monicanurse

I do regret it at times. I hate several things about it: doctors that are complete jerks to you just because they feel entitiled to. You have nurses that will want to know most of your business , women are just noisy as hell. Dont wait for anyone to back you up on anything. Nurses will backstab you at the drop of a hat. Over the years, the one thing Ive seen is there is a lack of respect for nurses and it is growing; Ive seen a lack of professionalism in the profession in general. You will work immensely hard for your money...and the money in my opinion is average but not great if you consider the stress, fatigue after work. If you still want to help people, there are other avenues ....speech therapy, occupational therapy , physical therapy. I agree with the poster that you should volunteer at a hospital and try to become friends with nurses. Ask them for advice. You will get mixed reactions. At the end of the day, know what you are getting into.. Do your homework. I wish I had.

I have been in a similar situation until now. I finally found something else and it is great. You have to be persistent and start looking now. Anything nearby that you can think of. Think outside the box too. Some of the best nursing jobs are not in LTC or hospitals. You are right. Life is too short to be miserable every day. It carries over to your home life as well. It is truly not worth it. We didnt become nurses to be abused and overworked but to help those that cant be helped. It sounds to me , your manager needs to do the quitting first! You are worth much more than that. Just make sure you have a back up before you quit since right now , you do have a paycheck and want to keep the paycheck coming. As far the husband, he is just being practical. I think if he knows you have something lined up, it will ease his concern.

I have been in healthcare for 7 years and Im already tired and burned out. I have the same conflict you do. I have a good heart and want to help but it is almost impossible to deliver good care in the way they structure things for nurses in the hospital. I am stepping away from the hospital and moving into working as an occupational nurse for a large fortune 500 company. I am so much happier in this environment. What is good about nursing, even in this rough economy, is that you can absolutely change where you work , your role, ect. to suit your values and needs. Just be patient. Dont be restricted to the hospital walls. If you do choose to work there, arm yourself with patience, acceptance and flexibility. I agree with the above poster, dont be the "grumpy" nurse. That never helps. Even though Ive been sick and tired of policies , regulations, back stabbing, Ive never let that show at work. Ive always just taken action for myself. Griping doesnt do much good.

Ive never done charge on this floor but I really thought I was being taken advantage of. I think being in charge though is not the easiest job but I also agree with the above opinions that sometimes you have to use those legs that god gave you to take an admit if it relieves the other nurse from taking all of them because she has the empty rooms.

Hi all, I was at work the other day ( and I havent been working there for very long) and I had gotten one new admit . 20 minutes later , I get a call from the charge nurse saying "you are getting another admit." I asked her if any of the other nurses had gotten admits and her answers was "you have all the empty rooms." In my opinion , this is a crazy way of doing admissions. One of the other nurses only had 4 patients. She could have taken the admit so I spoke up and finally she gave it to her. I find this a little ridiculous that one person gets stuck with all the admits. What are some ways your hospital unit does "fair" admits? Is there such a thing anymore?

You are probably in the wrong branch of nursing. Have you considered ICU? You can actually think more with ICU nursing versus just "doing" ...if that makes any sense. The patient load is less....but it is still stressful. I would make a list of what your ideal job qualities would be and then try to find areas of nursing that meet at least 1/2 of your list (being realistic).

I would be very interested in knowing what has worked in other units as far as teamwork improvement and overall nurse morale ....something that I think is so hard to do these days because of the extra work that every nurse is asked to carry around with them throughout the day....please share some good feedback on what has worked in your particular unit. Thanks!

Trusting another coworker to take care of your patients is not something some nurses are willing to risk. Half the time, if they said they will take care of it, it means that they will only go to that room if called. What if one of the patients is a high fall risk and they fall because that nurse is not looking out for "your patients" Unfortunately, in nursing, we have established a culture of "that is not my patient" , that is not my assigment , therefore I am not going to answer the call light, I wont help that patient. That is up to the nurse assigned to that patient. Until we dont foster a different culture , Im afraid most nurses will take on this attitude. Sometimes I dont feel comfortable taking a break because Im afraid I'll miss something because the other nurse ultimately does not care that much about my assignment, and only "her patients"

When Im in a situation like this, I always ask myself....what will happen to my license if I take this patient on and the rest of my patients? what is the chance of me doing something that will put my care at jeorpardy of losing my licence? Im not surprised they were mad at you. Its a shame that you get this kind of treatment when they are nurses themselves and should understand this. They should be commending you for wanting to be a safe nurse. Did they not think of that? In this case, it is what the masses do that can put you in trouble. I applaud you for standing up to your conviction. IT takes bravery to say no....funny thing is ....you have every right to! There is so much unsafe assignments that nurses accept these days...it boggles my mind. I have had better responses when Ive stood up for myself. That, plus alot more respect from fellow nurses. Some have been irritated....but so what??? They wont be defending you the day you lose your license.

RNperdiem: To answer your question, Im applying for a job right now that I have a high chance of getting. Yet, Im smart about that kind of thing. .I wont quit this job until I have my job secured at another place. I have savings for at least 6 months.

What absolutely irritates me is when you work in a unit that has a staffing crisis, where everyone is stressed, yet the nurse after you expects you to get everything done perfectly! Sometimes I work without a nursing assistant, yet I hear the night shift always complains about this and that. You are so right! Helping eachother would reduce the stress by so much! You wouldnt be stressed at the end of your shift to remember everything. I know by the end of 12 hours.....I forget things! it is called being human.

Do I have to put this Job on my resume? Im not planning on even putting it on my resume since it wouldnt be beneficial to list an employer where I had such a short placement.

Hi all, I started a job almost 3 months ago. I interviewed initially and was told almost every lie in the book to get me in. Now, after seeing how things are, I truly know I dont want to work there and dont see myself being there for more than a few months. I know most people hack it out for a year. I just dont see the point of this . Being miserable for another year doesnt appeal to me. Im honest with myself and I want to work and enjoy my job. Im having anxiety though about talking to my supervisor. How is the best way to break things to her while still showing some respect for the opportunity given to me? I thought of giving 30 day notice instead of two weeks, that way she would have enough time to look for someone else. Any suggestions? Ive never had to do this before. I feel horrible with the situation but I just know this is not the place for me.

I dont think anyone on this board can adequately judge your marriage except for you....so maybe airing things out here is not the best idea. Sounds like you need to just vent, which is fine, but dont replace the advice here for sound advice. The only advice is what you are telling yourself about your situation. As far as school, Im also in NP school with a very supportive husband. If he wasnt supportive about me, i wouldnt have ever married him. I dont see myself with a partner who doesnt support my goals and dreams. My own definition of a good relationship is one in which you personally shine to your best ability because of what the other person brings to you. Again, that is just my own experience though. I also support his goals and we both work and we play hard. Life is too short to not follow your dreams.

I would hate to think Im spending all this money on NP school to be making what Im making now as an RN in the near future. Yet, I did not get into NP school for the money but more for the role it allows me to play. I guess in a weird way, it might attract people that truly are doing it for the right reasons instead of just money. Food for thought? ( this is assuming the overall reimbursement for services will go down and salaries will decrease as well)