Over it.

Published

This is more of a vent post and I know some don't like to hear nurses "whining" but for those people...don't read this then. I need to vent and no one but nurses will understand me as others just don't understand the full scope of the sh*t we deal with.

At this moment, I have HAD it with nursing. Maybe that is too harsh and broad. I have HAD it with the politics of hospitals trying to be a customer service driven business. I have HAD it with arrogant doctors who think they can speak to nurses how they do and their huge EGOS. I have HAD it with the endless paper work that is meant to make our reality APPEAR better than it is.

I am a damn good nurse and I work VERY hard for each and every one of my patients, even the ones who verbally abuse me and in some cases physically hurt me. BUT this doesn't seem to be enough in todays hospital environments, especially MAGNET hospitals where paperwork and APPEARANCES are more important than REALITY.

Maybe I should say THANK YOU. Thank you for the compliment of thinking I am a super woman who can accomplish more in a 12 hour shift than most people could accomplish in a 40 hour work week. Thank you for thinking I can make every patient 100% happy and satisfied every hour of every shift. However, here is a newsflash for ya...I AM ALSO HUMAN.

I have HAD it being everyone's scapegoat and the go between for all doctors, case managers, dietary, respiratory therapists, and everyone else that unnecessarily puts the RN in the middle of crap then blames me the RN when ANYTHING doesn't go perfectly.

I have HAD it with finding mistakes made before I arrived and when trying to correct them, getting lectured for the mistake. HELLO, I did not make it, I am trying to make it better. And BTW, the nurse that did make the mistake, she is also HUMAN.

The faster I can get out of bedside nursing the better.

Oh and for anyone who is going to respond with a "Florence Nightingale" like comment, save it. I've HAD it.

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AMEN sister! :)

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Nice people finish last.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Two of the truest of all truisms.

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I completely understand what u are saying! I have worked as a Paramedic for the past 7 years and bridged to RN to be home with my kids more due to the 24 hours on at the EMS, now I am working on a medical floor and I am so tired of being that person being pullled in a million different directions for the good of the hospital and not the patient. I am also tired of being treated like crap by moody patient's for others wrong doings or simply because they want to be grouchy people. I understand that being sick can change you from your normal self to a person that is not your typical self, I do sympathize and try to understand that people cope in different ways but in the same I wish they would understand that I am not just there for a pay check and I actually do give a damn about their well being. So tired of seeing people in this profession that have absolutely no bedside manner and treat patient's like they are objects and without compassion....I know I am rambling all over the place and I apologize but sometimes I wonder why I left something that I loved to do for something that serves you with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth. Never are you praised for your rights and your compassion, only fussed at by doctor's for clarifying an order or trying to get a flippen order for some palliative care for someone that is suffering...ok, so thank you for letting me vent through your vent and I will now hope for the good days that do come in between those bad ones and THANK YOU for doing your best in your position to be a good , caring nurse because when things go wrong, and they will, kind words and understanding speak volumes.

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NightNurseRN,

We have all had days, weeks, months where we feel like this. When you feel like this more often then a game plan needs to go into effect.

Write down your goals for the future that don't include bedside nursing.

Do you need to any extra education for your goals?

If so, look at that plan.

Start looking for jobs that you DO want outside of bedside nursing-what are the qualifications for these jobs?

If you do not meet these qualifications-this is something to work towards.

Update your resume/CV-get assistance with this as needed.

The situation you are in seems more bearable when you are working towards a goal ( been there).

Good luck,

otessa

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Specializes in MED/SURG STROKE UNIT, LTC SUPER., IMU.

I know what you mean. I just love it when you answer all of the on-call MDs questions and he says...."okay here is the hardest question and the one that will seperate you from all of the other INCOMPETENT nurses down there.....what did the pt come in here for." I was able to answer the question, but geeeez in LTC/rehab when you have 20-30 pts and a pt has been here for a while, you may not know what they first came in here for. Not to mention what a b***head way to put it.

