What I Wish I Had Known Before

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Before -- What?

Before becoming a nurse, of course

1. That " nursing school" has little to do with what you really do as a Real Nurse. That it is pie in the sky idealism and reality hits you right away

2. That healthcare is run by non- medical administrators, and is All About The Money. Yes, even " not for profit" hospitals.

3. That lawyers and government have caused our jobs to become daily and hourly exercises in CYA

4. That the current " customer is always right " nonsense especially in the hospitals, will be the eventual downfall of getting and retaining high- quality nurses and other HC personnel

5. How many weekends and especially holidays a nurse misses with her family.

6. That MOST (note I did not say All!) nurse co-workers will throw you under the bus in a hot second this goes for NPs, Managers , physicians as well.

7. That there is Always a call- off, always one or two on FMLA or WC, and furthermore to that it is usually the same people who do this. ( They rarely get fired )

8. There's probably 100 more but these are the main ones come to mind at this late hour

°°°°°

BTW , I've been a nurse for 24 years and have worked in a variety of settings

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Yep.

Though I will say that if places of employment actually staffed appropriately, nurses getting sick or otherwise needing time off--which is just life--would be a non-issue... and that would also improve coworker relations.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Before -- What?

Before becoming a nurse, of course

6. That MOST (note I did not say All!) nurse co-workers will throw you under the bus in a hot second

Well, all I can say is that, where I work, we have a really good manual which informs us of what to expect in the workplace setting!

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WRMC's coworker support topic is discussed in the first few pages of the manual and comes with an important warning sign!

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that would also improve coworker relations.
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Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.

May I add a number 9..

9. That patients and families would consider you the enemy because their unrealistic expectations were not met.

10. That nurses are blamed for the mistakes of other staff (nurses are always the fall guy).

Ok, I added a 10 also.

Hang in there blinky!!

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Specializes in Surgical, Home Infusions, HVU, PCU, Neuro.

11. If the hospital is out of a medication, the doctors swear it's our fault.

12. It is the nurses fault if the doctor put the order in wrong

13. No matter how many shifts you pick up to help coworkers for yada yada, the time you need help for coverage the cell phone towers are always down

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Specializes in nurseline,med surg, PD.

Very true. All nursing students should be informed of this. LOL but really!

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Schooling? It's all that way. I want to become both an RN and mechanic.

Last time I needed to go to a shop, it was for an alignment, which I can't do myself without a full on garage.

Me and the manager got to talking. He had recently hired a fresh new ASE certified mechanic (That's like the RN equivalent pretty much)

So his resume looks good on paper. Throw him in the service bay. This guy, with all the education in the world could not even change an alternator.

Honestly, it's a crying shame what education has become. More about books than real life.

I truly hope that's not a representation of the nursing program, just down the hall from the auto shop.

As to money, yes, I have received itemized statements for a hospital stay. A baby aspirin is $8.50/each.

EKG, $300.

Someone I know possibly had a heartattack one day while exercising. Mind you he is a medical professional. Knows how to interpret an EKG, knows the signs of an MI.

He refused to go to the ER for treatment, because of the cost.

Meanwhile, the CEO has oober goobers of money

Oh, but critical access hospitals are in critical condition, and SSOOO underfunded according to some news outlets.

Always about money. I can see charging a fortune for building new facilities, paying staff, upgrading equipment, but at some point the line has to be drawn.

Just my humble opinion.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

As far as the condition of schools/education, the cost of medical insurance and medical services and the cost of student loan debt, all I can say is get out there and VOTE. All of these are influenced heavily by lobbyists whose power only continues to grow.

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Specializes in NICU.

Ill take door number 3,5,6 oh but wait Ill take 123,no wait give me all.

So so true and it is heartbreaking.

and don't forget cameras everywhere.

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Specializes in NICU.

We had a RN as county president,total failure,useless.Same as those that will throw you under bus.

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Don't get me started on Nurses wrongly using FLMA....

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Very true. All nursing students should be informed of this. LOL but really!

You know , I wish they'd read and take heed of the posts by experienced nurses on here. BUT THEY WO NT

I recall when I'd been accepted to " nursing school ". I wAs at a wedding or funeral ( LOL) when I ran into my (x) husbands nurse cousin in the ladies'. She flat out told me " OH YOURE GONNA HATE IT ".

NOT NURSING SCHOOL. BEING A nurse. And she was dead serious

Did I listen ? HELLZ NO! I WAS FLITTING OFF to prance around being a nursing student - then I was going to be a highly - respected , well- paid, valued member of a stable hospital team

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Since he's my X, I no longer have a way to contact this cousin , but if I did I'd tell her YOU WERE RIGHT

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