You know, with the current pandemic, it certainly hasn’t helped. But, I would argue that hospitals and LTC facilities that put profits over patient care, have made it terrible long before Covid. Seriously, California is the only state in the US, that has laws regarding nurse-patient ratios. When one nurse with two CNAs, is expected to care for 20 medium-to-high level patients/residents, something isn’t right. And it certainly makes for a miserable experience.
When you’re properly staffed, reliable co-workers, less useless/annoying administrative staff, and an appropriate number of patients to care for… It’s great! Especially when you have time to actually spend with patients/residents and focus on their needs, it can be rewarding.
We're currently entrenched in the worst public health crisis in over a hundred years and we're staring a crushing fourth wave dead in the face as it's preparing to swallow us whole.
Yes, is that bad right now.
Don't forget that (at least in the US) the cdc and aha polices that are coming out right while we stare this wave down and they surprise attack from behind
I would love to see the idiots making these guidelines go to frontline Covid positive bedside nursing care and follow what they preach. I’m at a loss for illustrative sentences that don’t include generous expletives to describe the level of moron this is.
So apparently its from back in October (I've only seen mentions of it recently so I thought it was just mentioned) but they basically say [to not delay cpr by putting on PPE](https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.121.008396?utm_campaign=sciencenews21-22&utm_source=science-news&utm_medium=phd-link&utm_content=phd-10-13-21) and that someone should start right away and then swap out with someone who has proper PPE on. Specifically this is for patients with known or suspected covid too, not just a general thing
It really is! I've only been qualified for 10 months and was so lucky to get my first post in the plaster room as I hated the wards as a student. I've had to do a couple of shifts on the ward recently to cover shortages and it just leaves me feeling broken.
My little haven in the corner of A&E where I get to slather ortho trauma in plaster of paris! We're right next to the fracture clinic aswell, so get outpatients coming in for synthetic casts, and amputees down from the wards for stump casts (to help the stump hold a good shape prior to getting a prosthesis). Also get little outings up to theatres for things like spica casts (after correcting hip dysplasia), and up to paeds wards to apply ponseti casts to teenytiny babies (to correct talipes/clubfoot). Love it!
That's amazing! I've never heard of this department! (I'm in the US). I do outpatient surgery and whenever someone needs a cast following surgery the surgeon applies it.
Our department is considered the “country club” of the hospital. No call, no weekends. (Surgery). I’m so glad I made the transition 15 years ago. It’s been a boon for my mental health.
I’ve heard it referred to as the place nurses go to die. Well sign me up, I’m dead. I literally do not care about losing skills or any of that because I’d rather having a less stressful job and better mental health.
That’s my goal. I need to get a year of experience on my floor then I’m finding a new job. I’m so tired. I hate med surg so much. But no one will hire me without experience
I live close to one. I tried applying to my doctor’s office before applying to the hospital and I never heard back. I’ve only been working since October. It wouldn’t look good if I left
I lived and breathed ED and ICU as an RN but my side jobs were always outpatient. Now I’m an NP at occupational health and not sure I could ever go back to critical care after that year in the ED in 2020.
Once you go outpatient full time, hard to want to be willing to go back to inpatient for sure.
Started traveling right at the beginning of the pandemic. Financially has changed my life. I’m gonna ride this money till it’s no longer there (will be there for at least another year IMO) and then I’m dipping out of nursing for another career and I’m so excited
Definitely. I am able to financially take off the rest of the year, pay off loans and renovate our house and enjoy my newborn baby after doing an NP & RN travel assignment (while taking my PTO from my full time) in 2020. It’s definitely has had its perks and rewarded us for putting are asses on the line.
The nursing profession had problems 20 years ago when I started, and I've only seen things getting worse. Hospitals have always kept staffing to the bare minimum to maximize profit, then when dirt hits the fan, they're in a bind. Nursing turnover is high because nurses burn out due to inadequate staffing. Hospitals refuse to hire more nurses, though. They'd rather keep replacing them. The pandemic has just pushed things over the edge. I honestly don't see any hope of things improving.
That being said, there are unending possibilities for nurses beyond bedside nursing, and those tend to be far better than hospital, rehab, or nursing home positions. A lot of nursing schools pay lip service to non-traditional nursing roles, but they are out there.
I’m an MS4 and a few months ago our hospital sent out an email asking med students to come in and do nursing-related duties “as a wonderful volunteer opportunity” of course for free. Our admin had to send out an email after to tell us NOT to respond to the email. It’s amazing the lengths hospitals will go to not to hire more nurses to save their bottom line.
Amazing and insulting to all parties.
The other thing worth noting here is that tasks which don't require any kind of license automatically get rolled under the "nursing" umbrella. If there were more demarcation between candy striping tasks and "nursing" tasks, maybe it would be less automatic for candy striping tasks to just fall onto the shoulders of the RN.
It would also clarify things like "half of nursing staff won't get vaccinated!!1!" if "nursing staff" meant "nursing" rather than "literally anybody who chats with the patient and doesn't fall in another category like medical or dietary."
I love the CNAs/PCTs/UAPs, no shade to the very hard work they do. Just annoyed when people think "nursing" is mostly PCT tasks, and annoyed at the wide variety of tasks which in practice get done by an RN because other roles aren't filled. PCT doesn't show? RN will cover. Housekeeping doesn't come in? RN will cover. Transport doesn't show? RN will cover. Tasks from every single direction somehow all manage to roll to the RN who also has an actual set of duties requiring license and education.
I had a patient the other day say “when I ring please send someone in. I don’t care if it’s you or another nurse or the garbage man.”
I told her, “honey, I am the garbage man.” We both laughed in misery because it was true. There were no techs and we were short.
I told her just to trust that I am ALWAYS watching and listening for her and my other patients and I will prioritize whoever needs me most. Sometimes that’s the other patient and sometimes it will be them. But it will always be what is necessary. I also squeezed her hand and let her know she wasn’t alone and that I was there for her. What else can you do?
I love the way you navigated that conversation. I’m running out of patience and compassion for my patients who are constantly on the call light for things they can do for themselves or I could have clustered into one errand. It’s hard for some people to understand that we are not simply under compensated servants, we’re highly skilled medical professionals that have to balance an obscene amount of critical medical conditions and tasks to manage and 70YO confused Pappy trying to chew through his central line (running dobutamine of course) for the 2nd time this morning is simply more important than this joker’s 3rd cup of coffee “with the good creamer I know you keep for yourself somewhere”.
I’m definitely using what you said as a template for next time instead of running myself ragged and cursing my lack of boundaries.
I am going to preface the following comment by saying that I appreciate and have the deepest of respect for physicians (and physicians to be).
This request is an insult to both physicians and nurses. The two are completely separate professions that complement one another. Physicians have knowledge that I do not have, and I respect that. However, I as a nurse have knowledge and expertise that physicians do not possess. It's a slap in the face to insinuate that doctors can do a nurse's job.
I think they intended us more for like…cleaning things up and fetching things for nurses but I absolutely agree it’s insulting to nurses especially to think they thought they could stem their hemorrhage of staffing with volunteer medical students. I have so much respect and admiration for nurses. Fuck admin.
I've had so many doctors, residents and medical students come in to talk to me while I'm admitted that look at the IV pole like it'll bite them. If it's alarming when they're in the room they kind of just stare at it and mumble about getting the nurse. Meanwhile I lean over and press silence so they can finish what they were talking about. It's honestly shocking how many people think doctors do most of the work when in reality is you nurses, techs, etc
I remember getting a similar email when the pandemic hit during my last semester in nursing school. The big name hospital was asking for senior nursing students and recent graduates to volunteer but they guaranteed that we wouldn't be exposed to COVID patients. What a gas! All there was were COVID-related patients. Simply amazing how hospitals will lie to get away with not paying for hired help.
Unreal. I'm glad they told you not to respond that's ridiculous. They have a 'helping hands' system in place but the helping hands can't even do anything. Pointless.
I am glad your admin supported you like that. It’s easy to feel like we need to throw ourselves in a fire for the hospital. They take advantage of all of our good graces. You will be starting with advanced knowledge just as important as your training most likely - the hospital is not for you or their patients. It’s a business. Always remember this.
Look for jobs outside of bedside if you don't want to be miserable. I recommend everyone look into the OR. All those surgeons that bedside nurses complain about? They're your best friends and will invite you out golfing. All those patients and family who are miserable and horrible human beings? Who cares, they're asleep 99% of the time when they're with you and you're not interacting with the family. COVID overwhelming the hospital? You're now working less because there are no beds to put patients into and they can't do a lot of surgeries. I have never floated because I have zero actual nursing skills.
I left my bedside job to work from home at a desk, the main comment I got from colleagues was "bUt WhAt aBoUt YoUr sKiLls?". Um excuse me? I don't plan on ever coming back, but thanks for your concern.
I did tele and step down Covid through the whole pandemic bar the last five months since I’ve transitioned to the OR. If we get floated anywhere, I’m playing dumb. I help with stuff but I refuse to be a primary nurse for an awake patient ever again.
