When I was in nursing school, I was so excited to get finished and get a job. I thought I would enjoy doing nursing tasks all day...meds, IVs, injections, dressing changes, catheters, charting. I was so proud to tell people I was becoming a nurse. I would be making all of this good money. My job would be exciting all day long. I would be helping people. I would get respect...
But 5 years later, ha! What a joke! Don't get me wrong. I am grateful to have a degree. I am grateful to have a job in this bad economy, but nursing sure turned out to be a disappointment. I never thought that I would be worked to death the way nurses are. I never thought I would be talked to like a dog the way I am by patients, their families, people from other departments, and some doctors. I never thought bosses would be so quick to stab you in the back and try to get you in trouble. I thought I would be a valued employee and appreciated for what I did because I am a nurse who truly has a heart, cares about my patients, likes to get along well with others, and work as a team.
Instead, as a nurse you are treated like a peon. You have a team of 6-8 patients and are running like a mad woman to take care of all of them properly while your boss sits on her butt looking for any one tiny thing you might miss (while not offering to lift a finger to help you). Families sit in the room watching you like a hawk assuming you are going to hurt their family member. Griping because you have to turn people with skin issues or check for incontinence. Griping because you have to change an IV. The other day I had a family member sitting there watching me like a hawk as I had to change the patient's IV. Mind you the patient was an obese lady with huge arms and had had to have deep lines in the past. She said to me very rudely, "You get ONE stick, then somebody else is gonna do it." Then proceeded to stand and watch me with her arms folded across her chest. Excuse me, since when does the family dictate my job? That really burnt me up. Fortunately I got her IV on the first stick, but I have to take crap like that from people or I would probably be written up by my manager. I never thought nursing would be like this. When I visited people in the hospital before I was a nurse I had respect for the medical staff and would never dream of talking to them the way I am talked to.
You are blamed for everything. Doctor comes in late today? Nurse is yelled at about it by family. Doctor changes a medicine and doesn't tell the family about it? Nurse is grilled about it. Lab wakes you up early for blood draw? Nurse is yelled at about it. Doc orders stat MRI at 5 pm on a Friday? Nurse is yelled at about it by Radiology. Assistant doesn't check patient for incontinence while nurse is trying to start an IV in another room? Nurse is yelled at about it by family. Medicine is late from pharmacy? Nurse is yelled at about it. Dietary doesn't send up a food tray for a patient? Nurse is yelled at about it. We can do nothing right. It has really been disheartening. We go into nursing to help people and instead are treated like crap. I can honestly say that nursing is the job I have felt I have been the least respected in of all the jobs I have ever had. It has just been very disappointing. Maybe I am just venting because I have had a bad week, but just wondering if anyone else has felt this way? I WANT to like nursing because I spent all of this time getting this degree and getting licensed but wow.
I work in LTC, new nurse, approx.8 months. I also was shocked by the work load and lack of gratitude. The work is extremely demanding and the pay is not what I expected either. I do look for and enjoy the few compliments from residents and families and keep telling myself that there is a facet of nursing that is suited just for me, after a years experience I just have to find it. My advice would be to try to focus on the excellent care you give your patients and look for a position that will better suite you. Home health care? God bless!
Unfortunately, aggravations are apart of any job, but I agree with you. I've been a nurse for a bit of time now and it is a hard job! Currently working a sub-acute unit at LTC facility with the usual IVs, colostomies, fxs, post-surgs, wounds, etc..and have around 22 patients and 2 CNAs to supervise. It would be nice to get some respect from managment as well as more help, but I don't see that in the future!
Your right on the money. I feel the same way you do, but have to say there are other nursing jobs out there that are not as bad. That is the reason I left the hospital and will probably never go back to working in one.
I retired from nursing a few years ago, and I have to say that I agree with everything you said. Nursing does, indeed, suck. I realized this in the last year of nursing school, but I felt I had already invested so much, I couldn't afford to get out. That being said, I would suggest that you try to find your "niche", or an area that you really enjoy. You may need to take some extra CE to qualify you for some other area. Sounds like you need to get out of floor nursing.
Remember, there are few perfect jobs out there, but maybe you could find something that you enjoy which would help you take the bitter with the sweet. You are not alone in the way you feel.
