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Nursing is a horrible job. Yes, the money is good, but is it worth it when you cry all the time, you have anxiety attacks that do not let you sleep, and you never feel successful at work? I went to school for years to be a BSN and now regret every minute of it. I should have listened to my gut and done something else. Most nurses are vultures and I have currently resigned from my first job. I have connected better with the aides on my floors than the other nurses. I suggest to anyone who is thinking about being a nurse to be a LPN first and then go onto being a RN, that way you don't throw your life away if you hate it. I am in therapy from all the anxiety I feel from this horrible job. Nursing sucks.

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Hi everyone!
I have read many of the stories on this site especially the ones about nursing.
At first I was thinking that maybe this isn't for me and the horror stories had scared me a little, but then I thought about it.
I love being a nursing student and as a student I have been able to work as a student nurse technician and so far I LOVE IT.
I have worked administrative asst. jobs in the past and I loved that too. I also have worked food service and liked that also. Now it's not because I was just lucky enough to get great jobs. There were and ARE plenty of people I work with that HATE it. I've learned it is all about attitude and if you hate the politics... then DON'T get involved.
All I'm saying is don't let stories of people who hate their job get you down and stop you from pursuing a nursing career.
I know many students who hate their clinical rotations and say that they think it will get better later. I tell them if they hate it now then they need to find a new career to pursue.
Nursing isn't a career you should just fall into. It is easy to tell in school if it is for you or not.

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After ten years of nursing, I am finally getting out. I retire next month. I have no plans to go back, and the new job I am going to has very little to do with medicine.

For several years I worked as a traveling nurse. That was fun in that I could visit different places and have someone else pay for everything. I went to places that I never would have been able to visit otherwise. I got to see parts of America that few see, and my travel journals are packed so full of notes and photos that it would take weeks for someone to read them.

Then I made the mistake of "settling down" at a permanent job. What a big mistake. I quickly remembered why I became a traveler years before. As a traveling nurse, I was only in a place a few months, not long enough to get involved in all the usual crap that goes on in a job.

Here are the factys. Most nurses are bitches, even the males. Nurses are anal-retentive, backstabbing bitches who have a great level of hate and resentment for others. I have witnessed physical, sexual and mental haraasment by nurses, all of whom seem to feel that they themselves are above the law. I have grown to hate nurses and nursing as I have ben unable to find any "agnels" to work with and focus on.

Retiring from nursing to a higher paying job with better hours and people who act like professionals for a change took a little doing, but it will not be my final blow to nursing: I have a big surprise for the hospital and the managers I am leaving. My attorney and I have a big harrassment suit that we are going to file theweek after I leave, which will not only publically ruin the reputation of the hospital, but can expose the horrors of nursing nationally as well. Not to mention that the monetary settlement will drain the bank account of the hospital, taking the money away from the patients doctors and yes, the nurses, and putting it in my pocket instead.

In closing I want to tell anyone who has a bad experience in nursing or with nurses: Don't get mad, get even ! Call your attorney today, they will handle it from there.

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I concur with the above and hope you are suing MY hospital.

Along with rude patients, co-workers, MD's, and managers, don't forget the stupid, stupid visitors! These people can make your life miserable and they are backed up by female managers looking to kiss ass.

Giving CPR and a scum-bag visitors yells, "Stop it! You're hurting him!" and they WANT visitors there, per our policy.

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I totally agree with you....nursing sucks!! I just graduated last May as well and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life by getting into nursing. It is not at all what I expected. I have never experienced depresssion and now I know what it feels like. I just quit my job, and I have no idea what I am going to do next. All I know is that I could not take another day of it. It was making me metally, and physically ill. I hope no one ever has to feel the way I do right now.

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i worked at a small rural hospital in the willamette valley in oregon and have to concur that nursing can indeed suck. i am a younger male nurse and experienced such sexist remarks as whipping boy, typical lazy male, etc. i have never experienced such blatant sexism and unprofessionalism in my life. i am currently pursuing a lawsuit. message to people going into nursing: there is a reason the burnout is so high and a shortage is pending, it isnt the job as much as it is the attitudes of the losers that have made a career out of nursing. my suggestion go into something that is more respectfull, let these idiots drive themselves into the ground.

