booter512

Maybe I'm just fortunate. I haven't seen racism in nursing since 1990. I am male, been in nursing since 1986, and have worked in 6 different hospitals. I went to nursing school in New Mexico, then moved to California. When I first started (on the west coast), I was precepted by a gay male, as well as when I 1st started in a CCU at the 2nd hospital I worked at. They were great guys, great nurses. Then, in 1990, my wife and I (she is also a nurse) moved east, way east, to Richmond, VA. At first, I thought they were still living the civil war. Having spent my nursing career out west, my peers were gay, Fillipino, black, Navajo, male, and 1 had even changed sexes. So, when I saw a white charge nurse put down a black nurse's practice in front of a patient, I was not only take back a little, but I corrected the charge nurse quoting from some recent studies I had read. Most of the nurses thought I was crazy to stand up to the charge nurse, especially since it was during my orientation to the hospital, but I developed friendships that lasted a long time. I haven't really seen racism in nursing since. Could be I was a minority too, never really noticed it. My last nurse manager was black, and we were best of friends too. I do feel bad for the author's experiences, and wonder what years those were. I've heard a couple of patients state they would rather not have a black nurse, but then again, I've heard more say they'd rather not have a male nurse. Sometimes its how you let the patient get to know you, as I can't think of any of those patients that didn't want me for their nurse the next night. I don't doubt the author's experiences, but I just haven't seen it in 30 years. The nursing field is so diverse, and most units need nurses so bad they don't have time or interest in trying to pick and choose nurses of the same color, religion of gender. After work, we all go to breakfast together, we schedule lunch outings together, and sometimes, have parties together (schedules permitting). I'm really sorry if nurses, in this day and age, still feel discriminated against. If you do, change hospitals if you can't change the culture. Many hospitals really want you, no matter what you look like.

What would I tell a new nurse? I'd be honest. 1st--nursing sucks right now. You have Covid-19 to worry about, you have PPE problems, you have staff shortages, and you have hospital systems who seem to only care about money. 2nd--you'll be asked to double chart, triple chart, get you work done with more patients, and told to get out on time. Some might even want you to work off the clock and make you feel guilty because you aren't getting your work done. So why go into nursing? Well, one, if you don't do it, who will. Patients need you. If you care about people, there is no more satisfying job than nursing. You help people through their worst of times. You become some of your patients' best friend, and they tell you things they'd never even tell a family member. Two, is a pretty good gig money-wise too, over the years. If you're not afraid to work, you can make 6 figures even in the lowest paid areas of the country. Three, you can work any where, from Maine or New York, to California or Hawaii, or about any place in between. Four, nursing needs you. Nursing needs to change. Nursing needs to be more efficient so that nurses can spend more time with patients. Nurses need to be strong enough to stand up to their bosses sometimes, and have their boss explain why something is right vs wrong. If "right" is because we've always done it that way, you have to be willing to say that's not good enough. We need to make it better. If enough nurses don't do this, more and more nurses will leave the field until most of the nurses will be caring for patients for the wrong reasons. I'm old enough to remember when charting changed from paper to computer. We were expected to do both, as some doctors were against changing to computer charting and order entry. I told my manager that I would only chart it once, so she could make the decision where she wanted it. Before long, medical records was taking over the alternate, double charting. I charted only once. Eventually, our entire unit was charting things only once. Let me say, we had a clinical ladder. I went to a Clin 4 (the highest our hospital's ladder went to). I got written up several times (at least 4), but all were for being a patient advocate. My evals were always very good, even with being written up. One manager told me that I could sure be a bear to work with (as a boss), but that whenever she came into the hospital as a patient, I was going to be her nurse. So, I guess what I'm saying is do the little extra things that make you a better nurse. Do inservices, go to special classes, become competent with IVs, catheters, etc. and share your skills. And do what's right. Do what you would want done if you were the patient. If you know you're right and the patient still wants something else, the patient just needs more education. It doesn't mean the patient is wrong--he/she just doesn't have enough information. 1) Nursing needs good nurses to improve the practice 2) Be a patient advocate 3) Keep your skills up 4) the future needs you