Specializes in Med/surg, ER/ED,rehab ,nursing home.
I was slugged in the jaw and head by a naked middle aged man and I HAD TO HAVE THE PEE TEST. I guess because we know what the patient was receiving. This patient was not confused, just out looking for something to eat he said. BTW he had been going into other patients rooms on a regular basis. On camera, but still it was difficult to keep him in his room.
The work is hard. No one to vent to when **** hits the fan. No one to help out. I have had supervisor RNs that could not hack the work load that I did daily. Give them one or two patients, they may survive. But give me 6 or more and I am expected to do it all. As for CNAs some work their butts off, and others just look for ways to get out of doing anything. They figure that the RN is paid more so we should do their work too.
It is so pleasant to see that I am not the only one feeling this way . Even when I try to keep my smile, my good temper there is always something coming up. when you metionned the bosses sitting on their butt and watching every single things you could miss to back stab you I can't agree more to that statement. I now understand and it is sad why I saw so many nurses that became cold or should I say emotionless to any critics or remarks. I tried that and felt like I would not feel ok. The stress in nursing, is by far the worst I've ever had in any jobs I had in the past. Being treated like a piece of s**t is a regular thing and don't you dare being choqued or upset about it. I always laugh when I hear a patient who scream at you : "I am paying your salary !!" "If I was not here you would not have a job" or for example having my nurse manager coming to me after three years working at the same place and I always signed with my first name and title; asked them from the beginning if that would be an issue and they confirmed me three years ago that it wouldn't. Today she decided to attack me on that, (one in how many thousands stupid attacks or backstabing)staing that it is unacceptable and that I should change that immediately because it was brought to her attention!!!!!! please give me a break. I always feel disgusted when I go to work, I kind of not love my profession anymore, or should I say that I hate the people in my profession that makes it so painfull for nothing most of the time!! I do it yes for my patients because if it was not for them and their recognition of my hard work every days I would have drop this "slavery" a while ago. .
Nursing had to be created for people like RAMBO or Terminator I think so yes nurses are tough, mostly mentally but did they taught us that at school? of course not!
Keep up my dear as we are a lot that are frustrated but again, if we are still in this profession it's because we love it. Being scared of someone's else or frustrated by someone or something else will just affect you and your patient. I give you a big :redbeathe because we all deserve and need it once in awhile. If every nurses were into solidarity, I am pretty sure it would have been easier for nurses but hey, nothing is easy in this life so hang in there as we all need you, me and every nurses already in the profession. You are doing the right thing by looking somewhere else even though I do believe that it is almost the same thing everything; the grass is not greener on the neighbor side unfortunately.
I understand exactly how u feel. I have felt that from the time i started 3 yrs ago. Since then every day i have to go to work i pray for jesus/god to help me get through. I feel i am stressed have anxiety all the time. Knowing that my job is on the line every minute. Nurses are over worked. I have tried different areas of nursing and seems that its always something else wrong whether its not enough staff RN/LPN CNA or secretaries or even getting the proper training by preceptors because they are also so busy or in a mood. People getting frustrated and not to mention the new computer charting which seems to take twice as long and more time from patients. Some computer charting at hospitals are more user friendly then others. I am the type of nurse to want to do the best i can and give that high quality nursing care. I guess that is why i love the Magnets hospitals. A very different environment. Then again u still have the people who look for the negative, seem to make judgement or screw someone instead of helping or understanding. Patients and family members who want instant service and are always on the call lights every 10 minutes even though you do ur best to give them what they need. They dont understand that other patients need care too even though u tell them u have to check on other patients calling or to even get your job done. You try to be nice and give them what they need and u still get screwed somehow or compained about. Only if they walked in our shoes for and hour. the nurse to patient ratio needs to change. and more staff provided. But that also a money issue. But we are still expected to do it all. I have thought many times about changing my career that i truely love. The only problem is having another career with less pay and being able to live and pay bills and worrying about job security. Thats why it is so important to be a member of organizations for nurses and having a say and getting our issues resolved thru congress. Come on with out us there would be no runnning hospitals/facilities. So step up and take a stand fight for change if u really want to work as a nurse cause no one else will.
If is called due diligence. You evidently did not do any research on the career before jumping in. Over worked and/or very long hours is the number one response.
