Why is Nursing not in the top ten most stressful jobs for 2014! By Carlos Feliciano, RN, MSN, CHC
Last week I worked a 12-hour shift at the medical surgical unit. I stood up all night and ran (actually speed-walked) from one room to another non-stop answering call bells, cleaning poop, feeding patients, lifting patients, dealing with upset family members, passing schedule and as-needed medications, talking doctors, educating patients and their families, and re-assessing patients at least twice per shift. I was exhausted, and about 30 minutes before shift change I realized that…OMG!!! I had not seen the patient on room 230 at all during my shift. I had forgotten all of her meds, wound care, and blood work so I panicked! I thought, was she even alive? What was I going to do? Was I going to lose my job? And then… I woke up. My heart was in my throat, and I was hyperventilating like I’d had just ran a marathon. Once I was able to settle down, I thanked the All Mighty that it was just a dream. Sounds familiar?! Although I am retired, I still have those dreams, so imagine my surprise when I read an article published by Yahoo Business earlier this week, which listed the 10 most stressful jobs for 2014, and nursing wasn’t one of them.
The list included some professions worthy jobs like: enlisted military members (as a former enlisted member, I can agree), police officers, firefighters, airline pilots, military generals, taxi drivers, event coordinators, newspaper reporters, public relations executives, and senior corporate executives. As I scratched my head in disbelieve, I sought to find out the methodology used to justify why nursing wasn’t in the top ten most stressful jobs.
It turned out their methodology was based on the following: Travel amounts, income growth potential, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, own life at risk, life of others at risk and meeting the public. So I went down the list. So, are you telling me that the physical demands of a taxi driver are more stressful than that of nurses, or that the senior corporate executives encounter more hazards at work than nurses do? Are we to assume that public relations executives have to deal with public demands that are harsher that those that nurses have to deal with in a daily basis, and that have cost some of them their lives? Is an event coordinator more challenged by a “Bridezilla”, than a nurse with 6 patients during the mid-morning med-pass? Are we to believe that missed deadlines by a newspaper reporter will cause more harm and stress than a missed blood pressure medication, or a blood thinner? I could go on and on, but the most important question that we must ask as a profession is: Have we become so irrelevant that no one wonders why nursing wasn’t on the list?
In the last couple of years the nursing community has expressed outrage about the way that nurses has been portrait on TV. From drunks to drug addicts, from aloof to unintelligent, but no one has questioned why is it that we have so little influence in the drafting of healthcare policies within our organizations, our community health, as well as at the state and local level. We are the qualitative experts, but few understand or value what we bring to the healthcare team. As long as we continue to sit idle and wait to be recognized as a community of hardworking experts, our personal efforts will continue to go unrecognized, nursing burnout will increase exponentially, and nursing as a whole will be replaced for more money making and cheaper alternatives.
But, I have also seen patients posting bad reviews of doctors and a few are also naming other health care professionals by name and title in the posts about hospitals.
I always report those reviews when I see them. Usually they get removed. It is not ok to list anyone's name in a review. My favorites are the ones like "I sat in the ER for 10 hours! Nurse ___ didn't care, she was on the computer the whole time!" Yeah, if you were sitting in the ER you weren't that sick buddy, and she was on the computer charting on the ones who are sick.
I like how the article mentioned enlisted military personnel and generals right off the bat, but they failed to notice everyone else in the military--those officers who lead enlisted personnel and respond to the demands of a general.
Also, if this...
In nursing you have intense stress while you are at work, but once you clock out, the patients become someone else's problem.
The corporate executive, event coordinators, and probably some others are expected to work ALL the time. They are expected to answer their cell phone 24 hours a day. When called they are expected to also have their laptop with them at all times. They work nights, weekends, vacations, and holidays.They literally never have a day off
...is what it takes to make a job qualify as "stressful", then military nursing should top the list in spades. We are not only nurses, but we have the 24/7 responsibility to a unit that frequently puts us at work all the time.
Or maybe everyone thinks their job is stressful for whatever. My wife sister thinks being an accountant is more stressful than being a nurse, her words. We all compare what level of suck and stress each job makes for us.
I work 36 hours a week, and leave my job at work. When I work, more, I get paid more. I don't consider this stressful. Especially compared to my teacher wife.
why is it that we have so little influence in the drafting of healthcare policies within our organizations, our community health, as well as at the state and local level. We are the qualitative experts
To the OP- Judging by the recent Ebola/quarantine survey posted here, it is a good thng nurses are not more involved in policy making.
I work 36 hours a week, and leave my job at work. When I work, more, I get paid more. I don't consider this stressful. Especially compared to my teacher wife.
why is it that we have so little influence in the drafting of healthcare policies within our organizations, our community health, as well as at the state and local level. We are the qualitative experts
To the OP- Judging by the recent Ebola/quarantine survey posted here, it is a good thng nurses are not more involved in policy making.
How about; why aren't there MORE nurses involved in policy and policy making, and learning the process in order to feel lessed stressed, or actually have some idea of WHAT it takes to run this business and bridge the gap and be in control of it?
