For the whole and entirety of my life, I wanted to be a nurse. I grew up around it. You may as well call me Meredith Gray. I had a million nurse moms, all my mom’s friends from where she had worked as an OB nurse at a small, rural hospital. And for years, I was a nurse. Then one day, it hit me like a piano from a 4th story window. I don’t want to be a nurse anymore.
I grew up wanting to save lives and help people. I worked my butt off for years to get the grades and be accepted into nursing school. After graduation, I worked even harder to prove that I was a good nurse. I worked hard, saved lives, and had the most amazing group of friends but also collogues a girl could ask for. Then, slowly but surely, the road got dark and the mood changed dramatically.
Growing up, I idolized my mom and my aunt, both nurses in different fields. My mom was an OB nurse. I remember her working nights when I was little, coming home when I was getting ready to go to school with breakfast from Burger King (those tiny cinnamon rolls were the best thing ever). She brought babies into the world. It was the job God Himself had chosen her for, and I could see it in how she spoke about work.
She was exhausted, but so proud to be doing what she did.
My aunt, on the other hand, was an ICU nurse. She saved the sickest of sick patients.
I would sit and listen to the stories they would tell about the joy of bringing life into the world or back into it, as well as stories about heartache and tragedy . They would talk about the patients that touched their hearts, the staff they worked with, and the hospital they were both proud to be a part of.
I wanted all of that.
So I worked and struggled (and I do mean STRUGGLED) and eventually got accepted into and subsequently graduated from the local community college with my associate’s degree in nursing. I immediately went to work in the field I had spent the last few years in as a CNA, the Emergency Department.
I was swallowed up by ER nursing from day 1. Saving lives in organized chaos consumed me. I swore I’d never find another job I loved as much as ER nursing.
That lasted 5 years.
Then the mood changed.
The patient to staff ratio began to get dangerously high.
Nursing administration, in their perfect office world with no bedside nursing, would send down orders for changes that no working nurse would ever want.
Department administration would look the other way when we asked for help, giving nothing but excuses for why they couldn’t help and blame when things went wrong in our understaffed, overloaded ER.
Experienced nurses were let go for reasons I’ll never understand or left because they could see what was happening.
I couldn’t see what was happening for the longest time. I thought, “surely it will get better” and “It’s ok. I’m ok. It’s going to be fine.”
Begrudgingly, I began to admit to myself that the Emergency Department was becoming a soul-sucking entity that threatened my license and my sanity. I finally said enough is enough and after 7 years, took 2 sabbaticals into other areas of nursing in the hospital. None of them made me any happier.
So after 12 years working in the same hospital, 7 of those years as one of its nurses, I gave my resignation and ended my employment with the establishment that I thought I’d retire from.
I left for a different job, one as an oncology nurse in a different city and state. The change was exactly what I needed.
Or so I thought.
Learning a completely new area of nursing made me fall in love with nursing again. I was helping people again.
I was responsible for giving life-saving medications to people that NEEDED IT, wouldn’t survive without it.
For a while, it was everything I wanted. It was everything I had been missing in the ER. I loved the patients and the staff I worked with was amazing.
It lasted 10 months this time.
Then one day, something happened. It wasn’t one particular thing. There wasn’t a patient or a specific circumstance. I had a realization.
It was the realization that nothing is going to change.
Healthcare is a broken system.
Patients go broke seeking treatment or die waiting for insurance to approve medications they need. Insurance companies dictate medical management instead of providers who spent years in school and more years perfecting their craft.
Charting became 14 different screens of CYA instead of one page about what the patient is actually experiencing and what I’m doing about it.
Administration became, “Why can’t you be better/take on more patients/take on more responsibility?” instead of “What can we do to make you a better nurse/how can we help you?”
Good nurses left the profession entirely, leaving it to new grads with no experience and even less common sense. (No offense, newbies, but most of you learned a lot of book stuff but have no idea how to be a nurse. It’s not your fault, but that is an entirely different subject.)
Don’t get me wrong. I still love being a nurse.
I love my patients SO MUCH. Taking care of them makes my days. Talking to them and hearing the struggles and triumphs is what I long for. Being able to help with the battle is why I became a nurse in the first place.
