Realities of stress and dissatisfaction in nursing.

adamRn79, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

It's all relative of course. I had a job that was 80 hrs a week Monday-Sunday, paid only for 40 since I was salaried.

Now as a nurse, my job is better, I get paid every second I work, I'm paid better (sorta).

Most of in nursing enjoy the patient care and the stress that comes with trying to not make mistakes and care for patients is fine. It's the BS that we have to put up with from other departments (pharm, phleb, PT). Seems no other department is ultimately responsible for their portion, it all falls back on us.

Them there is the awful families (maybe 15%).

Them theirs management and hospital admin cutting corners to save money ie; blending units to save money, not scheduling aides for night shift.

Ella26, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2014

I did not like my other jobs before I became a nurse. That was because I knew this was just a job and not my career. I like my job as a nurse, but I think that is because I work at a clinic. I do not think I would like my job if I worked in Long Term Care or the Hospital (mostly due to the hours and patient loads). However, I have not actually worked in a hospital or LTC as a nurse. But I do not want to leave the clinic setting that I like to find out that I really do not like the hospital or LTC. I think a nurse has to find their happy niche. There may be some nurses out there that should be in a different niche of nursing but stay because of the wrong reasons -like the pay. I know I would get paid more in the hospital, but I don't want the added stress. So I choose to work in a less stressful setting for lower pay, but I actually like my job. I do not want to offend any bedside nurses but, most of the time when I see posts about people unhappy or say they are leaving nursing all together it is usually because they are at the bedside or hospital. Hospital nursing and LTC nursing is really tough because they are usually overworked and do not have enough staff to patient ratios. But that is just my observations and opinion. OP I think you are doing a great job trying to research things before fully committing to being a nurse.

napalmer927 · Jan 19, 2014

The worst parts are not being able to find/get help when you need it, and when things are out of stock or you can't find them. I waste so much time walking around and looking for people or supplies. But it's not really that bad because if you have to stay later to chart, you still get paid for it. And I can't imagine doing anything else.

anon456, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

Some people are cut out for office work. Some are cut out for putting things together with their hands. Some like to farm, garden, etc. And then there are nurses. :-)

It's a combination of using your brains, your heart, and your body/hands. It can be extremely stressful at times and the most rewarding job in the world at other times. (Sometimes on the same shift.) You get abused by the patients and you also get blessed by them. It's high liability. It's really unlike any other job in the world.

I sometimes dread going in, wondering if I am going to inherit a trainwreck from the previous shift. But I look forward to seeing my co-workers, learning about new health related things, and on a good night I really love my job.

I have a decent salary-- not like a CEO or laywer but decent. I know I am needed. I can pick up extra shifts when I need to pay a bill. I get paid overtime if I do overtime (unlike my salaried husband who often brings work home). I know my job will always be in demand.

I used to have an office job and I earned the same amount (10 years prior) but it was also stressful, deadlines, office politics, and then layoffs.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

For me, the most stress comes with making sure my patients are safe and that nothing happens on my watch. Just like being a pilot or a surgeon, mistakes are just not acceptable in this field, which if you think about it, is almost an unrealistic expectation of humans. The constant worry to not make a mistake is always there, and occasionally for me, the long hours and being on call overnight can be a lot. I am an acute dialysis nurse. I think that sometimes we can forget that we have great benefits and decent pay. It can be very taxing emotionally/mentally to see young people suffering or families watching loved one going down the drain slowly and painfully. I love my job, but i have days where it's just so emotionally overwhelming to think about what people are going through, I'm still learning to leave work at work and separate my feelings. Of course there is a lot of estrogen floating around in a hospital, and that can be a bit dramatic. If you get enough women together, drama will happen. That's another reason I like my specialty. I work autonomously and with a better balance of men, women, ages, and cultures. I think you will enjoy nursing, you will just have to find ways to deal with the literal REALITY check that comes with caring for the sick and dying.

guest64485 · Jan 20, 2014

Many, many nurses are doing nursing as a second career, including myself. You'll find pros and cons in every job such as bad coworkers/bosses, dealing with angry people, scheduling issues, etc. One of the largest, if not the largest problem with nursing is unreasonable nurse to patient ratios, to the point where it can be unsafe. But one of the great things about nursing is the variety of fields one can be a nurse in. Stressers may change dramatically based upon employment setting or from one company to the next.

