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 work as an RN on a stroke/telemetry/ med surg unit. I do 12 hour night shifts with a nurse to patient ratio of 9:1. I love dealing with the patients most days, but I have to agree with what you say about staffing. As a charge nurse, I am told to send staff home because “the budget doesn’t support a 6:1 ratio on nights” This is not only bad for employees, but more importantly bad for the patients. There have been times were while staff was involved in a code, another patient falls because they were trying to get to the bathroom without help. You’re constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul so to speak. My unit gets admissions all through the night and you can sometimes end up with 10 pts. I don’t mind doing the work, but I do mind the safety of my patients being in jeopardy because the CEO s don’t care about people, they only care about dollar signs.
I deal with this in the LDR every single nightshift. Somenights I’m managing 2 active labor patients, acting as unit clerk, and escorting patients up from the ER, all because our moneybags corporate management gives us some algorithm for staffing they pulled out of their asses. I’ve only got three nurses when i should probably have 5–one of them is scrubbing and we’re up to our knees in dilating cervixes. YOI. Not worth my 0.50 shift diff when my license is on the line! But this is what we do. I’ll wait for the trolls to come out and call me a whiner…I dare ya! 😉
Why was this written in the feminine? It belittles my 30 years to the profession, and the ever growing male nursing componant . Nurses are they and we, not she and her.
Amen. (A male nurse).
I really want to apologize that I made the all too common mistake of primarily using “she” in this post. I am going to correct the post, but I want you to know how much I appreciate male nurses. You are bringing new knowledge, skills, and life into the profession.
This was written after my 3rd 12 hour shift in a row and, as you might be able to tell from the tone, quickly and with a lot of emotion. I never thought so many people would see this blog post (I had about 20 comments total before today) and this is not an article, this was a blog post. However, excuses are not apologies. I am sorry that I did not do a better job of using we/they. While I am not going to edit the entire post, I do plan to make a note on the post regarding the error.
Well said!!!!
As a hospital employed RN since 1980 I have seen vast changes in the duties and responsibilities of an RN. While I could regale you with all that I have seen, I will edit myself and tell you that the predominate thing that I have witnessed in nursing is that nurses can be simply dreadful to each other. Nursing is sort of set up that a staff nurse is trying to win the favor of the charge nurse or the head nurse and then the doctor. I have seen nurses who have committed truly underhanded , scheming things to another nurse who they perceive as being a barrier to their goal of getting the doctor or administration to see them as the best nurse. Even more scandalous is that these tactics often work! The author posits that nurses should support each other and many, many do. But there is always maybe 20% of the staff in any unit that have aspirations of getting ahead and they don’t care who they ruin in the process. I am very fulfilled by nursing. My conundrum is that I am often to the point that I am afraid even take a day off because of I’m a little afraid of what these backstabbers are up to. Yes, I sound paranoid, but after many years of keeping my integrity in my job and being respected because of the work I do without stepping on others toes…I have also become a huge target. The system needs t change .
I am a LPN and the worst thing I have to deal with is fellow nurses. This is the job, like every job, we do what needs to be done. Why complain? The politics is getting unbearable. People picking apart what a RN, LPN an HCA do is ridiculous. Truthfully there are busy days and slow days. RNs make an amazing wage for what their job entails. I find for what I do as a LPN I make a great wage. If you feel you are overworked on the unit you are on try something else. There are easier nursing jobs out there and Monday to Friday 9-5 jobs as well.
I’m a CNA and I get paid really well for what I do and if you don’t like your job or the pay find a new one!! I guess your just not the right person for the job!. I do not like the fact that Other CNA’s are talking utter nonsense Maybe you should dig your head out of your arses and realize that it takes team work. I have worked with amazing nurses over the years and these girls never stop, between meds helping us CNA’s with PT CARES dealing with angry or crazy family members or making phone calls to doctors or setting up appointments and making sure shifts are being filled or working a double because of staff shortages . I love the fact that I’m there to help out an RN with what ever I can if that means wiping an ass sitting with an pt or helping with vitals or charting .I do it because it’s called team work and if I need to stay late I will . nurses are treated poorly I do understand where they are coming from because I see with my own eyes!!
