This is not what I thought my nursing career would be like after passing the NCLEX. I've never met so many different personalities, it's insane. Sometimes I think, "maybe if I would have gotten pregnant at 17, I'd have 4 kids living on welfare in my section 8 house eating steaks with my food stamp card living it up right now". But no. I haaad to go to college to be a nurse. I could have been a stripper, a drug dealer, or anything else for that matter. I hope my 26k in debt is worth it.
I've been an LPN in New Orleans now for about a year and a half. I started out just OK with my career choice. Since I'm an LPN, the choices of work that I have are basically nursing home, clinic, doctors office, or if I get lucky, a hospital once I get some experience.
I ended up in a nursing home. I'm not going to lie, I've NEVER wanted to work in a nursing home. I almost quit nursing school in the middle of clinical because I had to go to a nursing home. That setting is just not for me. Well, after I graduated nursing school, hardly any place decent was hiring a new LPN with no experience. So, what did I do? I sucked up my pride, and applied at the closest nursing home that I could find. It was that, or make $14 an hour at a clinic. Besides, working at this particular nursing home saved me a lot of gas money. The pay was actually a lot better than what my other classmates were being paid. Most of my classmates did go to clinics, not for the money, but for the great hours.
Anyways, to get to my rant, the nursing home wasn't so bad. I actually was OK with it. The problems came with the employees. I worked with nothing but ratchet nurses that talk behind your back and CNAs that did half *** work due to their c/o "we gettin paid minimum wage so this place gunna get minimum wage work". The attitudes were horrible.
The CNA turn around rate was also horrible. Always working under staffed and under paid. My relief even started making a habit of calling in at the last minute, leaving me there till a new relief could come. Nobody has any body's back in nursing. I became friends with a CNA and we became kind of close. We were close until she stole something from me and lied about it. I get stolen from a lot on my unit. I guess that's normal, right? On top of that aggravation, The family of the residents are always complaining because their loved ones ADLs are hardly ever completed due to the staff's attitude and under staffment. It's just so much stress being a nurse.
After a year and a half, I feel like it's not necessarily the work load that makes me hate my job, it's the stress of managing my unit and accepting the things that I can't control. I've changed as a person; I think I've even lost hope for the human race like it's gotten that bad. I've never met so many rude, catty, backstabbing, selfish people in my life. I don't know if it's because nurses are all stressed out or if it's me. I don't even know how some of the nurses that I work with even passed high school, much less have a nursing license. One nurse that I work with had to write an incident about a resident that fell on the floor. She literally documented "res found on flow."
I just can't deal. I don't know whether to forward my career and become an RN, or work in a cemetery where there's no complaining. Did I mention that one of my older nursing co workers tried getting me to over dose my hospice patient. Oh his respirators are 9? Give him morphine he's going to die anyway. The saying that "nurses eat their young" is so accurate. Do you know what that makes nurses? Cannibals. Oh you passed your NCLEX? Congrats. Next step? Try not to cry too loud while your co workers eat you alive for their own amusement.
Why would everyone refrain from pointing out fault with the OP's view? If no one tells them they're wrong, how are they going to learn? Despite what some seem to believe, this is not a support group.
Ruby Vee, I know what you're saying, but I guess I noticed that the current approach seemed a little strong. I think we'd be more restrained if our names were attached to the post. There are people who may be wrong and can be pointed in the right direction with a different approach. That's all I was trying to say. Again, I don't know if OP just wanted to out/mock co-workers or if this was a legitimate cry for help. There may be more to the story. It's hard to interpret messages when you can't look the person in the eye.
I didn't hear any cries for help, Stepney, and she never asks for advice. Straight out of the gate she calls us cannibals, mocks her coworkers for their speech patterns, calls her coworkers lazy and accuses them of being thieves. I think that under the circumstances we have been quite civil to her.
Why are some posters saying she should get more education and become an RN?
If she does not like being a nurse now,what makes you guys think she would like it later with a different title that carries more responsibilities and more debt?
In some parts of the country,ADN Rn's and Lpn's work in the same settings,right beside each other because most acute care settings want the Bsn.
Very whiny. I'm sorry but I've been in healthcare for 5 years and in that short time I have seen some patients who will make you regret you ever whined about your job. While you are running the floor of a nicely lit, air conditioned hospital or LTC, there are folks on battlesfields, construction zones, crop field, etc wishing they could have your job and your pay. Stop whiny. If you hate it then leave it. Life is too short.
Sometimes I think, "maybe if I would have gotten pregnant at 17, I'd have 4 kids living on welfare in my section 8 house eating steaks with my food stamp card living it up right now". But no. I haaad to go to college to be a nurse. I could have been a stripper, a drug dealer, or anything else for that matter.
Wow. Let me tell you that I had my first child at 17, and now have 4 kids that I support with my nursing job. I don't find my choices on par with stripping and dealing drugs. Wherever the hell you work you need to escape, it has already burnt you out. If it isn't the workplace then you need some serious self-reflection.
Skippingtowork
342 Posts
Ruby Vee, I know what you're saying, but I guess I noticed that the current approach seemed a little strong. I think we'd be more restrained if our names were attached to the post. There are people who may be wrong and can be pointed in the right direction with a different approach. That's all I was trying to say. Again, I don't know if OP just wanted to out/mock co-workers or if this was a legitimate cry for help. There may be more to the story. It's hard to interpret messages when you can't look the person in the eye.