What do you hate about nursing and why?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm curious to see why other nurses may hate nursing or what they hate about it? AND GO!

Specializes in Critical Care.

The alarms sometimes I feel I'm going to lose my mind from them!

The unsafe working conditions due to short staffing and cutting corners due to pure greed from the corporate CEO and his bean counters!

The stress from having to deal with the alarms and the short staffing. I know the stress is ruining my health but feel trapped and I'm just saving all the money I can so I can hopefully retire ASAP! I feel sorry for the new grads who never knew what good working conditions were like in the first place and have decades to work with no pensions. At least I have a pension to show for everything I've been thru!

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I'm generally bothered most by other nurses. The ones who give reports which don't emphasize what is actually important. The ones who can't manage their time effectively enough to advocate for a patient. The ones who whose basic assessment knowledge is shockingly low. I dislike the "honey" the "sweetie" and the customer service attitude that completely fails to recognize and report important issues. I personally hate running around doing task work.

I'm bothered by the pervasive lack of basic medical inquisition that is necessary to help patients effectively.

Don't get me started on CNAs, who all think it's of paramount importance when a patient blinked her eyes or touched her face.

I hate the jealous culture. I hate the culture of all miserable CNAs wanting to be RNs and all miserable RNs wanting to be NPs because they think they deserve it; even though they hate the work and have very little understanding of the other careers. If you don't enjoy it, get out! Do something else and enjoy your life.

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Specializes in Medical Writer, Licensed Teacher & Nurse, BA Psych.

Writer/Editor

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Specializes in Medical Writer, Licensed Teacher & Nurse, BA Psych.

Why don't you change careers??

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Specializes in Medical Writer, Licensed Teacher & Nurse, BA Psych.

I want to add a couple more reasons to my earlier post as to why I hate nursing and got out:

* CEOs of hospitals lobby (bribe) Congress to keep patient/nursing ratios absurdly high. Congress members accept the bribes and staffing levels are kept so low that it is impossible to provide good - let alone barely adequate - care. Yet, most nurses don't realize this is the case so they bicker amongst themselves, complain that the shift before them did not do their work, etc. It is ALWAYS the owners of a hospital/nursing home that are responsible for this.

* Nurses are expected to make extremely important decisions (sometimes life and death decisions), after being on their feet for 12 hours, often barely having time to eat during the shift, or having enough sleep the night before.

* Nursing has a long history of being considered a subordinate position. In fact, even as recent as the 1960s, in some hospitals, nurses were made to stand up when a doctor entered the room.

* It has only been recent that nurses don't have to wear those silly hats and starched, white uniforms. Scrubs are better, but why are nurses the only ones who must wear a uniform? If nurses are supposed to be professionals, why do they have to wear a uniform? What other professionals wear uniforms?

* The nursing State Boards are a bunch of Nazis. Their objective is supposed to protect the public, yes. But, their tactics in dealing with nurses who make mistakes or are accused of doing something wrong, are horrid. You are guilty until proven innocent and you better darn well be able to afford an attorney, otherwise, they will do everything they can to ruin your career. Did you know that nursing is the ONLY licensed profession whereby someone can complain to the State board about something you did OUTSIDE OF WORK? And, the board WILL investigate it. You can have your license taken away for something like simply being seen in a bar drinking. No other licensed profession has to deal with this.

* The hierchical system in nursing is often absurd and arbitrary. In one state you are allowed to perform a procedure; in another state you are not. An LPN, for instance, can be trained to do almost everything an RN does. It is NOT rocket science. But try to get that across to people and they just don't get it. I know by law these sorts of things are not allowed. But it is ridiculous! Everyone is kept in their little box.

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Right now, it's the middle man mentality that comes with new residents. "Can you call the lab and get them to do.... Can you call respiratory and get them to do.... Can you follow up with the XYZ consult..... "

I have enough to do without having to do your job too, friends.

We should have the power to say no and not have the threat of losing your job on the line.

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I hate charting, period.

And dont you just love double & triple charting the same things in different spots??? and sometimes management doesnt even audit the extra charting..

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Writer/Editor

Who, me?

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

My biggest complaint is that healthcare has become the equivalent of the Burger King drive thru. Patients come in and order Care their way. Providers are expected to bow and give them whatever they want. It is no longer about doing the right thing but avoiding having the Patient Advocate called.

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
but why are nurses the only ones who must wear a uniform? If nurses are supposed to be professionals, why do they have to wear a uniform? What other professionals wear uniforms?

In both of my facilities, uniforms are also worn by PT, OT, Rad, RT, and clinical pharmacy. In one of them, we're color coded; in the other, people wear whatever they choose.

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Specializes in NICU.

"The nursing State Boards are a bunch of Nazis.

[roflmao !!!!!!"]

Their objective is supposed to protect the public, yes. But, their tactics in dealing with nurses who make mistakes or are accused of doing something wrong, are horrid. You are guilty until proven innocent and you better darn well be able to afford an attorney, otherwise, they will do everything they can to ruin your career. Did you know that nursing is the ONLY licensed profession whereby someone can complain to the State board about something you did OUTSIDE OF WORK? And, the board WILL investigate it. You can have your license taken away for something like simply being seen in a bar drinking. No other licensed profession has to deal with this. "

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

So much responsibility breaking our back but ZERO authority. Patients are running things via Press-Gainey. And MBAs are making decisions MDs should be.

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