How about instead of being negative we just support each other? That’s what nurses are supposed to do. It is a very difficult job, not saying that others aren’t but this article was made for nurses so they know that they are not alone in how they feel. So please keep your comments to yourself and let the article do what it was intended to do…be relief for us nurses who are overworked and stressed out with no way to vent.
Thank you!! Nursing is such an emotionally taxing job! Even when I’m home I still think about my patients and wonder how Mr or Mrs so and so is doing.
Great article, so many true things said. My question why would she not take vacation if it is so important and happens every year.
I have been nursing for 37 years. I work casual now not fulltime. I tell students that its a commitment 7days a week holidays, birthdays. anniversaries etc. Yes sometimes its hard to be away from family but at least we get to go home some of our patients never go home again. we become their family.
Thank you for posting this! We have been very understaffed at my home health office lately. And the same goes for home health nurses. When we take on call we do it for 24 hours a day for a whole week. All 100+ patients issues come directly to you with MAYBE an LPN to see a patient only if you are already seeing someone else.
I work in a hospital in the Medical Records Department. Many of my friends are nurses, my sister being one of them. I have never heard any of them complain about their hours or days of work. They all became nurses knowing what it involved. It is something I could never do and they all know it. I hold them all in the highest regard.
If you feel getting hit by a car would be better than going to work then you really should reconsider and change your job choice.
There is no reason why that hockey Mom couldn’t have asked someone else to work her shift for her well in advance. Also we get 4 personal days off per year at the hospital where I work, I am sure she could have found a vacation day, personal day or holiday she could have used for the day she needed off.
Lastly, please don’t judge an 8-5 worker with weekends off, you don’t walk in their shoes and have no idea what they have to deal with in their place of work.
You make a lot of assumptions.
1) I was a new grad, which I stated, when I thought it might be better to be injured than come into work. More senior nurses told me THIS WAS NORMAL.
2) I believe you misread my blog post. I volunteered and came in on my day off so my coworker could be with her family. At the time, our floor did not allow weekend shift switching. After a great deal of work from everyone in the department, this is no longer true.
3) I worked for 6 years in the corporate world at a 9-5 job. Please do not assume I have no knowledge of that environment.
Truth. Major appreciation to all my fellow nurses out there.
I worked in LTC for close to 12 years !! I have great respect for all nurses ! They are the unnoticed hero in my opinion ! God bless all my friends that are still nurses ! Thank you also from the bottom of my heart !
Just be glad you don’t get teachers pay who spent as much on education as you. Remember you knew the hours when you chose this job. Can’t feel sorry for you
Never asked you to feel sorry for me. The point of this article was for NURSES to practice better self care and look out for each other in a difficult, stressful environment.
Good article, though it does apply to both nurses and CNA’s. The comments here piss me off..and these are the attitudes we have to endure while doing a nurses job..Not only do CNA’s do all the physical labor in nursing homes, which hospital nurses dont consider real nursing, yet the first time we see a hospital nurse come into a nursing home they fail 9 times out of 10. True fact, a good CNA can make you as a nurse or break you. Want to know why theres so little respect from CNA’s to nurses these days? Because we see the patients every single day, we know when something is not right..we watch a small cough go into their lungs filling up, we report it and report it just to see some college grad, to good to get up off their asses, and go actually listen to their patients lungs..low and behold the patient ends up sent to the hospital, admitted and usually sent back to die..nurses scream at you and throw more onto your plate when you are already in the middle of patient care because they are to damn lazy to get up and even get one cup of coffee for their patient..overpaid pen pushers!! And then they wonder why while their CNA was bussy doing a hoyer lift and getting Jon doe out of bed, lil Mrs. Johnson fell and