"Hospital Nursing is soooo Easy!!"

jessica.lanelle · Oct 14, 2010

I worked at a hospital for six years before taking the job I have now, at a clinic. Working in a clinic, to me, is like floating on a happy cloud of easiness compared to the hospital. That was truly backbreaking work. I would not expect someone that has never done that sort of work to understand the complexity of floor nursing, but to me, working in a clinic is a complete and total breeze!

OutlawNurse86, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2010

When I first read the title of this thread, the immediate thought that popped into my mind was something I shouldn't say here...but the 1st part of the word was "bull".

Fiona59 · Oct 14, 2010

I've done both.

The clinic has regular hours but some patients that are just as hard to deal with as hospital patients and their families.

In the great scheme of the universe, the clinic is easier. Less chance of a physical injury, the chance not to go home covered in a bodily fluid increases in a clinic.

Both involve good time management skills, but there is really more "down" time in a clinic.

LTC is back breaking and depending on what service you work, the hospital will wear you down.

Why do you think there are so few "mature" nurses on the unit floors?

mustlovepoodles, RN · Oct 14, 2010

I've done both and I think both jobs are hard in their own way. I was a NICU nurse for several years, so there was no heavy lifting, but a lot of heavy emotional stuff and busy all the time. We had to be on point all the time. I was in a Family Practice office for about a year and we saw about 200 patients/day. We. Never. Stopped. There were the same emotional issues, especially when someone got bad news or we got backed up. There was some heavy lifting. But mostly it was very fast paced and the doctors expected us to anticipate their every need, to keep things going. Between the patient care, talking with pharmacists & hospitals, and calling patients back, it was just about a 10hr job.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2010

I probably should not say what I really think.

Sl1011 · Oct 14, 2010

I probably should not say what I really think.

I think you should say :) I've never worked at a hospital... so I can't really say, but I do know how I feel from what I did in clinicals and in preceptorship.

himilayaneyes · Oct 14, 2010

For someone to think that working in an office is easier than working in a hospital is just ridiculous. I guess it's hard for the general public to understand what it is we really do in the hospital. I guess you don't know what it is til you do it yourself. No offense to staff in md offices...but how often do they code patients. How often do they watch a young woman in her prime die while staff is pumping on her chest as you stare at her gunshot wound to the head before they finally call it quits while her brother lies dead in the next room after shooting her and killing himself....like I did today in the trauma bay. So next time they suggest that hospital nursing is easy...suggest they go work per-diem in a hospital if it's so easy. They need some education. I've never worked in a md office so I can't say personally. I know they don't seem that stressed when I go for my appointments although they seemed ****** when you ask them a question about your plan of care for some reason. I won't say that working in md office is an easy job, but I will say that I don't think it compares to working in a hospital or a snf.

Sl1011 · Oct 14, 2010

I've done both and I think both jobs are hard in their own way. I was a NICU nurse for several years, so there was no heavy lifting, but a lot of heavy emotional stuff and busy all the time. We had to be on point all the time. I was in a Family Practice office for about a year and we saw about 200 patients/day. We. Never. Stopped. There were the same emotional issues, especially when someone got bad news or we got backed up. There was some heavy lifting. But mostly it was very fast paced and the doctors expected us to anticipate their every need, to keep things going. Between the patient care, talking with pharmacists & hospitals, and calling patients back, it was just about a 10hr job.

Yes!! And that's one of the reasons I do not want to work there anymore. I thought the hours would be better, but actually they aren't TOO much better. And you really do have to anticipate their every need... I've definitely noticed this from only working there for a month!

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 14, 2010

For someone to think that working in an office is easier than working in a hospital is just ridiculous. I guess it's hard for the general public to understand what it is we really do in the hospital. I guess you don't know what it is til you do it yourself. No offense to staff in md offices...but how often do they code patients. How often do they watch a young woman in her prime die while staff is pumping on her chest as you stare at her gunshot wound to the head before they finally call it quits while her brother lies dead in the next room after shooting her and killing himself....like I did today in the trauma bay. So next time they suggest that hospital nursing is easy...suggest they go work per-diem in a hospital if it's so easy. They need some education. I've never worked in a md office so I can't say personally. I know they don't seem that stressed when I go for my appointments although they seemed ****** when you ask them a question about your plan of care for some reason. I won't say that working in md office is an easy job, but I will say that I don't think it compares to working in a hospital or a snf.

Oh honey. I am heartbroken for you. That must have been so hard. I have been in your shoes, and there is NOTHING that takes away that kind of heartbreak. It is a hard battle to save one like that, and even more difficult when everything is done and you are staring at all of the mess on the floor wondering what you could have done differently. You have my heart on this one.

jjjoy, LPN · Oct 14, 2010

I can imagine MD offices trying to squeeze impossible demands from it's nursing staff. And so I wouldn't generalize that office nursing jobs are necessarily "easy". And some hospital nursing jobs out there might be relatively easy (I don't know of any but maybe a small, private, well-funded facility with low nurse-to-patient ratios that sends out anyone complex?). But to generalize that hospital nursing "is sooo easy"... well, you just know they don't know what they're talking about!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Oct 14, 2010

I don't think there are ANY nursing jobs that are 'easy'. It's all stressful in its own way, even the happier specialty areas like LDRP and childrens' clinics.

For me, Med/Surg was worse than LTC by a country mile. Other nurses think the reverse is true. I don't know about working in a doctor's office because I've never done it, but I'm sure it has some exceedingly stressful days, especially when there's a flu clinic or an epidemic of some sort going around.

But when it comes to nursing jobs in general, I look at it like this: As long as the decent days outnumber the sucky ones, you have a good job and should do your very best to hang onto it. I learned this the hard way a few years back, when I gave up a job I loved because I didn't like the politics at the administrative level; as if to show me how stupid I was, God saw to it that my next job was a nightmare (albeit short-lived, as I stayed only three months). The only good days I had at that place were when the executive director wasn't there and I could actually do my own work instead of hers (and everyone else's).

Which brings me to this conclusion: Once the decent-to-sucky ratio heads in the opposite direction and stays that way, however, it's time to look for another position. No job is worth losing sleep, becoming anxious or depressed, eating or drinking too much, or neglecting one's family and friends!