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If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I had written this "I hate nursing post". The only way I knew I hadn't is because I've quit all forms of nursing, nor do I have a current job as the economy is down (other fields just aren't hiring), consequently, I cannot afford therapy. LMAO. Ahh... anyhow, I haven't worked since August 2004, it's now September 2004. I really wanted to be nurse midwife, but after seeing how bad things are in the hospital on the scheduling and staffing front. I said forget it, but not so nicely. I have been lied on and barred from working for a specific company because I asked for help with a heavy assignment and when I was given the ultimatum by my supervisor to either take the assignment as is or resign, I resigned. However, she told HR that I abandoned my patients. Never mind the fact that I gave her report before I left. After seeing what the medical field is actually like, I would like to line up all hospital administration, nasty doctors and co workers, lazy staff members and throw fistfuls of rocks at them. Nothing to kill or hurt anyone, but the little pelting kind that cause pain, not injury but stinging pain. Then when the police get ready to haul me off to jail or the nuthouse, I'll tell them that the rocks are my pets and that they attack anyone who poses a threat to my well being. And in the perfect world, the police will then leave me alone because that's an acceptable story. Umm... know of any therapists that take charity cases?

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When I was in college, I studied old videos of Skinner's rats. B.F. Skinner was the "father" of behavioral psychology. He dedicated his life to studying how far rats (and people) were willing to go in order to receive a reward or avoid a punishment.

As a culmination of his research, he randomly assigned either a yummy rat food pellet or an electric shock to be delivered to rats who navigated a maze. These rats had been conditioned to expect that they would receive a food pellet when they reached the end of the maze. However, in this experiment, their speed or accuracy had no bearing on the outcome. Sometimes they received a pellet; sometimes they received an electric shock. In all other respects, the rats received all of their basic needs. They received adequate sleep, adequate food, adequate socialization, etc. The only uncertainty was what they received when they navigated the mazes each day.

The effects of this experiment were remarkable. Some rats curled up at the start of the maze, refusing to complete the task for which they had trained for years. Other rats became overtly aggressive, attacking any other rats attempting to run the maze. Still other rats became blinded to their surroundings, oblivious to anything but the goal of completing the maze. When they finished, regardless of whether they received a reward or a punishment, they would return to the starting area and run the maze again and again. All of the rats experienced some sort of ill effect, such as sleep disturbances, appetite changes, increased aggression, self-mutilation, etc.

Nursing reminds me a lot of being one of Skinner's rats. Sometimes I get a manageable patient load--and sometimes I'm in WAY over my head. Sometimes I speak with a physician who is courteous and professional--and sometimes I get verbal abuse, condescension, or worse, despite my best efforts to be prepared and professional. Sometimes I get patients who appreciate my efforts--and sometimes I get spit on or battered. For me, that's what makes nursing so difficult. I am the person who has ultimate responsibility for the patient, but no matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I work, no matter how balls-on accurate I am in my craft, I have no effect on the outcome. Worse still, I am as powerless as Skinner's rats. Because of our hospital culture, I am powerless to speak out against managers, physicians and patients who present unfair expectations.

As a result of this powerlessness and random nature of rewards/punishments, I see the same effects in my co-workers as Skinner saw in his rats. Resignation, horizontal violence, insomnia, "nursemares", obesity, ulcers, anxiety, ETOH and drug abuse, "eating their young" and so on...

I want no part of that. The IDEAL of nursing may be noble, but the REALITY is far less inspiring. God help the patients. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind going into nursing.

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I came across your website out of desperation one day. I am not a nurse, but a Physician assistant at a local inner city hospital. I am absolutely at my wits end with the confrontational nature and aggressive and rude behavior of the nurses where I work. From the day I walked inthe door and the Nurse manager on the floor took me aside and said" I control this ER,don't try to bring patients back without my approval, Or I will make your life miserable.(not to mention that a diabetic with a blood sugar of 600 has been waiting 2 hours).", It has been an uphill struggle to do do my job. At every turn I am bucked. If I order a catapress for a guy with a BP of 190/110, I get"why are you doing that,its unecessary, he doesn't need that,Im not giving it." Or refusing to draw very basic labs on a diabetic with a blood sugar of 341 and urinary retention up to 1200ml. So while I not only bring the patients in on my own, change the bedding and clean the room, and do the H&P and discharge them because the nurse doesn't fell like my course of treatment is appropriate,I also now draw all my own, and get my own meds. Why do I need the nurse at all if Im going to do everything. These women are bitches and they get away with it, when I confronted a nurse about her behavior and the told the charge nurse. "I was told, there is nothing you can do,nothing will happen" I am good at what I do, and its a shame, but because of these Pitbulls in heat, sophmorish, backstabbing, back bitting, immature little girls, I am almost sure I am on my way to greener pastures, away from nurses. And you know what, the charge nurse is right. Nothing will ever be done.

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you are friggin crazy.

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Nursing Sucks In Toronto, Canada too!

