to put it in a journal and leave it at that.

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I am currently happy with my job as a nurse. Of course there are hard days, but that's any job. The difference between the job we idealize and what actually happens can be a huge reality check. I'm in a specialty I like and I love my coworkers, so I'm happy. It's not fun when I feel rushed, disrespected, or piled on with way too many tasks - however, that's not unique to nursing. That can happen in any type of employment. If you're so unhappy, why not leave nursing or at least look for a new job?

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