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.

Damn... People are ungrateful when they're saying your life? Jeez, maybe I ought to rethink what I'm going to do. Sorry for y'all who gotta deal with that. I hope my experience won't be as bad :(

It may be a fact that bullying was a part of your nursing education, and that may indeed why you in particular seem to "see" so much of it out there. Bullying seems to be a matter of perception, and these days the perception is to treat any uncomfortable interaction as bullying. The definition of bullying seems to have become so watered-down that it's meaningless.

When someone systemically sets out to damage you, shredding your reputation with lies, endangering your livelihood, changing your work schedule or assignments, badmouthing you to management, patients, visitors, ancillary staff and physicians, calling you at home in the middle of your sleep period over and over to demand answers to inconsequential questions, scheduling you for every single holiday shift, seeking out your SO to flirt with them and tell them lies about you cheating on them, blaming you for a sentinel event that was caused by the nurse working next to you despite the fact that you never went near that nurse or her patient because you were busy helping the new grad on the other side of you all night and someone else was helping that nurse at the time of the event . . . That's bullying.

Chastising you for incorrectly calculating the insulin dose, failing to get it double checked and overdosing your patient AGAIN is not bullying. Failing to ask you to lunch, again not bullying. Not saying hello (because she couldn't see without her glasses, which were all fogged up) is not bullying. Giving folks encouragement to see all the minor stuff as actually bullying really takes away from the experience of those who have experienced actual bullying.

There is bullying out there -- there are bullies. I've seen two in forty years. That does not mean that everyone someone perceives as bullying is actually bullying.

I agree with the examples you give to both cases of bullying and non-bullying. And I agree - sometimes it can be abused. I certainly want the concern brought forward (hopefully to the 'alleged' bully first) regardless if it was bullying or not. Spaces where people feel okay to come forward to express these concerns are the safest.

If you are so unhappy then why not consider a career change as others have suggested? I completely understand how much time and money was invested into this, but nursing is a calling not a job. There is nothing wrong with your hatred for nursing, it is definitely not for everyone. If you hate the career then it will negatively affect those you care for. Besides being a mother, nursing is the most fulfilling part of my life. I don't want

anyone pursing nursing to become discouraged. I could never imagine doing anything else. The challenges are part of the fun!

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
but nursing is a calling not a job.

Perhaps to you, but please do not generalize that to all nurses. I do not feel called to be a nurse. It is something that I am interested in and provides a decent steady paycheck.

It may be a fact that bullying was a part of your nursing education, and that may indeed why you in particular seem to "see" so much of it out there. Bullying seems to be a matter of perception, and these days the perception is to treat any uncomfortable interaction as bullying. The definition of bullying seems to have become so watered-down that it's meaningless.

When someone systemically sets out to damage you, shredding your reputation with lies, endangering your livelihood, changing your work schedule or assignments, badmouthing you to management, patients, visitors, ancillary staff and physicians, calling you at home in the middle of your sleep period over and over to demand answers to inconsequential questions, scheduling you for every single holiday shift, seeking out your SO to flirt with them and tell them lies about you cheating on them, blaming you for a sentinel event that was caused by the nurse working next to you despite the fact that you never went near that nurse or her patient because you were busy helping the new grad on the other side of you all night and someone else was helping that nurse at the time of the event . . . That's bullying.

Chastising you for incorrectly calculating the insulin dose, failing to get it double checked and overdosing your patient AGAIN is not bullying. Failing to ask you to lunch, again not bullying. Not saying hello (because she couldn't see without her glasses, which were all fogged up) is not bullying. Giving folks encouragement to see all the minor stuff as actually bullying really takes away from the experience of those who have experienced actual bullying.

There is bullying out there -- there are bullies. I've seen two in forty years. That does not mean that everyone someone perceives as bullying is actually bullying.

You believe that is rare in nursing? Those who set out to sabotage? I can't even believe you mean that in 30 years you have been oblivious to such a pervasive practice.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I absolutely despised floor nursing. I went back to graduate school. I would say 90% of the time I enjoy my new role as a NP in the hospital. Life is too short to be miserable. Make a change for your own mental health. Try case management, an insurance company, Infection control, or whatever else. There are options other than floor nursing or returning to school if those are not for you.

I forgot to mention that you will be working with a ton of vicious, ruthless, and egotistical folks you will have as coworker... :-)

You don't say...Daryl? Is that you? Get back to work!!! Your pt in 32 had another code brown.

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