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I know what you mean. I just love it when you answer all of the on-call MDs questions and he says...."okay here is the hardest question and the one that will seperate you from all of the other INCOMPETENT nurses down there.....what did the pt come in here for." I was able to answer the question, but geeeez in LTC/rehab when you have 20-30 pts and a pt has been here for a while, you may not know what they first came in here for. Not to mention what a b***head way to put it.

Most of those type of doctors wouldnt last one night working as an RN. Jerks.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Home Health.

It sounds like you need a vacation and then possibly a different job. I felt the EXACT same way when I worked in the hospital. I now work for homehealth. Im lucky though, my boss is wonderful. Not all homehealth agencies are like mine. At the hospital, it was all wrapped around the MD's, but with homehealth its all wrapped around the nurses. I like it better, however the paperwork is MASSIVE. I feel for ya.

Healthcare has changed soooo much in the past 5 years. I hope things get better for ya.

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I am a new grad nurse who can't find a job (grrrrr. but that's a tangent, sorry)... anyway, your post makes me really think hard of even going the hospital/med-surg route. I've been considering going for my masters in Psychiatry and your posts inspires me that that is the way to go. Thank you for your honesty.

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Healthcare has become more profit driven then it ever was before. I look at that picture of Mary Breckenridge on the horse bringing women's health to Appalachia, or Lillian Wald and the Henry Street Settlement, what has healthcare become? Would that level of nurse driven patient-centered care even be possible in today's environment? When did we become worker bees instead of human beings?

It's almost like there is something wrong when nurses DON'T feel the way you do at some point. How can we fix these larger issues that are causing such damage to the profession?

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:hug:

This is more of a vent post and I know some don't like to hear nurses "whining" but for those people...don't read this then. I need to vent and no one but nurses will understand me as others just don't understand the full scope of the sh*t we deal with.

At this moment, I have HAD it with nursing. Maybe that is too harsh and broad. I have HAD it with the politics of hospitals trying to be a customer service driven business. I have HAD it with arrogant doctors who think they can speak to nurses how they do and their huge EGOS. I have HAD it with the endless paper work that is meant to make our reality APPEAR better than it is.

I am a damn good nurse and I work VERY hard for each and every one of my patients, even the ones who verbally abuse me and in some cases physically hurt me. BUT this doesn't seem to be enough in todays hospital environments, especially MAGNET hospitals where paperwork and APPEARANCES are more important than REALITY.

Maybe I should say THANK YOU. Thank you for the compliment of thinking I am a super woman who can accomplish more in a 12 hour shift than most people could accomplish in a 40 hour work week. Thank you for thinking I can make every patient 100% happy and satisfied every hour of every shift. However, here is a newsflash for ya...I AM ALSO HUMAN.

I have HAD it being everyone's scapegoat and the go between for all doctors, case managers, dietary, respiratory therapists, and everyone else that unnecessarily puts the RN in the middle of crap then blames me the RN when ANYTHING doesn't go perfectly.

I have HAD it with finding mistakes made before I arrived and when trying to correct them, getting lectured for the mistake. HELLO, I did not make it, I am trying to make it better. And BTW, the nurse that did make the mistake, she is also HUMAN.

The faster I can get out of bedside nursing the better.

Oh and for anyone who is going to respond with a "Florence Nightingale" like comment, save it. I've HAD it.

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Specializes in Community.

Hi NightNurse,

I do hope you feel much better for your rant! I felt every word you said. I'm a community staff nurse in Scotland, but worked on the wards prior to doing this and can say it's no different over here. Sometimes nursing is the best thing you have ever done in your life and sometimes you wonder why you do it as it can be a thankless task.

I wish you all the very best in whatever you decide to do with your life. Just know that you are a marvellous person who is very much loved by your family and friends. There is life outside of nursing should you decide to escape from it altogether.

big hugs, Alayne xx

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