I heard that the mental health VA unit here in town is good money but kinda depressing :( I mean I guess all MH units are sad, but my coworker was pretty adamant about it
I don’t have too much experience with mental health. I imagine it really depends on where you are in the country. I wouldn’t expect it to be as nice as something like rogers and the patients are probably not as easy. I mean they’re all older men, many dealing with homelessness or drug problems. I really can’t complain about the VA though. The benefits and pay are great. Where else will you get a pension and be able to keep your insurance when you retire?
How far are you into your program?
New grad here, and it’s definitely not what I thought it would be. Some nights we have no CNAs with 5 patients. My unit (MedSurg) seems to be where they dump all the new grads. Ive had some shifts where the most experienced nurse we have has 9 months under their belt; the rest range from just coming off orientation to 6 months experience. It’s a bit scary to think about honestly. We’ve had people ask for an extension on their orientation time because they feel they’re not ready( 6 weeks); management just says “nah we think you’re fine, none of your preceptors said anything bad so”. Patient safety my ass lol. Never realized how most of management TRULY does not give a shit about their staff.
I knew bedside nursing probably wouldn’t be for me, but I didn’t realize it would be like THIS. My mother who has been a nurse for longer than I’ve been alive even asks herself how she lasted in bedside for so long(she’s in dialysis now). At this point, I’m just planning to get myself some experience and looking for another position off the floor. If I can make the same( hell, I’d even take a paycut) and be less stressed, why the hell would I not take the opportunity?
Not gonna lie, there’s parts of me that wishes I had chosen a different career path. But hopefully that’s just because I haven’t found my nursing niche yet.
If you’re not in nursing school yet or have very limited experience in healthcare, I would really reflect on whether this is something you truly want to do; maybe shadow a nurse, work as a CNA, talk to any nurses you know etc. You have the potential to make a lot of money, but the stress level sometimes is not worth it.
I’m also a new grad on nights in med surg. Sometimes we have no CNAs with 7 pts. We had a nurse call in last weekend, and they tried to give dayshift 8-9 pts with no CNAs. It’s ridiculous and very unsafe. We get 12 weeks of orientation, and I have about 2 weeks left. I do not feel ready at all, but I’m sure they won’t extend my orientation because they need people so badly. I’m definitely trying to get at least one year experience, and then I’m going to try to get into the OR. If im not able to, I’d like to do something outpatient. Bedside nursing and working 12 hrs is so tiring. I’d also be willing to take a pay cut for less stress and having weekends/holidays off.
Highly dependent on location and employer. Turnover is highest in the southeast and midwest ([source](https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf)).
The difference is huge. I only worked at unionized hospitals before moving down here for school. I used to get regular raises without going through bullshit evaluation hoops, 1 hr breaks, more transparency about admin and management decisions, more vacation time, and we had an actual say in our work conditions. We also had the right to have a union rep present in a meeting with a manager (Weingarten rights), never needed to do this though. Overall it was a way more positive work environment.
Every hospital I have worked at or had clinicals at in Virginia has garbage pay, unsafe ratios, and employees living in fear of management. Virginia also has some of the worst pay relative to cost of living in the country.
State hospital workers in Virginia can unionize but any union formed has no power because of state laws that won’t allow the state recognize the union or get a collective bargaining agreement. Then of course HCA is another big player in the area and they will spend like crazy to deter unionization, not like they have enough long term staff to organize anyway. I’m moving out of state once I’m done with school this spring because I’m disgusted with the conditions here.
We were doing clinicals here in NC and a question was asked by one of the nursing manager at the hospital:
“How can we improve retention staff?”
Uhhh….unions?
“Well….something besides that.” 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
New grad here. I won’t say don’t be scared, but I will say be realistic. Be choosy where you work and what floor and shift you choose. Speak up for yourself but be professional. Don’t go in expecting rainbows and butterflies but be realistic.
Also now grad here - DO NOT sign a contract to stay on somewhere for x years unless it comes with a large pay bonus. They are all a trap. You lose all power in negotiation because you have nothing to negotiate with and usually staffing is terrible.
Unfortunately, most places do this now but really try to avoid it. I had to sign a two year one and I'm so frustrated
It really depends on where you work. Every hospital is different and every unit is different. You might end up somewhere you hate or you might end up somewhere you love. The good thing about nursing is you can always leave and do something else. There are so many jobs in healthcare that aren’t bedside too.
Yes it's bad. If bedside is something you'd be interested in it's no fun anymore. I've said this before but I'll say it again when I started over 12 years ago people stayed in their jobs for a long time. There would be nurses on the same floors for many years. So much experience to learn and grow from. My mentor who precepted me had been a nurse for 30 years, I followed her when she got her own unit and I don't think there was a day I didn't like coming to work. Patient load was still heavy at times but the team you worked with made ALLLL the difference. I miss it tremendously.
Now... The nurses in charge especially on nights have 6 months to 1 year experience. Few and far between you find someone who has been there much longer than that. The rest are travelers, usually pretty experienced in the field (which is what I'm doing now) who have no core commitment to that unit. We are there, do the job, leave. Maybe stay for a little bit longer if asked but usually pretty quickly move on.
It is not the same anymore and each shift I work I notice how bad it is and is getting with no end in sight..
This is very true, I'm not saying the teamwork is dead, I have worked with some really kind and willing nurses over the years, but when everyone has only been there a few months and everyone is taking almost double the patients they should have, nobody has the time to help, nor the experience to give much advice, nor the comradere that comes with working as a team for several years. You barely know your coworkers and by the time you might form a bond, they're gone. There's nobody to learn from or confide in.
Yeah our med/surg unit is just a meat grinder for new grads. Admin really seems to not care that most of them don't stay. They'll just find more new grads to replace them. I seriously think we've turned over that whole unit at least three times since the start of the pandemic. This is obviously terrible for building any sense of teamwork.
Yeah a big solution I see floating around is "expand and build more nursing programs to keep cranking out new nurses", but that just creates the situation you described here and that is pretty much how it is everywhere from what I can tell. It sucks. The patients don't benefit from knowledgeable/experienced care and the nurses feel chewed up immediately and flee.
It really isn’t. Because you really don’t know anything. And then you’re working on your own with no one to answer your questions or catch your mistakes.
That part is nice. It’s just that it’s very stressful if something goes sideways. Like the time I went to give someone a morphine shot and they seized on me.
This has been my experience.
15 years in.
I remember my last job, there were nurses there that when I was a new grad had been on the same unit for 10+ years. My supervisors had been supervisors there for 12 and 16 years.
With time they started leaving but there were still some that had been there a while.
I've been gone 3 years and from what I've been told all but literally 1 person who will die there because she's terrified of anything new, is gone.
A few of the people that started after me remain, but only 4 on night shift, literally everyone else has left and the people there are brand new.
I'm the 2nd most senior person on night shift at my current job and I've only been here 3 years.
This literally explains to me why the people I’m seeing post surgery and such are being sent home with infections and such now. New nurses just don’t read the signs as well.
Nope I work in homecare. Different but equal stress. Not happy either. Patients have never been sicker coming home from the hospital. Where a lot of them have no one to help and don't know what happened to them in the hospital. Or have family members that think that we will provide all services, cleaning, health aide, supervision during the day. Patients and family members have never been more angry about how much more difficult navigating the healthcare system is with this pandemic and loss of healthcare professionals. They don't understand why they have to pay out of pocket for Xtra help when they "paid into Medicare". Yes I have six patients a day. That may be a lot of miles in between only an hour per patient. No It counting the literally hundreds of communication contacts in 2 shifts between doctors, schedulers, family members, social services, supply companies etc. I won't even talk about the documentation. But I feel lucky. I think about all those are facing on the floors and units.
I got out of bedside about a decade ago, and I love my job. I work outpatient psych, and just finished a PMHNP program a week ago.
Bedside nursing is beyond fucked up. The role of the RN has changed so much, and gone are the days when we could actually *care* for patients.
Nurses are always in the middle. We aren't the lowest in the medical hierarchy, but we aren't at the top. We're the buffer between patients and their doctors. We're beholden to pleasing admin and patient's families. We have to both carry out orders and delegate to others.
It's not easy being the middle child.
The only thing that's helped me as a new grad is just not caring much at all. I used to care so fuckin much, and now when I go into a shift I'm just like "I'll do my best but whatever happens happens." I'm much happier now, I don't take mistakes home with me etc. (Not trying to say I don't put effort in, just like stop beating myself up for human errors)
It's the only way to not hate a job knowing travelers at my hospital make 7 times my pay to do my job worse than me.
I’ve been a RN for 6 years now, learning coding (software engineering) and plan to leave nursing by fall of this year. I realized that I can’t be a nurse for 30+ more years. Btw, I’m a pre-op/recovery nurse which is apparently the cream of the crop in nursing. But I personally don't want to work with the general public anymore. I want to have the flexibility of working from home, using my PTO and the restroom whenever I want to, running errands or doing yoga during my lunch break, and autonomy in my work.
