The Effects of Nursing on Nurses
Hi, welcome to my blog post. I have never had a blog post get more than 50 comments, so I am a bit overwhelmed. After responding to many comments, here is a note:
Note: I wrote this blog entry at the end of my 3rd 12 hour shift in three days. I was tired and I was emotional. It is a blog post, not an “article.” It is not researched or sourced, it is purely opinion.
The point of this post is that nurses (and many other professions) need to take the time to practice self care and to encourage one another to practice self care.
My biggest mistake in this post (and there are many) was to use “her” or “she” when I should have used “they” or them.” I ignored my male coworkers, and I should not have. You have my apologies, and I have corrected the post. I have left “she” and “her” in place in the portion where I talk about my coworker.
I have read every comment posted and deleted some very nasty comments that were not helpful to conversation. If you feel this is the place to spew your vitriol, it is not.
August 11, 2013
This morning, while I was giving report to the day shift nurse taking over my patients, she burst into tears.
She’s going to miss her children’s hockey play offs due to our strictly enforced every other weekend schedules. You work every other weekend, no more, no less, unless you are going to college (I work every weekend because I’m in college). She’s their hockey coach, and inevitably, each year, their last game falls on a day their mother has to work. I’ve come in early for her before.
So I offered to come in on my night off for an hour and a half so she could get to the game. I’m coming in that early because I know she won’t be done charting.
She turned me down until another day RN got involved. I reminded my coworker I only live a mile from the hospital, and it really wasn’t a big sacrifice for me. She finally agreed, and calmed down. We got permission from the charge nurse.
Nursing is one of the largest professions in the world. If you don’t know a nurse, I’m really surprised. Nurses talk a lot about the rewards of nursing. Catching that vital sign, saving lives, providing comfort, but nurses, by nature, are taught to martyr themselves on the altar of nursing.
When I was a new grad, I hated coming to work so much that I would wish I’d get hit by a car on my way to work just to get out of work. One night, while checking medication sheets, I confessed this to some experienced nurses and found out some of them still felt the same way.
In nursing, it is NORMAL to have days where you wake up and just can’t mentally and emotionally face the day at work. I swear, the only other people who can understand this are nurses.
Nursing is emotionally, physically and mentally taxing, and some days you run too low on what you can give emotionally, physically and mentally. That minor back injury you don’t want to report to HR because you don’t want it on your record. Having a patient with constant diarrhea who can’t get out of bed and needs to be physically rolled and cleaned several times an hour. The cold you got from the two-year old someone brought in. The sorrow that comes from supporting someone who has just found out they were dying, holding in your own tears so you could wipe theirs. In one day, all of those patients could be yours.
I don’t know a nurse who hasn’t taken a mental health day. Some do it by requesting more vacation than others. Some do it by calling in sick, but it’s all time off because we are too drained to give anymore.
So if you know a nurse, and that nurse mentions to you that they feel like calling in because they just can’t take it another day, don’t give them a hard time. Especially if you have an 8-5 job with weekends off or some other really great schedule. The 12 hour shifts nurses work mean we miss the entire holiday we work with our families. Night shift nurses have to choose between holiday dinners or sleep. Often, if a nurse chooses to sleep rather than go to the holiday dinner, guilt ensues. Even though I’ve told my mother-in-law repeatedly that every nurse has to work holidays, she makes a point to say how horrible it is my husband has to be alone for a few hours. What about me? Working my ass off while everyone else celebrates?
We work hard. We are intentionally understaffed by our hospitals to improve profit, even if the hospital is a non-profit. We help people at the worst times of their lives, and often have no way to debrief, to get it off our chests. We don’t just bring warm blankets and pills. We are college educated, degreed professionals who are often treated like uneducated, lazy servants. We get sexually harassed by our patients. We get groped, punched, cut, I even know of a nurse on my floor being strangled (she survived).
Nursing can be rewarding. But nursing is a fucking hard job. If you are afraid of healthcare rationing, you should know it is already happening. Nurses are unable to give everyone the care they need, so patients with smaller problems may not get the same level of care. A nurse may be pressed to only give the minimum amount of care to a patient if they have 5 or more very sick patients. If you don’t want healthcare rationing, talk to your local hospitals about their nurse to patient ratios. Talk to your doctors. If you hear of legislation to support nurse to patient ratios, vote for it. Support it.
So if a nurse needs a day off, you support them. If you’re in a position to help like I was this morning, do so. If you are a nurse, go easier on yourself when you think about the things you didn’t finish, or the things you should have said. It’s a 24-hour a day job and you don’t have to do it alone.
As of January 27, 2014, this post is no longer accepting comments. I am doing this as a practice of self care. Tending to this blog post, several times a day, has become a burden. It has had over 2 million hits, and I am tired. The post has become a platform for people who want to propel their own agendas and are using my space to do so. Thanks to all who said such nice things, and to everyone else, go write your own blog.
Posted on August 11, 2013, in Nursing and tagged Health care, Nursing, registered nurse. Bookmark the permalink. 2,612 Comments.
ofcourseitsaboutyou 
I know many nurses and am proud to say many of my friends and relatives have chosen thesame profession.I was the patient. I’d just learned to walk when I came down with polio.Iwas paralyzed from my diaphragm down and my right arm. After months in isolation I was finally moved out for many more months…I was so embarrassed to feel I’d wet myself…that I couldn’t clean myself. I hated that button to call you guys in. There were great nurses but don’t think we were deaf and never heard “the comments” from just outside the door. We did..I did. We get tired too…we hate we’re there..we hate spending all our holidays with you too…we hate we “need” your help. We just try to behave and not ask unless you come in…you aren’t our family and sometimes what you have to do hurts but we try to behave…we get tired too..of trying to sleep with the constant noise and lights. Of unspiced foods…of feeling wrong because we’re sick.
