any POSITIVE comments????

[healingtouchRN]

you Go gal! It does matter to you & to me too. I love to see people who have been around better themselves. The babies will appreciate it even though that can't say so yet!:kiss

[askater11]

Positive things--

If you are a "people Person" you'll be around a lot of people. Interacting with family, the patient, nurses, doctors and other hospital personal. I love interacting with people. You always find a person that's hard to deal with once and a while...but I love the challenge.

Every where I've worked there's been flexibility. You can work as much or as little as you'd like. I currently schedule myself for 4-12's a month...but inbetween that...I call the unit and see if they need help and I'll work that day. (now with the nursing shortage they need help a lot)

You get to make a difference in a patient/families life. Being hospitalized is a very traumatic time in peoples lives....you can make it more comforting by sharing your knowledge, kindness and reassurance.

If you get easily bored. Not in nursing. No two day's are the same!!!

I could go on but I have to get my son up.

[nimbex, RN]

In a 12 hr. shift, I've comforted a patient and his family through his death, while meds went unpassed, other patient has chest pain, rush him emergent for proceedure. Take 5 admitting calls for one future bed as I argue time for a family to grieve, as another has their family in the middle of a code on the floor, needing that bed.

I argue with administration for help as phones and the door are ringing along with patient call lights, being only a few hours in my shift, one nurse and secretary short.

new admit 88yrs. old arrives, stabalizes, extubates in the am and is neurologically intact,, while the 33 year old with 2 kids can only blink, post arrest, two beds down.

there are stressed and angry patients and families, lawyers vying for my lack of documentation at times like this, and an administration who thinks you can STILL do MORE with LESS.

I'm exhausted, having greived with a death, cried with a successful code, played secretary, de-escallated several angry families (left at least one laughing), talked to two feaful children, reasuring them that their mom was a fighter and needed them at the bedside, did poop patroll with my peers, baths, meds, patient teaching..... then found time to CYA in charting before clocking out.

You know what? THIS IS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE!!! It is every day that I clock in that is like this. It's nursing!

No other profession will have people allow a complete stranger into their lives at their worst time of crisis, to help them through....

this is being a nurse, you can't have the good, without the bad and it's worth it!

[neelyt]

Put it this way: Is there ANY other career in the world where you can (and do!) ask people "when was your last bowel movement?"

I Love this comment, nursedennie, Made me laugh. I thank you for that. To the originator of this thread, all I have to say is this. Many times in our lives we are nervous, afraid and have apprehensions about what is going to happen when start something new or go someplace different. This is human nature at its best, now we can let that take over and stop what we truly want to do in life and never really succeed at much or anything or reach our goals. So my advice is to drive on with your goals and be the best nurse out there. Just so you know someone else took this advice and hasn't given up on his dream of becoming a nurse for the past 8 years. He now has the opportunity to apply for nursing school in the next 7 months. I hope I get it. Signed //Stuck in Afghanistan//

[healingtouchRN]

we got 4 calls from the super last nite wanting a bed, every time I'd pre-program the name of the pt into the HP monitor, they'd call back & say the pt has gone to another floor....!!!!!!So we only got two admits last nite, had exactly enuff staff, & I actually sat down for 40 mintues in the middle of the nite to talk to my CA/UAP pt about life, love & dogs & stuff! She was a delite! To heck with charting when I could just listen to her battle with death, (she has a year to live 2 years ago!). Praise!:roll

[iliel]

Amie, You'll be suprised how fast a few years can go by when you're working towards a goal! I'm also 26 and just a few days ago I freaked out out time and waiting to get into a program, but I realized that no matter how long it takes me, I'm still gonna do this!

we'll get you through this, just take it one step at a time!

Iliel