I went into nursing because I am people person and enjoy medical science. I am not the type of person that can stay behind a desk. Nursing gives me the ability to end my work day knowing I do not have more tasks in my inbox undone.
I graduated in August 2009. I landed my first job in September of 2010. I currently work in the emergency room. I work for a very large hospital system. The frustration and the amount of energy and time to just land my first job took a toll. But nothing compared to my introduction to the reality of nursing
Nursing orientation was one day. We went over a lot of information very quickly, because the hospital reduced the budget. Since I was a new nurse I had to attend the nurse residency program, which I was very excited to attend since I had been out of school and clinical s for a year. Nurse residency lasted 9 weeks long and gave us very little information that would actually help us as new nurses. My first 2 weeks at the hospital I was scheduled to work in the ICU with a "clinical coach". I have never had any critical care exposure previously. Here I am walking into ICU, with no computer training, no equipment training, no training on the electronic medication dispenser. I had been out of RN clinicals for a year and totally new to this hospital system. Again because of the cost all this training was eliminated. There was no personalized evaluation of what each new graduate needed.
The software they use is antiquated and made you less productive. There was one tech on the entire ICU floor. I knew less than nursing students who has been doing clinicals in this hospitals system for months.
I then begun my 6 week orientation in the emergency room. I have researched and spoken to ER nurses on allnurses and other places and the consensus is a 6 month long orientation with a preceptor would be more appropriate. Again, this minimal 6 week orientation was because of budget constraints and the need to get a warm body out there to fill in the staffing holes on the schedule. I have survived the orientation process because thankfully I had a good preceptor and I do have very good critical thinking skills. The acuity levels run across the entire spectrum, from a runny nose, chest pain, and a shattered ankle. 4 to 1 nursing ratio hopefully with a tech that actually does their job.
The shifts I work are variable meaning I have to work days and nights and many weekends. I am 47 my body cannot deal with the constant changing between days and nights.
Very few of the emergency room physicians that I work with do their job because they enjoy it. I hear them mainly speaking about the vacations they can take and their more expensive toys they can purchase and being financially secure. I guess the same can be said about most of the more experienced nurses I have spoken to.
What is really disappointing is that you can go back 5-10 years on allnurses and read about the same complaints over and over again. For the most part nothing is nursing has changed. They are some small advances, nurse to patient ratios being mandated and good nurse residency programs etc...
Nurses either end up searching for a unit or a position where they can actually enjoy themselves on the job, whether it be NICU, PACU, or the OR. Nurses end up advancing their education as soon as possible to get away from the stress filled unsafe units they work on. They also end up just working part time to have free time and less time on the job.
I do not look forward to going to work, but I tolerate it because I need a home and to feed my family. I am already focused on moving on to the OR where I can have a steady schedule. Since I had to attend the nurse residency program I am required to work a full year at this hospital system.
I see why nurses end up leaving the so called prestige of hands on care and run to clinic positions that are less stressful.
Obviously it is not the same for every person who enters nursing but I do think its time for change. I do envy nurses who land their first job and enjoy it so much they end up staying for most of their career.
Nurses need to finally become united in order for change to begin. Hopefully this will eventually happen.
However when I read that ur 47 and find shiftwork hard - working weekends etc I am getting to the point where I wonder why people go into a job at an older age where they have to do shiftwork, and everybody knows nursing is physically demanding.
I hear young nurses all the time constantly whining and complaining that 'my boyfriend has a weekend off and is going away to _______ and I HAVE to work'. Then they think they are entitled to time off 'cos they miss their bf' and desperately try to convince everyone they should have that time, try to swap shifts with one day's notice, all the while complaining to anyone who will listen. And they may have only worked shiftwork for a few months! Then us RNs or NMs who organise staffing try our best to accommodate them, but I'm getting to the point where I have no sympathy for these people. Nobody is forcing them to stay in a shiftwork job - they are too lazy to look for another one, that is all, but for some reason we have to accommodate their every wish for days off when a long weekend is looming.
You were darn LUCKY to get a 6 week orientation. As an agency RN, I have walked into EDs/ERs with NO orientation - and many other places - because it was too frantically busy. I've had to run around asking everyone where is this, where is your blah blah, and had to just get on with it. Sometimes you have to just get in the water and SWIM or else you are babied too much. And no I don't think you need a 6 month orientation - 6 weeks is a lot!
I think you really need to get out of nursing, or try to find some sort of office nursing job say in a Drs surgery, or go and re-train for something else.
Is there a way you can try and make your ED/ER rotation a bit less of a burden? Can you not see it as a challenge instead of a hindrance? You were darn lucky to get one from what I can see on these boards. Also if ur finding shiftwork hard at 47 maybe you need to look at getting fit, or exploring new ways of stress relief.