As far as that poll is concern, it shows a true disconnect in what we CAN do with facts, and intelligence.
It also doesn't mean there are other well educated nurses are not leading the way either...
I am so glad there is a site like this so I can get support and help from those that have been doing it longer than me. I been a nurse almost a year and a half. Got to tell you I hate it. I worked at one hospital and got fired. I had not done follow up glucose on a critical low glucose and I had told telemetry not to call me on a patient unless heart rate was greater than 170. I mean I had 5 patients and I was in the middle of something and telemetry just kept calling and calling to tell you the same thing over and over again. "atrial runs" I'm like do you have to keep calling about the same thing? Its nerve racking. I mean the doctors were called about the heart rate and I suggested a Cardizem drip but she just said Metoprolol. I did call about the glucose and we started a D5 gtt. I think it was my telling a charge nurse off one day. I mean you gone tell me stuff I already know and of course I responded and said I am an RN and know what I am doing.
I got on 2 months later at another facility. I like here but I just cant get over how stupid coworkers can be. I know I shouldn't be thinking like this in a professional role but its so hard. I mean the charge nurse had no patients and was the secretary for the night. She calls and says so and so is beeping. I'm like ok. If I am busy with a patient I am not going to drop everything and run to stop a pump beeping. Lets get real now - what did we learn in school "prioritization!!!!!!" Then I see her going to stop it when I am finally done with this patient. And of course to myself "bout time you got off that butt(****) and did something. I did say thank you. I am trying to ignore and not say whats on my mind but it is so hard. They keep sending people home because of low census but if they really want to save money then those charge nurses need to be in staffing. I do have a BS in business so I see where money can be saved. And I know the patient calls and says they beeping and she just relaying the message but I just got that negative thoughts at times.
This place sometimes will give you 6 patients and I am sure there are others out there that have more. Its just so unsafe. Mainly its 5 and in my opinion that too many. Maybe its just me because of my past with my negativity. I don't know. They think its life and death to track you down and say a patient needs to see me about their IV. If I don't answer my phone then rest assure I am going to find out what you needed. Don't get into it with me about answering calls. I told her I was busy and she like you still gotta answer and im like no I don't. What I am meaning is if I have gloves on and feces all over them I am not going to answer you call. Gloves for me are already hard to get on and with my hands sweating and I have to take them off to answer you and then struggle getting new ones on. Not going to happen.
Please give me some advice about how to handle myself. I don't want to hear negativity from people. Although I do it myself but what I am asking for is how to change it. Maybe everyone is just trying to help; I just don't like nagging about stupid stuff. I work overnight which is better because dayshift I have done and I would be very negative if I had to do that. I hate doctors. I remember one day I called one about a systolic 80 bp and she tries to give me Nursing 101 because I had to look up the HGB on the computer by saying smart like "kinda relevant." I ended up telling her "quit screaming!" She like im not and I said but you're getting loud. Why go through all that if all you going to say is notify neprologist. Then the Nerpologist is mad because I am just now reporting it to her and im like I just strated my shift how is it my fault if the previous shift didn't call you. Its just stupid the way hospital coworkers are. I had one doctor tell me that it is up to me how often I want to give Maalox prn for someone when I called to get an order for it. Really - do you not have sense enough to know it will take just one second to say q4 or q6? I am back in school to get RN-MSN so I can teach because I gotta get outta here before I have a heart attack. What I really want is just a procedure type area. I work on a renal (previous hosp too) GI, and Postop type floor. I hate seeing the house supervisor come around because all they interested in is seeing how many open rooms there are so they can fill you up. I don't mind getting admission its just when you are on the list for last it means its possible you get one at 6am when you are trying to wrap things up and leave. I say to myself (Get your butt outta here and quit worrying about us). Its always our floor they want to fill and not the others.
Another thing I struggle with is trying to get down pack my assessment routine. I don't know what I want to do for example GI or respiratory. I keep making out my own sheets and they don't work. I just say write on the printouts you get. I still think I want my own sheet then I think no just use the printout. If anyone has any suggesstions for it please let me know.
I could go on and on about my experience of just 1 year ½. They say it takes time to get your routine down but to me "trying" different things makes me feel unorganized incompetent. I know you all reading this are thinking I am a bad person with an attitude. I am really not I just have a short fuse with things that just get on my nerves. There also nurses that get upset because you forgot something ; I want to say so bad and may one day "We are 24 hours not 7p-7a" Its rare I forget something. Like I said I could go on and on.
In summary - suggestions on assessment and attitude changes. Thank you all so much in advance!
NewYorkerGirl
348 Posts
I always report those reviews when I see them. Usually they get removed. It is not ok to list anyone's name in a review. My favorites are the ones like "I sat in the ER for 10 hours! Nurse ___ didn't care, she was on the computer the whole time!" Yeah, if you were sitting in the ER you weren't that sick buddy, and she was on the computer charting on the ones who are sick.