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 see why your daughter doesn’t talk to you about her day… “suck it up”… next time you are in a hospital I dare you to say that to your nurse… I am guessing your career choice wasn’t an English teacher by the amount of misspelled words in your post and maybe tell your daughter how wonderful she is doing at work everyday
I am obviously an RN as well. While in grad school, my research revolved around nurse burnout, patient to nurse ratios, floating to areas where you have little to no experience. All of these things make nursing very stressful. But I also have to say nurses are the ones that make it this way. I have worked at facilities where the CEO and COO were RNs and were in charge of implementing policy. Nursing councils were also in place to assist with policies. Time and time again policies were put in to place to give staff nurses increased patient loads, decrease the amount of time we can take off for vacation etc. All done by our fellow RNs.
We had the classes about self care and its importance. Then as a slap in the face, we would be written up when we call off for being sick.
It also bothers me that nurses act if they are the only ones to work 12 hour shifts, have to work weekends and holidays. Many factory workers have to 16 hour days and then come back in a few hours to work another. While I was in the military I was deployed for over 2 years straight. Worked every day. And in conditions much worse than ICU I have ever worked in.
If nurses want things to change for the better for themselves, we have band together and change it for everyone.
After 40 years in nursing I took an early retirement this year at age 62. I will collect social security. I have had back surgery, cancer, a hip that aches and a shoulder that acts up. My body just can’t take it anymore. I was an EMT for 10 years along with the nursing career. The last few years were the hardest. I have been in geriatric nursing, dialysis, med/surg, agency nursing and private nursing. I enjoyed them all and never regret my decision to become a nurse. I just can’t do it anymore. I want to enjoy my kids, grandkids, my hobbies and my life. I’ve earned it.
Everything is very open with a very clear explanation of the challenges. It was truly informative. Your website is very useful. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for speaking your truth. I appreciate that. I’ve been a nurse for 30 years. A lot has changed, a lot hasn’t. It’s clear that all different professions that provide patient care have a lot of the same issues. I think we must support each other as we seek to create change that improves the working conditions for all of us, so that we all can provide the safest and kindest care we can to our patients.
Nursing has always been a “calling”. The minute you take that oath or even as you progress through nursing school, you have to know this is a commitment, it’s not just a job. I am blessed to now be a retired nurse after 31 years of service. I was a student assistant, staff nurse, nurse educator for 25 years & the last 6 years a nurse manager. Although some may have thought I ” had it made” only working Monday through Friday, I had 24 hour accountability & a long range pager to be reached anytime. I worked 16+ hours many times along side my nurses. One of the many things I learned, is to be supportive of your team, lend a hand as often as possible even if it’s just to answer a call light or get a pitcher of water for a patient. Be visible & equally fair to everyone. Not all nurses have the same commitment & sense of helping one another, but if they did, there would be less multiple call ins on the same day, thereby making the day easier for their peers. Yes, we work very hard & many different hours, but there are too many positive rewards that outweigh the negative ones. We all had a choice, we made a choice & took an oath. Whether we realize it or not, we make a difference to our patients & their families. Persevere!!
I m an RN, no longer clinical but have been qualified 20 plus years, we are NOT angels, it is NOT a calling. It’s a profession that warrants and demands good pay and benefits. The idea that it’s a calling reduces our profession to trying to justify low pay because mostly women do it. No! It’s based upon art and science, is a profession and we need to enhance and recognize it and those who perform the work as such.
Wow I think your post was fantastic and to the point. I am a CNA and manager of an Adult Family Home and I have been in school for two years and I am awaiting my entrance to the RN program. I was just let go from my job a few days ago for being on light duty because I was in so much back pain. Over the last year my faith in the healthcare system has been challenged significantly and I have come to the conclusion that no matter your role or education the only thing we are is a warm body to fill a shift. PERIOD. Do you have an active license and can pass a background check? Your hired. Healthcare is about money and how much can be made and literally has nothing to do with patient care. I have refused to just be a warm body and I love my residents and I will advocate for them. I refuse to keep my mouth shut when something is totally out of line and I have been let go from two jobs for doing that. I do not regret calling the state and reporting both times over the safety of my residents. Yes it is illegal for a facility to let me go but good luck proving that.