Shiftwork, the work load, the hospital culture, being insanely busy and clashing with other staff members will never change in hospitals, I can tell you now. It's a 24/7 stressful place.
I suggest maybe you need to get out and like I said re-train for another nursing job, or go into another field.
I also meant to add I know someone who has a medical science degree (my niece) and it is NOTHING like nursing. I wondered why you thought it might be? I'm just curious as to why people think another degree is the same as or equivalent to a nursing degree - is this something the universities/colleges teach students?
I have been lucky enough to work for a hospital with strict nurse:patient ratios, and the hospital itself was designed basically the way the nurses wanted it to be. It was designed to support a working environment for nurses to actually be the health care professionals that they are....not just warm bodies running like dogs all day. It is a partially physician owned hospital. Basically 50/50 between the physicians and a state hospital. We are a huge success. Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Google it. If every hospital was the way this one is....nursing would be the fantasy that it is supposed to be. I love my job. I never have to search for the equipment I need, I always have help, techs are available for most of the dirty work/showers, and I give all my meds on time most of the time. Seriously. They weren't pulled @ 0700, scanned @ 0900 & actually given @ 1000-1100 like you have to do at other hospitals to "be on time". It is soooo safe. I have never been in a sketchy situation where I felt like my license was in jeopardy because I didn't have the resources that I needed.
I honestly think giving this place more publicity and getting ANA involved and pushing other hospitals to follow the blue print that we have would help A LOT. It may just take nurses to go on strike at other places. And I'm not even kidding about that. Somebody has to wake up and realize that nurses are the bread and butter of the hospital. When nurses can't be the bread and butter, patient care suffers. And people die because of it. Refuse to work at a place that jeopardizes patient safety and they have no choice but to change. I have quickly realized in my 2 years of nursing that the worse the hospital is.....the more new grads you will see. That's because the experienced nurses have gotten the hell out of there for the sake of not only their nursing license, but their sanity as well! Once they wear out a batch of new grads, they get more. And the vicious cycle continues. I say STRIKE!!
This sounds good in theory, but in reality - there are too many nurses without jobs and new grads for a strike to really make a difference. They will be THRILLED to take the jobs of the nurses who go on strike - not to mention, most won't because they can't afford to.
The system is broken this is why nothing changes. Very few instructors and nursing schools will be completely honest regarding the poor working environments and how tough nursing is mentally and physically. Nursing students who enter the profession think burn out will not happen to them they will be able to over come these challenges. Reality hits and then they soon realize they are human and are too stressed. The more experienced nurses are not encouraging to us new nurses because they are still dealing with their own insecurities. Over half the nurses in my Dept have less than 4 years experience.
carolmaccas66, BSN, RN
2,212 Posts
I'm sorry nursing has been disappointing for you.
However when I read that ur 47 and find shiftwork hard - working weekends etc I am getting to the point where I wonder why people go into a job at an older age where they have to do shiftwork, and everybody knows nursing is physically demanding.
I hear young nurses all the time constantly whining and complaining that 'my boyfriend has a weekend off and is going away to _______ and I HAVE to work'. Then they think they are entitled to time off 'cos they miss their bf' and desperately try to convince everyone they should have that time, try to swap shifts with one day's notice, all the while complaining to anyone who will listen. And they may have only worked shiftwork for a few months! Then us RNs or NMs who organise staffing try our best to accommodate them, but I'm getting to the point where I have no sympathy for these people. Nobody is forcing them to stay in a shiftwork job - they are too lazy to look for another one, that is all, but for some reason we have to accommodate their every wish for days off when a long weekend is looming.
You were darn LUCKY to get a 6 week orientation. As an agency RN, I have walked into EDs/ERs with NO orientation - and many other places - because it was too frantically busy. I've had to run around asking everyone where is this, where is your blah blah, and had to just get on with it. Sometimes you have to just get in the water and SWIM or else you are babied too much. And no I don't think you need a 6 month orientation - 6 weeks is a lot!
I think you really need to get out of nursing, or try to find some sort of office nursing job say in a Drs surgery, or go and re-train for something else.
Is there a way you can try and make your ED/ER rotation a bit less of a burden? Can you not see it as a challenge instead of a hindrance? You were darn lucky to get one from what I can see on these boards. Also if ur finding shiftwork hard at 47 maybe you need to look at getting fit, or exploring new ways of stress relief.
Shiftwork, the work load, the hospital culture, being insanely busy and clashing with other staff members will never change in hospitals, I can tell you now. It's a 24/7 stressful place.
I suggest maybe you need to get out and like I said re-train for another nursing job, or go into another field.
Wishing you luck.