I feel so bad that you had such bad experiences Kathy. Bless you and know that there are nurses out here that really do want to care for you, and want you to have the best quality of life we can assist you with. It is getting harder and harder with all the staffing cuts these days to be able to answer the call lights in a timely manner, and running fast as I can to get to those in need, and to show respect and love to my patients. We are facing even more cuts starting the 1st of January 2014…less nurses, no assistants, no more LPN’s either…it is getting so dangerous for our patients and the nursing staff too! I hope that things improve for you. If you were my patient I would give you 100% of all I have to give. Bless you!
I have been in the medical field for 20 years. Nurse 5 years and well earned. I have found that nurses in nursing become feminist, power trip, controlling, hormonal Bitches (excuse my French) but I’ve found over and over that when you work with too many power, clicking female nurses. Your shift becomes overwhelming, unpleasant, We than try to blame our assignment. I must say ever since I went to ED the testosterone balance make a hell of a difference….we can kick, scream, blame. Too many females under one roof need psych meds and hormone therapy….have a good day 🙂
Excellent post and great comments! However, only one person hit on the real issue, Faye, the nursing profession needs changes! Better pay, more autonomy, improved scheduling policies, better staffing ratios based on acuity, actual breaks, more opportunities for advancement, and I could go on and on! But this will not happen until more men are in control. Women are not strong enough to stand up and fight for what we deserve! Nursing is a female dominated profession which explains why our working conditions are so poor. I’m not saying there are not strong women, yes there are, just not in nursing! We are too caring, emotional, giving, altruistic for our own good. Nursing is the largest part of the hospital workforce! Why are we not treated better? Think about it!
I appreciate your commitment to your patients! However, the hospital does need to address this. Like you said, it IS unhealthy for their nurses. It leads to burnout, medication errors & absenteeism from the resulting health issues. It has also been proven to lead to increased substance use to cope, which causes another whole set of problems. The hospital would actually save money by hiring float RNs to give their nurses the much needed breaks for self-care, hydration & nutrition in the midst of long, taxing shifts or to work PRN when their regular RN needs a day off. I was a nurse educator for 14 yrs. & can assertively state that hospital administrators need to wake up!!
What a great article! For those of us with some sense understand that this blog is just a way to vent and not a statement of truly hating your job. I am married to amazing woman who worked as a CNA through college as she studied to become a nurse (16 hours a day on Saturdays and Sundays). After graduation she was immediately hired not only as a nurse but as a Unit Manager at a long-term care facility. Our daughter is used to opening our Christmas gifts in the evening and sometimes not having her there for Thanksgiving dinner. It is something that we both knew was a distinct possibility when she went back to college… do we like it? Not really. Do we understand it? Of course. Do we still like to vent about it once in awhile? Most definitely. But becoming a nurse takes a certain kind of person and it is who they are. Just changing jobs and not doing what you are meant to do is a ridiculous notion. Would you have told Picasso not to create art, or Hemingway not to write? No. They suffered for their art just as nurses suffer for theirs. Does it mean there weren’t times that Van Gogh or Steinbeck or Hepburn didn’t need to complain about their day and get it off their chest. Of course not.
From someone who lives it from the other side… missing their loved one during holidays, holding her while she cries either out of saddness that one of her patients passed away or utter frustration about family members or upper-management, and celebrated with her when one of her patients had a breakthrough or a family member paid her a compliment, I completely understand. Bravo to you and all nurses and CNAs/QMAs who work tirelessly to provide care to those that can’t care for themselves.
Thank you for mentioning CNA’s
As one during my college years, I too busted my ass! And hate to say it, did all the running around that most not “all” of the nurses did not want or feel obligated to do. My husband is a an ER nurse and I know first hand how good nurses work very hard. But CNA’s work just as physically hard if not more so, with even less appreciation and way less pay.
Well written post that speaks clearly and succinctly to some of the challenges and rewards of nursing. I have only been a nurse for three years, but I must say that I no longer look for the exit to turn back home on my way in to work.
I agree with the writer that things do get better. The rewards of having such a powerful and positive impact on peoples lives, does outweigh the very true (and not overstated) challenges and costs of caring for people in their most difficult days.
I’ve worked in a number of industries (Structural Firefighting, Wildland Firefighting, Construction, Aviation, food service, delivery driver), Nursing is not the most physically taxing, but it is definitely the most consistently emotionally and spiritually taxing (both of which I find can take a much greater tole on my mental health).
I am just thankful to have such supportive coworkers and leadership who listen.
Thanks again for the great depiction of our industry.
Great writing. I’m in public education and could not help but think of some of the similarities but of course, there are obvious differences. I used to do so much more work at home but hated neglecting my family. At a point, I said, “Enough is enough.” As a teacher I now live by the motto to, “Do what I can, where I’m at, and then go home.” Thanks again for sharing.
Bravo! How often I have asked myself, “Why didn’t I stay in school and become a teacher?” Nursing is brutal and the profession has many casualties in so very many ways! Physical, mental, emotional…. it is typical to see “compassion fatigue” as the first sign of any of these! It is obvious to me that you work in the US….. I am in Canada but the ratios are similarly structured not by profit margins, but by the “budget” that managers have to work under and this, of course, drips ever so slowly out between the fingers of a tight fisted government only interested in their own fiscal agenda! The nurses who wishes to be the best they can, are doomed as they are told that it is their personal responsibility to do the impossible against impossible odds; and foolishly, we believe them and beat ourselves up for our failures and short falls.
Your views are common in this profession. I hear you. I echo your pain and your joy! Do I want to be a teacher? Maybe when I retire, if my body and mind are not totally broken!