Dear Disappointed, First, as Beth mentioned, you probably are not staying on a unit for long enough to show your strengths or to get to know your patients' characteristics well enough. Second, not knowing how your hospital manages orientation, I think you may not be getting hooked up with right preceptor. I was a shift resource nurse on a neuro/stepdown unit, so I got to precept nearly all of the new nurses for at least part of their orientation when they came to night shift. I've precepted shy, overbearing, introverted, extroverted, new and experienced nurses. Each nurse brought their own strengths and weaknesses. My goal was to get them to take advantage of their strengths while improving on their weaknesses. Just reading your letter, it sounds as if you've had preceptors that instructed you, or at least pushed you, into doing things the way they did them. When I precepted, I generally allowed a new nurse to communicate with their patient the way they felt comfortable, but sometimes, before the nurse entered the room, we would go over each thing that needed to be addressed. I'd allow the nurse to even make a list if that was what was needed. I introduced them to nurses on other units, told them who they could go to if they needed specific things or help, and allowed them to do the most hands on clinical treatments that I could. Finally, try to think about introvert and extrovert in a little different way. I was an avid tennis player, so I watched tennis frequently. Have you ever heard of Jimmy Connors--one of the brashest, feisty, taunting players ever. I read that he was actually an introvert. I wondered how this could possibly be true. The author said that what makes him an introvert is that he draws his strength, his emotions, his passion, and his sheer determination from within. Extroverts draw energy from their surroundings, their peers, the situation, etc. Neither is better or worse than the other, but it's from where you get your drive. Who is harder on you? If you're an introvert, you're probably your own worst critic. But you need to be you own best motivator too. Instead of saying, "I'm not sure I can do this or that", say, "how can I do this or that better next time". Push yourself. Stay in a unit for at least a couple of years. Push yourself to better yourself, and to better those around you. You can do it. Give yourself a chance.

As a student, I have to admit, I got to deliver 2 babies. Anyway, I got to catch them as they came out. I got to do a few things with patients after they had their baby also. One older instructor almost always put me in the nursery. As a nurse, about the only time I have had a patient ask for a female nurse were elderly female patients that wanted a female nurse to take them to the toilet. Most got over it very quickly, and I'm guessing it was the way I approached them. I have never had a problem with a younger female patient requesting a female nurse. I think its also more a sign of the times. I've never worked L&D, and never really wanted to, so there were no hard feelings there. I was called to L&D once, but only to start an IV on a really tough stick. I've know a guy who worked L&D for 15 years before he came to my wife's ICU. He was well thought of, and became a manager of that unit after time. But, I have also worked in a teaching hospital. Unless they were private pay patients, the nurse would come into the room, tell the patient that since this is a teaching hospital, you will have a student nurse with you today. She/he will be monitored by their instructor and by the staff nurse assigned to you. If a non-paying, no private insurance patient said she didn't want a student, some nurses would give the patient a map to the private hospitals in the area, stating, "like I said, this is a teaching hospital. This is where nursing students and medical students learn to be nurses and doctors while they are closely supervised."

I worked on a Neuro/Tele Stepdown unit, and at night, we got 4 RNs for 20 patients. Yes, we were supposed to have an out-of-staffing resource nurse (me), but I was usually in staffing to as 1 of the 4 nurses. Yes, they tried to get us a tech, but often, one just wasn't available. They pulled our techs to sit most of the time, or there just weren't enough scheduled that day as the hospital hadn't hired enough. Even worse, sometimes we'd start with 12 or so patients, and get 8 admissions. If we didn't have 4 nurses and they couldn't get them, they'd cap us at 18 patients (6 for each nurse). The majority of our patients were stroke patients, 95% were on tele, many spent their entire night just trying to get out of bed. We didn't have a tech to sit with them as they had all been pulled to sit elsewhere. Then, they went and got rid of all the LPNs, and gave all the RNs 5 years to get their BS. Turnover soon approached 50%. How does this end? I retired. I have my thoughts though....

Working 8 hour shifts forces the hospital to staff 3-11 and 11-7, which I've always found difficult to fill those positions (3-11 moreso than 11-7). Of course, you could force people to rotate shifts, which makes daycare even more challenging. Also, studies have shown that almost twice the error rate for rotating shifts than for night shift (the 2nd highest). With this knowledge, I would think a hospital would open itself up to liability lawsuits simply by forcing rotating shift on to staff.

There's no law saying you have to stay as a NP if you liked the hospital nursing better. I know that here in Virginia, you could work as an NP and make about the same, but I think your cost of living would go way down. One of the nurses I worked with was an NP and also had a masters in Chemistry. She worked her 3 12-hour shifts on a unit that did all the heart caths, etc. 2nd job--well she flipped houses for her "fun" job.

Nurses are in such high demand nearly everywhere, I can't understand why a nurse would stay in an area where a 2-hour commute was necessary. Life is too short.

Having been a nurse for 30+ years, I do think there is some gender bias in health care, but not all of it a disadvantage for males. In nursing school, there was definitely gender bias. As with some of the other guys, I spent most of my time in the nursery. Of the 5 guys in my class, only 2 of us made it through, and both of our wives were nurses. The hospital I worked at was a Catholic hospital, and there were no males in L&D (or any part of the nursery, postpartum). They even advertised "an all female staff". Did I feel cheated? No. I think it was an unfair policy, but I never wanted to be an OB nurse anyway. I do feel that being a male in nursing allowed me to advance faster. I think that good male nurses develop a good reputation faster, and a bad (or mediocre) male nurse develops a poor reputation faster. And yes, I have had patients request a female nurse take them to the bathroom (almost exclusively women over the age of 70), but most were fine with me helping them half way through the shift. Do sicker patients really care less? Maybe. There sure are a lot more guys in ICUs and ERs percentage-wise than on any floor I've ever seen.

