whontime

And most of us are somewhere in between. Most of the administrative staff have no idea what being a bedside nurse is like. They are there to implement policy and field complaints etc.. I won't claim to know all the points of their jobs either. However, I am an ER nurse with anywhere from 4-6 pt's at most times. I look at it this way..... I have multiple IV drips/meds going, IV/labs to get done, ekg's to do, suture carts to set up, ng tubes to put down etc... Nurses have all of the pt care to do which is going to trump the extra blankets, pillows, 3rd sandwich, taking pt's outside to smoke, letting their 4th family member back etc.. I am sorry, but that is just the way it is. I am the type of nurse that chooses to handle my pt's medical care and needs first, the other stuff isn't going to kill them, but not doing the medical interventions just might.

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I actually almost didn't post this because I didn't want to start any arguments on the forum with my views. I am just fed up with the whole system and I know that it clouds my views at times, but at this point I have a hard time thinking of one good thing about nursing. I see posts on here about how management is turning hospitals into hotels or doing this and that. I actually have no problem with that, but hire the appropriate staff. If you want someone to go around fluffing pillows and handing out blanket after blanket, sandwich after sandwich etc... then hire some staff specifically for that job. Nurses in general are BUSY doing nursing care and honestly don't have the time to do things like this all night long. Honestly, in the ER many of the pt's that I see are only there for a blanket/pillow (that they will soon steal upon discharge) and free sandwiches. I know that I shouldn't dislike them and I have no idea what happened to put them in that situation, but I just can't help but resent them. Pt's like this tend to be the most demanding and unappreciative and it burns me up. I am not and never will be a Florence Nightengale style nurse. I am here to care for pt's not do the job functions of 3-4 people. At this point being a nurse is a job for me and that's it. Management can take their precious Press Ganey and ram it up their "fabulous"..... well you know where I am going with that, lol.

I tend to agree with many of your comments. Some of the many reasons that I hate nursing are what you are describing. I hate having to play nurse, housekeeper, fix it person and unit secretary all at once. I took a job as a nurse, not jack of all trades. I also feel like nurses deserve a little bit of respect. People in general tend to be rude and unappreciative. Most nurses that I know do the best that they can with what they have to work with. On top of it all administration expects us to act like we are working at a 5 star hotel... Need your pillow fluffed? Would you like another 2mg of dilaudid for your chronic pain condition that we see you three times weekly for (and that you never follow up on)? Not to mention that we will be chastised for even considering rocking the boat in any way. I once worked a job where I was given a drug screen anytime that I said a remotely hostile word to a coworker (one because I told another nurse that I was pissed that she left a pt in the lobby with 3rd degree hand burns for 1.5 hours). I am sure that every job has it ups and down, but I am more miserable now than at any other point in my life from a career standpoint. All the long night with no breaks/lunch, constant high patient load and torturous pt's/coworkers have pushed me to the brink. It is back to school time for me at this point. I will encourage everyone that ever speaks to me about nursing school to investigate it very well before enrolling.

I have been wrestling with this for a long time now, but I think it is time for me to get out of nursing. I really hope that I will be able to escape this torturous career and get back into school. If only I knew then what I know now then I would never have entered nursing school to begin with. I know that many here are going to disagree with me and tell me that nursing is the most pure and rewarding job in existence, but I could not disagree more. Nursing as a whole is one of the worst careers out there in my opinion. Most of us are expected to provide pt care, clean the floor/unit, take out the trash, answer the phones along with doing anything else that pops up during our shifts. I am not one of the people that loves their job so much that I am willing to do these other chores with pleasure. I work ER and find that the majority of the pt's are rude and unappreciative for the care that we provide, not to mention drunk or doped out of their minds. I am just not sure what this world is coming to. People seem to be getting dumber by the minute. Every day I am amazed at the ever evolving stupidity of the people that I deal with on a daily basis. I personally hate going to work and hate the job that I have to perform. I have worked as a staff nurse and as a traveler and I find that the people are pretty much the same anywhere I go. I know that many people go into nursing for the exact reasons that I did..... Job stability along with the ability to work three days a week and make decent money, however it just isn't worth it. Perhaps if I get away from the bedside I will feel better, but I doubt it. Nursing along with anything to do with healthcare is the most backstabbing, stressful and unappreciated work that there is. Nobody ever wants to focus on the good we do, only the occasional mistake that someone makes, or they want to blame the nurses and doc's for whatever complaint that they are suffering from. Sorry about the long post and the ranting, but I feel like I just had to vent. Being a nurse isn't as great as it is made out to be in school. People can sugar coat it all they want, but real world bedside nursing is miserable.

3/10. I don't really enjoy nursing at all at this point. I have worked staff jobs and I have traveled. I can honestly say that I am ready to get back into school and at the very least get away from the bedside if not the entire field of nursing. I can understand that a lot of people do enjoy caring for their patient's, but I have a difficult time believing that anyone can enjoy the whole ball of wax that comes with being a nurse these days.