broke their hip, because their bed alarm was sounding off and the nurse just sat there pushing that pen with their college degree..I have done this work for 17 yrs and I will admit I have worked under some damn good nurses, nurses I look up to, who have taught me so much. But I have worked under a hell of alot of worthless nurses..Nurses who steel narcs from the med carts!! Water down the liquid morphine after they have nipped what they wanted out of the bottle..Guess what its not your non educated CNA’s who dont even have access to the med cart doing that…So some of the commenters here need to take a jump off their high horse..Your degrees dont mean shit. Funny how I have seen the most highly educated being the laziest, nastiest, and often time neglectful downright criminals in the field. Sad when in order to save a patients life the CNA is often pushed into a corner of having to step outside their scope of practice, run down to the patients room with a steth and listen to their patients lungs to ensure they can still hear air flowing, no crackles, ronchi, wheezing,…most arent trained to do so..Lucky the nurse whos assistant that does know..but its not like it will matter when you tell your nurse the patient is filling up with fluid and they just sit there and do NOTHING cuz your just a CNA you dont know what you are talking about right? Hmm then sit their dumbfounded when their patient ends up dead…Go freakin figure. Yes there are alot of crap CNA’s being produced right now, but there are just as many crap nurses, RNs as well as LPNs. Oh and I cant tell you how many times we have sent our patients out to the hospital with them not having one bed sore on them, and we get them back with mushy heels and dcubes on their tailbones..Just what kind of nursing is going on in those true nursing hospitals? Oh and to the idiot who thinks it only your license that can be taken,,,A certification can be yanked as well…and whats the difference between your livlihood and a certified persons livlihood? Someones livlihood is still someones livlihood…lol know how many CNA’s Ive seen thrown under the bus by a dirty ass nurse? I tell every new CNA you never trust a nurse, dont ever let them pull you into the med room to talk to you, cuz if they are steeling meds they will sure enough point that finger on the aid vs their degree faster then you can blink an eye!! CYOA at all times…CYOA
I completly agree with you. CNAs spend the most time with the residents, they are the ones to report. Rns and LPNs are going nuts in British Columbia over a proposed staffing plan which is basically to add more CNAs to the teams. It will help lighten everyone’s load.
I don’t want to hear it. If you want to assess and have actual critical thinking skills, GO TO AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE OF NURSING AND THEN TAKE THE NCLEX. Then, you will be capable of advanced thinking! Get a grip! You sound like a hateful old nurses aide.
It’s like praising teachers, u all chose ur. Profession so stop whining and deal with the job ur chose
Please stop using “her” and “she”. WE are not all She.
I apologize. I wrote the article emotionally and did not proofread. I am going to make an edit, but I truly am sorry.
Went back to school at 40 and became an LPN. NOw I’m pursuing yet another degree to get my RN license. Sistah, you just nailed every one of the points you made straight on the head! And you’re right, only another nurse can really get it.
This is true and bull crap at the same time.
It’s true that nursing is impossibly hard, but we allow a lot if it to happen. I hear all the time about “I was too busy to pee or stop and eat”. I don’t put up with that.
If I need to pee, I have someone cover me and I do the same if I need to eat. If management doesn’t like it, the laws on my side. However, I work I. A rural hospital where nurses are desperately needed and hard to retain so I can get away with this.
You don’t make enough money in this profession to deal with this crap. Until we stop complaining and strike for change, nothing’s going to happen.
It’s our own fault. For me, nursing is not a stable career because one human error can cause you to lose your job.
Ps… I will never hurt my back because I refuse to lift a patient without the proper support. If they don’t like it, resign because if managent doesn’t care about me why should I care about them
One word of hope, nursing is a HUGE worldwide field, and not all hospitals are the same. I work in a hospital where nurses have more power and are not disposable. So I have the ability to stand for myself.
You dont have ti accept being abused. Just keep that in mind.