I have been in nursing for over 40 yrs and have spent the last 34 yrs as a Nurse Practitioner, and to this day I would have never changed my career. I encouraged my daughter to go into nursing as it is a steady job and rewarding career. A few weeks ago my daughter and another coworker got terminated because the NP they were working with got upset because they used a combination vaccination to spare the infant 2 more injections not realizing this was going to cause a medical incident. The NP threw a fit because the injections were no given separately and in a day and half both nurses were terminated!!! I just lost hope in nursing!! These were tenure nurses with a clean record, they were not warned, reprimanded or given an appeal they were just fired!! How can this happen in nursing, nurses and physicians there were taken back and NOW nurses there and everywhere will be afraid to report a med error or any kind due to this incident. The nurses are working scared and it is terrifying to know nurses will NOT report errors. We are not God and only human, errors will be made but who will own up! I am so disappointed in a few nurses who may ruin the profession and corporations who put pressure on the upper staff to do such things as this!
I appreciate your honesty. It’s refreshing. I am actually going to nursing school this upcoming year. I’m scared but excited.
That being said, your blog is public. People are going to say negative things. Don’t let it bother you. You know who you are and where you belong. Screw the negativity! Stay strong! 🙂
Yes being a nurse is hard. I also get the need to vent. However, as a whole it seems we whine about how hard it is and what saints we are adnaseum. From my personal many years of experience the majority of RN’s complain, whine and backstab each other at a staggering pace. What would benefit nurses is the ability to complete their days with grace and style. I for one am tired about hearing how great we are, because we all know we are not as a whole a group of saints. I also would like a day where I didn’t hear the constant sniveling and whining about how hard the job is. I suggest RN’s find their niche and find their reward there. I have worked in several different specialties, the least amount of this self gratification and whining were done in the ED, likely because the ED nurses don’t have time to do it.
Mark, all I can say is you must not have spent much time working in the ER, because ER nurses, being just as human as other nurses, also complain when they feel overworked, overwhelmed, underprepared or underappreciated.
What you’re failing to recognize, though, is that those of us who are complaining here ARE DOING IT ON OUR OWN TIME. Got that? In many cases, we do our jobs uncomplainingly, skip those breaks and take on those extra patients when we need to, and never let the patient or family see that we’re feeling stressed. But, sitting at home conversing on a blog, we’re free to vent about some of the things that bother us about our jobs, especially those things that (in our opinions) don’t have to be.
I’m sorry that you regard venting as “sniveling and whining.” Perhaps that’s one reason you claim to have seen so much “backstabbing”—–because of your obvious disdain toward other nurses. A little more empathy, and less arrogance, might make you a better and more effective nurse. Think about it.
Been a nurse for 25 years. When I first started I loved it. Every day I felt I made a difference and I was appreciated. Now I feel like I’m abused, confused and unappreciated and hate it. This nurse’s blog is what 90% of nurses feel. So very sad.
It’s NOT too late to change your major…nursing is NOT your only choice. This blog only skims the surface of the reality that awaits…and it is a hellish nightmare!
Well said 🙂 and I enjoyed your disclaimer at the top… I feel like I’m in a constant “emotional/exhaustion” state of mind as a pediatric RN!
I’m a long retired RN. Even went on a nd got my Masters many years later. but I can honestly say i never felt this way. I’m so sorry some of you do. My basic education was a three year school and we supported each other.When i lost my first child,they even let me change units as OB and nursery were too stressful. When i got pregnant again the hospital required all nurses to QUIT at 5 months. My OB doctor went to anminstration and begged them to let me work the 11-7 shift,which they did. It was never an issue for a nurse again.I loved my profession and really feel sorry for those of you who have sych negative feeling. I’ll keep you in my prayers!
You really do not understand these issues as you have been retired a while. You would not believe how much nursing has changed in the past 10-15 years and how much medicare and the insurance industry has negatively affected the industry. You can love your profession yet hate the way that it has changed and hate the extra pressures added on to your daily duties
Well said coming from a lifer NOC shift,regularly understaffed bottom of the seniority list, primarily weekend only, demographically challenged County RN who just used a mental health day to have time to handle laundry, chores and a medi/pedi because SHE gets assigned mandatory OT evey week on top of extra hours worked because of that effing guilt of leaving her fellow co-workers short.
I hear you and WE deserve a break now and again!
You are right on track!! Managers and charge nurses need to be more in tune about their staff needs. Old school management does not work anymore due to changes of the nurses responsibilities ( which increased), and what hospital administration expects from us! When we work, is mentally, phisically and emotionally drained, and we are
Human beings with family and friends too!!
I understand that nursing is a taxing job, but judging by all of the comments the majority of the responders act like nursing is simply the hardest job in the world. Be real. There are so many people that are making way less money, working more hours, seeing their family less, and getting treated worse. Are you forgetting that you make a good living with little-to-no liability? I know so many great nurses that understand their role in healthcare and do an awesome job.
In my experience in healthcare, the nurses that don’t enjoy their job are those that forget that their job title doesn’t qualify them to diagnosis and treat disease. Their job role is to be an advocate for the patient and to carry out tasks based on the physician/PA/NP’s diagnosis and treatment plan. I wish in nursing school professors would explain that more clearly to students.
Dr. Pepper, where on earth are you getting the idea that nurses have “little to no liability”?
As for your claim that nurses “forget that their job title doesn’t qualify them to diagnose and treat disease”: could you give an example of a situation of that sort that you’ve witnessed? I hope you’re not saying that you think nurses should have no autonomy, because that just isn’t true. In fact, in my job (ER), I’m expected to take the initiative, through various standing orders and protocols. We don’t just stand around waiting for the doctor/PA/NP to tell us what to do, nor should we.
