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

[ModernRN]

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.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

Oops. I guess youre right, to a degree. Let me rephrase what I said. Being a registered nurse does suck.. Np for the win!!

I thought you were still in nursing school?

OP, I appreciate the warning, but if you honestly think anyone hoping to be a nurse in the furture that hangs around here thinks that nursing is all compliments, sunshine and cupcakes, you don't hang out here much yourself.

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

And the OP is MIA....

[tenniscoach]

Hi OP. I think on the whole you are experiencing things not out of normal. Of course, there's a range of experience, but it is a real issue when one finds their job is not what they'd hoped for - usually because management/goals of organization undermine or do not align with goals of the profession. While I think some of your anger is due to the repeated "trauma" of having to endure these tensions, and may seem to others as a reason to get out of nursing - I have another idea. One thing that has occurred in nursing is the HUGE development of management tracks, etc. In fact, it is easier for nurses to find a niche - now that ACO's need case managers with nursing degrees, and now that so much organizational management is open to experienced nurses like yourself. I think you should start looking for those opportunities to gain qualifications (start with volunteering to help a manager, or something- even if it drains you and costs you time that is uncompensated), while thinking about and engineering how to catapult yourself ABOVE the fray - into management. It is people like you who can see what's wrong, and are most motivated to fix it - but you need power to do so. It will be a year or two of laying foundation - maybe talk to a career coach (?), but I think you are being Underutilized and that is part of your frustration. Prepare for lateral move to new organization once you've padded that resume a bit. Talk to someone you admire and ask for frank mentorship - be clear in what you want - "I want to further my nursing career, be a role model, and work within the organization for continued improvement - - I know I need more experience in the managerial/leadership (they are different) side of things - how do you recommend I start?" etc. Good luck. Don't let the anger and frustration and sadness (of what your workplace HASN'T offered to make you the strongest employee you could be) stomp out a potential bright future of growth and engagement yet! Some people "settle" - you don't need to. Again, I think you just need more power. (I do think you will need to do some emotional work to heal the hurts but it will make you a stronger leader having experienced this darker side of employed health care). Also remember - every moment you are nursing, even a dark moment when you're working with a doc that appears cursory or what not - is a chance for you to model the leadership behaviors you aspire to - fake it until you make it - you can soar!

[GraduateRN2016, BSN]

This is a forum for opinion, if you didn't want one, then why make a post. I agree nursing can seem tough but there are many options hang in there or just find something that will be rewarding to you.

[rescueninja1987]

I became very discouraged a while back and almost went back to school to become an engineer; the only reason I didn't is because I heard so much about the opposite, engineers wanting to become nurses (or doctors). I'm glad now that I found a nursing role that was a better fit for me.

[almostthere25]

When nursing is a good field with many opportunities as a student you are not getting the real patient you will in the work field. I remember being so appreciated as a student nurse from the patients I had, then after months on the job you realize that maybe 25% of the patients you see are there to get better, the rest well, they are here for the 5 star hotel treatment just to go back and do everything the doctor said not to do. I do not work in ortho or surgery so I do not see the patient population that is grateful and trying to improve on life, I see the population that just wants a neb treatment or two, a couple steroids and the 5 star hotel treatment and leave just to comeback in a couple of days. I've been ask the most bizarre request, have been threaten and harassed over and over by both patients and non existent management team. You are overworked and understaffed majority of time, I've seen nurses cry many times on my unit from either a patient or family member abuse or from the work load, I have seen a float quit her job after an 8 hour shift on my unit.

But when I float it is a breath of fresh air, there are many units patients are there for the reason to get better, there are floors where management is there to help you out instead of eat you alive that I have seen from nurses on my unit.