I started in healthcare at 16 yrs of age,first as a HCA,the cleaning,ward clerk,LPN and finally RN, I spent 1 yr in each of the supportive roles,11 1/2 yrs as LPN and 22 1/2 yrs as RN. Everything posted by those in the various roles are stating the truth, I worked both 8 and 12 hr shifts.My patient loads were 10 with a HCA ,so on paper the ratio was 5-1 although most times those 10 clients were total heavy care,needing 2-3 assist transfers or mechanical lifts.In addition to my regular duties,I was expected to assist the HCA with AM/HS care,attempt to get meds into my clients on time( sometimes it took over an hr just to do the meds) then I had DR. rounds and most of the Drs. wanted a complete report on their patients,as they only see them once a week,,another hr or two gone..morning coffee..sometimes gotten..if lucky! lunch or supper?…forget it! OT,PT.SW.Dietary.CSR.,Lab. Xray all need or want something..Treatments,dressing changes still waiting to be done…Family members want info,,for some reason they don’t communicate with each other and all demand at least 45 mins each..vitals to check,more meds 3 or 4 times a shift..not including blood transfusion etc,,dialysis patients to send and receive, referred out procedures,deaths and on and on it goes..No support from management,,,no help..if help is available it’s usually another HCA,so no chance to catch up..another hour or two overtime charting..unpaid,as it just isn’t worth the hassle arguing with management why it is necessary..I started at 7 am it is now 9:30 pm…I have a 1/2-1 hr commute, so home by 10-10:30. only one cup of coffee all day too tired to eat, so go to bed..have to get up at 4 in case I have to shovel out snow to get back to work for 7 next morning..That was my usual day,,I am now retired with our wonderful.generous benefit pkg..no dental.no health insurance unless I choose to pay for it! a pension that is less than 1/3 of my earnings and so many aches and pains, in places I didn’t think could hurt so bad..The problem with caring for the unwell client is everything is numbers and not acuity of needs..Gone are the days that you went to hospital for one or two issues,,,now with long wait times for tests.to see a specialist etc..people have many more problems and complications than ever before and add to that, people are living much longer d/t medical advances. We need to staff accordingly..yes 10 patients don’t sound like alot..but when you break down their needs and all the team members involved in their care…they are getting short changed..because there is just so much two hands can do at one time…
I’m a nurse and although the long hours and the short staffing is a problem, the thing I can’t take is the bullying by a lot of the nursing. I can’t take it, that’s where my stress is.
Spot on read about a nurse’s life. I did med surg for 4 years and decided I didn’t want to be a nurse anymore. The death of a young woman we had all cared for was the tipping point for me. Not the lazy PCAs or the arrogant med student, but the emotional toll. I landed in the OR and have never looked back! I love my job and profession again (it has been 12 years!). However, I still need those mental health days. Even though I work a “sweet schedule”. Whoever feels that 3 12hr days is a cake walk, has no idea that even excluding extra charting time (wasn’t computer charting going to fix the world?) a 12hr day is really 14hrs away from your family.
Sometimes nurses are mean to each other as well. Sometimes they search for errors ( non life threatening) , or refuse to assist another nurse because its” not their patient”. It goes on and on. I missed many soccer games, basketball games and show choir events all because I had to work. Not one of my colleagues was willing to assist but one who was already out of steam. It’s sad really. I no longer do bedside nursing because I reported a minor back injury. That is not the reason I was let go according to the powers that be but I know. I also was at the top of the pay scale for my position and there were newer less experienced nurses coming on board. I had sciatica so bad that when I went to my car to go home I had to lift my leg with my pant leg to get in the car. And I got back up and did it again the next day never compromising my patients care or cutting corners while training inbthe very nurses that were hired for less pay and ultimately took my job. Less staff means unhappy staff. Unhappy means nurses who whine and complain which drags even the sunniest dis positioned nurse down. God Bless us everyone.
Well said ! I am newly retired and still remember how we are taught to never compromise when bedside conditions force one negotiate competing demands. It stinks! I was part of a study that dealt with this exactly: complexity compression. We all experience it, yet we cannot seem to change it.
Wow. We (everyone on the medical team) need to learn to work as a team for the sake of all patients. And yes it is sad that we are short staff in just about everywhere that I have ever worked, but the patient comes first, always. I was once a patient and I felt the tension among the staff. It was housekeeping that made me feel at ease. I work in an O.R. I’m a surgical technologist and team work is what makes our place work. Everyone, secretary RN, housekeeping, surgical technologist, anesthesia staff, SPD, everyone.
We are a team. No one can do it alone.
I give all the props to nurses and cna’s and anyone else in the medical field but all the comments are “look at our wages for what we do” don’t complain cause it could be worse. You could be deployed in the military…
Which I would never do, because it is a terrible idea. The military isn’t some martyrdom! You’re not special because you’re too stupid to get an actual job.
I can’t complain on some aspects. Nursing has gave me a very comfortable lifestyle. I will admit I’m only in it cause of the money. I definitly don’t want to be a floor nurse forever I have done 12 years on the floor and hopefully only a few more before I drop down to prn status and move on to something else non-medical. Because of nursing I already have bad knees, bilateral hernia repair and my back is slowly going. So maybe another 5 years on the job and then I’m out! Good luck new grads!
Double time and a half? We don’t get that. Weekend bonus? What’s that? Your hospital must be nice! Bonus? Maybe if you’re specialty. Our ER got rid of all techs so we do all the work. I just went through 3 days of hell, night shift, short staffed, and our ER stayed full all night long. Then I get today off before I am back at it for two more days. I have yet to leave my bed today AND I am still in my jammies. Don’t judge me!
