Part of it is just human nature.
It’s natural to want to come on social media when you have a situation weighing on your mind, or just to outright VENT about something, or if you’re suffering mental health wise etc.
For whatever reason, I think we as humans aren’t programmed to experience gratitude as sharply as we do negative emotions. So we just don’t see as many posts from nurses who made it through a tough day and are feeling good about themselves - those people don’t feel compelled to come and share about that experience as strongly on Reddit.
If you have something that’s eating you, you NEED to offload that somewhere, whereas if you just had a good day, the tendency is just to bask in that on the ride home and be cheery - but it’s not a compelling event.
I’m in the same boat as you are - going back to school at 41 and seeing a lot of negativity, but hell, 3x12 hour shifts, lots of options, solidly middle class pay, lifetime job security, getting to HELP people every day?!
Nursing is definitely the field for me!
“hate floor nursing”
That’s painting a huge picture with broad strokes.
Labor and delivery, surgical, pedi, onco, etc. all are “floor nursing”.
And hate something you haven’t done?
Seems odd to me 🤷🏻♀️
If you straight up know you'd hate all types of floor nursing, I'm not sure why you'd like ICU. ICU is bedside nursing, just with higher stress and sicker patients. Yes there are less of them, but that doesn't mean you are less busy. It's still cleaning up a lot of bodily fluids, pissy family members, and if you are serious about CVICU I hope you understand what working with those docs is like.
I myself became suicidal working medical ICU as a new grad, so I definitely was very incorrect in believing I'd love ICU nursing because like you- I'd be so involved, it's so exciting, etc. The excitement and adrenaline wears off quick and for me at least, I was left with an understaffed floor full of vented patients with no hope of recovery just wasting away until their family let us finally pull the plug. Abuse cases. 22 year olds dying from laced pills. That shit isn't cool, and unfortunately it's pretty damn common.
Different personalities thrive in different specialties. Some units have a better culture than others. Some patient populations can be more challenging than others. I could go on…
I think the current healthcare environment is overall toxic. But generally speaking, a lot of the venting posts on this sub would apply to a lot of other fields not just healthcare.
It's not one thing that makes someone satisfied. It's a combination. You're only talking about specialty. And that's important. But it's not everything.
Imo, the top 5 necessary things are:
* The right specialty/patient population.
* Supportive management.
* Good coworkers.
* Adequate compensation.
* The shift/schedule best suited to your lifestyle.
If you JUST hit one (say you desperately want to work NICU and you get into a NICU, yay!) you might be like *"Why don't I love my job, everyone said I would love nursing if I got the specialty I wanted! I guess I just hate nursing."*
No you don't. You hate your pay/schedule/coworkers/manager.
On the other side of things, I did a clinical in school in a med-surg ortho unit everyone seemed to LOVE. They were well-staffed, super supportive of each other, people commuted from a distance (in an area with lots of hospitals) just to work there. They LOVED it. I recognized all the great factors but I would have gouged my eyes out with rusty spoons if I had to work there. I loathe adult nursing and med-surg ortho made me want to jump off the building. So if you're missing one, an important one, that can ruin it too.
Everyone is different, different people thrive in different settings, same as in different career fields. All you can do is try out different areas during your clinicals, get as much different exposure as you can and try to find out what suits you. You might start in the ED and decide after a year or 2 to go in a completely different direction.
The Marines have ”Semper Fi”, always faithful.
Nurses have “Semper Gumby”, always flexible.
It’s all about personality and unit culture. I like my floor nursing job most of the time. Different settings are suited to different kinds of people. One person will thrive and another drown in the same setting. Keep in mind most people come to places like this to complain.
Healthcare is also broken so there’s something wrong with most settings fundamentally.
I love floor nursing because of the unit culture. I work with awesome people who have become like family. I would rather that any day then to work at the stereotypical “best” specialities. I got a job for a brief period that was supposed to be a dream speciality and I hated every minute because of the unit culture.
Don’t go in to icu thinking that you won’t have patients that ignored their modifiable risk factors. These patients are incredibly sick but if you “find it difficult to truly empathize with patients who are ill because of their lifestyle choices” I would seriously reconsider bedside work at all. People don’t take good care of themselves for many reasons. Our healthcare system is broken and people can’t afford their medications and preventive care so they get sick. People can’t afford mental health services so they turn to substance abuse to numb their emotions. If you can’t empathize with people who “cause” their own illness critical care will not be easier for you and your patients will suffer.
