1. That " nursing school" has little to do with what you really do as a Real Nurse. That it is pie in the sky idealism and reality hits you right away
2. That healthcare is run by non- medical administrators, and is All About The Money. Yes, even " not for profit" hospitals.
3. That lawyers and government have caused our jobs to become daily and hourly exercises in CYA
4. That the current " customer is always right " nonsense especially in the hospitals, will be the eventual downfall of getting and retaining high- quality nurses and other HC personnel
5. How many weekends and especially holidays a nurse misses with her family.
6. That MOST (note I did not say All!) nurse co-workers will throw you under the bus in a hot second this goes for NPs, Managers , physicians as well.
7. That there is Always a call- off, always one or two on FMLA or WC, and furthermore to that it is usually the same people who do this. ( They rarely get fired )
8. There's probably 100 more but these are the main ones come to mind at this late hour
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BTW , I've been a nurse for 24 years and have worked in a variety of settings