True every word of it. This is why the rate of nurse turnover in hospitals is so high. There are some nurses who’ve worked in good environments and don’t see the current problems and some patients who’ve suffered through poor quality hospitals who have commented here. Your experiences are outside of the mainstream. I worked in a number of different professions and occupations before I became an RN and none had the level of stress or the capacity to help others which I find in nursing. If you want consistent quality of care, then safe nurse to patient staffing ratios are going to have to be established by law. Since hospitals employ more nurses than any other category of employee, hospital administrators often feel they can squeeze nurse staffing levels for budgetary purposes without considering how that impacts patient care and the health of their workforce.
My wife is a registered nurse and has worked at the same hospital for over 35 years – she works every weekend so she is able to be home during the week to babysit our Grandson – even though she puts in for every weekend, they still take advantage of her – most of the nurses want weekends off but there are cases where the hospital has a party during the week and the nursing supervisor changes my wife’s schedule in order to let her favorites be able to attend the party – the same nurses get off on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years – they are supposed to rotate the holiday but never do. The hospital also breaks several labor laws and without an organized union, the nurses are at the hospital’s mercy. My wife never complains, she just does whatever she is told – it’s very frustrating to see such bad behavior and mismanagement by their administration.
Really I mean really ? I’ve been a paramedic for 10+ years and have interacted with hundreds of nurses. Nurses are the biggest most coddled and over paid group in healthcare . Ohh the stress of taking vitals signs ( which in most settings are done by cna’s/ Tech ) and the horror of charting and interacting with family members, my heart bleeds for you ! If you’ve ever had to be woken up out of a sound sleep to get to a home 10 miles away for a newborn baby who’s parents have just discovered is not breathing or if you’ve ever had to work a traumatic arrest in the passenger seat of a car on a mother who’ s 7 & 10 yr old children were just extricated from the same vehicle and their screams for their beloved mother can be heard by everyone in a hundred yard radius. All the while making half the annual salary of a nurse , maybe then you’ll understand what true stress is and driving into work and not wanting to be there because your emotionally and physically beaten . But doing it anyway because that’s what a professional does, please stop crying about not being able to attend a hockey game for your children. What a joke you should be ashamed of yourself !
Wow, Joe! You get to sleep during your shift? That’s awesome! I wish I could. Then maybe I could work a little harder, a little faster, to save that baby you dropped off in my ER. Maybe I could think of just the right thing to say to those parents as they sit next to their baby’s bed waiting for a miracle. Or maybe I could pluck from my brain a magic cure when the baby has her final code and we work (and I don’t mean just taking vital signs) for over an hour, because the parents have been begging on their knees for us for to save their only child. And just when I think I have a minute to collect myself after wrapping that baby in a shroud, you bring in a another baby who has been shaken by his baby sitter.
You know what the joke is? Your misogynistic attitude. I find it hard to believe you transport to a hospital where the nurses sit around charting while they sip on coffee and flirt with doctors. Just like I don’t believe that you are a glorified taxi driver.
WORD.
You should be ashamed of yourself! We don’t just take vital signs you dumbass. We are college educated healthcare professionals. And we save lives everyday as well! Our primary job is to keep the doctors from killing the patients. We code people, we deal with crazy families and egotistical doctors all day long. If you want a nurses pay, go back to college
You need to re read my post. I came in on my day off so that my coworker could go see her children play in their playoffs. My post was encouraging self care and looking out for each other. We are not coddled. We are not overpaid. In fact, we frequently hear how useless, unneeded and worthless we are.
Please do not assume I have never dealt with a death in a home environment or trauma.
Amen!
I was an RN for over 20 years before going back for my NP degree. I wish I had done that much sooner. I was getting burned out after working as an RN and had maximized my level of pay. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, I am 1000 times happier. I enjoy the autonomy and the pay is outstanding! I can care for my patients at a much higher level and feel as though I am much more appreciated by my patients and my employers. There is no shortage of opportunities and with the changing healthcare environment, there will be even more opportunities. I do not work weekends and holidays (some NPs do, most don’t).