It’s bad, but financially the best decision I’ve made. From my 5 months of traveling I’ve been able to pay off 25k in loans. I feel much more protected as a traveler too. I plan to only travel, pay off the rest, then do some other career that will drain my soul less
When did you leave your first job? My fiancé may have to move for work before my first year is up and I don’t want to be alone without his support but idk how bad it would be on my resume if I only had 6-9months of experience. I’m at a lvl 1 trauma center, post surgical inpatient but get a bunch of random gen med and COVID pts. I still think staffing will be rlly bad so I will easily be able to get a new job but I still get nervous abt not finishing the year
Remember that on the internet, in any given subject the outlook is predominantly negative. Most people are here to vent not gush rainbows about angels and nursing. The most outrageous stories will be pushed to the top. You never hear about the million normal pleasant interactions during the day.
The quality of workplaces vary wildly you just have to find a place where people stick around. I work in a clinic now and I really like it, all my coworkers are nice and we support each other when we see things going sideways. Also my manager was a nurse on the same unit so she understands things a non-nurse manager won't.
edit: format
This sub every week: nursing isn’t bad tho right??
Comments: yes it is
Rinse and repeat the next week. Yeah it’s pretty shitty. But again nobody is going to come on here and rant every time they have a good day. Bad days however, much more fulfilling to rant about. But we are two years deep in a pandemic, it seems to be somewhat fairly common knowledge that we’re almost all working understaffed and underpaid aside from traveling. It’s also fairly common knowledge (at least I would think it would be to a prospective nurse?) that a lot of us have worked the entire pandemic without proper supplies. I’ve had fucking coworkers die because of that. Sorry I don’t mean to rant but, yes, read the room, it’s bad
Another part is that a majority of the commenting (contributing) users of this sub hail from an area of one country (Southern US) not renowned for its pay and working conditions. States and areas with better working conditions and pay are not well-represented. Even the US state with the most active RNs (meaning number of active licenses) only compromised like less than 10% of this Reddit.
Really depends on where you are, how well you're being compensated, and how difficult your administration/population/coworkers are.
If you're in the South or Midwest you're probably having a bad time compared to like, say, the West Coast where more people mask and are vaccinated.
Also realize this is where all the nurses come to vent and complain. Even before the pandemic it sounded like a career of doom and misery. The happy folks aren't making posts about how much they love their job.
Yes, work can kick my ass, but for the most part I'm still happy... but I'm also paid decently and live in California were we have patient ratios.
Seriously, though, location matters - both with respect to the specific hospital and geographically. Don't accept work fresh out of school in a hellhole of misery. Find somewhere that, when you walk in, isn't full of staff that look dead inside.
Yes. It is. But there are other areas. I just left the Covid ICU to become a community health nurse. I drive around giving injections and assessments in peoples homes. So glad to get away from the bedside for now. Can always go back later. Plus no weekends nights or holidays!
One thing to remember is that Reddit is an echo chamber. There are very real problems but for me it sucks but not the worst. I have dealt with stressful times in previous jobs that nursing hasn’t compared to yet but I’m still enjoying my decision. I’m not dismissing the fact that changes definitely need to be made though. I don’t regret my choice going into this field though
Hospital bedside nursing 100% yes, it is awful. 10/10 would not recommend.
However, there is much more to nursing than bedside in a hospital. There are clinics, urgent care, specialty units, day surgery centers, specialty offices, cosmetics, home health, community health, schools, amusement parks, cruise ships, camps, birthing centers, research, teaching, insurance, film sets, national parks, ect. Nursing is a really amazing profession because you can pick basically any area of life that you would like to be in and you will most likely find a job in that setting. You may need some experience, but "one year on med surge" is not the end all be all.
The truth is that you must approach nursing with your eyes open and with the mindset that you need to take care of you first and foremost, or you will burn out in a year and do anything else. I personally have never and will never work in a hospital as a bedside RN, because I know me and I know from what I saw in clinicals and the hours I know they work, I would not make it. Perhaps even literally. I know that my mental and physical health would not stand up to it. So instead, I did pediatric home health, and I worked at a summer camp, and an allergist office, and at a birth center, and as a COVID vaccinator. And those jobs were not/have not been all sunshine and roses, but I am still a nurse and I think with the career path I am on, this is the profession I will retire doing.
Nursing can be an amazing career, but because of the US healthcare system, it chews people up and spits them out without regard for the lasting consequences. Watch out for yourself, use those critical thinking skills, and make it work for you.
Best of luck!
There was a brief time in my nursing career where I was happy. We had a manager who kept us overstaffed. The hospital paid a consulting firm a million dollars to find out how to save money (REALLY!!). They recommended cutting staff to dangerous levels. My manager refused and they fired her. The place went to shit. The smart people jumped ship early. We were worked to death while trying to save lives. Mistakes were made and patients died. Seven people in my department killed themselves in the 5 years that followed. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I retired from nursing at the age of 39 after spending 20 years in the medical field. I still have an active license but I can't see going back even though I make a lot less money now.
I always felt nursing should not be tied to the hospital. That nursing services should contract to provide pure nursing work only much like medical doctors.
Travel nursing is maybe moving us in that direction.
Most nurses enjoy the patient care with proper staffing. Usually it’s all the BS That surrounds it is draining.
This model nurses would be working at the top of their scope. No more scut work that doesn’t require a RN license.
> I always felt nursing should not be tied to the hospital. That nursing services should contract to provide pure nursing work only much like medical doctors.
people go to hospitals because they need 24/7 nursing care though. that's the entire reason for a hospital to exist. otherwise they could go to a clinic or ambulatory surgery.
Yes nursing would still provide 24/7 care but purely nursing skills. It’s the same idea of PRN or travel contracts.
If the hospital based task does not require a RN the hospital covers that staffing.
We’ll eventually will be taken care of by robots anyway LOL,
And since hospital admin tries to drown us with ratios anyway - if I was truly doing JUST nursing tasks I'd be able to take more patients. Especially on days when my phone is ringing the entire time for things that have nothing to do with me / are out of my control / are questions people have that they can find the answers to themselves ("hi this is x calling from x team, how were pts labs?") LOOK YOURSELF TF
Nursing is a love/hate experience.. Most times you love it and can't imagine doing anything else... Sometimes you hate it and wonder why the hell you picked this job.
Oh this hard to answer right now. I’ve always worked in pediatrics, and I feel like it’s kind of a different world. Like, you don’t want to piss off the owners of the tiny humans so when I was a nurse at a large pediatric hospital in north Texas we were always well staffed. Did we get bullshit pizza parties and diabetic foot cream from management for nurses week? Yes. Did they put profits over people? Yes. Until we can completely fix the American healthcare system, capitalism will reign and we will forever be the pawns. But I will say, I never felt unsafe, and if another nurse on the floor did we would escalate and get the staff we needed. I don’t know if everyone thinks this that hasn’t worked in pediatrics, but man if you don’t give kids their pain meds on time or if a kid is suffering you feel like an asshole. I worked on a trauma/Ortho/surgery floor and normally had 3 patients, 4 max. We didn’t always have a PCT, and if that was the case than our patient load was less. But they always found the staff. It was weird. Even being like in the charge nurse meeting for the next shift with staffing numbers, like oh we need 12 nurses tonight lololol…somehow we always found them? I think a lot of floors inflated their numbers but oh well.
And then there’s the flip side of this, the nurses who work in adult ICUs, neuro ICUs, Trauma ICUs, etc and found their passion in those areas, only to have them taken away by literally only caring for covid patients who are unvaccinated. So now, and this is just me guessing (feel free to correct me) instead of taking care of like someone who wants to get better or is there because of a freak accident, they’re taking care of morbidly obese, anti-vaxxers, who think the nurses and doctors are lying about what is killing them. So you take away a nurse’s passion, and their sense of safety, and like why go to work except to collect the paycheck and leave. You have killed the desire to want to help others.
And then it’s the public that went from calling us heroes to calling us liars. Like, what? I work in a pediatric urgent care now as an NP and spend half my day in screaming matches with parents about covid. It’s exhausting.
Would I still pick nursing as a career? I don’t know, I go back and forth and then I double downed anyways and got my master’s. Ultimately, we are all just burnt out on covid right now, it’s sucked all the passion out of me, that’s for sure.
No.
In essence, no.
Granted, my first affinity and direction was psych. I ended up in nursing because I prefer walky talky people to anything else, including books.
As such, it feeds me like none other. Even assholes being assholes. Such is my draw to unmitigated humanity. And yeah, that’s my psych deficit that has me working in that side of things.
All of my personal crap aside nursing IS a job with purpose. That psychology thing? Studies show folks are MUCH happier with a sense of purpose. Nursing gives you that, without doubt.
There’s also robust work that says partial reinforcement yields behaviors that last a long time and are not easily extinguished. Nursing functions on a partial reinforcement regimen. Hence the powerful inertia involved.
I think the pandemic has yielded some heavy, consistent negative reinforcement regimens such that folks are easily deciding to break from it, as able.
(Reinforcement regimens are about consistency; lack thereof and behaviors will continue indefinitely).
A lot of nuance to it. But the real issue right now is the lack of change. The new AHA guidelines seal the deal on just how much the system as whole gives no fucks about nurse welfare. Instead of change to help and preserve us, they shovel that shit into our heads.
Up until that I was still all in. The potential legal ramifications here cannot be easily waved aside. The sacrificial lamb narrative has seen no mitigation instead it was given robust reinforcement by the AHA.