I became a nurse to help people.
I didn’t become a nurse to do mountains of paperwork unrelated to my patients and their care.
I didn’t become a nurse to have to answer for my appropriate actions to administration.
I didn’t become a nurse to have to defend my license every day because some doctor/ CEO/ patient decides they want something a certain way and no one will back me up when that something is dangerous or just not good common sense.
I love taking care of patients, but it’s not enough anymore.
Hard work and dedication come naturally to me, but it’s not enough anymore.
My educational requirements and every task that is handed to me are done, but it’s not enough anymore.
I’m a good nurse, but it’s not enough. I hate nursing and I don’t want to be a nurse anymore.
Update 11/28/19:
I have had so many people contact me with questions, comments and just to let me know that they feel the same way. It warms my heart to know that what I’m saying resonates with other nurses.
I worried when I wrote this that maybe I was crazy. Maybe it was just like that at the hospital that I was at. That is not the case.
Apparently, it’s a national crisis. Nurses EVERYWHERE are feeling it. It’s probably one of the saddest realizations I’ve had.
I have had lots of people ask if I am still in nursing. I am.
I still work as an ER nurse. And I still want out.
update 6/10/20
Yes, I still hate nursing is one way or another. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say I don’t want to ever be a nurse again.
I still love the patients and still hate the rest. There isn’t a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about how nice it will be to not have to be a nurse, or at least be a nurse because I want to and not because I have to.
But i have found a happy medium between being a nurse and not being a nurse.
I am working 2 PRN or “as needed” jobs. The first is in the ER, but I haven’t worked in 2 months there because the country is in an uproar. The second is at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.
I am devoting my remaining time to selling real estate for the state of TN and writing blog posts like these.
Update #3: January 2021
I’m still working as a nurse.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center has shown me all the things I was missing working anywhere else. I don’t hate nursing anymore. I dislike it, and want to eventually quit doing it, but I am finally helping patients again and NOT doing mountains of paperwork. I have a supportive boss, amazing coworkers, and get to learn something new every single day.
The end goal is still to get out of nursing and help people in other ways. But for now, I have all that I need.
If you liked this article, show it some love by sharing.
If you want to read about how nursing administration can kill healthcare, give this link a click.
You can also check out a story from when I was an ER nurse.
I’m an Indian. I don’t want to explain the situations here in terms of education and jobs. I just want to say. Thank you for this amazing blog. I WANT to be a nurse. Or rather I’m going to be a nurse. But not really sure. I’m still thinking…
It can be a very rewarding job. You just have to be careful not to do too much and burn out too quickly. Good luck!
I’m a new grad about to finish. It’s been terrible. No support, getting put into situations that I’m not supposed to be in, shame and BLAME culture AND I’ve been Bullied the whole time. I’m don’t like going into work.
I hate that you have had that experience. It’s so disheartening. I hope you find something that makes you happy.
I feel this way! So on point! I dont know if im jaDed with how much expectations there is from Management/adminIstrAtion or i just never really wanted to be a nurse to Begin with. Ive been a nurse for 10 And a half years and I dont know what to do anymore. I just dread going to work.
Thanks for the read. Since writing this article, I have dropped down to as needed and only work 2 days a week. I have also completely changed organizations. These 2 things have helped immensely. The end goal is still to quit nursing completely, but for now I am satisfied.
I’m sorry you feel this way about nursing. There are so so many that do. I fear for the future of Healthcare because of how things are going.
I hope it all works out for you! Good luck!
I DREad going to work. I don’t sleep,. I get nauseous at the thought of having to go into work. I’m tired ALL the time. I’ve been a nurse 34 years, 23 of them as a NP. In pediatrics. I want to leave health care but I don’t have any idea what to do
I totally get it. I want to leave too, but I have a mortgage to pay. Eventually I know it will happen. I’m also a real estate agent and write for 3 blogs. But they don’t pay (yet).
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Im over NURSING as well. 25 years in. I thought transitioning into a wfh Medication MANAGEMENT nurse POSITION would make me feel better. But nope. Its like TELEMARKETING, not helping people, so tired at the end of the day from talking to people all day, some of whom dont even want you CALLING them. So draining. How did you decide to make the tra into real estate?