I have worked with constant back pain, no help, no lunch, no breaks, not even enough time to pee, let alone not even the proper supplies to do my jobs. I have been forced to work other peoples shifts because no one would show up to replace me and I have worked as many as 12 days straight only to get one day off and come back for 5 more because I was the manager. I have cried, been so exhausted I couldn’t believe I could physically force myself to get up and continue another day and I too wished something would happen so I could get out of working. I am a single mother, a full time college student and worked more than full time and I have missed half of my children’s lives. They cook their own dinner, I miss their sporting events and school events and I am constantly sleeping because I am so stressed. I was on call 24/7 and sometimes had up to 10 or 15 phone calls a day from my caregivers asking for help on what to do and even on my day off I could easily spend up to 6 hours on the phone. I love nursing but I am so concerned with the direction our healthcare system is going that I have considered switching degrees several times. Amen to you for saying how we all feel!
Nurse are angels . . . .make no bones about that!
I don’t know of many nurses who are required to make multi-month (if not years) deployments away from their families (whether or not in combat is not an issue) . . .and most of them are in the same category!
If you are not happy with your employment then “move on”. . . id it is rough in your chosen vocation . . .”remember who put you there”!
A smile is all that most people need . . .the bitching and moaning will not help matters at all (unless you want your true colors posted on FaceBook?
This has been an interesting read. I am a teacher. Sounds like nurses do need a strong union. Not so much to negotiate fair wages, but to negotiate safe and healthy working conditions. Wow. Thanks to all of you for the work you do.
I feel bad that I emotionally give all I have at work and when I come home I have nothing left for my own family. I feel bad that I feel I am constantly walking the line between competent nurse and nervous breakdown. I feel that nursing school hides the reality from all students, otherwise no one would be in this field. I’ve changed my job 3 times in six years and they all suck!!!! I feel nurses take a lot of abuse. I take care of myself at home but at work I haven’t had a proper lunch in over a year. At my work you are only allowed to call off once in 3 months or you get written up. How fucked up is that? It’s more like, have your mental breakdown in the med room then get on with it.
6 year nurse for non-profit hospital
I really thought I was the only nurse who when driving into work wished to get into a car accident instead of make it there, because sadly that would be a better day. Glad I’m not the only one. I doubt many other professions outside of healthcare face the pressure, strains, long hours, and understaffing that nursing deals with every single day. And this is people’s lives we are dealing with, of all ways to make the budget look better…. Why understaff those actually providing the care?!!! I’ll never understand. I now work in an oncology office so the extreme stress and demands of the hospital life are thank god behind me!
I just celebrated my 29th year being an RN in December. After 10 years of Nursing, around 1994, I was sure I had made a mistake. Just like my Sister explained in her blog, I hated going to work. No time for patients, family, or time off. Mom died of Cancer while I was working my schedule (which was carved in stone) by the powers that be. It wasn’t until 1999 that I finally started loving the proffesion and realized why I chose to stay in it.
Pa got cancer in 1998. This time, I chose to quit my job and devote some time to caring for him and reconciling our differences. 7 months passed between diagnosis and death. We did not reconcile a lot of our differences, but something really great happened. I realized why I do what I do. From that time on, I made some positive changes. I became a mentor to young nurses. I proffess and advocate for all those things in your blog; Taking care of other nurses, Supporting each other, and taking care of ourselves. I can’t over state what I’m writing next; Find ways of doing things in your profession that benefit patients and staff. Take care of all your needs and most of your wants. Help other nurses achieve their needs and wants. It usually involves a few kind words or an ear when they need to talk. Don’t wait until you burn out completely or are almost retired like this writer before you start taking care of yourselves.
As a “seasoned” nurse of almost 40 years, I AM admittedly from a different era. I opened your letter and was following your ideas just fine until you had to throw in profanity for emphasis. Tired or not, real professional nurses do not ever express themselves in such an offensive manner. Maybe you do need to question whether you belong in this arena.