You just have to find out what field/area you love, and then go from there till you find a place of employment which meets most of your desires. These will go far to make that job's stress tolerable.

HappyWife77, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

There are ups and downs with any job. I truely love nursing, I think that helps with the downs. You probably will appreciate the professional arena of work in nursing...compared to what you described. :yes:

Best Wishes!

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

The way you describe "life on the outside," makes me tickled pink to be a nurse! Are you in Birmingham, Alabama? If so, be sure to get your BSN or you might have trouble getting a job. I don't live there, but do know that most of the hospitals there expect that. Good luck to you, dear.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

I love being a nurse! Actually right now I'm working because I want to--part time. My husband makes well into 6 figures, and we have five kids so life would certainly be less complicated if I stayed home. But I absolutely love my work. Nursing is so much a part of who I am, not just what I do.

Is it stressful at times? Of course. We deal with life-and-death situations. Physically it can be demanding...although I've never been cut, crushed, or burnt. The bottom line is a reality and can hinder what we would do in a perfect world; we are a resource that can be stretched thin.

Sometimes it can be heartbreaking. I once had a middle-aged man throw himself sobbing into my arms when the dr. told him his 27 y/o daughter was brain dead. Young children with a parent in the hospital, terminally injured or ill. 22 y/o critically ill woman, pregnant, delivered her baby at 23 wks...on ventilator and only able to move one arm, would lie there pounding her fist on the bed and crying.

But we also see people who you wonder...how on earth can they survive this? and then they do. We get to help them recover. We advocate for them. We help make them comfortable. We get to be the good hands they're in, so that their family can get some sleep.

TU RN, DNP, CRNA · Jan 20, 2014

I used to do waterproofing with my dad before and during college for some extra money. Busting up concrete, digging trenches, hauling rocks/dirt/debris through tight quarters, putting in pumps, etc. Sometimes when I'm having a tough shift I truly wish that I could just do that for the same pay as a nurse. Waterproofing is back-breaking labor, but it's straight-forward and for the most you can do it on autopilot while listening to your iPod.

Nursing requires 110% of your self for all 12-13 hours. Depending on where you work you don't just push meds then sit down and gossip - it can very well mean moving back and forth, thinking things out, and making decisions. And when you're not doing that, you're compensating for the complete lack of urgency of every other department in the hospital (pharmacy, lab, equipment-storage, dietary, blood bank, et cetera). Others don't see the patient for half a day at a time, so why should they give a damn about the quality of their work? "The nurse will figure it out." At your previous job you might have seen, at the end of the day, the product of your labor. At the end of a nursing shift, the patient you tirelessly poured effort into all night might be worse off simply because that's the nature of their disease pathophysiology at that time.

whichone'spink, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

I started in the ER, which many nurses see as desirable over other areas. I found it hard but was willing to hang on, thinking it would get better. As the months dragged on, I didn't feel any more confident in the ER and I was dissatisfied with how things were done. Namely scheduling and my desired shift. I wanted to be on the night shift, but I was always placed on the evening shift. But I wanted to hang on for a year before deciding if I wanted to stay or transfer. I didn't get that chance. I was put in a situation that I never got any training for during orientation and someone complained about me. Shortly after that I was kicked out of the ER and sent to a med surg floor. If this situation had happened to another new grad, they would not have been fired or shunted off to a s***ty floor. Why did they decide to do this to me.

The med surg floor I am on is awful. Every shift I go to this job, I wonder how am I going to get screwed over today. Will I have a high acuity load, which is usually yes, will I have demented patients trying to climb out of bed on either ends of the hall, how many isolation patients will I have (once, I had 3 isolation patients in my 5 patient load), will I be mandatoried for 16 hours (a frequent occurrence on my floor), leaving my two little dogs to fend for themselves for so long? I get very anxious before each shift on that floor. But, while working on this floor, I got a job on the cardiac floor at another hospital, and the experience has been different in a positive way. Yeah, sometimes I get tough assignments, but there is also more teamwork. There is also self scheduling, so I can choose whatever shifts I want instead of deciding my life based on a schedule set for me. I want to go to graduate schedule, and at the first job, I can't do jack squat because I never know what my schedule will be.

So in summary, scheduling, short staffing, crazy assignments and poor treatment by employers are major reasons for dissatisfaction in nursing.

Realities of stress and dissatisfaction in nursing.

Your career as a nurse is.....