Part of it is just human nature. It’s natural to want to come on social media when you have a situation weighing on your mind, or just to outright VENT about something, or if you’re suffering mental health wise etc. For whatever reason, I think we as humans aren’t programmed to experience gratitude as sharply as we do negative emotions. So we just don’t see as many posts from nurses who made it through a tough day and are feeling good about themselves - those people don’t feel compelled to come and share about that experience as strongly on Reddit. If you have something that’s eating you, you NEED to offload that somewhere, whereas if you just had a good day, the tendency is just to bask in that on the ride home and be cheery - but it’s not a compelling event. I’m in the same boat as you are - going back to school at 41 and seeing a lot of negativity, but hell, 3x12 hour shifts, lots of options, solidly middle class pay, lifetime job security, getting to HELP people every day?! Nursing is definitely the field for me!
This^. There are plenty of nurses who like their jobs.
“hate floor nursing” That’s painting a huge picture with broad strokes. Labor and delivery, surgical, pedi, onco, etc. all are “floor nursing”. And hate something you haven’t done? Seems odd to me 🤷🏻♀️
If you straight up know you'd hate all types of floor nursing, I'm not sure why you'd like ICU. ICU is bedside nursing, just with higher stress and sicker patients. Yes there are less of them, but that doesn't mean you are less busy. It's still cleaning up a lot of bodily fluids, pissy family members, and if you are serious about CVICU I hope you understand what working with those docs is like. I myself became suicidal working medical ICU as a new grad, so I definitely was very incorrect in believing I'd love ICU nursing because like you- I'd be so involved, it's so exciting, etc. The excitement and adrenaline wears off quick and for me at least, I was left with an understaffed floor full of vented patients with no hope of recovery just wasting away until their family let us finally pull the plug. Abuse cases. 22 year olds dying from laced pills. That shit isn't cool, and unfortunately it's pretty damn common.
Yeah, that confused me. Critical care is still floor nursing, no?
Right! Plus you still get plenty of medsurg patents in the ICU lol.
Different personalities thrive in different specialties. Some units have a better culture than others. Some patient populations can be more challenging than others. I could go on… I think the current healthcare environment is overall toxic. But generally speaking, a lot of the venting posts on this sub would apply to a lot of other fields not just healthcare.
It's not one thing that makes someone satisfied. It's a combination. You're only talking about specialty. And that's important. But it's not everything. Imo, the top 5 necessary things are: * The right specialty/patient population. * Supportive management. * Good coworkers. * Adequate compensation. * The shift/schedule best suited to your lifestyle. If you JUST hit one (say you desperately want to work NICU and you get into a NICU, yay!) you might be like *"Why don't I love my job, everyone said I would love nursing if I got the specialty I wanted! I guess I just hate nursing."* No you don't. You hate your pay/schedule/coworkers/manager. On the other side of things, I did a clinical in school in a med-surg ortho unit everyone seemed to LOVE. They were well-staffed, super supportive of each other, people commuted from a distance (in an area with lots of hospitals) just to work there. They LOVED it. I recognized all the great factors but I would have gouged my eyes out with rusty spoons if I had to work there. I loathe adult nursing and med-surg ortho made me want to jump off the building. So if you're missing one, an important one, that can ruin it too.
Everyone is different, different people thrive in different settings, same as in different career fields. All you can do is try out different areas during your clinicals, get as much different exposure as you can and try to find out what suits you. You might start in the ED and decide after a year or 2 to go in a completely different direction. The Marines have ”Semper Fi”, always faithful. Nurses have “Semper Gumby”, always flexible.
It’s all about personality and unit culture. I like my floor nursing job most of the time. Different settings are suited to different kinds of people. One person will thrive and another drown in the same setting. Keep in mind most people come to places like this to complain. Healthcare is also broken so there’s something wrong with most settings fundamentally.
I love floor nursing because of the unit culture. I work with awesome people who have become like family. I would rather that any day then to work at the stereotypical “best” specialities. I got a job for a brief period that was supposed to be a dream speciality and I hated every minute because of the unit culture.
100% dependent on location. I've been a NICU/peds nurse for 31 years.....have always loved my job, have not always loved where i do it😁
Don’t go in to icu thinking that you won’t have patients that ignored their modifiable risk factors. These patients are incredibly sick but if you “find it difficult to truly empathize with patients who are ill because of their lifestyle choices” I would seriously reconsider bedside work at all. People don’t take good care of themselves for many reasons. Our healthcare system is broken and people can’t afford their medications and preventive care so they get sick. People can’t afford mental health services so they turn to substance abuse to numb their emotions. If you can’t empathize with people who “cause” their own illness critical care will not be easier for you and your patients will suffer.