If you feel like this person then maybe nursin isn’t for you! I have never once felt like “injuring my self” to get out of work. I have injoyed everyday coming to work. Yes there are days I would rather stay home with my family, but I have NEVER feared working as a nurse! Also I don’t believe in the health care rationing. 5 years ago I would have 6-8 patients neightly. Now its 4-6. Older nurses talk about having 12-14 patients a piece on nights. Things have gotten better
This article was an eye opening look into the world of nursing as a career field. I have many friends and relatives that have been nurses for many years but they do not talk about their work experiences to anyone other than their co-workers. Nursing is a noble profession that requires certain education, skills, and personality to handle daily chaos. I also know that nursing is a female dominated field because it is one of the few careers that have flexible work hours for busy moms who have children in different activities or can take off work when their child is sick. I am a woman who has worked in manufacturing most of her life. Our work schedules over years have been 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week. You get the same one day off each month. If you call in sick or show up late three days in an entire year, you are fired no excuses because others are waiting to take your job. Night shift is tough because you are at work while your kid is doing homework or going to other activities while you are at work. You sleep during the day while your family is at work or school so there is never family time. My husband and son never see me. I work in area that is mostly men because the parts I lift are over 45 lbs. You are constantly bending, stooping, and lifting all day and never allowed to sit down. Lunch is 30 minutes but that time includes walking to the other side of the building, using the bathroom, and standing in a long line to get your food then getting all the way across the building to your workstation so your break is only 5 minutes at most to get off your steel toe boot feet. Your boss is always standing at your station with a stopwatch and writes you or co-workers up if you are a few seconds late. If you are written up your end of year bonus gets much smaller when it wasn’t much to start with. I have smashed my fingers, done month’s physical therapy for back spasms, and had issues with harassment. I am allergic to latex gloves and fuel oil, which I am in using daily so my hands are always broken out in sores. There is no union where I live so supervisors and managers can treat you however they want, work you as much as they want, and pay you half what nurses make even with all those hours of overtime, not as a temporary, but a regular employee for the company. I am not saying nurses do not have it hard but many other professions have it worse so always be thankful for the career field you are in or go back to college and work that office 9-5 job most people envy.
I was a nurse for over 35 yrs, and up until about 10yrs ago, loved my profession & was proud to be a. Nurse. But times have changed, it is no longer about the patient, it is about the money & the politics. I left nursing a couple of yrs ago, due to the stress, and lack of support from administration. Administration can sit in their office, and judge, without even knowing what is truly going on, on the floor, they rely on, a few of their brown noses, who twist & turn the facts. They haven’t got a clue, how hard your job really is.nor do they try to make it any easier.They work you short staffed,overtime,and without the resources you need to give good care.then if you are not able, to give the kind of care you want to ,and should be giving, it is your license on the line, they will not stand behind you, and in many cases do their best not to take responsibility for their own actions, that put you in the position that you could lose your license. I have never been happier, since leaving nursing, than I am now. My life as taken a new direction. I have a lot of respect for the nurses & CNAs still in the field, because I know how hard they work, with little appreciation, and support. Administration, could take lessons from the company, I now work for, in how to treat & appreciate their staff. I dread the day, when I will be hospitalized, because I don’t think there will be that many good nurses & cna’s left, so many of my former co-workers have left the field or are thinking of leaving. It’s time the. Medical field realizes that their staff is their best asset, and if you don’t take care of them & have to keep replacing them, that will cost them more in the long run.
We all handle our issues differently. Keeping a blog or journal to vent is actually a healthy way to keep your sanity in this profession. Even your daughter has these days I’m sure. I don’t think this woman needs to “suck it up”. It sounds like she already has.
Thank you to all the nurses out there who have worked so hard caring for our loved ones…I appreciate you…..
Awesome blog entry. Thanks for sharing! Proud to be a nurse!
