csw5048

I apologize if you feel my comment was "harsh". I did not intend to sound as if I was unfeeling or unsympathetic with what nurses today are expected to deal with.The "customer service" you describe is indeed above and beyond what should be expected of nurses, especially with the number of patients that we are assigned. What I was reading between the lines was the obvious burn out the original writer was expressing. My firm belief is that if the job you have is not bringing you satisfaction, then you should change it, for your own sanity and well being. I have been at the beside since 1968 and have seen bedside nursing change considerably. When I could no longer deal the "the administration" and changes, I changed jobs. I now work in Public Health and love it. The hours are better, the pay worse, and yes we are being asked to do more with less staff, but.... I am still doing nursing (although not bedside). And that was all I was suggesting, that if the pressure is too much, do yourself a favor and find something less stressful.

Sorry, but I am an old school nurse. The "customer service" that you described, backrubs, nourishments, etc, were what WE called nursing! Yes, nursing is much more high tech today and there are much fewer staff for the number of patients. But that doesn't mean our patients don't deserve the best care we can give them. ( I do agree that the homemade cookies are a little overboard). When you say you just want to "do your job and go home." I wonder what your job consists of in your opinion? Is it just giving meds and doing the assessments? Or does it include the moral support, education, encouragment of each patient. Sorry, but it seems to me that maybe a career change may be just what the doctor ordered for you. I am a firm believer that if you are not happy with what you are doing, find something to do that DOES make you happy. Good luck and God Bless!

I shudder when someone says they want to go into nursing for the financial benefits. Yes, nursing is a fairly secure profession, but nothing is a given. If the only reason you want to be a nurse is because you think you will be able to get a job in hard times, then it may not be the job for you. Nurses work long hours, nights, weekends and holidays. If you are a stay at home mom, you need to realize all the time you will give up with your family,if you go into nursing. Of course there are jobs in nursing that don't require shift, weekend or holiday work, but they usually are hard to get and they don't pay as well. I would suggest that you try working as an aide or volunteering to see if you like what you see. I believe that to be a GOOD nurse, you have to have the heart for it. I have worked with nurses that are just in it for the money and believe me, they are NOT GOOD nurses. They may have the knowledge they need, but not the heart. Sorry, I will get off my soapbox now:yeah:

Of Course I would work! But let's straighten out the scenario a bit first. I work in Public Health. After 9/11, the government gave out a lot of money to set up emergency preparedness plans in each state and county. I am the first to admit, that it did not work well during Hurricaine Katrina..... However that was not all due to poor planning, but stupid politics or should I say politicians! There was help waiting to be let into the city, but the mayor did not want to authorize it and the govenor did not want to step on any toes so HE did not authorize help either. Anyway a lot was learned from that fiasco. I know for a fact that in our county, we have an ample supply of PPE's because that is what we bought with some of the money and stockpiled it. We have a plan for dispensing antivirals, vaccine and PPE's, that includes making sure that the families of health care workers are amoung the first to receive vaccine (if available) or other prophylactic medications. The people that made the plans realize that nurses ( and ancillary support persons) will be concerned with the safety and health of their own families first. So that was written into the plan. While Public Health has been severely underpaid and understaffed, we continue to place the best interest of the community first. We all have our job to do in case of a Pandemic and we are willing to do it. I can only hope and pray that others will feel the same way.

Your right you will catch some flack, but not for the reasons you think. As a nurse that got my degree after I was 40 and have continued to work for the last 20 years I can tell you that older nurses can be a little more reliable than the younger ones. Why? We don't have young children at home anymore. That translates into fewer call in days because of sick kids, school closing and so on. I feel that 20 years of a reliable work history can be as good as 30 years when the first 10 are unreliable. NO BLAME.... just FACT!

Congratulations!!! Hope you love it as much as I have. I did it almost the same, except I still had 3 children at home and I worked part time. but I had my license 3 years to the day of starting my first class! (and I was 43) NEVER TOO OLD if you really want it!!

I went into the nursing program right after I turned 40. Fully a third of my class was also over 40. It was the best thing I ever did. I had worked as a nurses aid for 23 years making no money (but loving the work).

Yes, my grandmother was violenly allergic to most seafood. So much so that she ended up in the hospital just from washing dishes that had contained crab salad! What a great excuse for not having to wash dishes.

I had a pt. that was allergic to benadryl and epinepherine. I wonder what they take for other allergies.

Yes! Think PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING! In some states it requires a batchelor degree, some do not. Most also require at least one year of clinical experience. I have worked in Public Health for the last 11 years and have not had to clean 'poo' even once! Public Health does not always pay as much as hospitals, but the perks usually make up for it. Perks like; no weekends or major holidays, mostly all first shift, good health insurance and retirement. Because it is goverenment, some times you can transfer to other gov. jobs and keep your retirement. If you like to do health education, it is also a great job. When you work in a hospital, you usually have little time to actually do the teaching that we were told was a part of nursing. A PHN does a lot of education and I feel we really make a difference in the health of the county/city that we work in.

As someone that has worked in this field for almost 40 years, I can tell you that the more things change, the more they stay the same. When I first started in this field, I was a CNA ( not what they called us then). I worked in a hospital and did most of the butt wiping. I did that for 23 years in hospitals and nursing homes, and loved ever minute of it. When I finally got a chance to go back to school and get my RN, the hospitals were attempting to have only RN's. Again doing all the bedside as well as the skilled care. Now it is back the other way and trying to change again. As family of persons recently inthe hospital, I think that there is a great need for more CNA's to help with the routine care. Hospital patients today are much sicker than when I first started in this bussiness, and the nurses are completly overwhelmed. If there is not a family member in the room to help and advocate for the patient, well, the care is not going to get done. If I had not known what I know and been vocal about what my family member needed, I am not sure what the outcome would have been. Nursing has always been a passion with me and I have great respect for everyone that does some part of this job. Sometimes I just wish that it didn't ALWAYS come down to the almighty dollar! Sorry to ramble on. Thanks for letting me vent. God Bless ALL!!!