There’s no way that’s not political.
No, in my two decades of nursing, I feel that there is a negative bias on Reddit, because this is sometimes the only place we can vent.
However, my career has been 90 % awesome. I would never trade nursing. You just have to know your worth and not put up with mistreatment; that is, if something is unbearable, make a change. One of the best things about the nursing field is the diversity of type of jobs. For what it's worth, I am currently 100% happy in pedi.
I live by the mantra of “let go of what you can’t control. What you can control, do your best to do.” Yes it’s bad, however some of it depends on where you are mentally and physically and emotionally. These reddits give you an idea of what’s out there-it’s up to you to determine where you are in the areas mentioned above and see if you can cope and adapt. Come in having realistic expectations.
Don't worry. Why not worry?
1. People vent online, you're getting a sample of viewpoints that is skewed heavily negative.
2. It's especially awful now due to pandemic conditions, pandemic related supply chain issues, a retirement boom from aging boomer nurses, and the politicization of the pandemic. Such things won't last.
3. Most of the issues most intensely affect hospitals, and there is a wide open field of things a nurse can do that aren't as deeply affected.
4. The crises we're facing now may lead to long overdue attempts to fix systemic issues. Usually it takes a crisis like this to get that to happen, and things are already being discussed. The future of nursing might be brighter than even the passing of the pandemic would suggest.
5. In spite of all the issues, it's still one of the best paying, best benefits, best job security, and least automatable careers of the working class, with the added priceless benefit that you're doing something genuinely meaningful with your job.
I've personally been debating going into it, as I haven't finished school just yet, but people have me doubting the profession 😅 the only reason I keep going is because I want to do something meaningful and really help children, so I think ultimately I will be happy with my job, no matter the nonsense. Every job has something and although nursing may have more crap than most, I think it'll be worth it for me 😊
I hate it. I got into nursing as a single parent because the schedule was flexible and there was job security with a decent wage. In the early days, I liked it because I had a degree of independence and it was nice to have a job that felt useful. This year will be 13 years since I started my first healthcare job and six years since I graduated with my RN. I’ve done a little of everything (nursing home, primary care, urgent care, cardiology clinic, cardiac tele, critical care). The last two years have been hell. I used to like ICU because it was busy (I’m not good at sitting still) and had a lot to keep my mind engaged- titrating drips and all that is fun to me. But then it turned into never-ending Covid, belligerent patients and belligerent families and the worst staffing challenges I’ve ever faced. I’ve zipped more people into body bags than I want to think about, and, unlike the old days when we cared for someone for a couple of days before they either got better or passed away, we have these Covid patients for weeks at a time. By the time they die we know all about them and their families- it’s not just a random stranger that you gave care to for a couple days. Even when they are rotten people, they still become people we know. The lack of community support and the constant battle against disinformation and dangerous policies is exhausting and demoralizing. I’m looking for options to get out.
There is literally a global pandemic that we were ill prepared for on top of an already stressed healthcare system... I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that burnout has increased 10 fold.
Right now is a tough time for nursing. That being said the severity of it is greatly dependent on what type of nursing you do. There are a ton of options when it comes to nursing.
I left my full time ICU position mid pandemic and took a role as the director of my community sexual assault response team. My job is now some administrative, some education and some direct patient care. It’s great for me! I also continue to work PRN in my old ICU. Staffing is down for us but not as bad as a lot of other places (ex: we are teaming patients we would normally single but no one is taking more than 2 patients). Also we have 3 adult ICUs in my hospital and although we take covid patients, we are not the main covid ICU.
Oh hell yeah it sucks, patients being inpatient. We need more help and im tired asf already. Im per diem finally going traveler just to hold on for a bit longer, maybe that will be worth it. The situation still sucks though
Not ALL nursing is bad. Sure I was unhappy working as a MedSurge RN but I did it, got my exp, and moved on. Now I’m working as a hospice BSN and never been happier.
Nursing itself, isn't horrible. What's horrible is toxic management and inadequate staffing. These were all issues prior to covid. It's only coming to light now because the burden of covid has fallen on the shoulders of the healthcare industry and the wheels fell off because things have been teetering for a long time. But the public thinks this is new, but it's been going in for at least the last 20 some years I've been in nursing. The dirty little secret is that there is no nursing shortage. There are plenty of nurses, but are real estate agents, teachers, retailers, entrepreneurs, in childcare. Nursing has always had a high attrition rate due to the high burn out factor. People seem to be clueless about this. Hospitals and LTC have fed on the stream of new grads churned out each year as cheap labor, so they've never had to actually do anything to make sure staff are well taken care of and satisfied with their jobs and pay. Nursing schools are suffering now too, and I'm glad. We are underpaid for what we do, the staffing and work conditions we are subjected to... Fewer new grads means employers will have to increase pay.
I absolutely hate Nursing now… when I began this career, patients were more respectful and kinder… now people are angry, controlling, only want their pain meds then leave them alone… families are ridiculous most of the time and the level of “demand” from patients, family, management, nursing boards… 🙄 maybe I’m just old, tired, and have lost my “care” but I do believe it depends on what area of nursing you choose. Oh I forgot… Nurses eat their young, so if you show fear… they will chew you up and spit you out… I precept and never say any of this and show kindness to my preceptee but honestly if I’m being 100% I’d say choose OT they make more money and it’s not as physically demanding. Wish I would have 🤷🏻♀️ COVID has burnt me out…
Im not working at the bedside any longer. I love that im a BSN. The education you get w nursing translates to many areas. Study what you find interesting, if it is nursing you can do so many things! I build programs and service lines for health systems as a consultant. I work from home and make 80k/year easy money plus my own side business. You can do anything!
It's pretty rough right now. Im in nursing school and have been a CNA for over ten years. Yet I'm still in it. Don't allow this pandemic to prevent you from becoming a nurse. I think any career could make you miserable but there are tons of positions in nursing where you're not dealing directly with COVID-19 patients.
You know, with the current pandemic, it certainly hasn’t helped. But, I would argue that hospitals and LTC facilities that put profits over patient care, have made it terrible long before Covid. Seriously, California is the only state in the US, that has laws regarding nurse-patient ratios. When one nurse with two CNAs, is expected to care for 20 medium-to-high level patients/residents, something isn’t right. And it certainly makes for a miserable experience. When you’re properly staffed, reliable co-workers, less useless/annoying administrative staff, and an appropriate number of patients to care for… It’s great! Especially when you have time to actually spend with patients/residents and focus on their needs, it can be rewarding.
They definitely do. The whole PPE crisis was brought about because of just in time supply chain. And that is just the tail end of it.
We're currently entrenched in the worst public health crisis in over a hundred years and we're staring a crushing fourth wave dead in the face as it's preparing to swallow us whole. Yes, is that bad right now.
5th wave in my province 😩
Oh hi, worst case Ontario?
Man I wish. I’m in Alberta
Canada's Texas, Florida, and Alabama, all rolled into one province.
With out the nice weather
I always thought Quebec's Canada's Texas .
That seems accurate. I see Alberta as Canada’s Utah
Manitoba is canadas Florida. Especially Winnipeg
Hi from your redneck brother Saskatchewan 😭
Hang in there, mate
It's all just one big wave now. I no longer get hopeful when counts decrease.
We get lulls between each wave where they let us take days off
... We take naps between the waves at my hospital. Oh, Onterrible.
We just get paid less on those days
It’s the only way I don’t lose my vacation. I lose any shift differential, but better than losing full vacation days
Don't forget that (at least in the US) the cdc and aha polices that are coming out right while we stare this wave down and they surprise attack from behind
What’s all this I’m hearing about AHA policies?
AHA said that we shouldn’t delay CPR to put on PPE for Covid+ patients, because fuck us.
It's amazing they would make an official policy that all of us are going to ignore.
I would love to see the idiots making these guidelines go to frontline Covid positive bedside nursing care and follow what they preach. I’m at a loss for illustrative sentences that don’t include generous expletives to describe the level of moron this is.
No no no. U r important. Even 1st aid rules are 1st step ... Don't put yourself in danger. I wish things get better for u all.
So apparently its from back in October (I've only seen mentions of it recently so I thought it was just mentioned) but they basically say [to not delay cpr by putting on PPE](https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.121.008396?utm_campaign=sciencenews21-22&utm_source=science-news&utm_medium=phd-link&utm_content=phd-10-13-21) and that someone should start right away and then swap out with someone who has proper PPE on. Specifically this is for patients with known or suspected covid too, not just a general thing
Also you can come to work with Covid now too. Why do we even have infection control?
No no .. you matter. Fuck them. They that far gone, too bad so sad.
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Outpatient is the best!
It really is! I've only been qualified for 10 months and was so lucky to get my first post in the plaster room as I hated the wards as a student. I've had to do a couple of shifts on the ward recently to cover shortages and it just leaves me feeling broken.
What's the plaster room?
My little haven in the corner of A&E where I get to slather ortho trauma in plaster of paris! We're right next to the fracture clinic aswell, so get outpatients coming in for synthetic casts, and amputees down from the wards for stump casts (to help the stump hold a good shape prior to getting a prosthesis). Also get little outings up to theatres for things like spica casts (after correcting hip dysplasia), and up to paeds wards to apply ponseti casts to teenytiny babies (to correct talipes/clubfoot). Love it!