I thank all of you for your comments. I’m an RN in North Dakota. I’ve been a nurse for 9 years. I did 5 years of night shift at the hospital, 1-1/2 years in a clinic setting, and now I’m working as an RN/EMT in an ambulance setting. I much prefer this, as I can give everything I’ve got to my patients for 30 – 60 minutes. Then I pass them off to someone else….I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do this physically, but it’s less wearing emotionally. I can clean up that vomit , poop, or pee or any other disgusting bodily fluid as many times as necessary in that brief time. The thought of having to do it over and over and over for 3 nights in a row, literally makes me cry. And especially considering many patients are verbally abusive, and in general, just plain disrespectful. You put your pleasant face on for the whiny 20 something female who had her tonsils removed; she’s upset because you didn’t bring her swish and spit soon enough; never mind that you were coding a patient in the next room. And how about the tendencies of nurses to develop UTI’s due to holding your bladder for hours and hours, or subsisting on 1 lifesaver in a shft because you truly didn’t have time to eat another single thing!! I didn’t mean to go on a rant, but I pray I never have to work in a situation where I’m so disrespected ever again. By the way, a good charge nurse lets her CNA’s KNOW how appreciated they are!
I, too, have been a nurse for years and it can be very difficult. I have worked as a travel nurse and found that the area and facility make a huge difference. Some places require mandatory over time and every other weekend. I found some places I absolutely hated because it was like working with sharks. Other places were wonderful. Nursing can be rewarding and hard as you said, but if you are unhappy, you can find another place that is not so bad. I am back in school furthering my degree and plan on working as a nurse educator in a public health setting rather than strictly hospitals. Nursing jobs are everywhere. What kind of nursing do you want to do is the question you need to ask yourself. Then do it.
All I have to say is that I thank God for nurses and all the hospital staff who see that patients have the care needed to recover and go home. There is a special place in Heaven for these Angels.
I am a Personal Support Worker in a Long Term Care Facility. Long term care is usually end of life care. There are a few exceptions to this, but usually this is the last stop before death. That alone is a great statement. These are people who have lived great lives – they are mothers, fathers, aunts,uncles, sisters, brothers, friends, grand parents etc. They have lived full lives and worked very hard. They deserve the greatest care from the nursing staff ( PSWs, RPNs, RNs) It is hard to provide the best care when we work short. There is very little time to provide support to a resident who has an URI or UTI or if there is an Enteric outbreak affecting more than one resident, or who is depressed because their family can’t find the time to come in for a short visit. This can be very hard to deal with as well as heart breaking. There are times that it gets to be a little too much and I can feel I am getting run down. I will ask for days off for rest and relaxation. If I am not well how can I help look after someone else? Personally I think we should have mental health days that we could use at our discretion. I think this would help with sick time, team work and ultimately I think we could really make a difference in the healthcare field.
I have to reply to you and to the others who are citing “management” as the problem. We do not intentionally under staff in order to save a buck or make a profit. Hospitals all over the country are trying to meet the demands that our government places on how hospitals are reimbursed via Medicare/Medicaid. The process is so convoluted and complicated you would be amazed. Nurses who have jumped the fence into administration, do so because we care about our fellow nurses and our patients. If there weren’t nurses at the table where decisions are being made, the bedside nurse would be totally forgotten. Nursing administrators are under the same pressure, physically, emotionally and spiritually as the bedside nurse. The daily work is different, but it is all necessary. I have worked in a hospital as a bedside nurse that was had a union for nurses. I will never work in those conditions again, never…..it decreases the quality care we are able to deliver, and makes it impossible for the bedside nurse to have a voice in decisions that impact their patients. I agree, 12-hour shifts are difficult. A good manager will work with his/her staff to make sure schedules meet their home needs, while still providing safe staffing. There is so much more than an “us against them” mentality in nursing. We are so much more than that. As healthcare and it’s new laws come to be, let’s not attack each other, blame and put ourselves in the victim role. Use your education and expertise to work together to improve the care we deliver first….the job satisfaction and a decrease in burnout will follow. Increase your professionalism, and leave the backstabbing to another career….not ours. We are so much more than that…
I’ve been a RN for 11 years now. Born and (still being) raised in the heaven and hell that is the Telemetry unit.
I knew very well, before I even stepped foot on my unit that I would be entering a profession that would push me to my limits. I was informed when I signed up that I would be working 3 twelves hour shifts every week, that this would include every other weekend and that the hospital never closes (i.e. Holidays weren’t guaranteed). Actually the last one was more of a “duh”.
That said, over the years I have avoided making commitments that I knew I would not be able to keep because of my schedule thus avoiding my having to apologize to anyone I may have inconvenienced with my miscalculation or poor planning.