How dare you! I am a very well educated RN in a large ICU, if I did not have the knowledge that I have, people would DIE! I am able to head off complications before they become tragedies, because I do have critical thinking skills and can deduce for myself what is happening with my patients! You, Sir, would be damn lucky to have me caring for your family member, in fact, you would want me taking care of your family. I am willing to bet that if you are, indeed a physician, you are new and your ass has been saved a number of times by a little ol’ lowly nurse!!!! After all, its doctors that carry all of the liability, right? You should try having some faith and respect for nurses, one day there just might be one that saves your ass! As for nurse’s not enjoying their jobs because we are not dx and treating patients? That sir, is one of the biggest loads of crap that I’ve heard in a while. I do realize what my role to my patient should be. I humble myself every time I go into work to take care of another person’s needs. I ENJOY that! It is a part of what makes me who I am. I AM A SERVANT to people. I am very proud of that. Do not disrespect nurses by saying that we are unhappy because we do not do what providers do. If I had wanted to be a provider, then that it what I would have chosen to do. We are often unhappy because the workload is far beyond what it should be. We are simply tired. Nurses are often brow-beaten by their administration, the doctors and even the very people that they are trying to take care of. We are seen by administration as an expendable resource. You see, nursing staff is very often the first to be cut when a CEO wants to trim the fat. The mentality needs to change, we need to be seen as assets. I would guess that this is the reason for our unhappiness, not that we want to be you!
You are obviously not a nurse. So stop talking.
Dr. “Pepper”,
My job title doesn’t allow me to “diagnosis and treat disease”, but it certainly allows me to teach new “Dr.s” everything from the difference between an IABP and a ventilator to actually hearing what a pt is trying to explain to them. If I stayed in my little “role” as you call it, there would be a lot more problems with your liability.
Little to no liability??!!!
Dr Pepper, I do not believe the issue here is about nurses “that don’t enjoy their job”. I do believe you have misread the original blog and most of the comments. Constant cutbacks, deliberate under staffing and administrations that grow more distant to the needs of their nursing staff – these are the real issues here. And what nurse does not know the difference between a medical diagnosis and a nursing diagnosis? Perhaps that should be explained more clearly to medical students? Do not know your physical age, but your way of thinking is definitely old school and has no place in patient care today.
While I disagree about your point on liability, I take more offense from your comment about a nurses’ purpose being only to carry out orders. I work in a unit where we are a team… nurses, physicians and PAs/NPs. All of us working together for the patient’s best interest. During rounds nurses are asked for input and frequently their suggestions are incorporated into the patient’s plan of care. Clearly you are not a nurse. Try spending 12 hours straight in an ICU room with a patient and tell me that a nurse knows less about her patient than the physician. Often we are the first to alert the team of a minor change which can have big implications. We are a team. None of us can get the job done without the other.
Dr. Pepper you are very uninformed. Nurses are the eyes and ears of the doctors. We are the ones who spend the most time with patients, and have more autonomy than you think. Nurses have their own nursing process to help treat and diagnosis problems secondary to diseases. We don’t just not only carry out there order, we have to make sure that the orders that are given are the correct ones and are for the right patient. There are many times when patient are prescribed a treatment or medications for a condition the patient doesn’t have or for the wrong patient. Doctors make mistake and it is our responsibility to catch those mistake because if not WE ARE ALSO LIABLE. And the idea that we have no liability is absolute NOT TRUE. Depending on the state that you work as a nurse you held to a standard and are held liable to those standard, meaning YES WE HAVE LIABILITY and can lose our license just like a doctor can. Nursing is physically, mentally and emotional job and nurses need to take of themselves, that was the point of this article. Only nurses can understand what others nurses do. If you are not a nurse than you can not truly understand what we go through on the floor.
You barely touched the tip of the iceberg in some respects. I have been doing this for 34 yrs in June, and I love most of what I do.That being said, I get tired of being a doormat and a handmaiden. I currently have a boss who only rates her employess as “satisfactory” nothing more, ever. She is quick to find fault but never acknowledges the good. Nothing can be done about it, administration thinks she walks on water. The profession has ruined my feet and back and I pray I can last 7 more years to be able to retire.I have been spit on, had a knife and gun pulled on me, 2 surgeries related to OTJ injuries that were never acknowledged as such, and all of the aformentioned things by prior comments. At the end of the day I judge my success on whether I made someone’s life easier, that day.
OMG Thank you for this post. I have been nursing for 20 years, with the last being in Labor and Delivery. I feel that same way most of the nurses that have posted here. I am tired and disgusted. We are being pressured now to give EXCELLENT Customer service to rival a four star hotel, since the hospital won’t get their government money if their scores are not good. This has added additional stress to all of us and I see no way out as I am the main bread-winner in the family. We get no respect and are thrown under the bus by the Doctors, managers and administrators. No one understands what I go thru except for my co-workers.
The Quality customer cycle makes its rounds about every 8-10 years in the hospitals. I have witnessed it so many times, the survey’s sent to the patients to complete, during and after discharge are detailed with a subliminal messages built into the questions. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the care on each shift you received during your stay? etc. etc.
Once one facility adopts this, every facility in the city catches the quality virus.
Superhero in Disguise
by Kristina Krampe RN
Gets up like a normal person.
Does all her chores, like moms will do.
Cleans the house and does the dishes.
Pays the bills before they are due.
No one knows this simple woman
Transforms as she prepares for work.
Behind the eyes of compassion,
A superhero starts to lurk.
Dons her clothes of bright white cotton;
Her cape with pockets deep and wide.
Filled with items so important:
A pen, a mask, and gloves inside.
Places on her slender shoulders
A pink and bulky stethoscope.
Prepares to fight the world of illness
and bring to patients rays of hope.
Off to work like any other
But in her heart the change takes place;
Bracing for the tasks that’s coming,
Compassion still upon her face.
Punches in the clock that’s ticking.
Superhero’s arrived at last.
