"I would help you out with a job if I could.."

[littlekaneRN]

-------- A Short Rant --------

Hello everyone,

First off, I am a new RN (been working for about 2 1/2 months) in a dermatology practice. I'm one of seven other nurses that work under two MD's.

Anyway, today while in a room with a pt (who is an RN) the doc was telling me what kind of supplies he would need me to get to set up for a procedure we were doing. So the pt asks me if I'm new and I tell her yes and tell her how long I've been there. She asked when I graduated, I told her last May. She then asks me, "didn't you want to start in a hospital?" And the answer was yes, I did want to work in a hospital first and tried to find a job in acute care for three months before a friend (also an RN at the practice) recommended me for the position. I am actually very happy in my position, all the nurses/receptionists/docs are great and I have no complaints. So I told her all that and she says to me, "gosh I wish I could help you out with a job if I could" - HELLO? I HAVE ONE! That I like, that I've said that I enjoy doing! She also then asked me I had found any job prospects in the hospital for work.. I just smile and say "Well, thank you".

I felt like this patient and many other people have made me feel like I am less of a nurse because I work in an office, especially an office in dermatology, rather than acute care. I get that the acuity is not there and we do not handle the same things as other nurses in the hospital/nursing homes/rehabs and so on, but I am still a nurse!

Office-setting nurses or nurses in other roles, have you ever felt this way?

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I work private duty. A lot of people, including other nurses, see me as a glorified babysitter. I don't mind; I got paid to hang out at a campground. I got paid to hang out at Starbucks for 30 minutes when we arrived early for my client's program. I get paid to walk around the neighborhood. If my client is asleep, I get paid to read or watch movies. If it had fallen during my shift, I would've been paid to go to the fair.

[newtress, LPN]

Just wanted to thank you GitanoRN for mentioning us Southern Nurses! I'm a Louisiana nurse and if I want somebody to know I'm just fine doing what I do I tell them "I'm happier than a june bug on a moonpie."

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

We all know PACU nurses are the coolest. :flamesonb

I have the utmost respect for all nurses who do their jobs well. There are a lot of different roles that need to be filled. From NICU to geriatrics, and level one trauma center to the tiniest CAH. Honestly, I have even more respect for the people who do a good job at the stuff I'd rather not ever do.

Um, you must have missed the memo. Acute care Peds nurses are the best.

Honestly, I love all nurses! The ones that work with me, and the ones who work around me, and the ones that are doing the work that I could never do!!! I have a friend in an ICU setting, always talking about her codes and adrenaline rushes and just listening to her gives me hives. LOL!!! The best place to be is the place that you feel you FIT with.

Congrats on finding a job and kicking butt at it!

[DixieRedHead, ASN, RN]

I think you are looking at it all the wrong way. At the end of the day, it's a job.

You go, you put in your time, you do the very best that you can do, you get your money.

You provide for yourself, and your family.

That alone is noble enough.

I have done long years in the ER. I am now ADON in LTC.

Guess what, at the end of the day, it's a job.

If you look down on me, you are looking at a debt free, no mortgage LTC nurse who is not bothered one whit what you think.

[Teresag_CNS]

With all due respect, I think you are looking at it the wrong way.

At the end of the day, I am both an advocate for people who are trying to get health care within a broken system, a politically aware voter who cares about how legislation affects my role and public health, and a representative of our profession.

That's a whole lot more than a job, and I, too, have a paid-for house and car. To say that a paycheck is everything is to demean our profession. Perhaps you should reconsider your career goals; you may be burned out.