I was also a new grad that experienced the growing dread as the work hour drew near. I leaned on my fellow new grads and kept believing that it would get better. Took a while but it did. Back then there were 2 times a month that I could say that I loved my job. Or more on those three payday month’s.
We have a hard job. There are other jobs and professions out there but nursing is what I chose and like a co-worker told me once, “If our job was easy, anyone could do it and we wouldn’t get paid what we get paid.”
I do the best I can. Some days I find my “best” lacking. Other days, things all fall into place. Most days it’s somewhere in between. My fellow new grads have grown into lifelong friends that listen to my gripes and save me on a regular basis. I hope that I do the same for them.
3-12’s w/ alt. weekends means:
… that these are my regular co-workers.
… that I get to work while traffic is still moving
…that I leave work after the crazy rush hour traffic.
…that I get FOUR days off.
Not to mention that fact that I have a job to go to PERIOD!
For all this, I am grateful.
Very well said.
unbelievable! I have never seen an article describe it as clearly as this one and as honestly and completely! nursing is such an important profession and the people doing it are amazing, caring people, but they are in such a predicament as they cannot properly do their job or even take their own breaks due to being sooooooo understaffed….it is bad for nurses and CNA’s and can easily be life threatening for patients…..the only ones profiting are at the top of the system…..it is ridiculous! I was a CNA in a nursing home for a couple years which is worse than the hospital as far as demands on your body and needs….I quit that and am currently volunteering in a hospital emergency room at the info desk as I have decided to not go into schooling for nursing due to what I experienced and how I saw firsthand what the nurses go through and of course, as a CNA we did most of the physical stuff….but I like helping people in some way related to health and wanted to see what the hospital environment was like…..so I am enjoying my volunteer job in the emergency room and being in the environment, but i think it is absolutely crazy what is being expected of nursing/CNA staff……it’s just not right…or safe!!! and mandatory 12 or even 16 hours shifts…..how can they adequately take care of people for that many hours and still, they are lucky if they even get a break….so risky for patient safety and personal injury to the nursing staff!
I’m a 24 year old wife and mother to two little boys. I work In a hospital as a PCT on an abdominal transplant floor and I mostly hate it! We do sooooo much of the work and I only get paid 11 bucks an hour it’s ridiculous In my opinion. And worst part some nurses treat you like crap. My dream is to work labor and delivery or go into obgyn. I’m hoping that it’s just the floor I don’t like and not the field I’m very confused but I have to go back to school and find a career because everything is just so expensive and love doesn’t pay te bills. I was a legal receptionist before this and honestly their was no future or decent money in it. Part of me is sad I read this blog because it makes me wonder if I’m going into the right field and part of me is happy I found this because I don’t want to waste my time. Next month I start my pre nursing courses to eventually become a nurse. Any advice!?
YOU KNOW NOT ALL NURSES CARE MY MOMA DIED BECAUSE A SORRY ASS NURSE DIDN’T GO AND CHECK ON HER WHEN HER ALARM WAS GOING OFF ME AND MY 10YR OLD NEICE HAD TO WALK IN ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND FIND HER DEAD WITH HER ALARM GOING OFF WITH THE NURSES AND DR SITTING AND STANDING AROUND LIKE NOTHING WAS WRONG SO MY FAMILY HAS LOST THE MOSTPRECIOUS THING WE EVER HAD BECAUSE SHE COULDN’T DO HER DAMN JOB HER NAME IS MISTY FORD LOVELL SHE IS A WANNA BE RN AT THE TIME SHE WORKED AT REGENCY HOSPITAL IN FLORENCE S.C. AND I WISH I HAD WENT AHEAD AND BEAT HER TO DEATH THAT NIGHT BECAUSE NO LAWYER WILL DO ANYTHING ABOUT HER TAKING MY MOMAS LIFE BECAUSE MY MOMA HAD HEALTH PROBLEMS SO I GUESS SHE WAS THE GUILTY ONE BECAUSE SHE WAS SICK THE CEO DARREL JONES HAD THE NERVE TO TELL ME AND MY SISTER THAT THIS WAS THE WORST CHRISTMAS HIS STAFF HAD EVER HAD REALLY? I GUESS WE HAD A WONDERFUL ONE HUH? I MEAN IF MY MOMA PULLING THE LEAD OFF HER EAR WAS BOTHERING HER WHY COULDN’T SHE HAVE THE DR CHANGE THE WAY SHE WAS BEING MONITORED PUT HER ON A HEART MONITOR SOMETHING BESIDES JUST IGNORING HER MAYBE THE CLIP THING WAS HURTING HER EAR I MEAN USE YOUR FUCKING BRAIN YOU DUMB ASS SO PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I HAVE OFFENDED THE REAL NURSES THAT CARE AND LIKE SOMEONE SAID ABOVE IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THE TIME AND GIVE THE CARE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE GET OUT OF THIS FIELD BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE’S FAMILY MEMBER AND BECOME A MURDERER LIKE THIS P.O.S. DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!
