Stress

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

Do you have trouble hearing staff complain how stressful their job is (as if ours isn't at all!)? I sure do. Everyone that walks by my office gives me the long sigh with the eye roll and if I engage them I have to hear about how Johnny is driving them to drink or whatever. The secretary gets mad if she gets interrupted putting the attendance on the computer by someone trying to call or get in the building. Big deal. Not like someone is hurt or dying. That is real stress. Try having 7-10 patients and all needing something and one crashing like many of us had while working in the hospital. How about a diabetic with super low blood sugar, one bleeding and crying, and one needing an inhaler you don't have at school all at once? (That was the other day.).Now that's stress. They have no clue and I'm jealous of that.I sometimes long to be with other nurses who get the pressure we're under to keep people alive. So forgive me if I think your student with a low test score is not a crisis!

[NurseCard, ADN]

Wow. Umm, I can definitely see how teaching would be stressful.

In fact, when I was in nursing school, I decided NOT to pursue

nursing, and switched my major to education. I had a prior

BA in Visual Art and decided to pursue Art Education.

So, I took a couple of classes, did some classroom

observation, and quickly realized that teaching was

NOT for me. NOT.MY.THING.. A classroom full of

kids, I realized finally, would drive my batty.

Okay, so those who have chosen education can handle

a classroom full of kids... but I'm sure that being a

teacher has incredible stresses all its own. Dealing

with special needs kids. Dealing with parents.

Dealing with low pay for what you do. Having

to tailor your lesson plans to what the government

says you HAVE to teach. The list, for me,

would go on and on. I could NOT do what they

do.

Edit: I've never been a school nurse, though

I've been interested in the job and have pursued

a position before. I'm sure it has its own stresses

as well, and you are simply venting.

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

Yes simply venting and I get paid the same they do. I would not want to be in charge of a classroom no way no how. I have subbed as a teacher so I have an inkling what that's like. Stress is stress but I just feel like if it's that bad then find something else. My daughter is a special ed teacher so I know what they face but it's not life and death to the extent nurses deal with in the hospital on a daily basis. However, at our school it's not even the teachers that complain the most, it's the secretary (and aides). Now they do get low pay. I'm just so tired of all the negative attitudes and I don't want or need to hear about how hard or crappy they all feel their job is. Just because I'm the nurse does not mean I want to hear your problems every single day all day long and I'm stuck in the main office so every teacher, aide, etc that comes through feels the need to update me on their mental health status. I don't want to come across as not caring but it's wearing down on me. I get the need to vent but after a while it's complaining and frankly some of them need to move on.

[kidzcare]

I get the aggravation factor. I know that teaching (and any job, really) is stressful in its own way. When I feel like complaints are unwarranted, I try to respectfully leave the conversation- of course, this is sometimes more easily said than done.

[kummerspeck]

Everyone manages their stress in different ways, too. Some thrive in stressful situations while others wallow in it. I used to be a school teacher and the stress I had then versus now is different, but it's still stress. Dealing with sick students, diabetics, etc...that's a very real up front and personal stress for us SNs, but having a class of 30 students and dealing with that dynamic, plus parents who constantly question your ability to do your job, complain about the curriculum, etc....that's not fun either.

I think part of the reason people in different positions complain about the stress of their job is that it's the easiest segue into conversation. They may not know you well enough to talk about more personal subjects, but stress at the job is something that everyone feels. If they vent to you, feel free to vent right back if you need to, but don't take it personally.

[Supernrse01, BSN]

I love it when I walk by the conference room, where admins are having lunch, and they loudly complain about how busy they are and yada yada yada... Oh really?! Well at least you are getting a moment to sit down and have a bite to eat. I'll be lucky to pop a piece of gum in my mouth today.