Rubber soled, her shoes are fashioned
For superhero’s must move fast.
Doctor orders, call lights flashing.
The IV pumps and potty chairs.
Closing curtains, changing dressings;
taking the time to show she cares.
Passing pills, preparing needles;
giving shots to relieve the pain.
Only superhero strength can
keep a sane nurse feeling sane.
“Code blue” called and she must hurry.
She is on the code blue team.
Pushes on the man’s bare chest and
Hears sobs in the background, loved ones scream.
Sometimes the patient lives again.
Sometimes the patient, sadly, dies.
No one hears the superhero;
It is alone the hero cries.
She punches out, her shift is done.
She takes off her long cloak of white.
Arrives at home, she takes a bath
And thinks about her busy night.
As she crawls between her covers,
Her pillow soft beneath her head,
No one to share the super deeds;
Confidential, remains unsaid.
Her husband sees she’s exhausted.
Notes how quickly she closed her eyes.
Holds her close, he doesn’t know
He holds a hero, in disguise.
Am sharing this on FB for a RN friend…..well said!
I am not a nurse but I do know several. While there are people out there who “hate on” the nurse staff, please know that I understand how hard your job is. I pray for you all, and hope you know that you truly are wonderful people with an extremely hard job. My thanks to you all.
I worked night shift for 25 years, first in Psych and then in ICU. I didn’t get my degree until I was almost 45 and planned to work till I was 70. I initially left Psych nursing because I was exhausted from driving 35 miles one way to work for an 8 hr. shift and they refused to give me the 10 hr. or 12 hr. shift. I loved ICU for the first part of my 18 years there, but as patient care declined and computer work increased, I honestly just got burned out. I retired at 69 when I heard they planned to install the 3rd computer system in 5 years. Gone are the days of bedside nursing and welcome to the computer era. As far as I’m concerned, the worst thing about nursing today is Joint Commission – they have hospitals jumping thru their hoops for accreditation, to the detriment of the patients. These people have probably not worked a floor for 25 years, if ever, and think they know what’s best for the patients – wrong!!!I retired 8 yrs. ago and, if I had a chance for a do-over, would have chosen a different profession.
Me too! Concur 100%!
I agree whole heartedly.i worked the night shift for 8+years.All holidays,weekends.Missed so many family functions so I could sleep.And all the school plays and concerts.No one ever wanted to switch a shift with a 11/7 worker.But with all that,i loved my pts.n hated to see anyone suffer.i did finally get day shift but by that time my kids were older n didn’t have any school functions.being a nurse is more than a paycheck,you have to CARE! i’m glad I picked that profession!
I’m in South NJ. I’ve been licensed since May 2011 with an AAP. I couldn’t get a job so I rushed and completed my BSN. I finished in May 2013. I graduated cum laude with a 3.95 and I cannot get a job, nor an interview. I actually had one interview, only because someone I knew got the interview for me. I was beat out by a 20-year nurse. If anyone hates their job I will gladly take it. I had a 9 – 5 job and worked in the field of computer science for 14 years. There were deadlines and 6 am to midnight shifts that I had to work to complete my task. The stress was very high for everyone but we didn’t complain. People are getting squeezed everywhere, not just in nursing. I wish people would stop complaining about the nursing profession. Everyone knows the demands before they start school. Everyone knows you are on your feet for 12+ hours and that holidays/weekends are going to have to be sacrificed. I’m stressed sitting here wondering if I will be homeless soon so when nurses want to cry for missing their kids game they should be grateful that they don’t have to feel the stress that I am feeling. I never in my life have seen so many cry babies in one profession. I have 14 years of corporate experience and I can tell you nurses are under no more mental stress than I was, or any of my other co-workers were, and we never complained. There are other professions so if anyone is that broken down they really should move on to something else. PS, there is no such thing as a 9-5 anymore. People are now doing the work of two and three people so the company can post profits for the shareholders. I know a lot of people and they are sacrificing their lunch hour, coming in early, staying late, and working weekends so they can keep their jobs. Nurses need to regroup, take a deep breath, and look at their pay checks and be thankful that they can sleep in a warm bed and afford a healthy meal.
Michele, I can certainly understand your feelings, since I was an unemployed teacher before I went into nursing. I substitute taught for minimum wage, and I used to get very tired of hearing teachers complain about their workload, when I would have jumped at the chance to do it in their place, especially for their pay.
The thing is, though, you can’t know how much stress you’ll be under as a nurse, until you actually experience it. And I’m not talking about experiencing it as a student nurse. I’m talking about being thrown in there, with a full patient load, and no one to go to if you’re feeling overwhelmed or underprepared.
What you’re also not realizing is that it’s possible to love a job, or at least to like it, and still complain about it to those who know where you’re coming from. If you never saw anyone complain in your previous job, then either you weren’t paying attention, or that job wasn’t nearly as stressful and demanding as nursing is.
One of the first things you learn as a nurse is to reserve judgment until you’ve got ALL the facts. So how about practicing that skill while you’re waiting for that job opportunity to come?
Michele, I appreciate your 14 years in the corporate world, and I hope and pray that you get a job soon. But please do not judge those that you have no experience with yet. Nursing is a mentally challenging and physically demanding job, and yes we all knew it before we started, with one exception—that ‘thing’ that makes us crazy–that makes us want to run both to and from this job like the plague. I pray that if you are still nursing in another 14 years that you somehow manage to avoid it…but I doubt it. Be well.
Welcome to the world of nursing…it is deceptive marketing practices that encourage people to go to school and become nurses – never telling them that there are virtually NO jobs available, especially in this economy!
Ha! I hope you get a job soon, too, so you
rethink your comment. Nursing is a second career for me. Even when I worked two jobs and went to school full-time, I never felt as drained as I do with my med-surg nursing gig. Yes it is good pay and I never bitch about that because I am so grateful to be able to start paying down my debts. And I do hate seeing nurses who are SITTING and bitching.