My husband retired from military service after 26 years and went into it. I saw how much he liked it, and since we always try and spend more time together, I decided to start real estate as well so we can work and still see each other.
I am Really so glad that I found this and took the time to read this. I thought I was crazy too. I love being a nurse, but it is so disheartening at the same time….I hate going to work, get anxiety the day before, then can do nothing but “lick my wounds” a couple of days after because of being shorthanded constantly. You go in this field to make a difference, then it NEVER happens.
No, it doesn’t. I wanted to make a difference, but I don’t see the point in it anymore.
HI, i’m down on nursing too (i dont know why this is in all caps??) Anyway, I seem to get the non-compliant pts who are fluid restrictions who have cases of soda brought by family members, cookies, candy, etc… Oh and they get 10mg Oxy they’ve been taking for years for some chronic knee pain. Instead of the call bell, they’d rather just scream your name. However I did have some good experiences by people who did really want to get better and did under my care. They were very appreciative and that’s the only thing that keeps me going.
“Hey nurse” is one of my least favorite ways to be addressed.
You say you do not like being addressed as “Hey Nurse”, so How do you want to be addressed if someone doesn’t know your name, but needs some help or information about their friend or relative in the hospital?
Sorry, if this is all caps. I am not yelling at anyone.
“Excuse me” is a way more polite way to get my attention.
Hi SR,
I feel the same way you are feeling . I IMAGINE there are many mOre nurses also feeling the exact same way right now. Experienced nurses are leaving Our facility in great numbers and INEXPERIENCED nurses are taking their places. I was trained in cardioVascular nursing, and remain in that field. After almost 13 years of bedside nursing Im done. If administration Isnt givIng you more paTients, they’re givIng you PatieNts who have ICU drips running and expecting The same great care without education on The drips wHile giving you the same number of patients to care for that you normally have. I’m Drained after every shift.
Yeah, new grads being put in dangerous situations without proper training is part of the reason I think the nursing profession is the way it is. I have to give props to my current organization. They put a lot of emphasis on training. It’s good to see.
I also dread going to work
It’s sad so many in healthcare feel this way.
Hi it was an eye opener, I’m a nursing students, kinda scared reading this article . My mom’s a nurse , I wish to be too in 3 yrs, let’s hope for the best
Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Good luck!!
I completely agree. I recently quit my job on a med-surg-onc floor after being full time and then eventually going prn and now im a stay at home mom. I just got so jaded, burnt out, didn’t care about nursing anymore after being shit on for years on the floor. My anxiety level after leaving nursing is so much better and i dont think i could ever go back to bedside at least. Nursing today is just not what it used to be, feels like more of a business 🙁
Bedside nursing definitely isn’t what is was even 10 years ago. I hate that the field has taken such a nosedive. I hate it even worse because I don’t see it changing.
It has definiteLy become a business, and whEn profit becomes more about patient aNd staff safety, care is compromised. So disheartening and when you bring it up to administration, no one cares
Disheartening is a great word for it!
Hey,
I’m not a nurse I’m an occupational therapist at an elderly/retirement home from Belgium. And I feel it too…I love beeing an OT, I know I’m good at it but the system is fucked.
I have to struggle every day to be heard by the man and women who controle the money. Our boss just has a radical diffrent view and isn’t interested in my goals als an OT with our residents. To them I’m just someone they have to hire and theu use me as an extra.
For A while i’ve wondered iff I should go for my nurses degree, as a little kid I came in contact with hospitals and nurses a lot and I was always fascinated by what they were capable of: healing wounds, saving lives, comforting anxiety etc. But now I’m not so sure anymore. I’ve heard a lot of stories that beeing a nurse isn’t that idylic anymore and it abve all it takes a huge toll on your own life….is that worth it for me?
I’ve always wanted to learn..;I huger for knowledge but is 4 years of combining studying and working, having moneyproblems to get through this enough to make me happy in the end. Yess it’s a job which is more appreciated in the medical field then OT! Yes it’s a DIFFERENT kind of knowledge, skills I will get but will that eventualy make me happy.
