That is IT; have had it with nursing...I'm going insane!

[carolmaccas66]

OK, now it's MY TURN to rant uncontrollably!

Had to go to a shift today. The agency that I work for has a policy that they can't say anything to you (it's in our contract we sign) or fine you, if you can't go to a shift. Anyway, I had been cleaning & packing to move in a few days. Must have done too much (didn't think I did?) because later on, my right shoulder muscle started really throbbing & was really tight; uncomfortable & annoying & painful. So I do the right thing by me & by safety standards for any patients I may have come in contact with - I ring & say I don't think I will be safe enough to go to my shift. No problems, I apologise, then hang up. 2 seconds (literally) the phone rings, and one of the coordinators is saying I have to get a medical clearance; she was not friendly. I say yeh, OK, if I can get into a doctors, which I did manage to do. I didn't think much of it earlier.

But now later, I have been sitting here & stewing. I have NEVER called off (or called in sick) for a shift near the beginning of a shift, unless I AM SICK or have a very, very good reason. The only other time I called in sick was when I had sudden, severe gastro symptoms (which has never happened to me before).

What do these employers WANT from us!?? They literally SUCK US DRY of our humanity! They will tell you any old BS to get you into their company. I worked my BUTT OFF to get through study & exhausted myself - literally - I was ++ sick for about 4 weeks. I worked AND studied, which nobody out there wants to do anymore, especially young people, judging from the posts we get here. I moved to another state where I didn't know anyone & got the experience I needed. I didn't have to come back here, but family reasons etc compelled me to. Now I thought this agency was different from all the others, what a laugh!

I have been sitting here REALLY thinking: what do we REALLY get from nursing? I no longer have friends call me to ask me to events or BBQs etc; heck, my own brother hardly bothers calling me because he knows I'm always working. Nursing is VERY isolating & anti-social. I work long & weird hours, & travel quite a bit to get to work... STILL. I feel like I have sacrificed literally EVERYTHING for my career - friends, intimate relationships - & where has it got me? Life long study debts to get another qualification that will probably only earn me a few thousand more after HIGH taxes in my country. I STILL work shift work & am really disliking it now (it never bothered me much before, as it was part of getting experience). I don't tell my family nursing tales anymore, because they don't believe me so I shut up. I changed to only do afternoon shifts now, thinking that would help. It has mucked up all my sleeping - I can hardly get out of bed the next day before 10.30am because I'm so tired, I can't move. I have severe indigestion (on meds now) have had bloods done, nothing showed. I take a multivitamin every day. My eating has gone out the window; I either overeat (before I go to work as I may not get a break for a long time), or I just skip meals now - eating & cooking seems like too much bother. Study is just out and out boring me now, I don't have the mindset for it. I compare my friends to myself on Facebook - when I used to have an account. They are all happy, married, travelling overseas & HAVE A LIFE! The thought of getting up early to exercise (not that I have any spare money at the moment for the gym), just shatters me - I just can't do it now. And when I do try to exercise, I don't enjoy it now.

I've HAD IT with nursing! Is is THE most life-draining, soul-destroying, anti-social, bull**** job I have ever done in my life. We are not treated as professionals, just an accessory that has been tacked on to the doctor. You always see TV shows about great doctors & new doctors etc but never about nurses; have you noticed that? (Oh unless you count cameo stories woven around nurses on shows like ER).

We are not heroes and never will be. Nursing is a wasted career. It is a waste of time and money and energy. I so wish I could have done something in history where I could have travelled, & actually have the TIME to meet other, professional people, but am too old now. I find, personally, many nurses don't have time to meet others, don't want to associate with other nurses because it's just too depressing to listen to their whining, or don't make the effort to socialise. The number of times I have tried to start up support/coffee groups to meet other nurses, well; I can't count them now.