I don’t have time to stop and chat about how hard the job is -I’ve got shit to do for my patients. Anyways, good luck with the job search. Something tells me you didn’t bust your ass as a nursing assistant through school which may be why you are having trouble getting an RN job and why you’re a tad out of touch.
Very accurate post. I feel the same way, after 17 years the profession is wearing on me, especially as I see the corporation doing things I don’t like much. All the abuse by patients, patient’s family’s, some coworkers and administration really makes it rough. Sometimes the good moments outweigh the bad, but those seem so rare. Nurses have to watch each others backs, and take care of each other. We’re the only ones who really understand each other.
Wow, oscarnotsosmart. I hope you get healthcare professionals who have the same heartless disdain for you that you seem to have for us. What your opinion seems to lack is any REALISTIC view of the future of healthcare, the physical, emotional and psychological demands of the field, and a grasp of the sacrifices we make to take care of judgmental douchebags who think we should be grateful for our job wiping your crap from your sac. Charming.
What line of work are you in? If we are just to up & change professions, which you seem to imply is an easy undertaking in this day, then perhaps I can just take yours. It seems to require no compassion, no empathy, no soul, and very little regard for anyone else. Of course, I’ll have to lower my standards. And my IQ. And I’ll be giving up my FOUR days off… But those are sacrifices I think I can make if it means not taking care of you.
Or… I can just stay in the field and hope and pray that one day I get you for a patient. I’d very much love to be in charge of your pain meds. Better yet, your life support.
I decided after 25 years of being an accountant that I wanted to do respiratory therapy, because I was fed up and wanted something very different. With all its faults, I love my job, and I think that when people in any profession suffer burnout, the thing to do is go where you find what you love. I wish more people had the ability to do so, because it’s easy to recognize people who have just been in something too long. I bristle when a poster above me says she hopes she is in charge of someone else’s care so she can punish him. I would be happy to manage that person’s vent if it were necessary, and I wouldn’t make fun of my patient’s condition, either. If you can’t be kind, you’re in the wrong job.
Although this is very touching what about your help? You guys are VERY far from alone dont leave your tech out we work just as hard with NO recognition ALL the time, we miss holidays and family time, games, and we are right there with you turning, rolling, and caring…
You’re right, Nursetech. We should be saying “patient care staff,” not just “nurses.” We’re all in it together.
Not all nurse units have techs, aides or other assistants. You all work the same hours we do and have more of the dirty work then some of the nurses and for this you are held in high regards. This blog I believe was a steam release though for a nurse who had reached a limit. There was nothing being held back on the help they get from techs, etc, but even then, that doesnt release them from the work they still have to do and the weekends of missing children etc. Thank you for all that you do to help your nurses care for the patient’s needs. Blessed be.
So true!
Nursetech, you are absolutely right. When I shared this on fb, I wrote, ” Every nurse and CNA should read this”. I should have said all patient care personnel.
Thank you for sharing the truth. I am an RN with a BSN and 20 years of working in this profession. If you are not a nurse then you really have no earthly idea what it is like. After 12 years of working in the hospital and 8 years of clinic nursing I could take it no more. I gave all I had and always prayed that my dedication to my profession would not cause harm to my children. It did. As much as I absolutely love nursing it did take a toll on me AND my children. And my marriage. It’s an admirable profession but you MUST make time for yourself and family.
Amen to that!
I understand the struggle of being a nurse. I am not a nurse but I have many family members who are and I agree they are overworked, under payed, and way under appreciated. But I have to say 12 hour shifts i know all to well, I work 5 10-12hr shifts a week. And talk about being under appreciated and disrespected! I work n fast food and people talk to us like we are stupid, uneducated, and up human! People expect their food in 10 seconds and there better not be a mistake and heaven forbid their fries not coming straight outta the grease, shm. They expect perfect food but don’t wanna give you time to make it perfectly! So I can say I relate to this entire post except for we are closed on Christmas Day and thanksgiving day!
I’ve been a CNA for many years and am going to school to be a nurse, but I’m starting to doubt this decision. I hear so many nurses ask me why, even from new grads that only been working a few months they say I wish I went in to something different. I was hired at the hospital to help support the nurses so they can do there jobs. but they have to do half my job cause I usually have at times over 20 pts to take care of, and even when we are staff good the pt accuraty can be very high there no consideration for that at all. Some pts are like having
3. I think that the upper management should work the floor or follow us one shift and maybe they would give us better staff. Those bean counters have no idea at all!!! I hope by the time I become a nurse things will change, I’ve always wanted to be a nurse and hope I’m making the right decision
Don’t ignore your instincts/intuition….it’s NOT to late to change your mind! Consider physical therapy – hours are better and pay is greater!
I’ve been there and done that. I’m Old now and still do prn. Keeps my brain from atrophying.
I’m an RN and I worked in the hospital for 10 years. I, too, understand what it feels like to wish for something to happen to you so that you don’t make it to work. I have taken mental health days and felt guilty for it and been criticized (a lot of times by other nurses) for it. I have gone to work sick as a dog and had people say to me “why don’t you just stay home?”
I’m not complaining. I love my job. I’ve loved all of my nursing jobs. There is nothing like handing a newborn to a new mother for the first time. Or comforting a patient that’s just received a devastating diagnosis.
But there’s also nothing like hearing the screaming of a family member in the hallway as you’re coding their loved one. Or being told by a family member that your priorities are screwed up because you failed to refill their water when you opted to go check on that patient that the ICU called on to let you know they’d seen an 8 beat run of v-tach on the tele monitor. It’s impossible to not carry some of that around with you. I’m not saying that other professions don’t have their stresses and problems, and I’m not downplaying those, but being a nurse is an entirely different ball game.