So after months of thinking I’ve decided to not do it. I’m staying an OT, I will try to see through the bullshit en find my energy back again to get through my days and have moments of happiness along the way.
However I will do a 3 year study to become a Herbolagist and maybe do something with that in the future and if it’s just as a hobby it can function as a good weight to keep balance with my job.
so my sky has cleared up a little more…I feel energetic again, which I haven’t felt for a long time
good luck in your search and journey
but I fear the healthcaresystem around the world is sick and isn’t cared for enough and lots of skilled and passionate workers will become frustrated and turn their backs …and it’s a shame.
It is a shame. The whole of Healthcare is a shame anymore. Good luck with whatever direction your life takes.
I am Really so glad that I found this and took the time to read this. I thought I was crazy too. I love being a nurse, but it is so disheartening at the same time….I hate going to work, get anxiety the day before, then can do nothing but “lick my wounds” a couple of days after because of being shorthanded constantly. You go in this field to make a difference, then it NEVER happens.
Wow, i came across this post as i was literally searching “I don’t want to be a nurse anymore”. I’ve been at the bedside for 14 years. I started getting panic attacks about 2 years in. but, like everyone else, i have kids and a mortgage to pay. I know my husband cares, to a point, but he has no idea what working at the bedside is like and all he really wants to see is the full time paycheck come in every two weeks. I’m so stuck. I’ve tried reaching out to leadership to transfer to non-clinical roles, but you need at least a bsn (Which I’m working on slowly) to leave the floor. besides, everyplace is so short staffed that i’m sure they’re a little reluctant to lose an experienced nurse from the floors.
That BSN requirement is bologna. I know a ton of good nurses who don’t have it and a ton of shit nurses that do.
Sorry you don’t have much of a support system. Having a FT paint job is important, but at what cost?
Don’t for one second worry about the short staffed-ness of the floors. Guaranteed they don’t care about you.
I’ve been an rn for 25 + years. i haven’t been happy in nursing for years. i count the hours down to go home. i feel undervalued and unrewarded. i have decided that nursing is no longer what i will do. i am 62 and want to be happy. life is fragile – no one knows how long we have on this earth. i am looking into doing something like door dash and obama care to help me pay the bills and mortgage. i am so scared. any advice?
I don’t have advice about what you can do to supplement income, but I can tell you life it TOO SHORT to be unhappy. If you are miserable every day, something needs to change. I hope you find something that makes you happy.
I can tell you I found a job in nursing where I don’t have to work as hard and get paid more than ever, and it’s been a God send!
Good luck.
I can relate to this so much! I have been a nurse for 11 years now. It doesn’t bring me the joy it once did. I work in a doctor’s office now, but I would love to do something else. Currently in the middle of my BSN, thinking about becoming a NP. But it terrifies me to think it will just keep getting worse and I will have wasted all that money to be miserable. I hope you find something you love and the balance you need. I hope the same for myself.
I said anyone who can think about NP. Too much school for me lol. But good luck with whatever you decide.
I have been a nurse 30 years. I am 59. and I am like so burnt out!. I have beeN IN PACU FOR THE LAST 18 YEARS. I AM SO SICK OF THE POLITICS, LAZINESS AND OTHER NURSES WILL ABSOLUTELY NO WORK ETHIC. IN THE UNIT I AM A WORKHORSE AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN BUT IT GETS DIFFICULT WHEN 4 PEOPLE ARE SITTING AT THE DESK PLAYING ON THEIR PHONE INSTEAD OF HELPING. NO TEAM WORK EVERY MAN OUT FOR THEMSELF! I THINK DAILY…. WHAT ELSE CAN I BE THAT SUPPORTS ME? IF YOU SPEAK UP YOU ARE A TROUBLE MAKER . I HAVE PURSUED MY MASTERS WITH 4 CREDIT HOURS LEFT AND THINK WHY BOTHER. ADMINISTRATION DOESN’T WANT THE TRUTH THEY WANT A YES PERSON. THE PHRASE HAS BEEN BEEN NURSES EAT THEIR YOUNG???? WELL I THINK THAT HAS CHANGED THAT NURSES DISRESPECT AND DUMP ON THEIR ELDERS!
