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This will continue to happen as long as there are nurses like you and I. Nurses that can't leave work related issues at work(just like some can't leave home related issues at home) we take things home with us. It does not get any better I did the venting for 15 years and my husband finally said quit. This was hurting me phisically and mentally. It was affecting him as well because he wanted to help so much but couldn't. I till this day believe that nursing is not for everyone. It takes some of us a little longer to figure this out. I was friends with nurses that put everything that happen to them aside and were able to continue to do nursing as though nothing had happened. Some nurses can deal with whatever comes their way and have learned to accept whatever they see wrong to be right. Frankly some have no choice they are the bread winners for their family and have chosen this field for better or worse. I have quit and I'm doing something else other than nursing. My health depended on it and no not every field is as stressfull as nursing. Some nurses are in a fight in my state to be able to retire if possible at 50. The so call shortage may make this a bit difficult. The sick want to get better and the residents need special care there is just time to do the work you have been trained to do and to do it in the best way possible. To administration it is a bussiness and it most be run well. If this can't be accomplish no one wants to hear that. The administration will tell you this is why there are so many fields out there choose the one you are able to be comfortable with. They are right. We cannot help others until we help ourselves(seek the help of any assistance you can get from the facility to help with your problem perhaps write letters to those that you feel are responsible use up facility resourses that help with employees concerns. This may help but then again may not. When we are at work we hear many nurses say I work my hours and don't take this home with me. The problem is that most of us do. Those that don't God bless them they dont know how lucky they are and how lucky their patients and residents are.They are in a field that was created for them. Nursing is hard those that stand the test survive and retire in the field. No one loves a quitter yet at times quitting is not an option but a need. My husband was and is a good listerner and has been for over 30 years and I learned to listen when he said QUIT. Allnurses.com gives us nurses a chance to answer to one another. Although we may not always agree one thing is for sure most of us can relate to each others problems one way or the other.

Patient load is rediculous and unsafe this is is true and still there is nothing being done about this. Why should one nurse have to take care of so many residents. The facility where I was working not only wanted meds to be administered on such a short time (In my state these hours were made up by the education dept)but also to do wound care during the med pass(infection control issue) Meds were to be placed on one cup at a time and make sure you don't mix certain meds when you are ready to crush them,stay with the resident until meds are taken, take pulse and BP prior to meds. Pick up meds ordered by MD(via phone) stay with residents during lunch, hand out passes to the residents family, translate if you know another language, 24hr report and nurses notes. Perhaps all correct procedures yet do the morans at the Ed dept ,joint commission , state board of health and the facility ever stop to think how much this puts pressure on the nurses. There is no shortage of nurses just that nurses are looking for something else to do to save them from becoming insane. I wrote to the state board of nursing who has seen this go on and lets it go on. As per the union they just care about dues not nurses. This short period of time to do everything under the sun is why nurses make so many mistakes and dearly pay for it. This is why some nurses that will tell you they have finish their med pass in such a short period of time are not being true to themselves and very unfair to the resident. I remember going into a room with another nurse and the resident stated" you did not give me my meds yesterday". I could have done it in 1 hour(one supervisor stated I have nurses that complete the med pass in 1 hour) but then I would not be fair to all residents. I would even have to make complains about the roach invasion, on lack of cups and spoons for residents use, lack of chairs in the facility's nurses station(nurses notes were done standing up most of the time) Do we really have time for our residents? Is this quality care? Will nursing homes be a thing of the pass for some when family members that love these residents smarten up and hire a VNS to take care of them at them at home.I have taken the liberty to write to all this state depts and organizations they should have been nurses in SNF prior to making up all these rules. The sad part is some worked as nurses yet how quickly they forget. when time is limited safety becomes an issue. A mistake on a resident this resident can be you or I If we don't change this situation. To the nurse from SNF think about what you really want to do while you have all this time in your hands. I truly think nursing needs to change we need to all get involve and stop accepting what's wrong for right. A nursing home is not a bad place to work it is just the people that are running it that need to change their attitudes and learn to appreciate their nurses by just accepting that they are human beings not punching bags. A message to the state begin to consider your nurses or else pretty soon you will have none then you will really have a nursing shortage.

I think at times it is great that CNA's,PCA's and Med Techs help us with our load as they become our assistants and help create a team. I think if the state allows a procedure to be done by a CNA ,PCAor Med tech that then is up to the state . I began working in an ambulatory Dept. and back then there were many nurses in the floor today that same dept is getting rid of LPN'S and RN's and replacing them with PCA'S . The nursing staff(No LPN's at all) is much smaller.The LPN's have been sent up to the nursing home and the RN's are less everyday they too are being sent to the nursing home.Many end up resigning. PCA's are practically doing a nurses job and when anyone nurse says anything administration will tell you they are under the supervision of the M.D. Is there a shortage of nurses or are other health care staff taking our jobs. It is funny in our faciity the PCA's wear white and it has been very difficult for administration to change the color of the uniform. The patient's go around calling the PCA's nurses and the PCA's will not make the correction. I think PCA's are a great part of the team yet they should not be allowed to take the place of a nurse.This is a city facility. They will brag as to the amount of nursing home jobs they have available but dont ask them for amb.care they will tell you they have none available. The idea is tons of PCA's and 1 nurse available in the building.

Many times I think that our nursing jobs do bring in stress yet I strongly believe that the most stress comes from having to be around our fellow workers who just can't leave their personal problems at home. I call it being around a disfunctional family. If the people that work with us took care of their problems at home(if you bring to work a bad problem from home it will affect your job and those who come in contact with you including your patient) patient care would not be suffering as much as it is. We need to focus on doing our job well to the best of our abilities and as a team. All this pulling of hairs and writing each other up can only create an environment that only trouble makers are comfortable in. When someone gets written up let it be for the right reasons. I also think that if someone has time to go around looking at someone else for faults then they must not be putting in their share of work which in turn makes someone else work harder(too busy with someone else business that the next shift had to pick up the slack). Take an activity after work if you have got all this energy in other words get a life.

I think you that you enjoy nursing but as you stated the stress is the part you had difficulty with. I think there will always be some form of stress when it comes to working in the health field.I worked in an ambulatory setting as well as a nursing home setting. I truly don't know how I survived. Nursing is very stressfull. Many people can do nursing but the field is not for everyone. There are plenty of nursing home jobs but not to many are ambulatory. If you want to go back and try nursing again then do so. What have you got to loose but remember stress will be there it is just a question Will I be able to handle it and give the quality care that patients deserve. Regardless. Please do yourself a favor stay away from city agencies because most of the time chances are they are short staffed and in this situation you will find stress I guarantee it. Post your resume ASAP and Good Luck the second time around.