When I was in nursing school, I was so excited to get finished and get a job. I thought I would enjoy doing nursing tasks all day...meds, IVs, injections, dressing changes, catheters, charting. I was so proud to tell people I was becoming a nurse. I would be making all of this good money. My job would be exciting all day long. I would be helping people. I would get respect...
But 5 years later, ha! What a joke! Don't get me wrong. I am grateful to have a degree. I am grateful to have a job in this bad economy, but nursing sure turned out to be a disappointment. I never thought that I would be worked to death the way nurses are. I never thought I would be talked to like a dog the way I am by patients, their families, people from other departments, and some doctors. I never thought bosses would be so quick to stab you in the back and try to get you in trouble. I thought I would be a valued employee and appreciated for what I did because I am a nurse who truly has a heart, cares about my patients, likes to get along well with others, and work as a team.
Instead, as a nurse you are treated like a peon. You have a team of 6-8 patients and are running like a mad woman to take care of all of them properly while your boss sits on her butt looking for any one tiny thing you might miss (while not offering to lift a finger to help you). Families sit in the room watching you like a hawk assuming you are going to hurt their family member. Griping because you have to turn people with skin issues or check for incontinence. Griping because you have to change an IV. The other day I had a family member sitting there watching me like a hawk as I had to change the patient's IV. Mind you the patient was an obese lady with huge arms and had had to have deep lines in the past. She said to me very rudely, "You get ONE stick, then somebody else is gonna do it." Then proceeded to stand and watch me with her arms folded across her chest. Excuse me, since when does the family dictate my job? That really burnt me up. Fortunately I got her IV on the first stick, but I have to take crap like that from people or I would probably be written up by my manager. I never thought nursing would be like this. When I visited people in the hospital before I was a nurse I had respect for the medical staff and would never dream of talking to them the way I am talked to.
You are blamed for everything. Doctor comes in late today? Nurse is yelled at about it by family. Doctor changes a medicine and doesn't tell the family about it? Nurse is grilled about it. Lab wakes you up early for blood draw? Nurse is yelled at about it. Doc orders stat MRI at 5 pm on a Friday? Nurse is yelled at about it by Radiology. Assistant doesn't check patient for incontinence while nurse is trying to start an IV in another room? Nurse is yelled at about it by family. Medicine is late from pharmacy? Nurse is yelled at about it. Dietary doesn't send up a food tray for a patient? Nurse is yelled at about it. We can do nothing right. It has really been disheartening. We go into nursing to help people and instead are treated like crap. I can honestly say that nursing is the job I have felt I have been the least respected in of all the jobs I have ever had. It has just been very disappointing. Maybe I am just venting because I have had a bad week, but just wondering if anyone else has felt this way? I WANT to like nursing because I spent all of this time getting this degree and getting licensed but wow.
You maybe venting because you might have had a bad week. But, in short, all of your observations and experiences are valid. I have been a nurse for 18 years and have experienced most if not all of what you have. Most nurses are not willing to be honest and speak the truth of how we are treated because if you do people do not believe it and do not want to hear that from a nurse. I am flexible, a team player, care about patients and their families and make every attempt to diffuse hostile family or medical staff situations and all it has ever gotten me was burned out at the 7 year mark of my career. I stayed in too long(17 years) before making a change. I would never advice anyone to go into nursing. I regret it myself--it has stolen a huge part of my life, made me sick, adrenal fatigue, depressed, and feeling like I had wasted my life on this degree. I have removed myself from nursing and have chosen to really really really downsize my life(buget) and do without things so that I don't have to go back.
I have my life back for 3 years now and am very well. The thought of going back into nursing scares me tremendously so that I get heart palpatations when I toss the idea in my head from time to time.
Specializes in Nursing burnout retreat CE teacher, etc..
Unfortunately, in today's "healthcare" compromised world, families may also be watching their family member (patient) like a hawk because they feel they really have to. As a home health nurse (7 years) I heard way too many true stories about unprofessional and actually, dangerous, care experienced by people in the hospital. You might try complimenting the family for being such a good advocate for their family member. Ask the family and the patient how you can make them feel more secure while you are in the room. Then realistically let them know what and how you are able to meet their requests. Acknowledge their frustrations and fears without adding to them. Always talk to the patient first, as the patient is THE person you need to have the best communication with. Tell them what and how you are going to do what you have to do.
