sameyjaney

I have been working for a year now in med-surg and I must say I have grown to hate it. The team I work with is great. They are supportive. My manager is great. That is probably why I have lasted this long. I had a great orientation phase with support groups and everything. What would it take for me to "like" my job? Well, patients who are actively involved in their care and want to get better. I am sick of dealing with those patients who have every problem in the book and continue to engage in unhealthy habits. Everyone knows them...the COPD'r admitted with resp failure who spends 90% of their time smoking and the other 10% getting resp tx. The diabetic who the doctor has now ordered an insulin gtt for because they refuse to follow their diet. This is my biggest issue. Every day I leave work so unsatisfied. I feel like my interventions are pointless. Who cares if we start an insulin gtt and get their blood sugars down when they will just go right back up when they leave the hospital or for that matter go back down to the cafeteria. This is the reality of nursing that I was not prepared for. Every shift running your butt off to give that PRN IV dilaudid q hour when they have chronic back pain that they manage at home with vicodin q 6. Then the charting around these pointless tasks just adds to the frustration. I would love to work with patients who want to take an active role in their care. Patients who want to improve their health. Learn about their conditions and manage them to maximize their quality of life. Unfortunately, these patients are far and few between...

Ok so I have researched this subject on here and seen multiple people who are "unhappy" on nights. My question is what did you end up doing? Did you switch to days or stay on nights? And if you stayed on nights did your "problems" eventually cease? Here are some of the problems I am referring to that I have seen many people say they experience and I have been experiencing while on nights. 1. Sleeping away the day even on your days off. Or...not being able to switch back and fourth between nights and days so you are always on a night shift schedule. Like going to bed at 6 to 7am on your days off...waking up at 4pm. 2. Tummy troubles....nausea, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea. 3. Tired all the time. Basically feeling like a walking zombie unless its like 2 or 3am. Oh and if you stayed on nights...did you do something specific to work on these issues? For example...I have tried waking up "early" on my days off to reset myself back into day shift. But that leads to severe tummy issues and severe zombiness then I end up not being able to fall asleep until 7am anyway. I have also tried alternating my meals around. Increasing fiber, water. Or snacking rather than eating full meals. Eating more, eating less etc etc. These haven't worked yet. I'm really tempted to switch to days, but very intimidated by the shift itself. And, I LOVE my co-workers at night so of course I would miss them.

B.S.N

Because I am anal I kept both my anatomy and physiology books, my pathophysiology book, both my med-surg books and my drug book. That being said I have not opened one since I got hired!

Thank you all for your posts. All of you have different perspectives and it has really helped me to work through the situation. I appreciate all the advice each of you have given me. Now the most important step...applying what I have learned! Back to work tomorrow :)

Dave...THANK YOU. Those words are exactly what I needed. Coolpeach...Thank you. It is always nice to hear that someone at one time or another was in the same boat.

WorriedAbout2Morrow and ckh23. Thank you for your replies too! A confrontation is definitely not something I want to have. Which is mostly why I am hesitant to say anything at all. And probably why I'm asking you all so I can learn from this experience without having to have a full blown confrontation at the workplace. Killing her with kindness is simply out of the question (it hasn't worked thus far). I like the, "What crawled up your butt and died." Haha.

Thanks to both of you for your input. I hadn't really looked at it from a "bullying" perspective. But I see your point. I have had people take advantage of my soft personality in both my personal and professional life before. Your comment has helped me turn my focus toward myself and reflect on how I can change my own actions rather than stirring over some other person's actions of which I have no control. And thank you for telling me what you would have done in the same scenario. I honestly am really trying to learn what is ok to pass off onto the next shift and what really needs to be done. Sometimes I find myself running around like a mad person trying to get all these things done and my co-workers will stop me and say, "You don't have to finish everything, this is a 24hr operation and the next shift will pick up where you left off." Then I find myself in these situations and I am left wondering if I should have done more.

Are you sure this wasn't my family?? If I had a dime for every time my aunt told me, "Well I looked it up online and I know I have (insert: bizarre uncommon diagnosis), so I am going to treat myself with (insert: random homeopathic therapies that "anyone" can do at home).