And there’s nothing wrong with venting. Sometimes you just have to get it off your chest. Hey, somebody may just have a comment that changes the way you looked at something – and that may not be a bad thing.
I really appreciate everything nurses do, but that’s the profession you chose. People know about the shortage and the BS but continue to go into nursing. I have 3 nurses in my family.
Seriously, why are you even on this website? Let the nurses and nursing assistants/techs vent. If you don’t work in a hospital, you do not have a clue about what they’re dealing with, no matter how many nurses are “in your family.” Take your suck-it-up attitude somewhere else, please. These men and women are looking for a place to be honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the medical field. No one’s saying it’s the absolute hardest job in the world. But it kicks your ass and breaks you down physically, emotionally, and emotionally. On top of that, confidentiality laws and just a lack of understanding from friends and loved ones (who want to know how your day went but can’t always grasp the significance of just how bad a bad day can be) make it very difficult to find a release for the stress. So chill out and let people have their honest say. And when you actually have worked in a hospital or deal with loved ones who are falling apart from this type of work (like some of the wonderfully supportive family members who feel their loved ones’ pain), feel free to come on back and vent too.
I agree with Sabrina. Dont judge someone when you dont know what they go through at their job. As for knowing what nurses put up with day to day and someone still chooses to go into that line of work? Just think if all our military heroes decided not to serve because of that mindset. As for me choosing to become a nurse, I didn’t……..nursing chose me. (Believe me, it’s a long story but true). I believe that most nurses feel the same way, we are serving those that are unable to help themselves.
I agree 100 %. I have been a nurse for 20 years and have experienced many of these same issues. Bullying co-workers are the worst (especially if it’s from a frresh-out-of-school “know it all”). Why are nurses so mean to each other? I have never understood that. I have been bitten, punched, spit on, had hair pulled by patients. I have been chewed out by angry families and talked down to by management. I have also been praised by patients and families. It definately has it’s ups and downs. I can be so rewarding and the next second so demeaning. I have taken a few “breaks” from nursings for my own mental health. It is a demanding job that has gotten worse over my career as ratios are tighter and charting longer. I agree with another responder- if I had known 20+ years ago what I do now, I would have done something totally away from the health field. The whole health industry seems as if it only cares about $$. I now work part time but the same thing goes on. Families watching everyones moves like they’re waiting for something to sue over and treating us like we’re they’re personal slave and have no one else to care for but them. Management spreading us thinner by cutting staffing and increasing workloads. It’s not like this all the time but I am frustrated and wanting to vent. No wonder so many of us burn out….
I totally agree with you and can relate on how us healthcare workers are treated so disrespectfully. I have been told to keep quiet and just do my job and that I needed to agree with the mission statement of the company or not work there. I asked what that mission statement was so I could follow it and then was never told! I have been hit, slapped, spit on, scratched, pinched, called every swear name in the book ( I work with dementia residents primarily) and when trying to get help from most Physicians for medication to assist that resident in feeling calmer I was told to “use redirection skills”. When trying to get additional staff to assist with out of control residents I was ignored every time.I have 2 special dementia certifications, mental health training, 3 years experience and 12 hours of continuing education on top of that this year alone just in dementia and behavior care. I have transferred patients that weighed over 75-100 pounds more than me because I was alone and had no help. The workloads get harder every day because it is all about money.
I think you are right on the money here and I have said multiple times in my 24 year career that nurses are worked too hard, the ration is too low and that patients will get well faster if there are more nurses to care for them on a daily basis. The nurse shortage is here for a reason, nurses QUIT because they are drained and cant take it anymore. We need to support each other and not wine and complain behind each others backs too. A mental health say IS a sick day. Not just a physically ill day. So dont be embarrassed about your blog, or apologize for writing your feelings. If people dont understand what a blog is then they need to look up the definition. Take care!!
Amazing. Truth!
My husband is a RN & I am an RT/CNMT. He managed the cath lab & I worked holidays, weekends, & took call. I have been in the field about 35 years, always working in a hospital except for a few rare occasions when I found an office job like I have now. I know how you feel too. Not only nurses but other ancillary personnel feel the same way. After putting in a full work day & then being on call….I’ve been known to throw a beeper or phone across the room. Getting up at 1am to go in to do a bleeding scan knowing that your shift starts at 5:30am & the scan takes a couple of hours…wow won’t you get the best of care later on that day! Having a#*hole doctors wondering why you’re not done yet or why haven’t you got to their patient yet…like theirs is the only one. Having to track down that emergency lung scan from the ER at 2am while he’s outside smoking…yeah great memories. I’ve had those same thoughts too about having an accident or just keep driving. Sisters, I feel your pain. Talked about being looked down upon?! Even some of you look at us as “button pushers”! Next time when I come to the unit at 2am to get your patient for that STAT VQ lung scan…remember that I’ve already worked my shift, that I do all my own transporting, & that on the way back in I was praying you’d cancel the scan or the patient would die. Yeah, I’ve had that thought too. We’re all in this together, so let’s support & encourage each other. Thanks for a great article.
If men were 90% of the nursing population they would not tolerate the conditions that nurses face daily …
so true….the good ones go to anesthesia/other nursing
Well said. Almost 30 yrs of nursing, pt assignments get bigger, computers make charting more clumsy, meals and breaks a non existent. I’m too old for this industry and too young to retire. I’ve done many aspects, and none is easier than the other. Many pts have told me they appreciate what I’ve done, and I guess that’s the true reward. Unfortunately, the only ones management hears from are the ones who have complaints. Cutting staff seems to be the industry s latest idea, but it’s hard to give good nursing care without nurses.
