The worst job you had before becoming a Nurse?

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What was the worst job you had before becoming a Nurse? How has Nursing changed your life?

Specializes in Psych.

I worked at an animal shelter. I helped with education and spays and neuter, but I had to euthanize many, many beautiful animals and I saw horrific abuse.

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Specializes in PACU, ED.

My worst was taking phone calls in the credit card division of a large bank. Most people called because the bank had hit them with a fee or interest rate bump so they were not in a happy place. I'd answer the phone and then get to listen as they'd launch into the list of expletives, insults, and complaints they'd been nursing for the past few days. When they paused to take a breath I'd try to help them if I could.

What made the job worse was I was graded based on the average length of my calls and whether I sold them additional services. It takes time to actually fix issues so my call length average was always too long. The services were a rip off so I only sold them if people asked about them. Needless to say, I was near being fired by the time I found a better job and gave notice.

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I was a part of a drywall team, my fathers' company. I had to wear jeans, long sleeve shirts and a scarf over my hair and a pair of gloves. Spent my summer cleaning up drywall leftovers into a pick up, took it all to the dump. Or insulated houses with the bat type stuff...yuck. 7am to 6 PM. I never was allowed to work with the guys on the crew, so I worked alone.

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The worse job I ever had was a summer job at the cannery. My job was to literally climb the lines with the cans, through windows, out on the roof. The noise was deadening. I literally climbed up 4 stories every 30 minutes through windows, out along the building. My job was to make sure the line stayed running. If a can jammed, I had to go find where and fix it.

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dont shoot me... collections...

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Specializes in Critical Care.
dont shoot me... collections...

As long as you complied with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act there's no reason to shoot you :)

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Specializes in Dialysis.
Oh my goodness, I remember having to pick strawberries for my grandma!! Under the sun with those plants making welts on my hands...and I didn't get paid. My mom just decided I needed to help Grandma in the garden.

Are we related? 😂

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

I finally worked my way through the whole thread, and there were some really interesting jobs in there! I was surprised that I wasn't the only one to have worked in the tobacco fields . . . . Interestingly enough, tobacco financed at least a year of my nursing education!

I think my worst job was at the Holiday Inn . . . I was part time waitress and part time "salad girl." Which meant I waitresses the shifts no one else wanted because the tips were nonexistent (lunch) and worked in the kitchen when there were plenty of customers and plenty of tips. That wasn't the worst part, though. The worst part was that the restaurant manager, who was known to tipple a bit at work, fired someone every Friday night. Several times, it was me. The first time it happened, the bartender bought me a drink . . . And then another. And at quitting time, when my then-boyfriend picked me up, I was sloshed. The call at 5:30 AM demanding to know why I wasn't at work in the kitchen as scheduled was a complete shock!

I got fired and rehired a few more times before THE incident. The chef (who for some reason really liked me) and the under chef got into a screaming match and the chef chased the under chef into the walk-in freezer, brandishing a meat cleaver, and then locked him in. The restaurant manager tiptoed into the kitchen and let him out. Whereupon the chef quit. All of this should have been frightening, but it wasn't -- I just hid behind a stack of vegetables and watched with my mouth hanging open.

The following Thursday, I got a call from the former chef, telling me he had a new job and asking me to come work for him at his new restaurant, start date in two weeks. On Friday, the restaurant manager got inebriated and walked through the kitchen where I was busy doing the prep work for that night's dinner. When her eyes lit on me, she said "That chef isn't here to protect you anymore. I can fire you any time I want. Now seems good."

Without a word, I carefully set down the knife I was holding, took off my apron and walked out the back door, leaving the restaurant manager and everyone in the kitchen staring after me. After forty years, I can still hear the sound of that kitchen door banging closed behind me. I got on my bicycle and rode home. I took the telephone off the hook (you couldn't disconnect them in those days) so I'll never know if she tried to rehire me.

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Working at Burger King. Was A-Ok for the chup change in High School but would I want to do it again. Nah! :-)

I would allow my children to work there though if they chose to because, if anything, they can learn work ethics there.. I think so....

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quote from nURse_dEZi

dont shoot me... collections...

Oh, so you was one of those!!! :-)

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delivering newspapers

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Stripper...nuf said. Pay pretty good. Scrubs more comfy than g-strings.

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