As far as CNAs, there are very good ones who can make the RN’s life much easier. I do agree that CNAs should be paid more than the grocery store checkers. The RNs who are saving lives every day should be paid more as well. Joining the nursing profession is much like joining the convent. There are many sacrifices you have to make. Maybe that is why the nurses of the past were in fact nuns! When you get tired of making these sacrifices, you can either further your education as I did, or leave the profession altogether because nothing is going to change!
you should be ashamed of your self, My daughter is a nurse, and she works her ass off, she does not sit around on her ass, she takes care of patients, even saying good by to them when she goes off shift, Take your head out of your ass, and just work one week in the place of someone who really cares and is a damn good nurse, Just say, MOM OF A GOOD NURSE
I have to say as a CNA this doesn’t offend me. What offends me, however is being called “below” a nurse or an LPN. I work in a nursing facility where I take care (most of the time) by myself of 20 residents if not more. If someone doesn’t show up, or if I am by myself on the floor I will be the one to stay over extra hours just to get finished with whats supposed to be done. Tell me just how much am I below nurses when I spend more time with my residents than my own family. I work my days off every week, go in early. Not bragging but i am no where near lazy and when do have that day where I am physically worn out I get ragged on by nurses who dont even know a residents first or last name? But I’m below you? The pay is something i will never rag about only bc someone has to do the job. And I chose to be one of those people. There are those nurses I cherish for appreciating the job i do and they make my job and theirs a lot easier. I am a CNA and I’m proud to be one. If you simply cannot mentally or physically handle your job as a nurse whatever your title may be.. get another one. Pay should be the 2nd thing on someones mind in this field. Other ones lives is the 1st no matter what. People seem to forget that.
I am an RN in an ICU. And I have to say, that although we do work very hard, we are also some of the most dramatic people. Everyone who gets a job on an inpatient hospital unit knows they will miss weekends and holidays. If you can’t handle that, there are a lot of lower stress, outpatient options. Every job has its unique challenges. We shouldn’t minimize others’ job stresses in an effort to “martyr” ourselves.
I am a CNA and have worked in everything from a hospital to, now, an assisted living facility. I have worked along side of some amazing nurses and I have worked along side of some horrible nurses. It isba team effort to care for patients. I have done everything from ov meds, passing daily meds, wound care, dressing changes, adl’s, and code brown. In most cases, without my nurses, I wouldn’t have made it through my shift. But to say that a cna gets to leave when their shift is over, or that they are paid less because they don’t have a license, or to tell someone to quit crying and go to school is ridiculous. CNAS work just as hard if not harder than the RNS. yes, you may have to stay hours late to document, but how many times did you get the opportunity to sit throughout your shift while I was knee deep in feces and vomit? You stay late tondocument, I stay late to clean up the patient that just shit all over their room because you are busy documenting and can’t help. You say an aide can’t do your job? Well neither could you effectively without an aide. Aides are just as vital as rns. And as for the quit bitching and go to school comment, 95% of is are in school for nursing. So not only did I work a double today (16 hours) but I had to cone home, take care of my two year old, do homework, and clean my house. And I get rondo it all again tomorrow. And I have NEVER seen 5 days off in a row!! 16 hour days (scheduled) and one day off in a two week period. EVERY aspect of patient care has downfalls. But you don’t get into this profession because of the “perks” as someone so kindly stayed. Most hospitals font offer weekend bonuses, double time and a half for holidays, or five on five off schedules. You work when the facility needs too to make sure your patients or residents are safe and healthy. It is par for the course. My apologies of that can get mentally drainingg. We will try not to bother you with all of our whining. But the next time your family member codes in the er, remember, someone has to do cpr!!
my wife was a CLPN for 17 years she just got her BSN , PALS and her nurse management degree yes I am a proud husband. I almost lost her from believe it or not but from taking antibiotics and it was throw her hands when she handled them. This caused her to have no good bacteria allowing bad bacteria and fungus to take over. this caused her auto immune system to be over active and all kinds of digestive problems. sulfur treated coconut was what almost killed her and from that point her little problems got worse finely about a year later 17 meds and 4 full time doctors seeing at least 1 a week or more no one could tell us what was wrong. I started researching what it could be and figured it out. she started taking a good probotic from a good health food store we also check her PH in her mouth often. she trys her best to watch handling antibiotics or patience that are taking them. she is now off all meds including blood pressure and type 2 diabetes meds and no longer has to see a doctor unless for normal stuff. sign to watch small caugh, little shores that will not heal. there is a study being done that links this with 16 incurable disease. hope this helps someone
I am in my 40’s and I became a CNA when my children got older. It seemed to me that caregiving was a natural fit for me. However, I can only speak for my experience. I work in a nursing home. We are always understaffed. The CNA takes on most of the nursing role. With the exception of handing out meds. I’ve done feeding tube flushes,, assisted in catheterizations and wound care. I have an average of 9-11 patients per day. I shower them, feed them, change them, change the bedding, take vitals throughout the day. I check sugar levels, I give neb treatments and yes, I stay after work for at least an hour charting.