I was in nursing school 30 years ago. Clinical made me physically sick. The thought of doing it for the rest of my life filled me with angst. By our senior year all my friends were anorexic, bulemic or suffering from some kind of stress disorder. So I became an art teacher. When my mother was dying I would watch the nurses and wonder how they could do it every day. In hospice I was convinced that those nurses were actually grounded angels. I could never have had a career as a nurse but I admire and support all the nurses that I know…mostly because I know exactly what they have given of themselves to the profession. Thank you and know that you are respected and admired.
I am a new nurse (7 months). And though I have had days like this, I am happy to say they are the exception so far. I work med/surg in a small community hospital and love my job. I drive almost 45 minutes to work at THIS hospital. The other nurses I work with function as a team and I enjoy my work day with them. We work so well together that even our pts notice it. We max at a 5:1 ratio but often have 3 or 4 pts. Most of the thoroughly enjoy my Pts. We have an incredible manager, support staff and many amazing Dr’s. I love the 12 hour shift as I have so many other days off. Now i need to say my kids are grown and my husband keeps busy when I work so that I’m sure plays a role in my satisfaction. I also work days which I count as a huge blessing. I say all of this because there are good employers out there and also nurses who love what they do.
I would argue that Respiratory Therapists are another profession that experience how nurses feel. Good blog post we(RTs) appreciate you.
Thank you,that was well said, you have voiced everything I have ever felt, thought or expressed about our profession. I left the bedside 2 1/2 years ago because of all the issues you mentioned. I do miss it but the issues you mentioned are the reasons I left. Hopefully a nursing administrator or two will read this and realize just what a precious resouce we truely are.
Wow, I can relate to everything that you expressed. I appreciate you putting in writing what I feel and experience on a regular basis. I’m just getting off of my 3rd night of 12hr shifts ( Friday, Saturday and Sunday). I miss so much with my family and friends. I never feel like I’m rested or relaxed enough. I could go on but I’m exhausted . Again, THANK YOU!!!!!
I have been a bedside nurse for 40 years. This post for sure hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Nursing is a hard job that no one seems to truly understand unless they have been there. Hospitals never close. I have four children who have said over the years what they remember most about the holidays when they were young, is that I was never there. How sad is that? How sad does that make me feel? It is all good and well to act the martyr and say well, someone has to take care of the patients and this is what we have chosen to do. Right, but it still does not make it easier to be away from home on weekends and holidays when everyone else is with their families. We are terribly understaffed. We are overworked and underpaid. We are the first ones to be criticized when things are not done according to what patients “expect”. We get no monetary rewards at holidays, as many do. We do our job, we do it well, and we ask for respect. Thank you so much for this post!
Just read this and I must say that I agree 100%. Nurses are an under appreciated bunch. Back in 1983 my daughter was in the NICU at the University of Washington. She was assigned 2 primary care nurses, that were god sends. Never was there a time in the 5 months that my daughter was in that unit that they weren’t there for at least moral support. They would even call my wife and I at home just to see how we were doing. When the grind of spending most of our time at the hospital was obviously taking a toll on us, it was our nurses that insisted we take a break and get away for a weekend. They showed us how to read our daughters charts and explained in detail procedures that were being done. On the day that my daughter finally got to come home they were there to give her a send off. The love and compassion of these 2 individuals will never be forgotten by me. Oh and today, my daughter is a healthy, happy woman making her own way in the world. While your job may grind on you, just know that you do make a difference, and not always limited to the patients. Thank you for your dedication.
Thank you for this. People don’t always the struggles or the rewards of nursing, only other nurses understand that. There have been times that I’ve considered quitting altogether but obviously couldn’t go thru with it ironically I love what I do. I’ve been an RN for 7 years and I cant imagine myself doing anything else but it’s definitely a hard job. Once again thank you for the honesty of you blog. Forget everyone else that felt the need to scrutinize it….I understand you.
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Superhero in Disguise
by common child trusts in God (79)
Superhero in Disquise
by Kristina Krampe RN
Gets up like a normal person.
Does all her chores, like moms will do.
Cleans the house and does the dishes.
Pays the bills before they are due.
No one knows this simple woman
Transforms as she prepares for work.
Behind the eyes of compassion,
A superhero starts to lurk.
Dons her clothes of bright white cotton;
Her cape with pockets deep and wide.
Filled with items so important:
A pen, a mask, and gloves inside.
Places on her slender shoulders
A pink and bulky stethoscope.
Prepares to fight the world of illness
and bring to patients rays of hope.
Off to work like any other
But in her heart the change takes place;
Bracing for the tasks that’s coming,
Compassion still upon her face.
Punches in the clock that’s ticking.
Superhero’s arrived at last.
Rubber soled, her shoes are fashioned
For superhero’s must move fast.
Doctor orders, call lights flashing.
The IV pumps and potty chairs.
Closing curtains, changing dressings;
taking the time to show she cares.
Passing pills, preparing needles;
giving shots to relieve the pain.
Only superhero strength can
keep a sane nurse feeling sane.
“Code blue” called and she must hurry.
She is on the code blue team.
Pushes on the man’s bare chest and
Hears sobs in the background, loved ones scream.
Sometimes the patient lives again.
Sometimes the patient, sadly, dies.
No one hears the superhero;
It is alone the hero cries.
She punches out, her shift is done.
She takes off her long cloak of white.
Arrives at home, she takes a bath
And thinks about her busy night.
As she crawls between her covers,
Her pillow soft beneath her head,
No one to share the super deeds;
Confidential, remains unsaid.
Her husband sees she’s exhausted.
Notes how quickly she closed her eyes.
Holds her close, he doesn’t know
He holds a hero, in disguise.
Awesome! Thank you
I know personally, I have turned a 12into a 13 because of a busy or new admit and I try to leave the next shift on a clean slate…but sometimes it does not happen.