I HATE lazy nurses. Probably one of my biggest pet peeves! I don’t see how anyone can sit and just watch someone else work.
You’re absolutely right about admins, too! Luckily, my current admins are pretty awesome, but I’ve had some crap ones.
Good luck and I hope you find some peace!
You are 1000% correct!!!!! Esp about the yes person part. Ive been an RN, my BSN. “BullsH*t nursing degree” for ten years… what a joke. And not to mention in debt Over the useless bsn degree. I am too, a work horse and am tired if lazy nurses Having no work ethic or teamwork. It maddens me to know end.
I, too, have that ridiculously expensive piece of paper that I spent way too much money on that doesn’t do SHIT for me in the real world. BSN degrees are a joke. And I cannot stand a lazy nurse.
Amen to that! Do they teach critical thinking in BSN programs? Education is wonderful but my god, the newbies have no common sense! If most of the first two years of their programs are spent with their heads in textbooks it’s no wonder they don’t know what to do with a real live flesh and blood patient.
Most of their time is spent on the computer or better yet on their cell phones. I cannot run fast enough ! Nursing used to be a rewarding career, now you are treated as just another bean in the pot. If you are unhappy or express concerns about staffing or patient acuity, your issues are met with deaf ears. It’s a business, profits not patients.
“Profits not patients” is probably one of the most accurate things I have read.
I currently work at a facility that charges over 9 grand per month per long term care resident yet we aRe alWays understaffed and The reSidents dont get their baths The company adds all the manageMent nurses im their ratio of nurse to patient yet They never work The floor.
I hate it when units add management to the staffing.
This is exactly right! So burnt out! Ready for something new that makes me happy. Im a happy person and lov m pat, but Coorp investors Think they Know what you need just by looking at statistics! They have no clue because they’ve probably never set foot on the unit where the real work is. All they care about is the almighty dollar!
iF YOU WORK PACU, THAT IS A GREAT SPECIALTY! cOULD YOU FIND ANOTHER JOB SOMEWHERE ELSE, EVEN IN AN ICU OR INTERMEDIATE CARE UNIT? yOU HAVE THE SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE. bEST OF LUCK TO YOU.
Thank you! I’m just over nursing. The pandemic only mad it worse, I’m afreaid.
I don’t know why this is typing in all caps. the problem is that nurses put up with it. Administration will never change until we nurses change what we will tolerate. I blame nurses for the problems. I have gone to administration to tell them that i speak for everyone on these issues then admin went to the nurses and they all denied that there were any problems. We aren’t all in this together as we should be. I’m a damn good nurse but I’m leaving the profession because COVID made a difficult situation even worse and I know I can’t do 40 hours of work in the 16 hours they are allowing me. I don’t want to lose my license or destroy my reputation as a nurse because of this. Then the nurse who is filling in isn’t backing up that they need to fill the 40 hours as they should. I’m on medical leave for stress but I can’t go back. I’m done.
the problem is that nurses put up with it. Administration will never change until we nurses change what we will tolerate. I blame nurses for the problems. I have gone to administration to tell them that i speak for everyone on these issues then admin went to the nurses and they all denied that there were any problems. We aren’t all in this together as we should be. I’m a damn good nurse but I’m leaving the profession because COVID made a difficult situation even worse and I know I can’t do 40 hours of work in the 16 hours they are allowing me. I don’t want to lose my license or destroy my reputation as a nurse because of this. Then the nurse who is filling in isn’t backing up that they need to fill the 40 hours as they should. I’m on medical leave for stress but I can’t go back. I’m done.
I agree with everything you are saying! I am done as well, I just have to build my side hustle into my only hustle.
Yes they conDition us to think that its ok to be sO shortstaffed Because everyone is while they sit in their offices and bark orders
Along with conditioning us to do other jobs (housekeeping, secretary). It’s unbelievable.
Hi,
I am in my first semester of an rn program and already have doubt about wanting to do this as a career because of the internal politics that exist within the program itself (ie, the lab instructor is verbally abusive and makes the whole experience stressful because it seems that she likes her position of “power”)
Also, my sister has been work for a 1.5 years and is so negative about her rn job , that it just gets me down. She has told me similarly about how she always feels her job is on the line.
