mn nurse

Nobody can deny there has been a decline in the quality of nursing care patients receive as a result of higher patient/nurse ratios. Are we angry and frustrated? Yes. Are we overworked? Yes. Underpaid? Some days, it sure feels that way! I do feel the need to respond to the previous post, which states "the nurses that are staying around usually have very poor attitudes and don't really care about the patients, only the paychecks". That is certainly NOT true in my case! If I didn't care about the patients, I wouldn't be so frustrated. In fact, I wouldn't still be in nursing, because there are certainly easier ways to bring home a paycheck! (Better hours, too!) I feel this is true of 99% of my colleagues, too. I would go so far as to say the only ones left in nursing are the people who are extremely devoted to the patients. Everybody else bailed out.

There are always people who are stuck in negativity...the ones who stand around complaining about how they can't get their work done when they could be using their complaining time to actually do their work...the ones who scare nursing students out of the profession, and then wonder why they're short-staffed...There are always people who WANT to be the victim, and lay the blame on someone else. Ignore them and do what you want to do! We need YOU more than we need them! Nursing really does give you the chance to make a difference in people's lives. If you're politically active, you can make a difference in Nursing as a whole. It offers great flexibility in terms of location, schedule, and areas of specialty and/or interest, and, although you probably won't get rich, it pays far better than lots of other jobs. Yes, Nursing today is in flux, and there are things that need to be improved, but that's true of any other industry. The key is to stay focused on opportunities for improvement and take action, rather than wallow in self pity and bring everyone else down!

Congratulations on your new career! I'd be concerned about a new grad (ANY new grad) working alone for two reasons. The first is that you just haven't had time to develop the assessment skills you need. Much of being able to know how serious a situation is, let alone knowing what to do about it, just comes from experience. Second, you will be responsible for supervising unlicensed personnel. I have worked with some excellent CNAs who required very little direction. I've also had some who'll give you a real run for your money! That takes a fair amount of assertiveness and confidence to deal with - again, harder (usually) for an inexperienced nurse. Whatever you decide to do, good luck, and welcome to Nursing! [This message has been edited by mn nurse (edited November 21, 1999).]