It's just started raining again outside now. Even the weather has gone bad again! I really feel like I'm slowly losing my sanity trying to keep this 'life' together doing nursing as a so-called career. I feel it has all been such a waste of a life. I wasted my youth being conned by people saying 'nursing is a brilliant career; you will always have work; you will always have security.' I know people who work/have worked in supermarkets who have a better and more secure career than a RN.

Please...if you're young & reading this, PLEASE DO NOT go into nursing. It is too late for me & I'm in a huge rut, but it's not too late for you. Choose a career that will let you travel, where you have normal or near normal working hours and where you make decent money to live on, if not heaps of money. Shift work is not worth your sanity, trust me.

I feel old, creaky, cynical, and used up by the BS nursing managers & lecturers who lied to us all about EVERYTHING to do with nursing.

It's now my goal to try & convince others on here to not take up nursing or to get out. And I am getting out; don't know if I'll study next year but I WILL get out into something else.

Stay tuned for more of this saga! Thanks for reading..... :)

[beeble]

God, I have been feeling the way you do, but thought it was because I work at a county hospital. Can you believe we still have no lifting eqipment, though they pretty cut all support staff and added to our patient load 50% (from 4 to 6) about 2 years ago (recommendation from one of those staffing/productivity companies). We do all the labs/ivs/ekgs/transport at night, while dealing with sick, fall risk, sundowning patients that the MDs wont even give a benadryl to for fear to add to confusion.

Havent had a vacation in 3 years because I cant plan 7 months in advance to request it. Recently had the flu (2 days off), and now inured myself with stitches, and dont even feel supported whatsoever, like will I even have a job when I recover? Guess I am using all my vacation time for this. And feel unappreciated.

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

Where do you all work? (I don't really expect answers.) Maybe I just got lucky twice.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Where do you all work? (I don't really expect answers.) Maybe I just got lucky twice.

Maybe you did. I have worked in fabulous places and awful ones. I have been thrown under the bus twice and bullied out once. I am now off the floor in hospice and I love it. But hospital nursing - you won't get me back into one except as a patient and then, I'll be damned picky where I go.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I actually work at a pretty well respected place. One of those places that's supposed to be great to work at. One of those places that supposedly has great benefits. (Of course, I've yet to work in a healthcare facility that has better insurance than my husband's, and he works in trucking, which has notoriously crappy benefits, they don't even get time and half for overtime, and yes it's legal in trucking to require overtime and only pay straight time for it.)

It's not so much the particular facility anymore. It's what nursing has become, and has gotten worse over the past few years and shows no sign of turning around. We're personal servants. Nobody gives a flying rat's petoot how smart we are, how many patients we've saved from a newly minted resident or the old codger MD that needs to retire before EVERYONE sees his dementia.

Our worth is summed up in Press Gainey mentions. And you know who gets those? The sweetest nurse on the floor. Who's oh so wonderfully nice. But won't notice you've been crumping since 8am, but if you're lucky, you'll make it to 8pm when the crotchety night nurse comes in and sees you're near death. And transfers you to the ICU. Of course, a bolus and some med changes would have fixed it all at 8am. But your sweet nurse was too busy getting you an extra chair for your cousin to notice that your cap refill sucked and your color was pale and your BP was a bit lower than your norm. But she got that chair, and you'll mention how nice she was on your PG survey. While the nurse that kept you from dying? You'll probably complain that they were abrupt with you when they saved your life.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

No offense, but I hope people do not listen to all of that bc it is not true at all. I LOVE my career as a nurse and I hope more people go into nursing because it is a very good career choice. YEs there are some cons, but there are cons to everything. My sis and I are both nurses and we love our jobs....so many other people we know and are friends with are not fond of their jobs or hate their jobs...they have non-nursing jobs.

You have just invalidated the feelings of a fellow nurse. That is offensive.