Fuck that. nurses shouldn’t be eating shit SANDWICHES. this job is fucking hard and stressful, especially emotionally.
my end point is, I have already invested so much time and money to enter this program and I am not getting any younger (35). i have a 2.5 year old and my spouse has been waiting years for me to get my shit together and find a career. I want to make myself see this program through, but I have bad flashbacks from being my father and I being critically ill when I was 22 (we both pulled the wrong card in the deck, but thankfully one of us made it). I also can’t handle internal politics and NEPOTISM. My spouse was a great fire-medic in northern illinois for 9.5 yrs and he, the former chief, and others were wrongfully fired (absolutely nothing EGREGIOUS. my spouse is ATHEIST, highly educated, and stood up to the fraternal bullshit and that was not taken well by the older “good ol’ boys club” that can’t handle change for the better.) because the deputy chief and a buddy in the administration. He is now almost a doctor of CHIROPRACTIC with a focus on neurology (take that GFD fuck-wads). which brings me to not knowing if i can handle this type of climate if it is prevalent in nursing too. our family has been through so much (i did not even disclose for the sake of BREVITY).
Will nursing be the a poor choice to continue pursuing? i need advice, bad!!!
I think it worth pursuing. I think you need to not give in until you find a field you love with great administration. THAT is the most difficult task, unfortunately.
There will always be BS, but you just have to figure out if you can see through that and find the joy in helping patients.
I have finally found that job. There is still BS and bureaucracy, but there’s the ability to care for patients again too!
43 yr veteran nurse here. I loved your comment about administrations asking why cant you work faster, harder, take on more… rather than asking what can we do to help you. So darned true. Nurses have lost the foothold of their expertise and nurse execs are the reason. When an admin wants a nurse to have an mba instead of an msn with real world bedside experience, there is a problem: we lose the idea of being patient centric. I also hate nursing in a hospital that says a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. In my facility, Ob nurses are pulled to med surg and ED. How scary is that fir the nurse and the Patient. And we wOnder why we need a whole dept for pt safety. Good lawd. I suppose thats what you get when nOn- nurses make nursing decisions … and nurses are afraid to stand up to the isiots in charge. So after 43 yrs, yes i hate nursing. Its dangerous, threatening and sloppy. And it is nursing’s fault for giving control to the mba’s.
I’ve said it before. Health care professionals need to run healthcare.
35 year nursing veteran here. I agree with all of this.
my misfortune is that i am an LPN. I am treated as though i have no sense, quality and currently will likely be written up for supposedly “working outside of my scope”. Story of my life. I wanted to quit years ago and i’m still here. returned to school yet AGAIN. near applying to nursing program and had to drop my last micro course because the instructor was a bully and bitch. we work short ALL THE TIME. I work Hospice and love my work, but the management is really horrible.
I wish i had words of encouragement, but i am looking for a way out. this field can be so reWARDING, BUT SO TERRIBLE. really TERRIBLE. i FEEL TOO OLD TO DO ANYTHING ELSE AT THIS POINT.
GET YOUR rn AND SPECIALIZE. so MANY OPTIONS. I DO NOT.
I aM an lpn too for 15 years but that means nothing for mE. I am told I need to Act like leader due to mY experIence But… becAuse i dOnt have a pIece of paPer ill never Be iN any kinD of ManagEment. also being a leader means helping out On the floor when Understaffed and being On call means you need to help out if someone calls out but Most Of nursing management DOes not show this kind of leaDershiP all that matters is they have that degree.
Some of my best friends and greatest work collogues are LPNs. They are great. 0/10 would never want to be management though.
Run as far away as you can if you want to stay sane. Nursing is not what it is supposed to be or was in the past. Its all business and politIcs and im not joKing… ADMINISTRATION does not Care nor, will they ever care about patient safety or the employees bc there will always be a sUcker next in line to fill your spOt.
You absolutely right the same situation I have faced daily. I love your article thank u🥰 for giving words to my feelings
You’re so welcome. Thank you for reading it!!
