Actually, this whole thread makes me mad. Not at you, OP, or at the responders, but just at the fact we nurses accept impossible workloads as normal, then blame ourselves for not being able to do the impossible.
And this isn’t just *one* day, but *every* day!
I mean, if OP were in a war zone, or a mass casualty situation, then yes, expect to run your butt off. But in normal circumstances, to accept this overwork as normal?
I can’t say how many times I’ve tried to explain a typical nurse’s workload to a non-nurse, only to have them either disbelieve me (thinking I’m exaggerating) or ask “why do you put up with that? I would *never*put up with that.”
And they don’t. Other professions expect and get their breaks and lunches and bathroom trips, and not as something they’re grateful for, but as something normal people are *entitled* to, and not even remarkable.
Sorry for rant. No I’m not.