I'm glad your job is going well, and that you and your sister are loving your nursing jobs. That's wonderful, and I hope it will always be that way for you. The truth is, your perspective on nursing and the OP's are two entirely different things, and yours is no more valid than hers. Many of us who have been nurses for any length of time have been battered and bruised by this career, and that makes our viewpoint different from yours. Deny it all you like, but nursing isn't all sunshine and rainbows---at times, it's hard, brutal work which is all too often unappreciated by managers, doctors, and patients alike.

That said, it can also be extremely rewarding. There are times when we win the battle for a patient's life, and times when a patient says "Thank you, you've made a difference to me" that make all the blood, sweat, and tears worthwhile. These moments are what keep us going when the hours suck and the money isn't nearly enough to make up for the lost time away from our families and home lives. That, too, is reality, and I hope the OP can somehow find her way back to a place where nursing is good again. And if not, I hope she has the sense and the courage to leave it and search for something better.....patients need and deserve nurses who give it the best they've got every time they step out onto that floor.

But to infer that the way the OP sees nursing is "not true" isn't OK. Feelings are not bad or good, right or wrong; they just are. 'Nuff said.

[Good Morning, Gil]

I have to agree with nerd2nurse. Many people in other professions get burnt out just like nurses do. They feel used, abused, underappreciated, underemployed, find their work boring or not fulfulling, etc. It sounds as if you could really use some time off, take a vacation, or if not a vacation, a short weekend away with friends or even by yourself just going to get a massage or something. Or...it also could be the places in which you have worked...unfortunately, there are crappy places out there, and really, what makes a place good is management. If you have a good manager that cares about you, that makes all of the difference. They do exist, but from what I read on here, it seems not all that frequent. I guess, though, most people on these kinds of sites are more likely to be venting than rejoicing . My manager cares about all of us, and it shows, it's genuine. That, to me, makes more difference than pay, etc. Well...pay is nice.

Shift work ain't easy. Sounds like you definitely paid your dues. Why continue shift work? Try finding a 9-5 nursing job, something easy peasy, to take a load off, outpatient surgery or something. They're done by 1 sometimes...the docs like to golf . Or....maybe get away from the bedside and do utilization review...don't know much about it, just know they are nurses that look at charts a lot. Or..other non-bedside nursing positions, with insurance companies, or you could be a telephone triage nurse, or kick back, and be a camp nurse this summer. I wish you well....take care of yourself, and know that you have spent your career not in vain. Even if you feel under-appreciated by management and some physicians, there were many many patients that appreciated you.

[SweetheartRN]

Riiiiiggght. And right now, your counterpart is posting a similar rant over at AllTeachers.com about how they should become a nurse because it's a high status profession, they're well-paid, and all they really do anyway is pass out pills. :)

Sorry things are so frustrating. Burnout is a horrible place to be.

Is there really an allteachers.com too?

[SweetheartRN]

I do wonder if all the care I give, busting my back and wearing myself down physically so much for people I've never met in my life nor will most likely ever see again nor get to know as people is worth it. I feel like I could be spending that time cultivating my family and building the relationships I have in my life. And if I'm going to be stressed physically or emotionally it should be situations involving my friends and family not over mere strangers who essentially don't even know the sacrifices I make as a nurse caring for them. *such as holding my bladder to make sure they get their pain medicine on time*

Nursing is in the category of occupations of which you exchange your mental, emotional, and physical capacities for money/benefits. This is going to drain most people eventually. I knew this during nursing school and was never disillusioned about the "profession" which is why I work part time and do not overextend myself financially so I don't find myself in the position where I *have* to work anywhere. Plus I find working with children to be the reason why I want to nurse at all. Working with adults turns me off to nursing generally speaking. I think I wouldn't mind a specialty adult area like womens health/ob/l&d though and the only other areas I can tolerate would be urgent care/outpatient surgery areas where the patients would be in and out.

I work prn at a peds clinice(love it) and working part-time in med-surg in hospital now just to have the one year experience so that I can specialize..preferably in peds.