How do you deal with the rude nurses you encounter at the work place? Usually I am fine and I just shrug off the occasional snide comment or eye roll. Most of the time I take it as an opportunity to learn because I understand that not all feedback is "constructive." But, it is only one particular person on my unit who engages in this unprofessional behavior. And, what really gets me is no one says anything to her. She was very disrespectful to me in front of a few other nurses at the nurse's station today. If I too engaged in unprofessional behavior like hers I would have stuck up for myself. However, I just can't get myself to engage in that kind of drama at work because I would feel unprofessional and usually don't have time. Other nurses give me a sympathetic smile, but no one says anything. I am really beginning to resent her. Not only resent her, but I fear giving shift report to her because I know she is going to have some rude comment about some aspect of my care (the IV fluids are less than ½ full, the chart is not in the pull down, I didn't choose her first to give report to so now she is waiting for me while I give report to someone else etc.) For example, today my patient died 5 minutes before change of shift. I got orders to release the body, called the family, fixed the pt up in bed and started the post-mortum paperwork. I am new and another nurse was helping me fill out the paper work. I did not call the donor line as change of shift was starting as I was doing the other tasks that needed to get done. I asked the nurse (who was helping me with the paperwork) if this was appropriate and let the charge know how far I had gotten on the paper work so she could alter assignments accordingly. I passed this pt off to the nurse as it was going to be one of her patients. It was not an extra pt for her. She had the same number as all others on the floor. She flipped when I told her I had not called the donor line. Rolled her eyes, stomped her feet, grunted and flew over to the desk. I followed and asked if she would like me to stay after to fill out the paper work for her and she shouted, "Just leave." I keep replaying the incident wondering what I could have done differently. I want to be on good terms with all who I work with, but I don't want to stick around after my shift has ended because I am scared of one nurse's temper. I know she had one task to do on this pt, but that was ALL she had to do. No VS, no assessment, no medications, no procedures, no orders etc. The family planned on staying for at least 3-4 hours (so no new admit coming). And, the caregivers take the body down to the morgue. Would you approach her next time and ask how I could have acted differently in the situation? Or would you let it go? I doubt myself in these situations sometimes wondering if I acted appropriately. Do you think I was wrong to pass it off to her? Any feedback is appreciated.

I speak english well and clear. However, when I mumble or talk to fast patients ask me to repeat what I said slower or louder etc etc. Why do patients and families not ask people with accents to do the same thing! I find it frustrating when I come into a patient's room and they say, "Yes, the doctor came by, but I couldn't understand a word they said because of their accent." Well then why don't you tell them that and have them repeat it. Then, if you still can't understand call someone else in who can "translate" for you. That's just my opinion.

I had a similar situation happen to me. She didn't even take time to check my references. She interviewed more people the following week and chose someone else. I was really hurt because I really liked the unit and thought the interview went well. When I spoke with her she said if I ever saw a position posted again I should apply because I "almost made it." I almost wish she wouldn't have said anything because that made it even more frustrating that I didn't get the position. Four months later I found another position at a different facility, but the same type of unit. And, of course I love that unit now. Keep your hopes up and keep looking! Don't let it get you down!

2 hrs

I was told they are sterile...not to swab

We had one nurse in his early 60's in my graduating class. He had a job within 3 months after graduation in 2010. I say if you have the drive, time, and money to invest in a new career then go for it. However, there is an excess of new grads in this country and it will most likely be a tough job search when you get done.

Ever thought of outpatient surgery centers? From what I hear...great hours (8-5), no on-call, low stress, increased independence, very strong sense of teamwork and collaboration etc etc.

I know! It is a method of test taking. Kaplan teaches you these kind of skills and I must admit these strategies will come very much in handy when taking the NCLEX.

Unless there are already multiple people on the scene that appear to have it "covered" I would stop. Not because I'm a nurse but because that's how I was raised. My Mother was always the kind of person who stopped to help. I can think of multiple circumstances. One time a car swerved off the side of the road at an exit. We stopped to see what was wrong and the man was having a heart attack. She was able to call and get an ambulance on the way. Another was driving home from the mountains. We saw a car slide off the road into a ditch. Only to find a women so drunk she could barely stay awake. I do not think she could have helped herself to safety. My Mom has no medical training, just a good heart and that has been enough to help in many different circumstances.

Props to you! I feel physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted right now. I work on a medical oncology floor, but had many patients with secondary psychiatric diagnoses this week. I do not know how you do it all the time, but you are amazing!! I am so thankful for you all!!

When I saw this it made me think of the "therapeutic communication" questions when studying for the NCLEX. A. Is confrontational and non-therapeutic B. You do not have enough evidence to know if this is correct. D. Is a non-therapeutic yes/no question that is also confrontational. C. Is therapeutic because it gives the patient information. Whether this information is correct, I have absolutely no idea.

I wonder if the radio personality who goes by "Big Boy" with cellulitis on his leg fits into this "sexy" category. :)

We had 3 pregnant ladies in our graduating class. They all waited until after their child was born to start their career. I would ask the manager if it is going to be a problem once you have the job offer.

I have a friend with sleeves who got a job very quickly right out of nursing school. I have co-workers on my unit with sleeves as well. However, they never show them at work. They always wear long sleeves. When I was hired I was told that showing tattoos was against the dress code policy and if I had any I should keep them covered.

Don't give up. It took me 7 months to find a job. Keep searching. Make personal contact when possible (ex. show up at Human Resources and ask to talk to nurse recruiter etc.). Mostly just be very persistent!! Good luck!!

Love um. Wear them every shift.