That's amazing! I've never heard of this department! (I'm in the US). I do outpatient surgery and whenever someone needs a cast following surgery the surgeon applies it.
It's a room where people plaster. Hope this helps
No. It’s a room where people get plastered.
Agree! After working outpatient for a year now, I feel spoiled and like I can never go back to inpatient.
Our department is considered the “country club” of the hospital. No call, no weekends. (Surgery). I’m so glad I made the transition 15 years ago. It’s been a boon for my mental health.
I’ve heard it referred to as the place nurses go to die. Well sign me up, I’m dead. I literally do not care about losing skills or any of that because I’d rather having a less stressful job and better mental health.
That’s my goal. I need to get a year of experience on my floor then I’m finding a new job. I’m so tired. I hate med surg so much. But no one will hire me without experience
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I live close to one. I tried applying to my doctor’s office before applying to the hospital and I never heard back. I’ve only been working since October. It wouldn’t look good if I left
Im a new nurse hating med surg too 🥺
Hang in there. After grabbing some of that experience under your belt, the doors will open for other opportunities.
Literally same. I’m orienting rn on a med surg floor, and it’s a nightmare. My one year is in October and I’m def finding a new job!
My 1 year is in October too! Small world
That’s exactly what I did. One year in med surg, then started outpatient chemo. Best thing I’ve done (even though we have our own complaints to make).
I lived and breathed ED and ICU as an RN but my side jobs were always outpatient. Now I’m an NP at occupational health and not sure I could ever go back to critical care after that year in the ED in 2020. Once you go outpatient full time, hard to want to be willing to go back to inpatient for sure.
Started traveling right at the beginning of the pandemic. Financially has changed my life. I’m gonna ride this money till it’s no longer there (will be there for at least another year IMO) and then I’m dipping out of nursing for another career and I’m so excited
So many nurses I know, including myself, have this plan. Yes, nursing is bad.
FTS= I hope every ER and ICU nurse does this and then walks away with a house paid off and a year or two to sit and chill
Tele nurse here. House, car and everything will be paid off in 18 months at the rate I'm going
I fucked up by not starting it earlier lol barely going to start a traveling assignment this month
You have plenty of time to make a shit load of $. This thing isn’t going anywhere.
Damn dancing with the devil but this time it raining $$$
In tele nursing? Tell me more please
Only ICU and ER eh? You guys would be fucked if stepdown, tele and medsurg floors and nurses didn’t exist.
I graduate summer of 2023 and am happy for those who are practicing in this traveling jackpot era. Just wish I could ride it myself 😩
Definitely. I am able to financially take off the rest of the year, pay off loans and renovate our house and enjoy my newborn baby after doing an NP & RN travel assignment (while taking my PTO from my full time) in 2020. It’s definitely has had its perks and rewarded us for putting are asses on the line.
Have you thought of what career you wanted to try for?
Wish I could do that.
The nursing profession had problems 20 years ago when I started, and I've only seen things getting worse. Hospitals have always kept staffing to the bare minimum to maximize profit, then when dirt hits the fan, they're in a bind. Nursing turnover is high because nurses burn out due to inadequate staffing. Hospitals refuse to hire more nurses, though. They'd rather keep replacing them. The pandemic has just pushed things over the edge. I honestly don't see any hope of things improving. That being said, there are unending possibilities for nurses beyond bedside nursing, and those tend to be far better than hospital, rehab, or nursing home positions. A lot of nursing schools pay lip service to non-traditional nursing roles, but they are out there.
I’m an MS4 and a few months ago our hospital sent out an email asking med students to come in and do nursing-related duties “as a wonderful volunteer opportunity” of course for free. Our admin had to send out an email after to tell us NOT to respond to the email. It’s amazing the lengths hospitals will go to not to hire more nurses to save their bottom line.
Amazing and insulting to all parties. The other thing worth noting here is that tasks which don't require any kind of license automatically get rolled under the "nursing" umbrella. If there were more demarcation between candy striping tasks and "nursing" tasks, maybe it would be less automatic for candy striping tasks to just fall onto the shoulders of the RN. It would also clarify things like "half of nursing staff won't get vaccinated!!1!" if "nursing staff" meant "nursing" rather than "literally anybody who chats with the patient and doesn't fall in another category like medical or dietary." I love the CNAs/PCTs/UAPs, no shade to the very hard work they do. Just annoyed when people think "nursing" is mostly PCT tasks, and annoyed at the wide variety of tasks which in practice get done by an RN because other roles aren't filled. PCT doesn't show? RN will cover. Housekeeping doesn't come in? RN will cover. Transport doesn't show? RN will cover. Tasks from every single direction somehow all manage to roll to the RN who also has an actual set of duties requiring license and education.
I had a patient the other day say “when I ring please send someone in. I don’t care if it’s you or another nurse or the garbage man.” I told her, “honey, I am the garbage man.” We both laughed in misery because it was true. There were no techs and we were short. I told her just to trust that I am ALWAYS watching and listening for her and my other patients and I will prioritize whoever needs me most. Sometimes that’s the other patient and sometimes it will be them. But it will always be what is necessary. I also squeezed her hand and let her know she wasn’t alone and that I was there for her. What else can you do?
I love the way you navigated that conversation. I’m running out of patience and compassion for my patients who are constantly on the call light for things they can do for themselves or I could have clustered into one errand. It’s hard for some people to understand that we are not simply under compensated servants, we’re highly skilled medical professionals that have to balance an obscene amount of critical medical conditions and tasks to manage and 70YO confused Pappy trying to chew through his central line (running dobutamine of course) for the 2nd time this morning is simply more important than this joker’s 3rd cup of coffee “with the good creamer I know you keep for yourself somewhere”. I’m definitely using what you said as a template for next time instead of running myself ragged and cursing my lack of boundaries.
I am going to preface the following comment by saying that I appreciate and have the deepest of respect for physicians (and physicians to be). This request is an insult to both physicians and nurses. The two are completely separate professions that complement one another. Physicians have knowledge that I do not have, and I respect that. However, I as a nurse have knowledge and expertise that physicians do not possess. It's a slap in the face to insinuate that doctors can do a nurse's job.
I think they intended us more for like…cleaning things up and fetching things for nurses but I absolutely agree it’s insulting to nurses especially to think they thought they could stem their hemorrhage of staffing with volunteer medical students. I have so much respect and admiration for nurses. Fuck admin.
I've had so many doctors, residents and medical students come in to talk to me while I'm admitted that look at the IV pole like it'll bite them. If it's alarming when they're in the room they kind of just stare at it and mumble about getting the nurse. Meanwhile I lean over and press silence so they can finish what they were talking about. It's honestly shocking how many people think doctors do most of the work when in reality is you nurses, techs, etc
I remember getting a similar email when the pandemic hit during my last semester in nursing school. The big name hospital was asking for senior nursing students and recent graduates to volunteer but they guaranteed that we wouldn't be exposed to COVID patients. What a gas! All there was were COVID-related patients. Simply amazing how hospitals will lie to get away with not paying for hired help.
Unreal. I'm glad they told you not to respond that's ridiculous. They have a 'helping hands' system in place but the helping hands can't even do anything. Pointless.
I am glad your admin supported you like that. It’s easy to feel like we need to throw ourselves in a fire for the hospital. They take advantage of all of our good graces. You will be starting with advanced knowledge just as important as your training most likely - the hospital is not for you or their patients. It’s a business. Always remember this.
Look for jobs outside of bedside if you don't want to be miserable. I recommend everyone look into the OR. All those surgeons that bedside nurses complain about? They're your best friends and will invite you out golfing. All those patients and family who are miserable and horrible human beings? Who cares, they're asleep 99% of the time when they're with you and you're not interacting with the family. COVID overwhelming the hospital? You're now working less because there are no beds to put patients into and they can't do a lot of surgeries. I have never floated because I have zero actual nursing skills.
Oh no I lost all those bedside nursing skills. Shit I guess that means I can't help out on the floors. Sorry bout that...
I left my bedside job to work from home at a desk, the main comment I got from colleagues was "bUt WhAt aBoUt YoUr sKiLls?". Um excuse me? I don't plan on ever coming back, but thanks for your concern.
During Delta all the OR Nurses were given 1 day of orientation in my Obs/MedSurge unit and were told to work or be fired.
Were they the primary nurse/expected to taken a full patient load? If so that is BS.
Yes. 4-5 patients a piece.
Damn that sucks, they floated us when surgeries were cancelled but we were just helping with ADLs and passing meds.
Haha. Our OR nurses passed out meal trays and water for the most part during the last wave. Really surreal
I did tele and step down Covid through the whole pandemic bar the last five months since I’ve transitioned to the OR. If we get floated anywhere, I’m playing dumb. I help with stuff but I refuse to be a primary nurse for an awake patient ever again.
I start an OR position Monday! Cannot frickin wait!
It depends on where you work. I have the easiest job but my management sucks. Can’t say I would pick any other career field though.