Some nurses live to nurse and to me thats nauseating but more power to them.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

It's not so much the particular facility anymore. It's what nursing has become, and has gotten worse over the past few years and shows no sign of turning around. We're personal servants. Nobody gives a flying rat's petoot how smart we are, how many patients we've saved from a newly minted resident or the old codger MD that needs to retire before EVERYONE sees his dementia.

Our worth is summed up in Press Gainey mentions. And you know who gets those? The sweetest nurse on the floor. Who's oh so wonderfully nice. But won't notice you've been crumping since 8am, but if you're lucky, you'll make it to 8pm when the crotchety night nurse comes in and sees you're near death. And transfers you to the ICU. Of course, a bolus and some med changes would have fixed it all at 8am. But your sweet nurse was too busy getting you an extra chair for your cousin to notice that your cap refill sucked and your color was pale and your BP was a bit lower than your norm. But she got that chair, and you'll mention how nice she was on your PG survey. While the nurse that kept you from dying? You'll probably complain that they were abrupt with you when they saved your life.

AMEN TO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for this validation.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

This recession is a major problem for everyone, and employers know this. They use the economic climate to exploit people. And I enjoy my job....I leave work at work. Unfortunately, that can be hard to do when you receive calls and messages to pick up shifts on your days off. It gets to be too much, especially the assumption that we all have nothing better to do except work.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I appreciate everyone's replies, criticisms and support. This is why I like AN - you get so many differing opinions and criticisms - even the latter makes me THINK a different way, and ponder what I can do better as a RN and as a person.

I have taken it all on board, and since I'm moving today, am now having a break & thinking about it all.

I have reviewed some other jobs I can do, & have some contacts I can get hold of (my old surgeons I used to work with). Rang re a home health job today & waiting for a call back.

Some jobs I can't do here in Australia, like telephone triage - you need 2 years of solid ED/ER experience - + other criteria - which I don't have for a start.

I am certainly NOT putting down anyone's job as a nurse - if you have found your niche - that is great. I am happy for you all. Sometimes we have to struggle a bit through the mud to get the job we want, & experience counts for a lot.

You know what? The only achievement I had last week was a patient who was c/o her indigestion. She was on Omeprazole, prn only (I think). Well she asked me what caused it, etc - she wanted more info. I went thru H2 receptor blockers (not condescendingly or so she couldn't understand it), then asked if she'd had a blood test for helicobacter pylori - no. Told her she needed one. Talked about Prof Marshall & how he discovered h pylori by 'infecting' himself etc. Told her she needed to take it everyday to achieve good results, talked re acid reflux - more in the morning due to 'fasting' overnight, and when lying down (reflux due to gravity) - she was asking me questions so I went through all of this. Told her to nag her Dr to get the order changed. She asked why didn't the Dr tell me all of this?? She was very happy and said 'Thanks for that Carol'. Next couple of days, I went back & the prn order was changed to every day. Felt like I MAY have achieved something. But in the end, we can't diagnose - THAT is what gets me. I've worked with brilliant nurses who diagnosed people before the doctors did! I know the reasons why - & that it's not legal & dangerous - but we ARE professionals. Surely we aren't that dumb? But many times we get treated that way, I feel that anyway.

Yes can sympathise with the bladder & medication thing! I had a patient who complained I couldn't do her meds right away as I said 'I really have to just use the loo, but I will be right back to do your meds' Well I was 1 minute, if that & this patient complained to the shift coordinator! I just said to this woman I'm very annoyed you complained - I told you I would be right back and I'm here! She had the decency to look abashed!

Well better have some lunch or I will be fading away (as if!!)

[ICU, RN, BSN, B.S.]

Omigosh you guys are sooooo incredibly WHINY!!!! I love my job and can't bear to listen to you peeps whine and complain anymore!!! Please just quit your jobs you claim to HATE and let a new grad get the job. Do yourself a favor, your patients, your co-workers, and new graduate RNs a favor....everyone a favor and just quit :) Done with this thread. ENOUGH SAID! Peace out :)