WHY do so many people hate nursing? Sigh.

Nurses General Nursing

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I feel like everywhere I go people are expressing their hate for nursing rather than their love. I want to go into nursing, and I want to love it. WHY does everyone (almost) hate it so much? Is it really that bad? Can someone express their love for it? I would really enjoy hearing why you love your nursing job.

Personally I could never work in a nursing home, but my goal is to work in the OB/NICU or the ER.

Thanks!

- Super desperate pre-nursing student venting

Specializes in Hospice.
Maybe he reason so many people hate being a nurse is because y'all just compete with each other and try to one up each other. The real title of this post should have been why do so many nurses act so mean?

Said the not-even-a-nursing-student to a room full of seasoned nurses who actually walk the walk and talk the talk.

Just so you can't accuse me of being mean, I'll say please. Please save this thread, pass all your pre reqs, get accepted to and pass a nursing program, study for and pass NCLEX, and get some time as a nurse under your belt. Then, please come back to this thread and see if you still feel the same way. Please.

Being a nurse is rewarding, frustrating, scary, exhilarating, terrifying, and exhausting. I've been doing it for almost 40 years. Really can't imagine doing anything else, although after a few crazy shifts, becoming a CPA seemed like a damn good idea.

I will retire a nurse, most likely within the next 6 years. For the most part, it's been good. Perfect? Nope. But good.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Maybe he reason so many people hate being a nurse is because y'all just compete with each other and try to one up each other. The real title of this post should have been why do so many nurses act so mean?

Here is an example of what NOT to do: Post an inflammatory, idiotic and nasty post using your selfie as an avatar. People will see it, maybe people who know you and will think that you are lacking in intelligence, prone to stir up stuff and probably nasty as well. Those people may well be your boss, colleagues or instructor. Oops!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Maybe he reason so many people hate being a nurse is because y'all just compete with each other and try to one up each other. The real title of this post should have been why do so many nurses act so mean?

Facebook?

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Said the not-even-a-nursing-student to a room full of seasoned nurses who actually walk the walk and talk the talk.

Just so you can't accuse me of being mean, I'll say please. Please save this thread, pass all your pre reqs, get accepted to and pass a nursing program, study for and pass NCLEX, and get some time as a nurse under your belt. Then, please come back to this thread and see if you still feel the same way. Please.

Being a nurse is rewarding, frustrating, scary, exhilarating, terrifying, and exhausting. I've been doing it for almost 40 years. Really can't imagine doing anything else, although after a few crazy shifts, becoming a CPA seemed like a damn good idea.

I will retire a nurse, most likely within the next 6 years. For the most part, it's been good. Perfect? Nope. But good.

Your just saying that because your a mean old biter nurse.

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I am still passionate about nursing after thirty years! I don't hate it. I hate what is happening to it.

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Specializes in Psych, case-management, geriatrics, peds.
I feel like everywhere I go people are expressing their hate for nursing rather than their love. I want to go into nursing, and I want to love it. WHY does everyone (almost) hate it so much? Is it really that bad? Can someone express their love for it? I would really enjoy hearing why you love your nursing job.

Personally I could never work in a nursing home, but my goal is to work in the OB/NICU or the ER.

Thanks!

- Super desperate pre-nursing student venting

Yes, it's really that bad. I quit nursing because of the absurdly long hours, no bathroom breaks or meal breaks, being treated like a servant by patients, families, management, the state boards, crappy pay, unbelievable bullying by other nurses (witnessing it too), an on an on and on. It has gotten exponentially worse in the past 20+ years. It is not worth losing your health and sanity over. One exception: Be a Nurse Practitioner. They are not treated like second class citizens.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
With my patients, that usually happens when I tell them "You can eat and drink whatever you want. Have dessert before inner. Heck, have dessert INSTEAD of dinner!"

Like I've said before, "It's good to be a Hospice nurse!"

In LTC, we do that too. When you get past a certain age, you should be able to do most of what you want, as long as hurting no one else, or putting self totally in harms way. Love it

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Read the article about experienced nurses leaving, it explains it all.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Why do so many people hate nursing? Probably as many reasons as why do so many people love nursing.

There are various reasons....that probably answer for both love and hate or like and dislike working as a nurse.

What were your expectations and beliefs and past experiences before even going into nursing?

How many different areas of nursing did you experience or work in or become "an expert" in?

How many different hospitals or work environments did you care for patients in?

How many union or non-union hospitals did you work in?

What was the Administration work philosophy and approach towards nurses and nursing in each environment?

What was the patient ratio for you as a nurse?

What was the Physician work philosophy and approach towards nurses and nursing in each environment?

What were the nurse to nurse work philosophies and approaches to each other in each of these environments?

Et cetera. Et cetera. You catch my drift. Many factors impact nursing happiness...or satisfaction...other than patients.

I believe that for the most part, nurses DO love or like caring for patients and enjoy doing so.

Patients are patients...regardless of where you go or what you do, for the most part.

It is those OTHER variables that impact upon our abilities to care for our patients...improving or impairing our care...and our enjoyment.

If that is the case then, keeping our focus refocused back on our patients (instead of on these other variables) should help.

In fact, nurses who do keep the patient as their focus at work do tend to be more satisfied.

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

Whoever said "only the best and brightest go into OB, ICU, ER" etc is really insulting nurses who enter Med-surg or other specialties like LTC, etc. The "best and brightest" are found EVERYWHERE in nursing. I entered OB directly out of school and there were certainly some dim bulbs there like any place.....

And I don't think most of us "hate" nursing but the crap that goes with it that has been explained well by others before me. To all who are not nurses yet, you really don't know what it's like so your opinion really does not count with me as to whether people should love or hate nursing. You have not walked in our shoes and dealt with our problems in nursing. That is not to say, I mean to discourage you but you don't get to say I need to be positive or any other way to please you or encourage your "dream".

You will find out soon enough why some people "hate" nursing. You will also find out why others "love" it.

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Specializes in PICU, peds, nursing instructor.

Speaking as a PICU "princess", I have held multiple nursing jobs, and as I approach the 20 year mark of my career, I can honestly say....I don't hate nursing. I hate some of the new procedures/mandates, and I hate some of our charting processes, and I sometimes drag my *&^ to work in tears because I am just....so....tired.

Do I tell my nursing students this? Nope. Because they are eager and excited to start their nursing journey, and everyone's nursing career is just that....their own. I was once in their shoes, 21 years old and a GN, with my first job, my first nurse paycheck, and my shiny new scrubs and smile to go with it.

Now I am a wife, a mom, a nursing instructor, a PICU nurse, a volunteer at church and my kids schools, and feel overwhelmed with my responsibilities in ALL of those areas, and am in a different mindset than I was when I was a new nurse. Not necessarily bad, just different.

If I did it over again, I would have gotten an NP/CRNA right after my BSN, before I got married and had a family, and would have probably stayed home with my kids for a year or so and made sure I had a great mom-friendly job with flexible hours before I went back to work. Pipe dreams, eh?

:)

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How about inspiring stories?

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