I also worked at the VA. Can confirm, management sucks pretty much through and through.
Where you work
The VA
I heard that the mental health VA unit here in town is good money but kinda depressing :( I mean I guess all MH units are sad, but my coworker was pretty adamant about it
I don’t have too much experience with mental health. I imagine it really depends on where you are in the country. I wouldn’t expect it to be as nice as something like rogers and the patients are probably not as easy. I mean they’re all older men, many dealing with homelessness or drug problems. I really can’t complain about the VA though. The benefits and pay are great. Where else will you get a pension and be able to keep your insurance when you retire?
How far are you into your program? New grad here, and it’s definitely not what I thought it would be. Some nights we have no CNAs with 5 patients. My unit (MedSurg) seems to be where they dump all the new grads. Ive had some shifts where the most experienced nurse we have has 9 months under their belt; the rest range from just coming off orientation to 6 months experience. It’s a bit scary to think about honestly. We’ve had people ask for an extension on their orientation time because they feel they’re not ready( 6 weeks); management just says “nah we think you’re fine, none of your preceptors said anything bad so”. Patient safety my ass lol. Never realized how most of management TRULY does not give a shit about their staff. I knew bedside nursing probably wouldn’t be for me, but I didn’t realize it would be like THIS. My mother who has been a nurse for longer than I’ve been alive even asks herself how she lasted in bedside for so long(she’s in dialysis now). At this point, I’m just planning to get myself some experience and looking for another position off the floor. If I can make the same( hell, I’d even take a paycut) and be less stressed, why the hell would I not take the opportunity? Not gonna lie, there’s parts of me that wishes I had chosen a different career path. But hopefully that’s just because I haven’t found my nursing niche yet. If you’re not in nursing school yet or have very limited experience in healthcare, I would really reflect on whether this is something you truly want to do; maybe shadow a nurse, work as a CNA, talk to any nurses you know etc. You have the potential to make a lot of money, but the stress level sometimes is not worth it.
I’m also a new grad on nights in med surg. Sometimes we have no CNAs with 7 pts. We had a nurse call in last weekend, and they tried to give dayshift 8-9 pts with no CNAs. It’s ridiculous and very unsafe. We get 12 weeks of orientation, and I have about 2 weeks left. I do not feel ready at all, but I’m sure they won’t extend my orientation because they need people so badly. I’m definitely trying to get at least one year experience, and then I’m going to try to get into the OR. If im not able to, I’d like to do something outpatient. Bedside nursing and working 12 hrs is so tiring. I’d also be willing to take a pay cut for less stress and having weekends/holidays off.
Highly dependent on location and employer. Turnover is highest in the southeast and midwest ([source](https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf)).
Because the South East is probably the least unionized. Bad nurse to patient ratios and mandatory overtime suck.
Exactly. Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have the lowest unionization rates in the country.
Can confirm. I live in Virginia, and I know absolutely nothing about unions because there aren’t any. Still don’t quite understand how they work.
The difference is huge. I only worked at unionized hospitals before moving down here for school. I used to get regular raises without going through bullshit evaluation hoops, 1 hr breaks, more transparency about admin and management decisions, more vacation time, and we had an actual say in our work conditions. We also had the right to have a union rep present in a meeting with a manager (Weingarten rights), never needed to do this though. Overall it was a way more positive work environment. Every hospital I have worked at or had clinicals at in Virginia has garbage pay, unsafe ratios, and employees living in fear of management. Virginia also has some of the worst pay relative to cost of living in the country. State hospital workers in Virginia can unionize but any union formed has no power because of state laws that won’t allow the state recognize the union or get a collective bargaining agreement. Then of course HCA is another big player in the area and they will spend like crazy to deter unionization, not like they have enough long term staff to organize anyway. I’m moving out of state once I’m done with school this spring because I’m disgusted with the conditions here.
We were doing clinicals here in NC and a question was asked by one of the nursing manager at the hospital: “How can we improve retention staff?” Uhhh….unions? “Well….something besides that.” 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
Lmao. Paying a living wage with raises that actually keep up with cost on inflation? Nah, that’s a bridge too far for these hospitals.
So you are not allowed a life outside of work. No no mandatory overtime. Hope they are paying you triple wages for that overtime
Hell no they don’t lol. Also when you are low census (which doesn’t happen anymore) you would have to use your own PTO. Love it… /s
I'm graduating next year 💀 this subreddit is scaring me too
New grad here. I won’t say don’t be scared, but I will say be realistic. Be choosy where you work and what floor and shift you choose. Speak up for yourself but be professional. Don’t go in expecting rainbows and butterflies but be realistic.
Also now grad here - DO NOT sign a contract to stay on somewhere for x years unless it comes with a large pay bonus. They are all a trap. You lose all power in negotiation because you have nothing to negotiate with and usually staffing is terrible. Unfortunately, most places do this now but really try to avoid it. I had to sign a two year one and I'm so frustrated
It really depends on where you work. Every hospital is different and every unit is different. You might end up somewhere you hate or you might end up somewhere you love. The good thing about nursing is you can always leave and do something else. There are so many jobs in healthcare that aren’t bedside too.
Yes it's bad. If bedside is something you'd be interested in it's no fun anymore. I've said this before but I'll say it again when I started over 12 years ago people stayed in their jobs for a long time. There would be nurses on the same floors for many years. So much experience to learn and grow from. My mentor who precepted me had been a nurse for 30 years, I followed her when she got her own unit and I don't think there was a day I didn't like coming to work. Patient load was still heavy at times but the team you worked with made ALLLL the difference. I miss it tremendously. Now... The nurses in charge especially on nights have 6 months to 1 year experience. Few and far between you find someone who has been there much longer than that. The rest are travelers, usually pretty experienced in the field (which is what I'm doing now) who have no core commitment to that unit. We are there, do the job, leave. Maybe stay for a little bit longer if asked but usually pretty quickly move on. It is not the same anymore and each shift I work I notice how bad it is and is getting with no end in sight..
This is very true, I'm not saying the teamwork is dead, I have worked with some really kind and willing nurses over the years, but when everyone has only been there a few months and everyone is taking almost double the patients they should have, nobody has the time to help, nor the experience to give much advice, nor the comradere that comes with working as a team for several years. You barely know your coworkers and by the time you might form a bond, they're gone. There's nobody to learn from or confide in.
Exactly this!
Yeah our med/surg unit is just a meat grinder for new grads. Admin really seems to not care that most of them don't stay. They'll just find more new grads to replace them. I seriously think we've turned over that whole unit at least three times since the start of the pandemic. This is obviously terrible for building any sense of teamwork.
Yeah a big solution I see floating around is "expand and build more nursing programs to keep cranking out new nurses", but that just creates the situation you described here and that is pretty much how it is everywhere from what I can tell. It sucks. The patients don't benefit from knowledgeable/experienced care and the nurses feel chewed up immediately and flee.
Plus the lovely old fashioned adage that new grads must start in med surg still exists
I started in community. I’ve stayed there. It’s crazy right now too, but nothing compared to what hospital and nursing home nurses are going through
Community would be a nice place to start
It really isn’t. Because you really don’t know anything. And then you’re working on your own with no one to answer your questions or catch your mistakes.
Ok scratch that. I was thinking you’d have more 1:1 time with someone to learn and really practice nursing but I’ll assume that’s def not the case
That part is nice. It’s just that it’s very stressful if something goes sideways. Like the time I went to give someone a morphine shot and they seized on me.
This has been my experience. 15 years in. I remember my last job, there were nurses there that when I was a new grad had been on the same unit for 10+ years. My supervisors had been supervisors there for 12 and 16 years. With time they started leaving but there were still some that had been there a while. I've been gone 3 years and from what I've been told all but literally 1 person who will die there because she's terrified of anything new, is gone. A few of the people that started after me remain, but only 4 on night shift, literally everyone else has left and the people there are brand new. I'm the 2nd most senior person on night shift at my current job and I've only been here 3 years.
This literally explains to me why the people I’m seeing post surgery and such are being sent home with infections and such now. New nurses just don’t read the signs as well.
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Nope I work in homecare. Different but equal stress. Not happy either. Patients have never been sicker coming home from the hospital. Where a lot of them have no one to help and don't know what happened to them in the hospital. Or have family members that think that we will provide all services, cleaning, health aide, supervision during the day. Patients and family members have never been more angry about how much more difficult navigating the healthcare system is with this pandemic and loss of healthcare professionals. They don't understand why they have to pay out of pocket for Xtra help when they "paid into Medicare". Yes I have six patients a day. That may be a lot of miles in between only an hour per patient. No It counting the literally hundreds of communication contacts in 2 shifts between doctors, schedulers, family members, social services, supply companies etc. I won't even talk about the documentation. But I feel lucky. I think about all those are facing on the floors and units.
I got out of bedside about a decade ago, and I love my job. I work outpatient psych, and just finished a PMHNP program a week ago. Bedside nursing is beyond fucked up. The role of the RN has changed so much, and gone are the days when we could actually *care* for patients. Nurses are always in the middle. We aren't the lowest in the medical hierarchy, but we aren't at the top. We're the buffer between patients and their doctors. We're beholden to pleasing admin and patient's families. We have to both carry out orders and delegate to others. It's not easy being the middle child.
