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I so agree with you. I recently left nursing a few years before I should have. Young nurses do not care that you have worked 25 years. They want to be off every holiday, weekend and get the days off they want. They absolutely do not understand seniority. We are paid more and the sooner the hospitals get rid of us the better. It is very difficult to continue to work 12 hours shifts ( more like 14). There are no accommodations for senior nurses. I left because I thought I would be fired. Many of the older nurses have been.

If you are sick you are not guilty of anything. Take care of yourself. Call as soon as you can and then forget it.

A nurse may refuse to care for an Ebola-infected patient but should be prepared to accept the consequences including termination of employment. Having proper PPE and training is key. If there is not proper protective gear available and nurses are not trained, the hospital must not accept the patient. If your loved one had Ebola and was admitted to an unprepared hospital, would you want the staff to give their lives so your loved one could possibly live? It is a dilemma no matter how you look at it.

I am considering retiring, although I have not reached full retirement age. This is a very hard decision. I let myself get way too burned out and 2 months off has not helped at all. Anyone taken ss @ 63 years old? Did it work out ok? Or did you regret it?

I "retired" last week from ICU. I tried working in an assisted living facility but it just wasn't for me. There were many total care patients, I was unfamiliar with the meds and received little orientation. I am considering home health prn. My main worry is being asked to go into unsafe areas. How do you handle this? Do 2 nurses go together? Can you refuse?

Good point. The tatts and piercing could have been free and I didn't mean to offend. Typically when I see nice work I think it is expensive. It is good to know a different perspective. I am burned out and partly because of the entitlement mentality of many of our families. I just want to care for my patient.

OK, it was dense material compacted into a small space.

OK, but it was a dense material fitting into a small space.

Once I cared for a patient with a compaction. I could not find room to get enema tubing in so I had to dig. I started having dry heaves. The man's wife said to her husband " you are making this nurse sick. I f you don't get up and get on the pot I will give you an enema you will never forget." Another time @ lady had a nose full of dried boogers. My instructor told me to wet a q tip and dig them out. I started digging and began having dry heaves in the trash can. Now I hate the phrase "Can you dig it?"

I have to leave my critical care unit. I will tell you some reasons. I am a very "seasoned" nurse. I have applied 15 places and have not had success. I am having a great deal of difficulty caring for families instead of the patient. It seems that families need food, bus tickets, vouchers for fast food, coffee (free). So, after those needs are met they begin to complain that the food is not good. I just want to tell them to go away. It is not in the best interest of the patient to take my time finding free things for ungrateful families who have smart phones that are dirty and allow germs into the central line. I am tired of tattooed poor people with multiple piercings who have spent that money foolishly. What is wrong with this picture? The system is broken but does it have to be stupid? Several nurses have left this month from a teaching hospital. Is it like this everywhere? I need a job because my family needs health insurance. I don't want anything free. Our benefits have been cut. I am tired and have no tolerance.

Pray. Apply for jobs. Fly under the radar. Work as though it will be your last day.This is how I am currently surviving burn out!

There is no end to what people do to their bodies in the name of individuality even though they are following a group. When nurses split their tongues or have horn implants - I quit.

You are too funny!

I opened the plastic wall mounted container as though I were going to change the bag. The soap build up was brown and the actual soap is blue. The scum was especially bad @the spout.

Are you talking about parents staying in the room? I encourage mine to stay and comfort the baby. The baby is my focus. Can't change the parents habits or behavior but can encourage them to offer something to their baby.

Thank you so much! I have appliied for the first position and also asked to cut my hours back for now. I will keep applying. Maybe I can find something to look forward to going to.

Anyone heard of hospital soap dispensers housing bacteria? I am speaking about the refillable wall mounted kind that opens to insert the soap which is housed in a bottle or bag. When the wall mounted piece is opened to replace the soap there is soap scum build up especially close to the pump. Do you think the soap could be contaminated or do you think the hand washing rids the bacteria anyway. Hope this makes sense.

In my unit breast feeding is promoted. There are lactation specialists available to moms who need assistance. Formula is used when ebm is unavailable. Fortunately care partners work in the unit who are able to collect vital signs. The nurse is freed up to support the moms.The baby is always first. Nurses should support moms to breastfeed even if they disagree with it. If there is not time, notify the charge nurse or write an incident report stating you were too pushed for time to assist a mom. If entitlements are cut, there may be less formula distributed to families in need. So many good reasons to promote breast feeding!

Would you be co fortable saying something such as "The labs were not drawn as ordered and I will draw them now. I wish you would be more respectful in your future communications with me." I have also said " Gee. You seem to be in a mood this morning." The physician does not write your paycheck. Don't be afraid of her.

The unit in which I work invites the parents to stay the night at the bedside on a built in sofa/sleeper. In my opinion this is a nice service especially for families who live a distance. Many parents report having more stress when they are away from the bedside. The rooms have a toilet and there are male/female showers on the unit. The rooms are tight at times but I have learned to be quite a contortionist. Parents are encouraged to give as much care as possible. There are occasional family disturbances but no more than there were when rooming in was not offered. A light is necessary in order to assess the patient. This should be made clear to the family. All in all I think this is a good service to offer.

I am having anxiety the night before I go to work. I find it hard to fall asleep. I have brain fog the first 3 hours of the day. I have made a few mistakes. What is wrong with me? I am also burned out. I work in ICU. I want to quit but need to keep working. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thank you two. I have been on meds and have had psychotherapy since I was 31. I am glad you are getting help early. I think home health might be a good option. Phone triage is something I will check in to.

I have been a nurse for many years. I need to work 2 1/2 more years but am currently so unhappy in my unit. I have even considered requesting disability for longstanding depression. I do not want to be a drain on the system though. Has anyone in their 60's changed jobs so close to retirement? I just wonder what the chances are that I could move to an office job such as case management or utilization review. Maybe I would be happier. I am an ICU nurse with a BN degree.

First of all, accept yourself as an imperfect person. Anyone who points a finger at you is a bully. When we start out as new nurses we make mistakes. Sometimes you don't know that you can't handle an assignment until something bad happens. Any nurse who says he or she has never made a mistake that affected a patient is a liar. My first year as a nurse was a nightmare. I cried quite a bit. But, there is always the nurse who points a finger and say things like "you should have done this or that" Yes, there are nurses like this wherever you work. Just do your best. Realize nurses, doctors, RTs-we are all prone to mistakes and some mistakes may be very serious. Learn from what you do or don't do. I am now at the end of my career. You become stronger and smarter as you go. If you like nursing stay with it, grow and learn. If every nurse quit because he or she made a serious mistake, there would be more of a shortage than we currently have. Forgive yourself and find a better place to work.

Kudos to the person who captured this moment in time! It made me laugh because now the public can see what nurses put up with. We have committees that look at how morale can be increased! Duh. How about quit insulting our intelligence.