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Wow could not agree more the only thing left after 30- yeaqrs of nursing is bad knees a bad back screwed up sleep patterns and a million missed moments with family friends and children not to mention every holiday.

Finally told them to kiss my ass when they told me do not come back if you do not do the overtime shift.
Administration= a bunch of ungreatful manupulative users!!!!!!

Catch a clue and run!!!!!!!

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Thank you for making me laugh and clap- I couldn't relate with you more.

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wow you really told it like it is. but i doubt if new nurses will even pay it any attention. They think they are gonna make a difference, and when they realize its not like that, they are already in the mess.

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Registered: Jul 2006
Location: East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Posts: 2

I'm a Nurse in the UK. I live in East Yorkshire. I'm a Staff Nurse, your equivalent of an RN. We're not called 'RN' here 'cos the initials RN after my name would lead to confusion as it refers to 'Royal Navy' over here. Anyway, I'm deviating from the subject! You hit the nail right on the head as it seems you have the same problems in the USA as we have over here in nursing. The job's crap, the pay is dire but what's most demeaning is the utter lack of appreciation and general abuse we put up with from patients and in most cases, their relatives. Money is tight, as our idiot Prime minister Blair is throwing away our tax money in his illegal war in Iraq, instead of spending it on our health service, education and social care. Our local hospital where I work (York), is overspent on it's budget so they're sacking nurses while sharp-suited bean-counters sit in head office on fat-cat bonuses, getting paid £40K per year and working a four-day week. Morale here is rock bottom.
Anyway, one foot in front of the other... Hang in there for now.
Sean

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Registered: Jun 2006
Location: New Berlin, Wisconsin
Posts: 16

Greetings Sean, truly sorry nurses everywhere are in the same sinking boat. I would have at least hoped, with UK's hx of trade unionism that nurses would be in a nation-wide union of their own.
BTW, the only article written by a nurse that was published in JAMA showed that for every pt. assigned to a nurse above a certain number (I think 5) there is a 7% increase in mortality over-all. Even if all the nurses were average or mediocre, an increased number of them on any shift would mean better pt. care. We have the ability to bring any facility to its knees, but nurses 1. won't unite, 2. have no guts. For it to work, we ALL must be of one voice. Check out the California Nurses web-site. They are headed in the right direction, even if they never get there.

__________________
NJ girl

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Registered: Jul 2006
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Posts: 5

Yes, nursing is beyond hell. I have only been a nurse for 3 months and I already hate it. I wake up on the mornings I have to go to work and think, "I get to be on my feet all day, run around like a chicken with my head cut off while my lazy-ass preceptor reads magazines, checks her email, and speaks Farsi on the phone all day, or is helping her other Persian friend with her patients, having to pee, being nauseous from hunger because it's 3 and I haven't had a break, behind on charting, etc, etc, ", you all know the routine. If you can honestly say you like that job then you have to be a masochist and definitely not like yourself. The atmosphere is beyond dysfunctional. A couple of times I've started to hint around to another nurse about how bad the job sucks, but I always get this blank stare like they don't get what I'm saying. I feel so out of place where I work -- no comradery with any of the nurses on my unit. I work my ass off, my preceptor will occasionally ask "Are you OK?" her favorite question like she's trying to be nice, but then I tell her I haven't done one flowsheet and it's already 4 --instead of offering help, she will just say, "oh, you have some more DR's orders, you need to go look at them", then she just casually goes back to her magazine. Or she comes up and says, "You forgot to do such and such, so I did it for you". Wow, thanks a lot. She is well aware that I'm behind, well aware that I haven't eaten, but does she care??? Hell no!!! Do these bipolar/dysfunctional women get off on watching someone that is obviously struggling to keep up-- knowing full well how hard it is?? I find that sick. Do they have a conscience? Were they always this way or did this awful job taint them beyond repair?

I would never recommend nursing to someone I love because it is truly beyond hell. I am on my own after I get back from vacation next week -- maybe it will be better, I don't know. All I know now is that I have to take one day at a time and formulate an exit strategy for down the road. I need to get some experience and I don't want to look bad by quitting right after orientation. I seriously would go work at Nordstrom or Macy's selling make-up -- it would be a lot better than this job. If I could make the same money, I would.

This job is also bad for your mental and physical health. I've always been very health conscious, work out, do sports, am pretty athletic -- I was just diagnosed with hypertension which I told my DR is definitely stress, so am on meds for that. I now have low back pain and pelvic pain and found out I have pelvic varicosities, probably from being on my feet for extended periods of time, and just started on zoloft for anxiety. The zoloft has started to kick in and helps take the edge off the stress at work -- so that has been a lifesaver, but I don't like taking meds.

Bottom line -- the only kind of person that could love the abuse of nursing is someone that is used to abuse and has learned to live with it. But I'm not and will never be. One thing I have to add -- I do love the actual patient care -- you know, the few minutes of your day you get to actually have contact with your patient. But it's everything else -- the dysfunctional coworkers and the work load -- that really sucks!!!!