One of the best units I've ever worked was the CCU at the Univ of California, Davis. When Jim and I started there, we were the 1st nurses to start in that unit in 5 years. We were now staffed 40% male, 60% female (Well, 1 of the males used to be a female), but he was the darling of all the older nurses' hearts. We were all close, often went out and ate breakfast together, some of us socialize together. It was a great unit. Then I moved across the country to Virginia. My last job, I was a shift resource nurse (but in staffing), and the only male on my unit. I did 4 10-hr shifts--9P-7A. Other nurses would say, "I'm so glad you're here", "the place just takes on a calm when you're seen coming in". I had a great relation with most doctors of which many young nurses were half way afraid of. There needs to be a more even balance between men and women in my opinion. My wife works a Surg/Trauma ICU, and she said working with all the other nurses being male is when the shift goes smoothest. Her unit has about 30 men now.

Nursing Leadership (ANA, Magnet, NLN, etc) have always been nurses' worst enemies. When they pushed LPNs out of the hospitals and into clinics, it left us short staffed. Then, they pushed getting a BSN to continue as an RN in the hospital, and (at our hospital) gave everyone 5 years to have their BSN completed, or be terminated. Again, it left us even more short staffed. And, many excellent nurses were lost, making the shortage even worse. I worked at a hospital that had around a 50% turnover rate among bedside nurses. And Magnet was again bestowed upon them. What a joke. I worked Neuro/Stepdown my last 10 years, all on 7P-7A. Over that time, we got rid of the unit Secretary, the night time IT Support staff, had 1 or no Tech for 20 patients, and sitters needed in the hospital far outweighed the number available. For 20 patients, there were 4 nurses (including the charge nurse), 1 or no tech. Night shift did most of the admissions. I've seen 2 nurses, when given a person to precept, to also be in charge, and given 6 Neuro/Stepdown patients (5 was normal), call the house supervisor, clean her locker, hand the supervisor her keys, and walk out. Said she never accepted that load which she felt would be unfair to the patients and at least unfair to the orientee. Hospital CEOs talk a good talk, but I've rarely seen any action taken to resolve any of the problems.

Union hospitals usually offer good benefits, pay, etc., but that doesn't mean a right to work state is terrible. Unions set wages etc, whereas a right-to-work state hospital may do better. When my wife and I (both of us RNs) moved to Virginia, we were told that we would start as a Clinician I (1st year in the hosptial) and a Level X (X being the number of years you had been a nurse). We bargained between units and another hospital until we were both finally offered Clinician 3 Level X jobs, which meant we were part of the units leadership group which made clinical decision policy for the unit, and heard grievances. A friend from the hospital I was leaving gave me some great advice. He said, "Every hospital will tell you where you'll start and what you'll start at, but remember, all things are negotiable, even when they say they aren't. He was definitely right.

It seems most of those pushing 8 hr shifts are dayshift nurses. I worked night shift for 30 years, my wife for 34 years, all night shift, all 12-hr shifts. If any of the hospitals would have changed to 8-hr shifts, we would have moved to a different hospital. Plus, I've seen some part time 8-hr shift night shift nurses, and they do it because they feel it's physically easier on some units. At any hospital I've worked at, staffing the 3-11 shift would have been a nightmare. I have only met 1 nurse in 30 years of nursing that enjoyed that shift. I guess you could force people to work it, and see what your turnover rate did then.

You don't say whether you have kids or not. If not, this is what I would do: I would try to cut to part time, or just enough to have health insurance. If not possible, I'd quit and find another part time job. Then, I'd apply for every grant and scholarship available. I'd take out loans for the rest. Presumably, you'll graduate and pass your boards. Then, I'd apply for jobs that will pay off your loans. I'd look at jobs on reservations, in Alaska, etc. The Native American hospitals (last I checked) will pay up to $80,000 of your school loans off for a 3-5 year commitment. I did some of my student clinicals in Shiprock, NM. I had some truly wonderful experiences. Try to get your BSN. With government hospitals, your pay will be a lot more. If you are convinced that you can't move after becoming an RN, check with local hospitals. Also, make sure this is really what you want to do. Are you working day shift now? When you become an RN, you most likely will be working 12 hour nights. Is that ok? If you really want to be an RN, there are ways to do it. But think it through first.

If you do get your ADN, you are an RN. But, due to hospital wanting BSNs, you will probably need to get it within 5 years of starting at the hospital. Get your ADN, let the hospital pay for your BSN. If they won't, there are many that will.