As a new RN working in Ontario Canada, I can tell you that they eat their own here as well. I've been slapped on the butt, cussed at, yelled at, gossiped and ratted on, etc. Nothing is ever good enough for them. If you are new get ready for a turf war on your hands. They are suffering anal retentive narcissistic obsessive compulsive personality disorders. Its not easy at all, being a male nurse. I've had no problems with the doctors, the aides, etc. But as for the nurses, its often been the threshold of hell. And by the way, some of them are as sweet as pie to their patients, but when it comes to you the new nurse, prepare for the beast to open its mouth and show its teeth! Its a Jekyll and Hyde penomenon.

The union is impotent, and the hospital is always overbudget and cutting back. Yes there is a shortage, yes nurses are doing non-nursing tasks, etc. etc. etc. BUT, there's one important factor of all: nurses have become their own worst enemy.

If there are any Americans reading this I'll tell you what few Canadians will admit to you: if you paid the taxes we pay you'd be aphalled. And yes, the government always finds new taxes and ways to misappropriate our money. Waiting times in ERs can last for hours, MRIs are on 3 month waiting lists, hospitals have quotas on how many patients with certain illnessess they'll treat because they can't afford to treat more, ambulances were turned away at ERs because they couldn't/wouldn't take more patients until a 17 year old patient with acute asthma died in the ambulance, and eventually after incidents like that the paramedics got fed up and said, "we're dropping them off at your ER whether you like it or not!" The further north you go there are communities with no access to a family practitioner, (never mind that we have doctors from other countries driving taxis and mopping floors because Canada in its wisdom feels they are not qualified), the list goes on and on!

So the question is: what are we going to do about it? Leave the job, hire an attorney, and tell anyone who will listen the crap that goes on because in the end not only do we get screwed, so do the patients and the next patient nedding the system could be your own dear mother. SCARY THOUGHT!

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I am an RN and I am beginning to hate my job. I am sick and tired of being treated like a second hand citizen by patients. I work at a university teaching hospital, one of only two Trauma I's in the valley. Do they (patients and moron families) realize that for 25 bucks an hour I clean up butts and puke?!?! Patient satisfactions rate fell drastically in a week at my place...probably because nursing satisfaction sucks, also......

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i too,am a nurse. lpn to be exact. i work in long term care. i waited along time to go to school to be a nurse and iam sorry i did. i am good at it..but what a shame to have to admit i wasted my time going to school for something that at times i see a sham. most if not all nurses lie through their teeth. im tired of following up and doing something that should have been done 48hrs ago. and the nurse or nurses or should have done that work..well,nothing is said to them..oh no..they work double shifts,they always come in. their excuse is "oh i didnt know".."no one told Me"..our don states"tell us whats going on"..they dont care when it was done..as long as it was done. the ones who do work get no cerdit...the ones who brown nose do. im tired of medicated residents for the sake of the staff or rn supervisor because they dont want to put up the residents behavior..so they are awake..its night time...their quiet..not trying to get up out of bed..that doesnt warrant an ativan. i work nights. i work with rn''s that aare always tired or hurt..so who has to pick up their load..me. then its ..you're not getting your work done..duh...i wonder why. on and on it goes. im so tired of it. i have read all these postings. i agree and can relate to everything that has been written here. nurses are the biggest gossipers i know. professionalism not existant. they eat their own as the saying goes.

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I like to call nurses "angels." Just come to the reality that there is no perfect job or career.

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THE ISSUE IS NOTTHE FACT THAT THERE IS NO PERFECT JOB OR CAREER.

THE ISSUE IS WANTING RESPECT, PROFESSIONALISM, DECENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY. IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?

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nasty nurses

i am sorry you are going through this. i also feel i should never became a nurse. its such a thankless job, especially from your head nurse. you are not appreciated, and made to feel like a terrible nurse. Put down's all the time, and harressment.now and then a patient will thank you, but the only ones head nurses thank are their buddies.

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It's your attituide that sucks, not nursing

If nursing is not for you, get out. I'ts the people who are miserable in their profession that don't give decent patient care. You are a burden on us who respect our careers.