I’m a 27 year rn who is completely burnt out. When I git into nursing it was all about the pts. Now its just about the money. You are so right on every. Single. Point. You made. I love my pts. And they love me but I feel the life being sucked out of me. Im about to make a change and hope it helps. Administration telling you how to do things they have no idea of how to do themselves is also a total joke!
Changing jobs (several times in 2 years), has helped me immensely. So has finding a job outside of nursing. Now I work PRN as a nurse, instead of doing it full time.
Hi there. girl yoU wRote words i have been thinking 24/7 the past 3 years. I am A nurse that was a teCh first… 3 years teCh, 12 years a nurse now. Almost all ICU. I Have been atruggling with these very thoughts for Awhile. I quit the icu in september because i was burnt out before covid, aDding Covid and all the death i saw from march tonseptember I fIGured if i didnt switch it up i wouldnt recover. Took a job at a home health case management company that acted like they careD and they didnt – that Lasted 2 months. I am currently working one shift a week for crisis pay in a float pool at a local hospital and its about all i can stomach. Prob Is – where do we go from here?
I’m working 2 days a week PRN and selling real estate. I also run the blog, which currently doesn’t make any money but will this year. My end goal for 2021 is to work as a nurse because I want to and not because I have to.
How is selling real estate?
It’s not bad. The market is iffy right now, but it will get better.
(SORRY FOR THE ALL CAPS, FOR SOME REASON CAPS LOCK WON’T TURN OFF. I PROMISE I’M NOT YELLING!)
ALL THE COMMENTS ABOUT HEALTHCARE BEING SO BUSINESS-ORIENTED ARE COMPLETELY ON POINT. IT’S WHY, AFTER 16 YEARS OF NURSING, I’VE BECOME SO DISILLUSIONED AND DISHEARTENED BY WORKING IN HEALTHCARE. HOSPITALS AND ORGANIZATIONS TOUT THE IMAGE OF “WE CARE ABOUT OUR PATIENTS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE” BUT WE ALL KNOW THE REALITY IS THAT INSTITUTIONS CARE MOST ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL SITUATION. SO THAT MAKES THE WHOLE “WE CARE” FEEL COMPLETELY FAKE, AND i JUST HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR FAKENESS.
THINK ABOUT HOW MANY TIMES HEALTHCARE TEAM MEMBERS HAVE PONDERED WHAT THEY SHOULD DO FOR A PATIENT. IT’S SO OFTEN “HIS INSURANCE DOESN’T REIMBURSE FOR THAT” OR “HE’S A SELF PAY” OR “THAT’S A REALLY EXPENSIVE DRUG/PROCEDURE/DEVICE/PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.” OBVIOUSLY, HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO TURN PROFITS IN ORDER TO PAY THEIR STAFF AND EXPAND THEIR SERVICES, BUT LET’S JUST PUT ALL THAT OUT THERE INSTEAD OF PRETENDING LIKE MONEY PLAYS NO ROLE IN PATIENT CARE AND THAT WE’LL DO WHATEVER WE CAN ON GOD’S GREEN EARTH TO TREAT A PATIENT.
Medical care dictated by insurance is my BIGGEST pet peeve. It breaks my heart that we as healthcare providers have to bow to people that have no background to dictate what we do for our patients.
I am a LPN of 15 years and each year i tried to push myself to gO back to school for my rn… HASN’T happened. Actually cant stomach healthcare anymore. Sadly, like all, i have bills and a mortgage. I loved bedsiDe nursing 10 years ago, the job that made you exhausted mentally & physicallY at the end of thE day but made you feel good… ya wEll that doesn’T exist anymore.
Nursing is mentally exhausting now & anxiety ridden. You are reportEd to your manager & “cc’d” on every emaiL… why!? Team player doesn’t exist and you fend for yourself.
Anyways, my heart is with homecare. I go see my patIents and i enjoy the welcome to my home. I enjoy “please sit, can i get you a cup of coffee? I love the “please be careful oUt there.” Most importaNtly “thank You i will see you next week.”
At the end of the day i come home and i talk to my boyfriend or sister about my day. My heart is full again because of APPRECIATION and GratitudE.
P.S. i worked in offices, facilities & a hospital- it’s about the almIghty dolLar, the patient is just a Number. 🙁
The patient is absolutely just a number, and it is incredibly sad. What’s worse is most patients know that too.