I would love to have my degree in Nursing. I was well on my way to getting that when I sustained multiple injuries on the job. My career is over. I cannot lift, I cannot walk or stand for any long period of time. I gave my blood and sweat to my residents. I have no regrets for choosing to be an CNA. I loved my job and I am grateful to have been able to make my patients smile, laugh, and feel loved and not alone. Sometimes we can burn out, be it an aid or a nurse. I can honestly say I never did, But i’ve seen it happen. So Nurse or Nurse Aid, Remember why you got in to this profession to begin with. Healthcare can be cold or it can be caring. An Aid is the front line in a nursing home. The eyes and ears for the nurses. Thank god the nurses at my facility appreciate us, thanks us and we all work together for the needs of the patient.
I have been a CNA for 26 years, and I love it, it is a hard ass job. But the conflict between nurses and CNA’s desn’t make sense. In the facility where I work (nursing home), Nurses need CNA’s and CNA’s need nurses. We are a team, we all benefit from each others experience. Respect each other, the residents/patients will be better for it, after all, that’s what it’s all about.
” 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.” No – nurses are not the only ones who feel that way. Many people do.
I apologize for this statement. My post was written in a rush before bed and I should have found better words.
Was a nurse for 38 years, finished this last April 2013, walked out. Would I do it all again? I honestly don’t know. The support I got from my coworkers was absolutely the BEST. The hospital administrators were for the most part no help, and lots of hindrance. My husband was a police officer, we raised 2 boys doing shift works with tons of family support. But would we do it the same? I don’t think so. If things don’t change for the better I health care, who will take care of us?
Staff rationing is just as bad or worse in nursing homes. We have 18-22 on our assignments. Some are very ill, some mildly confused wanderers, and some in late stage dementia. With case loads this large, we cannot give our residents the personal time that they deserve. If anyone in this country doesn’t believe we’re in a health care crisis, they have their head in the sand…and it will only be getting worse. And yes, I have taken mental health days a couple of times. After 30yr of nursing (Half in acute care and half in LTC) I’ve seen many changes and believe me they are not necessarily for the best. I could go on and on, but it’s kind of like hitting your head into a brick wall…administration, corporate, and government reps don’t want to hear from the people on the front line.suepat66@yahoo.com
You are in the wrong area of nursing if you feel this way! If you want to stay in nursing then you need to explore other options. Try surgical nursing.
I’m in surgical nursing. My post was to encourage nurses to engage in self care and to watch out for each other. You clearly did not get my message.
I retired from nursing after 40 years because the wear and tear on my back caused sciatica. I could have stayed off on sick leave at full pay but that would have been a hassle because the employee health dept, instead of allowing me to get well with my doctors care, would have made me fill out endless forms, wasting my doctors time, or I would be forced to take part in a slowly back to work program doing jobs totally unrelated to my actual position…as a matter of fact, I had a retirement date and one week before I retired, my manager still had not informed the nurse in charge of the slowly back to work program, that I was about to leave my position. I informed the woman of that fact as she called me regarding her plan for me to come to work monday to friday to do chart reviews…..hm..someone dropped the proverbial ball I would say. I really do miss my job, but I know I made the right decision. Too bad the people who employ nurses have no clue what a toll it takes on the women who love the job. God bless the women and men who dedicate their lives….to the care of others and who sacrifice their own health and welfare so that the public retains theirs.
I don’t feel bad for you that miss your kids important events. You make the time. Even if you have to call in. Your family comes first. You can’t replace your family but you can replace your job. As for the rest of the comments above, there are good people and bad people no matter what profession. That includes bad patients and their nutbar families. The problem with nursing is, too many damn women whining and no spine to do anything about it.