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nursing is hard hard work. even the best and most committed nurses complain about their jobs. the difference between a good nurse and a crappy one is not necessarily the complaining, but what kind of job are you doing. are you doing the best that you can? or are you playing lazy with someones life? I am a nurse that quit the "proffession" i am basically a new grad, worked for only a few months and figured out very quickley that this job and responsibility is not for me. i don't want the stress, and frankly i think the job is damn boring. that is my opinion, others feel very fullfilled with it. I do beleive that if you are going to be a nurse, you better be a good one. all of us at one point will be taken care of and it is hard to be taken care of by people who resent and hate the` fact that you even exist. if you can't handle nursing then get out, it is only the right thing to do considering you are taking care of human beings with feelings and families and problems and pain and hurt and fear. don't be a mean and cold nurse, even if you hate the job, fake it as` much as you can for the sake of the the human you are taking care of. if you can not be a good actor or actress, get out all together. don't abuse people because you chose the wrong career, it is not their fault you where suckered in like most of us into the promise of respect and money. get out for your sake and theirs. be true to yourself

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what do you do about a head nurse who plays favorites. only talks to you when your in some kind of trouble. tells her friends that work under her what ever you tell her, andharresses people all the time who are not her friends, and management looks the other way. She is a backstabber, and sneaky, and prejudice in my opinion.

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i sure hope your sueing my place as they need it for them to wake up and get rid of nasty head nurses and staff nurses, who don't care nothing for the patients, etc. just there for the pay check, so sad.

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what do you do when you have a head nurse who in my opinion is prejudice. plays favorites and constantly harresses you for no good reason, other then she doesn't like you. Shouldn't she at least recognize you as a good nurse. This nurse doesn't. she gives awards to her day shift only, and to her friends, which is so unfair to other good nurses.she is running nurses away and then denying she is the problem.She claims she is a christian. what kind of christian would do this? She has no management skills at all. she should never have gotten this position.What ever you talk to her she tells other people, including showing them papers you hand in to her. other people like her co workers.How do you get rid of a bad nurse like her? I love the job, but not working under her.

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i think it is great that all the nurses who hate their job can express that. but complaining about it does not help. quit. quit as fast as you can. i don't want any of you people taking care of my family. believe it or not we all have or will need hospital care some day. and believe me, when you are sick it makes such a difference if your nurse is nice and caring. i agree with another poster. fake it. even on my worse days, a patient will never know it because i don't believe in taking out my frustrations on the patients. they are someones child, mother, father, aunt, sibling. remember that. bedside nursing is not some fluff job. you people should have known that getting into it. did you not think you would have to deal with body fluids? people are sick for God's sake, that is why they are in the hopital. Quit and get a grip.

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It is very frustrating when you are not treated fair and right as nurse. I am also the kind of person that no matter how bad or depressed i feel i cover it up in front tof the patients, as they are sick and dealing with their own problems and going in there room and feeling like heck doesn't help them.But sometimes nurses get so overwhelmed. doesn't mean they dont want to care for the patient though.You said you wouldnt want some of these nurses to care for your love one. I take it your not a nurse, and don't inderstand what is happening to make a statement like that. Just cause a nurse is not smiling 24 hrs a day doesn't mean she doesn;t give excellant care to her patients.Sure we all try and hide our feelings but we are human.

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It is very frustrating when you are not treated fair and right as nurse. I am also the kind of person that no matter how bad or depressed i feel i cover it up in front tof the patients, as they are sick and dealing with their own problems and going in there room and feeling like heck doesn't help them.But sometimes nurses get so overwhelmed. doesn't mean they dont want to care for the patient though.You said you wouldnt want some of these nurses to care for your love one. I take it your not a nurse, and don't inderstand what is happening to make a statement like that. Just cause a nurse is not smiling 24 hrs a day doesn't mean she doesn;t give excellant care to her patients.Sure we all try and hide our feelings but we are human.

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Nursing Bites, blows, sucks, etc. I realize that nurses (myself included) must be somewhat crazy to do such a brutal and mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive job day in and day out. The rationale that I've used to validate my "career of choice" is that I'm able to eek out a living, pay rent, etc. I'm sick of crazy, delusional managers; co-workers that do jack and want every little detail in report; pompous, jackass, condescending doctors; insuboordinate nursing assistants who spend more time on their smoke breaks than they do working; crazy, irrational, nitpicking visitors; and finally crazy patients with two working hands that want their butt wiped by a perfect stranger. I don't like crazy people and healthcare is full of them start to finish. I'm sick of running my butt off and getting nothing done. For all you know-it-all nurses who are shaking your head saying "she's just not organized," you know I'm right and I know you're the one giving everyone line infections, not changing your tube feeding tubing or infiltrated ivs and leaving your patients in a pile of stool for me to clean up. Yeah, nursing's tolerable if you're a lazy wad who let's evryone else pick up your slack. Am I complaining? Looking forward to my next job that has nothing to do with healthcare. Anyone considering nursing as a job....I wouldn't know whether to laugh at you or cry for you. Try retail or keeping some rich person's pool. You'll be much happier.

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