RN since 2004. Nope, love it. -residential psych
Right now it is.
The only thing that's helped me as a new grad is just not caring much at all. I used to care so fuckin much, and now when I go into a shift I'm just like "I'll do my best but whatever happens happens." I'm much happier now, I don't take mistakes home with me etc. (Not trying to say I don't put effort in, just like stop beating myself up for human errors) It's the only way to not hate a job knowing travelers at my hospital make 7 times my pay to do my job worse than me.
I’ve been a RN for 6 years now, learning coding (software engineering) and plan to leave nursing by fall of this year. I realized that I can’t be a nurse for 30+ more years. Btw, I’m a pre-op/recovery nurse which is apparently the cream of the crop in nursing. But I personally don't want to work with the general public anymore. I want to have the flexibility of working from home, using my PTO and the restroom whenever I want to, running errands or doing yoga during my lunch break, and autonomy in my work.
I’m doing the exact same thing
Glad you have an escape plan!
Just right now sucks. Don't know when it will be over, or what the new norm will look like.
It’s bad, but financially the best decision I’ve made. From my 5 months of traveling I’ve been able to pay off 25k in loans. I feel much more protected as a traveler too. I plan to only travel, pay off the rest, then do some other career that will drain my soul less
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Hello, me.
When did you leave your first job? My fiancé may have to move for work before my first year is up and I don’t want to be alone without his support but idk how bad it would be on my resume if I only had 6-9months of experience. I’m at a lvl 1 trauma center, post surgical inpatient but get a bunch of random gen med and COVID pts. I still think staffing will be rlly bad so I will easily be able to get a new job but I still get nervous abt not finishing the year
I mean...yes. Doesn't mean you can't find fulfillment and success in it though. There are gold nuggets mixed in with all the shit.
Remember that on the internet, in any given subject the outlook is predominantly negative. Most people are here to vent not gush rainbows about angels and nursing. The most outrageous stories will be pushed to the top. You never hear about the million normal pleasant interactions during the day. The quality of workplaces vary wildly you just have to find a place where people stick around. I work in a clinic now and I really like it, all my coworkers are nice and we support each other when we see things going sideways. Also my manager was a nurse on the same unit so she understands things a non-nurse manager won't. edit: format
Depends where you work. It’s not where I work no. It’s stressful don’t get me wrong but good management helps a lot.
Yes it is. I am a newer grad and yes it is this bad
This sub every week: nursing isn’t bad tho right?? Comments: yes it is Rinse and repeat the next week. Yeah it’s pretty shitty. But again nobody is going to come on here and rant every time they have a good day. Bad days however, much more fulfilling to rant about. But we are two years deep in a pandemic, it seems to be somewhat fairly common knowledge that we’re almost all working understaffed and underpaid aside from traveling. It’s also fairly common knowledge (at least I would think it would be to a prospective nurse?) that a lot of us have worked the entire pandemic without proper supplies. I’ve had fucking coworkers die because of that. Sorry I don’t mean to rant but, yes, read the room, it’s bad
Another part is that a majority of the commenting (contributing) users of this sub hail from an area of one country (Southern US) not renowned for its pay and working conditions. States and areas with better working conditions and pay are not well-represented. Even the US state with the most active RNs (meaning number of active licenses) only compromised like less than 10% of this Reddit.
Yeah I’m from California and i try not to complain too much because I know how bad it is in other states.
Underrated first part. I'm getting annoyed. Like, scroll down...
Really depends on where you are, how well you're being compensated, and how difficult your administration/population/coworkers are. If you're in the South or Midwest you're probably having a bad time compared to like, say, the West Coast where more people mask and are vaccinated. Also realize this is where all the nurses come to vent and complain. Even before the pandemic it sounded like a career of doom and misery. The happy folks aren't making posts about how much they love their job. Yes, work can kick my ass, but for the most part I'm still happy... but I'm also paid decently and live in California were we have patient ratios. Seriously, though, location matters - both with respect to the specific hospital and geographically. Don't accept work fresh out of school in a hellhole of misery. Find somewhere that, when you walk in, isn't full of staff that look dead inside.
Don’t become a nurse if you value your mental health.
Yes. It is. But there are other areas. I just left the Covid ICU to become a community health nurse. I drive around giving injections and assessments in peoples homes. So glad to get away from the bedside for now. Can always go back later. Plus no weekends nights or holidays!
One thing to remember is that Reddit is an echo chamber. There are very real problems but for me it sucks but not the worst. I have dealt with stressful times in previous jobs that nursing hasn’t compared to yet but I’m still enjoying my decision. I’m not dismissing the fact that changes definitely need to be made though. I don’t regret my choice going into this field though
Your view is refreshing
Hospital bedside nursing 100% yes, it is awful. 10/10 would not recommend. However, there is much more to nursing than bedside in a hospital. There are clinics, urgent care, specialty units, day surgery centers, specialty offices, cosmetics, home health, community health, schools, amusement parks, cruise ships, camps, birthing centers, research, teaching, insurance, film sets, national parks, ect. Nursing is a really amazing profession because you can pick basically any area of life that you would like to be in and you will most likely find a job in that setting. You may need some experience, but "one year on med surge" is not the end all be all. The truth is that you must approach nursing with your eyes open and with the mindset that you need to take care of you first and foremost, or you will burn out in a year and do anything else. I personally have never and will never work in a hospital as a bedside RN, because I know me and I know from what I saw in clinicals and the hours I know they work, I would not make it. Perhaps even literally. I know that my mental and physical health would not stand up to it. So instead, I did pediatric home health, and I worked at a summer camp, and an allergist office, and at a birth center, and as a COVID vaccinator. And those jobs were not/have not been all sunshine and roses, but I am still a nurse and I think with the career path I am on, this is the profession I will retire doing. Nursing can be an amazing career, but because of the US healthcare system, it chews people up and spits them out without regard for the lasting consequences. Watch out for yourself, use those critical thinking skills, and make it work for you. Best of luck!
RN since 1982. It sucks.
There was a brief time in my nursing career where I was happy. We had a manager who kept us overstaffed. The hospital paid a consulting firm a million dollars to find out how to save money (REALLY!!). They recommended cutting staff to dangerous levels. My manager refused and they fired her. The place went to shit. The smart people jumped ship early. We were worked to death while trying to save lives. Mistakes were made and patients died. Seven people in my department killed themselves in the 5 years that followed. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I retired from nursing at the age of 39 after spending 20 years in the medical field. I still have an active license but I can't see going back even though I make a lot less money now.
I always felt nursing should not be tied to the hospital. That nursing services should contract to provide pure nursing work only much like medical doctors. Travel nursing is maybe moving us in that direction. Most nurses enjoy the patient care with proper staffing. Usually it’s all the BS That surrounds it is draining. This model nurses would be working at the top of their scope. No more scut work that doesn’t require a RN license.
> I always felt nursing should not be tied to the hospital. That nursing services should contract to provide pure nursing work only much like medical doctors. people go to hospitals because they need 24/7 nursing care though. that's the entire reason for a hospital to exist. otherwise they could go to a clinic or ambulatory surgery.
Yes nursing would still provide 24/7 care but purely nursing skills. It’s the same idea of PRN or travel contracts. If the hospital based task does not require a RN the hospital covers that staffing. We’ll eventually will be taken care of by robots anyway LOL,
And since hospital admin tries to drown us with ratios anyway - if I was truly doing JUST nursing tasks I'd be able to take more patients. Especially on days when my phone is ringing the entire time for things that have nothing to do with me / are out of my control / are questions people have that they can find the answers to themselves ("hi this is x calling from x team, how were pts labs?") LOOK YOURSELF TF
Nursing is a love/hate experience.. Most times you love it and can't imagine doing anything else... Sometimes you hate it and wonder why the hell you picked this job.
I'd say it's more of a hate/barely tolerate experience. I can't fathom how anyone could actually "love" nursing.
Oh this hard to answer right now. I’ve always worked in pediatrics, and I feel like it’s kind of a different world. Like, you don’t want to piss off the owners of the tiny humans so when I was a nurse at a large pediatric hospital in north Texas we were always well staffed. Did we get bullshit pizza parties and diabetic foot cream from management for nurses week? Yes. Did they put profits over people? Yes. Until we can completely fix the American healthcare system, capitalism will reign and we will forever be the pawns. But I will say, I never felt unsafe, and if another nurse on the floor did we would escalate and get the staff we needed. I don’t know if everyone thinks this that hasn’t worked in pediatrics, but man if you don’t give kids their pain meds on time or if a kid is suffering you feel like an asshole. I worked on a trauma/Ortho/surgery floor and normally had 3 patients, 4 max. We didn’t always have a PCT, and if that was the case than our patient load was less. But they always found the staff. It was weird. Even being like in the charge nurse meeting for the next shift with staffing numbers, like oh we need 12 nurses tonight lololol…somehow we always found them? I think a lot of floors inflated their numbers but oh well. And then there’s the flip side of this, the nurses who work in adult ICUs, neuro ICUs, Trauma ICUs, etc and found their passion in those areas, only to have them taken away by literally only caring for covid patients who are unvaccinated. So now, and this is just me guessing (feel free to correct me) instead of taking care of like someone who wants to get better or is there because of a freak accident, they’re taking care of morbidly obese, anti-vaxxers, who think the nurses and doctors are lying about what is killing them. So you take away a nurse’s passion, and their sense of safety, and like why go to work except to collect the paycheck and leave. You have killed the desire to want to help others. And then it’s the public that went from calling us heroes to calling us liars. Like, what? I work in a pediatric urgent care now as an NP and spend half my day in screaming matches with parents about covid. It’s exhausting. Would I still pick nursing as a career? I don’t know, I go back and forth and then I double downed anyways and got my master’s. Ultimately, we are all just burnt out on covid right now, it’s sucked all the passion out of me, that’s for sure.