Thank you for this article. I am an ICU nurse and had an exceptionally hard week and I needed to hear this. Despite the negative comments and feedback nursing has a mind of it’s own and it’s hard to understand from the outside. All jobs are hard in their own way and it was so nice to read an enlightening post about my career.
Thank you. I really hope you engage in some good self care and that your next week is better.
Very well written.
Wow some of these negative comments are just ridiculous. Yeah I get paid for what I do, and yeah I chose the whacky hours with weekend and holiday time, but that doesn’t mean my job isn’t extremely emotionally taxing. My first shift as an NT SICU nurse I walked face first into a pt whose skull was half gone and her brain was swelling hideously out of her head. The same pt literally shot poop across the room onto the wall. My second week on the job I had a woman exsanguinate in front of me from basically every orifice. Don’t tell me an accountant/lawyer’s job is just as difficult as mine. They don’t go home and have to erase images not even appropriate for most horror films from their heads. They don’t go into work terrified of being attacked by their patients (shout out to my mental health nurses), and they don’t go through a 12 hour shift without urinating once because there was no time, and then realize they don’t have to pee because they’re so dehydrated from not being allowed to eat or drink and oops so sorry you don’t get a break today. In a profession like this, sometimes we earn the chance to give each other kudos and recognize each other for how difficult it is. Its apart of finding healthy coping mechanisms for the stress related to the job.
CNAs do almost all the work these nurses claim they do. In my experience, nurses pass meds and sit around talking about their boyfriends, husbands , children and babies . Nurses are in a union CNAs are not. Nurses get paid anywhere between 25-50 dollars an hour. CNAs make 11-14 dollars an hour and btw work the same hours.
In my experience it is the other way around. But it is the housekeepers that have the union. They get and hour lunch and a 15 minute coffee break.
Then go to school Kathy, you already sound like you are made for management with your positive comments!!
Don’t know where you work but I work in critical care and we don’t have time to sit around and talk. Again, if you wanna gripe about not getting paid enough, get a dang degree!!
Nurses nurses nurses. Always about nurses. There are many other healthcare professionals that have to do shift work, work weekends, nights, holidays and miss important things in their personal lives. Others who work just as hard. I know nurses work hard and I respect what they do, but the idea that only nurses can understand is BS. Get over yourselves.
I apologize for saying “only nurses will understand this.” It was wrong. I wrote the blog post in a hurry and should have re read it a few times. I am going to make a note to the post to the effect. Again, I am sorry.
I am a Nurses aide. Not educated as a Nurse, not paid like a Nurse, not expected to be a Nurse. I wanted to be one. However, I chose to be a HCA instead. I knew I would receive less pay. I knew I would not have all the debt that a Nurse has and I knew I would have far less responcibility placed on me.
I volunteered at age 12, and I knew I wanted to be a care giver. I never thought I could make it through all that school. To the Nurses who did you are wonderful.
I am blessed to work with RN’s and LPN’s who treat me as a peer. I could never do their job, but they make me feel like without me they could not do their job either. We work as a team. I do what I can to help make thier job easier because it is a hard job. Emotional job for those who actually care for their patients.
I have worked on my unit over a decade and I see the great the good the bad and the ugly. No I am not a Nurse, but I care and know a lot about Nursing on my unit. Some Nurses are jerks and wont listen to suggestions because I am just an aide. But this aide might save you from an error. My regular Nurses depend on me for things and respect me.
I wish that the uncaring, hiding , lazy staff would quit. It is about the patients or residents. We all new what we were in for when we joined up for healthcare. If you dont like the hours/pay find another job, dont take it out on the people we are to take care of.
Basically every job has their good and bad, whatever the job is. We are all human. We all need a break. We all need appreciation. We all want more money and less hours. And shame on us for thinking we are the only ones who have a bad day/week….. Just with Nursing we are in the business of taking care of humans. We all matter!
My opinion, maybe there should be less management jobs that 2 or 3 people are doing for 5x’s the pay. This could benefit patients so more hands on care (Nurses/Aides/Tecs…) could be working to meet the NEEDS of patients and de-stress the staff.
Ok rant over. Thanks to my Nursing team.
Very well said, You really should consider becoming a nurse We need someone with your insight and compassion.