I would not discourage anyone to get into the nursing field, it can be very rewarding knowing you help someone rather it was just the little extra time you spent with them, the care you gave, or helped them through the knee surgery. I would just wish as a student nurse they would not steer you away and put a blind eye to what health care is today, Patient satisfaction aka 5 star hotel treatment the I want cheese and crackers now and a bag of candy I dont care I cant breath and my blood sugar is 500 I want it now or I will give you a low HCAP score and in return you job will be on the line with a management that evaluates you who never steps a foot on the floor.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Why so many piling on because Modern RN spoke his mind about his negative experiences and feelings about being a nurse. There are so many vent threads on this forum, too numerous to count, about the negatives of nursing. All of sudden everyone and his brother feels the need to come and proclaim their love for nursing, how wonderful it is and how he should just get out! Sounds pretty judgemental to me. Why the hypocropsy! Why are nurses supposed to say they love their job in spite of all the well documented problems we all face or most of us anyway.

Let's be honest we don't all love nursing, many do it because they need the money and now have student loans to pay back. Many are going into nursing because its one of the few jobs that pay a living and many already have degrees in other fields but are unable to get a decent paying job so go into nursing.

If I could afford to I would leave nursing. But I am too young to retire and have a mortgage etc and need a job that pays a living wage. People suggest if you are not happy get a different job and they suggest clinic or homecare etc. Maybe that will work for some people, but probably not for the number of burnt out nurses that want a change. I doubt there are enough jobs available especially since many clinics are now using medical assistants instead of LPN's yet alone RN's. Also I don't like the idea of the wear and tear of your car if you go the homecare route and may end up being paid by the visit.

I honestly would not recommend nursing to anyone either for all the many negatives that I have neither the time or desire to rehash! I understand people are going to continue to go into nursing for the need of a decent paycheck and the hope to make a difference, but the reality is many will be blocked by corporate healthcare's need to grind them into the ground to make an excess profit for the CEO and his buddies at the top!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Dogs are so misrepresented. If a girl is mad at her man or feeling salty towards a boy she calls him a dog. Dogs are loyal, loving, protective, easy to train, smart, and easy to care for and bring joy to so many. If only people were more like dogs.

Then when upset people say we are treated like dogs. Majority of people treat dogs better than they treat their own fellow humans.

#doglivesmatter

#stopthemisrepresentationofdogs

[Purple_roses]

Dogs are so misrepresented. If a girl is mad at her man or feeling salty towards a boy she calls him a dog. Dogs are loyal, loving, protective, easy to train, smart, and easy to care for and bring joy to so many. If only people were more like dogs.

Then when upset people say we are treated like dogs. Majority of people treat dogs better than they treat their own fellow humans.

#doglivesmatter

#stopthemisrepresentationofdogs

This is so true! I *wish* people treated me as well as I treat my cat! I'd like to nap in the sun all day and get nom-noms for simply being adorable.

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

I have had some days, with some patients, that make me want to go in the med room and bang my head on the wall. i've had those days where i wonder if RN really means refreshments and narcotics. At the end of the day (geez, i hate that phrase, so overused) i still like what I do. Those places that treat me like a disposable commodity? See ya. i am better than that.

i crack that I stay in nursing because i don't know how to do anything else, but the truth is, i don't want to do anything else. i have plenty of patients that i discharge in much better shape than when they came to me and i like that i was a part of that.

i honestly think that if one is bitter and unhappy, it shows through to patients no matter how much you try to cover it. That is not the kind of nurse I want to be taking care of me.

[ViviJimen]

Damm and here I am studying for Monday's med surg exam...Smh.. I hope u find something or somewhere else that might change ur mind.. sometimes it's the one thank u that makes it all worth it... Good luck on ur journey...

[BackInTheSaddle, BSN, RN]

Very well said, brandy1017. I am an older person who returned to clinical nursing to update my assessment skills as preparation for FNP school. I was warned about the current nursing culture and she was spot on. It is vicious. Nurses (not all but most) are aggressively mean. Not just rude. I'm talking using energy to be mean to other nurses. Making fun of another in front of other nurses and humiliating another in front of patients. Very cliquish and definitely straight outta junior high.

It is disappointing to say the least. The documentation alone is a reason to avoid this "profession." In fact, I know of one nurse who quit simply because the documentation requirements were just too much for him. He's now a trainer at a gym making more.

But, if you are making minimum at the local retailer, .... Just think twice.