also, isn’t it a state/federal law that workers are supposed to take their breaks – a half hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks for every 8 hours worked….”rare” is the nursing staff – either nurse or CNA – who gets this!!!
Thank you for these words of encouragement. My boss schedule me to work New Year day, after I have already worked Thanksgiving day and Christmas day. Told me she could not let me off for that day because she would not have enough nurses.
Sounds like a personal problem to me. What manager would expect any employee to be okay with having to work all three of those holidays? I was not even angry about Christmas and Thanksgiving, I had them off last year. But I worked New Year’s day. So I expected to be off this New Year’s only seems fair.
I am a nurse, and what you say here is true. I applaud you for being brave enough to say it.
I’m so glad this is going “viral.” You were able to articulate how so many of us feel. Thank you
nearly every single nurse or CNA has a significant back injury as well….but they kind of keep it a secret, so as not to jeopardize their jobs…..the desk job is looking better all the time!
I work with geriatric mentally retarded patients (6) in a group home on midnight shift and yes, yes, yes!!! I compldtely agree with what you have posted here…
The crux of this article seems to be the emotional toll the job takes on you, as well as personal sacrifices you have to make in being a nurse. You chose your profession. If you can’t handle it, do something else…and don’t piss and moan in front of patients, or if in a nursing home, the residents. You should feel honored and privileged to be able to spend time with the patients in a hospital who don’t have the choices you have…Unenlightened, narrow minded people don’t impress me.
OHHH come on.. U nurses whine soo much about your work. U get paid veryyy well. U are not the only one who has worked 12 hour days 6 days a week, every other weekend and holiday. I have done those hours and I was not a NURSE! I WAS not respected. I was over worked and underpaid. There are many professions that are not recognized at all and they don’t whine and cry like all of you do. If you don’t like the hours or your profession than change it!. You knew what you were getting yourself into. It was the money that was doing all the talking and u spend your money like water. I rest my case. Try working for the auto industry you would never make it. Those people work 12 hour shifts go home and go to sleep only to get a call saying “ITS MANDITORY OVERTIME, you need to come back in”. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee give me a break. Cry me a river. Look I am holding up the worlds smallest violin and its playing just for you! hahahaha
You are a hater! Till u have walked in the shoes of a prudent Rn you are clueless. My father worked in the auto industry for 33 1/2 years. Were not poor struggling because he and my mom saved and were smart with their $$$. So empty out your pitcher of hater ade and look at the big picture!!!!!
Hear yee Hear yee. Its all true. Part of why I turned to travel nursing 8 years ago!
So why do the hospitals continue to schedule this way? It seems probable that the people who have to live with this have many ideas on change for the better. Crazy.
This brought tears to my eyes not because I disagree, but because of how true it is. I love nursing, I love being a nurse. I wouldn’t do anything else, but it is hard and you make huge sacrifices that no one else is even aware of. Thank you for one shining moment I feel like someone else out there understands.
As a new grad, this really hit home for me. Thank u.
sometimes when I read the whinning of nurses, mostly new young ones I imagine, I think if you don’t like the job do something else. these are people I would not want to care for me or anyone in my family. you either have dedication and take the small inconveniences that come with it or find something else to do. I love working my 3 12’s. four days off, come on. I get out late sometimes and I miss things sometimes. my husband missed lots of things when he traveled for work and he didn’t get paid overtime, he was salaried. I made the schedule to suit me the best I could and if I couldn’t get everything I wanted , then it was what is was. if you find out you would rather be hit by a car than go to work, please do us all a favor and change careers.
