kitkat55

i suffer from depression...had a horrendous marriage...and being out of that...it is now my own profession exacerbates it...feel free to p.m. me any time...it's been a long battle....

i for one, am not coping well...i have fibromyalgia...accompanied by chronic depression....i wouldn'r rule out ptsd although it has not officially diagnosed...i worked mental health for yeasrs and i know all of what you are supposed to know about mental illness but being on the other side of the coin is a rough thing...i also work in hospice...and i don't believe that has done any good for my depression...i love the hospice philosophy...i love my patients....i am well versed in hospice and find comfort in giving others comfort as their loved one passes through the final stages...but the intense hours they ask....if i could work 40 hours that would be fine...but iam salaried....and they ask more and more so that overtime need not be paid to hourly part timers...if i didn't need the insurance...i would be part time and it would be wonderful....i love the jobs....its the management demands i can't handle....

i'm there... i could have never imagined what it is really like...i am so disconnected from everything...questioning why i want to stay...with the way nurses are treated...more demands...how can i possibly make the correct, patient-focused, appropriate decision for your loved one when i have been a road warrior for 24 hours straight?....it is their expectation...and will occur once a week until further notice - related to "short staffing"...and i can't maintain their 24 hour shift (12 is about my max for being able to function)... so i'm gone...just like that... like so many others before me who disappear...and just where does that patient load go? to the ALREADY SHORTSTAFFED, OVERSTRESSED CO-WORKERS...ok...so its not against the law in the state i'm in to work ANYONE 24 hours straight.....how many people have actually work 24 hours...you?...you over there? what about the management making these decisions? some might...there are good managers but...give them the same hours...they can't handle it either... hands up! those who agree that i am burned out....but....I AM A GOOD NURSE...i am a good nurse...I AM A VERY GOOD NURSE!...i am getting older...been a nurse nearly 26 years.... **OUCH**...sorry guys....i've seen these hours burn out the eager newcomers as well....suggestions anyone?