kentnurse97

Any education that you can get in Nurisng Education is never wasted. If you stay in Med Surge, then it is used with patient's. If you don't then maybe you could be responsible to train other nurses. Nursing is a mix of hours. It is tough if you want a life outside of Nursing. It is not conducive to family life, for the most part, and it limits church activities. Nursing is a calling. It is for me anyway, and I think back to the beginning of Nursing and we are so much better off than those nurses were during the Civil War, WWI and WWII. Back then, many were not allowed to be married, had no say about their hours and many times left loved ones behind to perform their nursing duties. Since you are young, maybe travel nursing would be more to your liking. See the world, travel, have short term contracts and enjoy yourself until you settle down. Be sure that you get or have health insurance wherever you work. Many times, your nursing friends would like to travel also and you could make a team of it. I would hate to see you leave Nursing! It is hard, difficult, challenging work, but so worth it. I hope you find your "home" in Nursing.

I am a med surge nurse, but I have done many kinds of nursing, SICU, IICU, Dialysis, prison nursing, Hospital nursing on a cardiac unit and personally, I believe we hone our skills better on a med surge floor. Time management, prioritizing, assessments and scheduling tasks seem to come together on a Medical Surgical floor. I think good nursing on the Medical Surgical floor, sometimes prevents a patient's from having to be transferred to a higher level of care. On the counterside of that, if the charge nurse is a trained med-surge nurse, she can sometimes stop patients, who require a higher level of care, from coming to the floor when they shouldn't be there. I am an older nurse and i try to assist new nurses to the Med Surge unit in any way that I can to develop skills, time management and prioritizing patient care with them. No one needs to feel like they are an island when it comes to Nursing! All nurses should be as concerned about a new Nurses development and assist in any way they can. The New Nurse must be amenable to that teaching and instruction. No one wants to make a new nurse feel "stupid" or under educated..we are there to help you develop into the best nurse you can be. Set your own standards high, then continue to elevate your own standards!

Yes! We do seem to be the scape goats for so many family members. The ones that I love are the ones who care for Mom or Pop at home, but when the brief needs changing, they call the nurse. I explain that this is the perfect time for me to watch them care for their loved one, and that I will be there to offer guidance should they need it. All the while explaining that this is part of my assessment before the patient is sent home, too make sure that the care is provided adequately. I never mind changing a diaper, in fact I tell them that I am the best butt washer the VA has, but it is my job to make sure they know how to do these things. I have been chewed out by family members but I sit back and let them chew me up one side and down the other, then I say excuse me, I have another patient to care for and I will be gone awhile because they don't have family to care for them. I know this sounds pathetic, but it is true. I also lost my twin sister three years in March and she was the only one who called me Sis. Recently, I had someone else to do that and it put me back for a minute, but I just took it as a "note" from my Sis that she was watching me. I would bet your Mother is very proud of you and what you have accomplished and please take reminders of her as being positive, especially in your work environment. I believe that those who have gone on before, visit us sometimes to give us reminders of their love.

I am with you on this one!! i hear the same thing where I work. Patient's say "the nurse" told me to do it, and when I explain that it was a CNA or a tech that said that, the patient says, "well it seemed like they know what they are doing". I have to explain that they are not permitted in their chart, except to chart vital signs, bed baths, etc. r/t their job and I, a Registered Nurse with 4 years of education, can review your chart, what the physicians document and therefore am the better one to ask questions of. That is why we have a white board in the patient's room with the NURSES name under nurse and the CNA's name under CNA. I once had a CNA offer a pitcher of water to a patient who was on a fluid restriction, with a sign at their door and above their bed. When asked of the patient why he had the water, his response was the "nurse" gave it to me. I don't know what to do, short of returning to the white uniform and the cap (which I always wear), but I continue to have problems with patients thinking the CNA's are the Nurse. We are stuck and it is a shame. There isn't enough recognition for Nurses as it is, but then to have the patients think that CNA or RT or PT or OT are Nurses, we will never get ahead. I am interested in suggestions too~

I sincerely feel your pain. I have been in positions that were far too demanding and required me to be on call 24/7 and had very little staffing. That is not the way it is everywhere, although, being short staffed is becoming the norm. I pray for all nurses to find their "home" in nursing. I am at home in the VA system and I work with a group of dedicated nurses. We are continually short staffed but we manage to pitch together to get things done. Baths are not done, but the critical work of Nursing is. Keep looking until you find your Home! As a Christian, I would encourage to seek God's plan for your life, this whole situation may just be a passing thing and will get better. We also have lost 6 new nurses on our unit, most because they thought they wouldn't have to work and soon became discouraged by the short staffing. I am not afraid of work, I work as many hours as I can, but then I am working in my "home" away from home. Please find that place for yourself and start to enjoy the wonderful profession of Nursing. My hat is off to you for going back to school and seeking your dream. I didn't get to be a Nurse until I was 48 and I am now in my 19th year. God bless you as you seek your opportunities.