Spot on lovely
I feel your pain. I used to go to my kids schools on career days and talk about nursing and actually have had some come back to me and tell me they chose nursing because of my passion about it. Sadly I will no longer do that or promote nursing as a career.. The absolute lack of respect by administration is my main issue. I got called in and yelled at and told I was insubordinate, unprofessional and rude by a director who regularly tells us to like our jobs or leave because I didn’t say good morning to her. ,.This was because after a busy short staffed night shift where I hurt my back and kept working and was near tears as I was leaving and only wanted to get home to my bed and was off the clock. I said nothing to her because I was in too much pain and was too overwhelmed and afraid of what I might say.
She then claimed that since I was rude and unprofessional to her she could only imagine how I was with my patients. So now I am threatened with insubordination if I don’t speak correctly or in the right tone.
Being parttime I am only allowed to call out once a year before I get written up, because you know nurses don’t get sick from all of the crap we are exposed to. On and now we no longer have our 6 minute window to punch the clock. It’s at 6:45 or you get half an “instance”, like half a call out. If you forget your badge you get one, if you forget to badge in or out you get one and on and on. I don’t qualify for FMLA being parttime and have a host of physical issues that I usually don’t lose time for but if I’m sick, guess what, I’m going to work. Oh, and if you do call out you need a doctors note, because nurses don’t know when they are sick.
I am 57 years old and I love what I do as a nurse and love working with my patients and give them my all while I am there but why do I have to put up with this absolute tyranny when we are supposed to be professional? It is pure insanity.
I really think you just need to throw everyone’s negative comments aside and remember you wrote this out of emotion and exhaustion. Just simply a venting moment I’m sure. Any nurse who says they can’t identify with what your saying, at one time or another, is either lying or just damn near perfect. Or they haven’t worked ER or med/surg. Lol. I can totally identify with so much of what you said. Working nights and holidays suck. The only people who can understand are those who have done it. It’s HARD. It’s easier on my family, but harder on me. But we all do what we have to do, right? 🙂
We have seen the affects of our daughter working the night shift as a charge RN she is great with all patients, co workers etc.. she married at 17 yrs of age with first baby on the way. Got her GED and went to college classes to get her CNA license then worked at the clinic while taking night college classes, had her second child then after years of working hard got her RN degree in her 30’s. She has worked very hard to have the job she loves and is very good at it. What a great heart she has. We are so proud of her. We love you from dad & your extra mom Tammy.
Reblogged this on Insatiable and commented:
I could not have said it better myself.
I have been a single mom and RN for 30 yrs. I chose nursing as my career because it was a PASSION i had after being a candystriper in my younger yrs. I have called in sick 4x, yes i said 4x in 30 yrs!! I allowed my vacation time many times to accumulate so i could be paid when i left. My career has consisted of hospital nursing and home care. If u think hosp nursing is bad and unrewarding, try hhc for 1 month, much less 27 yrs. Nursing is still a reward everyday! Try going in roach/rat infested homes, bad caregiver situations or lack of cg’s,unsanitary conditions, animal feces imbedded in carpets/floors, weak rotten floors, deplorable living spaces, etc; And I STILL LOVE NURSING and HELPING OTHERS as an RN!!
Really! I have 4 children…I have been a working nurse for a full year. I have also been on 6p-6a shift for that full year while watching other nurses come straight in to day shift! I’m not on nights by choice! I got off at 6 this morning and stayed up to spend time with my family instead of living like a vampire! This is supposed to be my night off…and I just got a txt that I have to work tonight because somebody called in! Did I mention that in that year I am one of 3 nurses that has worked on all 5 halls on every shift! I work my ass off, miss time with my family, cry my eyes out when my 5yr old says “mommy I wish your work would fire you so you can stay home with me”! So yeah it’s hard….but I WILL NEVER give up! I’m not doing this because it’s what my mom did…I’m a nurse because it’s what I was born to do…no matter how tough it gets! So for a fellow nurse to suggest that this woman do “something else” all I can say is….ugh!…sorry but this isn’t a proffession you just walk away from!