It is very hard to set aside your own personal needs while being a nurse. Even though it may be true that you are understaffed, overworked, under appreciated, or not supported by other staff members....you are still able to go home at the end of the day and the patient is not. Nursing is a supreme service, and in this time of scarier medical issues, and less time for comfort measures for patients (nurses don't have the time to really listen to patients like we used to do when we gave bed baths in the old days), people are on edge for all sorts of reasons.
Many nurses come into the room with chips on their shoulders, or battle wounds, from what has just happened with their previous patients. It is really not up to the patient to make the nurse feel better, and most barely have the energy to deal with what is going on in their lives. They have a huge level of fear and vulnerability which can bring out the worst in them. This does not excuse rudeness or the increased level of "entitlement disease" that is expressed by both patients and family members, but it does explain the context of how they behave.
There is no easy solution to your situation. Nursing is a very, very hard job. Period. And the behavior of fellow nurses and management doesn't help with the situation most of the time.
I offer the four agreements (from the book of the same name) as a plan for you.
Any business is only as good as it's CEO. With that in mind, I have to point the finger here at management. Do you have staff meetings that you can voice your opinion to or can you go to speak to a supervisor above your ward manager? Any good manager would recognize that an unhappy staff member is counterproductive. Several unhappy staff members is disasterous. Also, consider a change of venue. I work casual at two long term care facilities and at one there are numerous signs posted that state that verbal abuse of the staff is not tolerated. At the other, no such signs exist. Why is that? One is a Christian based environment and the other isn't. Can you guess which one has the signs? That's right, at the Christian based home, we have plenty of problems with family and demanding residents that rarely use a please or thank you. The other one is a very warm and caring environment. On the flip side, the Christian home is so busy that it feels like all you do is poop duty. There is rarely time to rub some lotion on some skin, sit with a dying resident, give a bit longer bath, do a little extra with the hair etc... I truly feel that the environmental conditions actually allow us to do what nurses do best.... CARE. Without that environment, nurses will of course feel over-worked and under-appreciated. As well, you will be heading into every situation expecting the worst and will therefore never be disappointed. Management needs to know this is a problem not only from your standpoint, but from the perspective that a well cared for nurse translates to well cared for patients and family.
That really burnt me up. Fortunately I got her IV on the first stick, but I have to take crap like that from people or I would probably be written up by my manager. I never thought nursing would be like this. When I visited people in the hospital before I was a nurse I had respect for the medical staff and would never dream of talking to them the way I am talked to. 
. Even when I try to keep my smile, my good temper there is always something coming up. when you metionned the bosses sitting on their butt and watching every single things you could miss to back stab you I can't agree more to that statement. I now understand and it is sad why I saw so many nurses that became cold or should I say emotionless to any critics or remarks. I tried that and felt like I would not feel ok. The stress in nursing, is by far the worst I've ever had in any jobs I had in the past. Being treated like a piece of s**t is a regular thing and don't you dare being choqued or upset about it. I always laugh when I hear a patient who scream at you : "I am paying your salary !!" "If I was not here you would not have a job" or for example having my nurse manager coming to me after three years working at the same place and I always signed with my first name and title; asked them from the beginning if that would be an issue and they confirmed me three years ago that it wouldn't. Today she decided to attack me on that, (one in how many thousands stupid attacks or backstabing)staing that it is unacceptable and that I should change that immediately because it was brought to her attention!!!!!! please give me a break. I always feel disgusted when I go to work, I kind of not love my profession anymore, or should I say that I hate the people in my profession that makes it so painfull for nothing most of the time!! I do it yes for my patients because if it was not for them and their recognition of my hard work every days I would have drop this "slavery" a while ago. .
:redbeathe because we all deserve and need it once in awhile. If every nurses were into solidarity, I am pretty sure it would have been easier for nurses but hey, nothing is easy in this life so hang in there as we all need you, me and every nurses already in the profession. You are doing the right thing by looking somewhere else even though I do believe that it is almost the same thing everything; the grass is not greener on the neighbor side 
unfortunately.
Another Nurse
1 Post
You hit the nail on the head!!! I agree with you 150% No wonder there is a nursing shortage!