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Registered: Jul 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8

Good to read Sean's post just to make me feel relieved that it really is as bad over here in the UK as I felt it was! The Midlands isn't much better than Yorkshire - redundancies and vacancies left closed means there is no chance of finding anything better within the profession, but we're pretty much not trained or skilled to do anything else - not unless we start back on minimum wage in some dead-end office job.

I just can't believe I wasted three years at Uni, struggling through a degree, and starting off all keen and enthusiastic and ending up like this - hating myself, dreading going into work and only finding this board after typing "I hate nursing" into Yahoo! Demanding patients and relatives who can't take responsibility for their own problems and think they're in a private hospital (I actually had one complain because she didn't like the curtains!), staff who are either know-all newly-qualifieds or bitter sadists close to retirement, and then ridiculous shifts going from night to day without any break - it just isn't worth it anymore.

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Registered: Aug 2006
Location:
Posts: 3

I can relate to many of these stories. I was an RN for many years, went back for my BSN, having started it many years prior, thought I'd finish it up, just to have it, security or something. Boy, what a misstake!
I never had a job requiring a BSN , yet had this useless degree which I worked very hard and diligently towards.
Decided, after getting it (the BSN) and after 5 years to leave the profession completely!
I had alot of gifts and felt I completely sold out to this miserable profession. I really enjoyed most of the patients and helping them, yet with the way nursing was/is there was no time for the patient! What an oxymoron!
I was good at what I did, very conscientious, too much so, and it just left me so stressed out, that , in hindsight, it spilled out to all areas of my life. It made my whole life miserable.
I did it part-time, but not much better. Other nurses resented that, too! The older CNA's hated us younger RN's too. Never remembered another nurse being much nice, in the hospitals anyway.
I did have a great psychiatric/pediatric job with great people and a few other pretty good ones, but overall, what a choice!!
I did some holistic studies, too, but found out after years of a holistic career, that I was just as burned out!
Now, I'm looking for something that I can do that I can feel good about doing. I think it was my karma to have had do all of this. I hope I've paid some of it up!!Anyways, wish everyone the best...

Last edited by Nancee on 08-07-2006 at 05:09 PM

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I'm glad to here all this feedback. I spent soo much money going to psychologists not because of home life but, my job. It drains me. Makes me feel depressed about going in and being a slave to the most ungrateful people. I'm sick of being the dog that they kick when they're ill and upset. I get PT due to my back being sore. Just because they're entitled to care doesn't mean I need lift your ass up! New nursing grads. I was you at one point young and wanted to make a differance. 6 years later married I have barely any energy to do anything at home. I have a housekeeper come twice month. I'm one of the most hardworking people. My patients think I love my job because I'm a great advocate when I'm so miserable because of how much abuse patients that are psychotic treat us. If I had a daughter or son I wouldn't advise this unless they wanted to have aches and pains or stress the whole time at work. With no break for 13 hours or 8 depending on your shift. I'm 31 and fantasize about retirement.

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Registered: Dec 2006
Location: FLORIDA
Posts: 1

REPLY NURSING BEYOND HELL

OMG! This posting had me laughing until I cried! You should be a writer because you paint the most accurate and colorful detailed descrpition of our profession. It's not funny when we are actually doing or experiencing the things you wrote about, yet it's eye opening to see we all go through the same thing.

My husband thinks that I must be lying when I say it's a luxury to get a bathroom break. Now, I take those breaks no matter what just to either doze off or take a breather from my work. Don't get me wrong I don't abuse my bathroom breaks at all
( lucky to get 2) in a 12 hour shift.

Sometimes I resent his good paying easy job where he, co-workers and boss can watch satilite Big screen T.V. for countless hours on a daily basis. But he was the smart one for choosing his career.

There are many nights when I catch my self saying, Damn it, I would be the most friendly happy greeter in Walmart. When I pass construction workers on the Highway and they are all standing around with coffee cups in hand or just talking to each other, I get angry and jealous. It seems that no matter how hard we work or do our job, it's never enough. Each day is the exact copy of the last because you know that Shit will happen and things will go wrong.

Thank you for writing your message, I'm really getting second thoughts of entering the RN program even though I've been an LPN for more than 8 years.

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Registered: Oct 2007
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Posts: 5

Please QUIT now. You only have one life and life is too short to be miserable in a job you hate. Nursing is such a stressful job, and I could not agree with you more. You CAN find a better job out there. They just do not want you to believe that you can. Do not let the system rob you of your life! Just QUIT, and do it now! Then look for another job. You will find it. Good luck to you.... I feel your pain!

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Registered: Jun 2008
Location: arlington,texas
Posts: 1

I was LMAO but at the same time , I wanted to cry! All of what she's says is very true!!! I have hated it. I was so optomistic when I first started. I had a "save the world veiw". I can't count the number of back-stabbing, abuse from family members, NM's...the list goes on....I have missed so much of my family life due to this profession and no one appreciates it! Reminds me of the time my ex-husband tried to awaken me from my sleep to "get busy" and I told him in my sleep "No! That's not in the chart!" It domiantes your life...

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