Mandylou

This may not be helpful to you but I really needed to read your post. I haven't been a nurse long, only two years but I am at a breaking point. Reading your post reminds me what nursing is all about. Please don't say you are not cut out for the job because you are. You are exactly the kind of nurse I would want to take care of my family member. I feel like I have lost a lot of sympathy and that is a shame. I am tired of taking care of the clock watchers who want drugs and don't need them, the demanding family members, and rude patients. The fact that you don't feel that way is commendable. Hang in there, take a little break if you can. I have a vacation coming up and I am looking forward to it. Take care.

nothing

This kind of stuff makes me bone weary and zaps my patience. Walking out of the room one time I heard, "Waitress!" Sigh, I responded with a yes sir. He was older maybe he was a little confused or maybe not. Sometimes it depends on the patient or family member how eager I am to run fetch hot water, or a blanket. There are times when a family member will stay with a demented or really sick loved one. I feel like I can go out of my way for them. It is the snotty teenager's friends that are rude and demanding that make me angry.

It is okay! Nursing school builds a foundation. Working on the floor as a nurse gives you experience and real life lessons. There were procedures, surgeries, and concepts that I had no clue about until I started working. Here I will embarrass myself a little and give you an example. When I first graduated I had a dialysis patient that had gone to dialysis that day ( I worked night shift) in talking to another nurse I was very concerned that the patient had zero urine output! They never told us in school that some dialysis patients don't void at all. When I stopped to think about it it made sense but it caught me off guard at first. I realized after that there were so many real life things that we never touched in school. Best of luck, it will be fine. :)

Formaldehyde, and no she did not work in a funeral home! She worked in some type of factory that used it in their manufacturing process.

sorry to wake you up.... ....thanks, now you can go back to sleep. Just wanted to make sure you were there. Can I have a massage? Can I get your phone number?

The note-taker: From the second you walk in the room they have pen and paper in hand. They start with your name and then demand to know every little thing you are doing so they can write it in the "NOTEBOOK." Heaven forbid you do something that the nurse before you didn't do because then the notebook is consulted and items are cross referenced and thrown in your face. Another lengthy discussion must follow. Adding insult to injury and sucking out your last drop of patience they ask you to slow down because they can't write as fast as you are talking.

I do the same thing! I switch back and forth until one hand feels more comfortable. I do this with IV starts (usually pick my right hand), most procedures, even bowling! I also felt like a weirdo especially when people are watching. I usually tell people when I am starting their IV right handed, "Would it bother you to know I am left handed?" I usually get a laugh and distract them for a sec. When I write my name on the dry erase board I often get the comment, "Oh no, a lefty!"

Oh my, the last two days at work I have caught two nurses pushing it without diluting! Of course there was damage to the veins! I am still livid. Time for some major educating.

The previous poster has excellent tips, try to follow them. The only thing I would add would be to try melatonin. I have not used it myself but have talked to many nurses who have. I know you said you didn't want drugs but this may not fall in that category depending on how you feel.

Just remember that everyone has bad nights. So when you encounter one don't let it get you down. Don't think that you are a horrible nurse. Keep your chin up and remember it won't last forever. The next shift will be better. With every night on your own you add more experience and more confidence to your belt. Best of luck.

I had a dream about my great grandfather the day before my son passed away. I hadn't dreamed about him in a long time. I remember him sitting in one of his old cars and he was talking to me. I remember the conversation being very comforting. I look back on that dream and like to think that it was a preparation of sorts and a pledge that my son would not be alone.

Probably already been said by other night-shifters but I do call doctors. Often doing chart checks I discover meds that have not been given or labs not called and I call in the middle of the night to get chewed out from things missed by dayshift. I am not saying we don't miss things on nights but the majority of the time docs aren't cheery when you wake them. That doesn't mean that I don't have a responsibility to call. I try not to leave things for dayshift but honestly in the last 15-40 minutes before I leave we are swamped by docs coming in to write orders. We go from 0 to 15 charts with orders in that time. Of course it would help to explain that there are usually 3 rn's that have to give report one at a time and we can't leave until we are all done. Our lpn's usually leave while we are still reporting. So it does get tricky. Do what you can but don't feel bad if it doesn't all get done. Every nurse has to pass along things once in a while. :)

There are no other licensed personal in the office. The case managers work with the doctors to coordinate health care, usually it is mental health issues that are faced. The nurses say it is illegal for them to give the meds. I looked up the state practice act but can't find anything. Currently, the pts have to bring their meds down and take them in front of unlicensed people on duty. thanks for the replies this far. :)

Yes, I meant administer meds. The nurses do not work in a hospital, they work in an office. They counsel pts, coordinate health care, and so on.