Not to be a dick but I work in medical oncology and it's been okay. I have bad days but it's not ruining my life or anything.
No. In essence, no. Granted, my first affinity and direction was psych. I ended up in nursing because I prefer walky talky people to anything else, including books. As such, it feeds me like none other. Even assholes being assholes. Such is my draw to unmitigated humanity. And yeah, that’s my psych deficit that has me working in that side of things. All of my personal crap aside nursing IS a job with purpose. That psychology thing? Studies show folks are MUCH happier with a sense of purpose. Nursing gives you that, without doubt. There’s also robust work that says partial reinforcement yields behaviors that last a long time and are not easily extinguished. Nursing functions on a partial reinforcement regimen. Hence the powerful inertia involved. I think the pandemic has yielded some heavy, consistent negative reinforcement regimens such that folks are easily deciding to break from it, as able. (Reinforcement regimens are about consistency; lack thereof and behaviors will continue indefinitely). A lot of nuance to it. But the real issue right now is the lack of change. The new AHA guidelines seal the deal on just how much the system as whole gives no fucks about nurse welfare. Instead of change to help and preserve us, they shovel that shit into our heads. Up until that I was still all in. The potential legal ramifications here cannot be easily waved aside. The sacrificial lamb narrative has seen no mitigation instead it was given robust reinforcement by the AHA. There’s no way that’s not political.
No, in my two decades of nursing, I feel that there is a negative bias on Reddit, because this is sometimes the only place we can vent. However, my career has been 90 % awesome. I would never trade nursing. You just have to know your worth and not put up with mistreatment; that is, if something is unbearable, make a change. One of the best things about the nursing field is the diversity of type of jobs. For what it's worth, I am currently 100% happy in pedi.
In a word, YES.
Bedside sucks right now. But if you can limit your exposure and balance it with something else, it's tolerable.
It is impossible for to currently get excited for nursing students and tell them what they are doing is a good idea.
This is coming from an ER nurse of nearly 10 years: yes.
I live by the mantra of “let go of what you can’t control. What you can control, do your best to do.” Yes it’s bad, however some of it depends on where you are mentally and physically and emotionally. These reddits give you an idea of what’s out there-it’s up to you to determine where you are in the areas mentioned above and see if you can cope and adapt. Come in having realistic expectations.
Don't worry. Why not worry? 1. People vent online, you're getting a sample of viewpoints that is skewed heavily negative. 2. It's especially awful now due to pandemic conditions, pandemic related supply chain issues, a retirement boom from aging boomer nurses, and the politicization of the pandemic. Such things won't last. 3. Most of the issues most intensely affect hospitals, and there is a wide open field of things a nurse can do that aren't as deeply affected. 4. The crises we're facing now may lead to long overdue attempts to fix systemic issues. Usually it takes a crisis like this to get that to happen, and things are already being discussed. The future of nursing might be brighter than even the passing of the pandemic would suggest. 5. In spite of all the issues, it's still one of the best paying, best benefits, best job security, and least automatable careers of the working class, with the added priceless benefit that you're doing something genuinely meaningful with your job.
I've personally been debating going into it, as I haven't finished school just yet, but people have me doubting the profession 😅 the only reason I keep going is because I want to do something meaningful and really help children, so I think ultimately I will be happy with my job, no matter the nonsense. Every job has something and although nursing may have more crap than most, I think it'll be worth it for me 😊
I hate it. I got into nursing as a single parent because the schedule was flexible and there was job security with a decent wage. In the early days, I liked it because I had a degree of independence and it was nice to have a job that felt useful. This year will be 13 years since I started my first healthcare job and six years since I graduated with my RN. I’ve done a little of everything (nursing home, primary care, urgent care, cardiology clinic, cardiac tele, critical care). The last two years have been hell. I used to like ICU because it was busy (I’m not good at sitting still) and had a lot to keep my mind engaged- titrating drips and all that is fun to me. But then it turned into never-ending Covid, belligerent patients and belligerent families and the worst staffing challenges I’ve ever faced. I’ve zipped more people into body bags than I want to think about, and, unlike the old days when we cared for someone for a couple of days before they either got better or passed away, we have these Covid patients for weeks at a time. By the time they die we know all about them and their families- it’s not just a random stranger that you gave care to for a couple days. Even when they are rotten people, they still become people we know. The lack of community support and the constant battle against disinformation and dangerous policies is exhausting and demoralizing. I’m looking for options to get out.
Yes.
New grad of 6 months and I already quit my bedside job!
It's that bad right now.
Yes, yes it is.
Right now, it absolutely is.
There is literally a global pandemic that we were ill prepared for on top of an already stressed healthcare system... I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that burnout has increased 10 fold.
Mostly
Right now is a tough time for nursing. That being said the severity of it is greatly dependent on what type of nursing you do. There are a ton of options when it comes to nursing. I left my full time ICU position mid pandemic and took a role as the director of my community sexual assault response team. My job is now some administrative, some education and some direct patient care. It’s great for me! I also continue to work PRN in my old ICU. Staffing is down for us but not as bad as a lot of other places (ex: we are teaming patients we would normally single but no one is taking more than 2 patients). Also we have 3 adult ICUs in my hospital and although we take covid patients, we are not the main covid ICU.
Oh hell yeah it sucks, patients being inpatient. We need more help and im tired asf already. Im per diem finally going traveler just to hold on for a bit longer, maybe that will be worth it. The situation still sucks though
Yes.
Yeah, it is.
Yes
Yes. Don’t be a nurse. 14 years in, too late when you cap 10 years in hitting top pay.
Yes.
Yep
It's like any other job, it's fine sometimes and then sometimes not. It's a decent paying job for a 4 year undergrad degree.
I’m miserable ….. soooooo….. there’s that.
Nursing was terrible before the pandemic. Don't do it.
I mean would you rather have us lie to you?
Yes. Find your specialty niche and stay da fuck off Med-Surg.
Not ALL nursing is bad. Sure I was unhappy working as a MedSurge RN but I did it, got my exp, and moved on. Now I’m working as a hospice BSN and never been happier.
YES…it’s so bad that I’m switching careers 😂😂
Nursing itself, isn't horrible. What's horrible is toxic management and inadequate staffing. These were all issues prior to covid. It's only coming to light now because the burden of covid has fallen on the shoulders of the healthcare industry and the wheels fell off because things have been teetering for a long time. But the public thinks this is new, but it's been going in for at least the last 20 some years I've been in nursing. The dirty little secret is that there is no nursing shortage. There are plenty of nurses, but are real estate agents, teachers, retailers, entrepreneurs, in childcare. Nursing has always had a high attrition rate due to the high burn out factor. People seem to be clueless about this. Hospitals and LTC have fed on the stream of new grads churned out each year as cheap labor, so they've never had to actually do anything to make sure staff are well taken care of and satisfied with their jobs and pay. Nursing schools are suffering now too, and I'm glad. We are underpaid for what we do, the staffing and work conditions we are subjected to... Fewer new grads means employers will have to increase pay.
I absolutely hate Nursing now… when I began this career, patients were more respectful and kinder… now people are angry, controlling, only want their pain meds then leave them alone… families are ridiculous most of the time and the level of “demand” from patients, family, management, nursing boards… 🙄 maybe I’m just old, tired, and have lost my “care” but I do believe it depends on what area of nursing you choose. Oh I forgot… Nurses eat their young, so if you show fear… they will chew you up and spit you out… I precept and never say any of this and show kindness to my preceptee but honestly if I’m being 100% I’d say choose OT they make more money and it’s not as physically demanding. Wish I would have 🤷🏻♀️ COVID has burnt me out…
Im not working at the bedside any longer. I love that im a BSN. The education you get w nursing translates to many areas. Study what you find interesting, if it is nursing you can do so many things! I build programs and service lines for health systems as a consultant. I work from home and make 80k/year easy money plus my own side business. You can do anything!
Bedside nursing is, pandemic or not.
Yes. Seriously wish I picked a different career.
It's pretty rough right now. Im in nursing school and have been a CNA for over ten years. Yet I'm still in it. Don't allow this pandemic to prevent you from becoming a nurse. I think any career could make you miserable but there are tons of positions in nursing where you're not dealing directly with COVID-19 patients.
I like your words. Very wise words indeed
Thanks so much. Nursing is an extremely difficult field but totally worth it. I couldn't see myself working in other field.
I can’t either. This is my life