I’m glad you have found some solace in homecare. I know the appreciation from the patients makes everything a little better.
Stumbled upon this post via pinterest and this trally resonates! I’ve only been a nurse 8 months, but I’m already counting down the days until I can quit my job and PUrse something different. Being unable to provide safe care and having concerns fall on deaf ears are not the reasons I joined this profession
Thanks for the read. As I’m sure I have said, I hate that my words have resonated with so many people. It hurts my soul to see what the nursing profession and healthcare in general have become. What’s worse is I don’t see us ever getting better. But I agree, unsafe conditions and uninterested administration are not why I joined either.
I stumbled across this blog and as you, I have reached a complete Impass. I am, unfortunately, not an RN, but an LPN. I have struggled with nursing for years, recently returned to school and not so far from being an RN. I work hospice and love it. hate the company and now find I will likely be in trouble for supposedly doing something “out of my scope” which i’ve heard for 30 years and am sick of it. I feel stuck and at 55, no idea what i could do except get my rn and just work.
I feel very depressed and without hope. not sure what other skills i have. seems the health profession is the only guarantee in this age of pandemics and a nation crumbling.
*sigh* Thanks for listening.
julie
The turning point for me was finding a job I loved, or at the very least could tolerate. I didn’t care if I changed jobs 20 times. I finally found a job that I love for the most part. Don’t settle.
And I love LPNs. Some of the hardest working people I know!!!
I cantVe been a RN for the last 11 yrs and I recently resigned from the hosp that I’ve been with for the last 10 yrs. I thought and planned to retire in that hosp but the administration just got worse and worse. I was always stressed out and crying and felt like I was trapped. I couldn’t take it specially with the new admin adding more and more responsibilities and getting confused as to why I can’t deliver! I’ve had enough! Im currently reviewing to get my licensure in physical therapy. Bue nursing!
Good for you for moving out of a toxic environment. It’s definitely a high priority for me as well.
thank you for this article, i’m just glad i am not alone in this struggle. While reading this, i cried/sobbed, my heart is broken, my faith in nursing is just losing.
i’ve been a nurse for 10 yrs, i tried med/surgical, oncology, psych, home care, and lastly dialysis which i am currently working. i am trying to give it a chance and no matter what i do, healthcare system is nothing but business and patients are just numbers. so disheartening, management only cares about business.
aside from lazy co-workers who became so complacent with their jobs, understaff, high patient nurse ratio (1:12) and the management are asking you to do more task everyday that you don’t know how to fit those tasks in 12 hrs aside from patient care are sickening, unnecessary documentation because they’re afraid of not getting paid by the insurance and you spend more time documenting than hands on patient care, because again, insurance will reject it. it’s just so sad. i am so burnt out!!
thank you, this article made me feel better, and yeah, life is short to be miserable for the rest of your living life.
its just sad how good awesome nurses like us gets undervalued and abused. Good luck to all of us.
Thank you for reading it! I hate that so many nurses feel the way I do. It is truly disheartening. God be with us all, and the people who make our decisions for us.
Thank you for this post!
I am currently overwhelmed with nursing and I also am deSperately looking into getting out of it. Im just not sure where to start. But seeing that im not the only one going through this is quite comforting. It’s sad that nursEs always burnout eventually even though we Offer so much heLp to other people.
You’re definitely not the only one! I’m sorry it has burnt you out as it has so many others. Have you tried different fields?
Thank you for this! It’s like you were reading my mind!
You’re so welcome. Thank you for reading it!
Thank you for wrIting this. I hopenit doesnt show up in caps!! I have been a Rn for 20 yeaRs. I was an lpn first. Iy is about money and business. Not Lives. I cannot understand why nurses put up with this! I did labor and delivery for 17 years. We no longer practice ebp. I was in school for my bsn, and it highlighted how we dont use ebp. Why Is maternal mortality spiRaling down?? I am noy against medications, but this foes not Seem like healthcare any more.
I tried dialysis, short staffed and about profit. I got hurt and left on my own. I started home health case management last december. Its salary and would require 70-80 hours a week to keep up and do a good job. I broke down last week aNd quit. Now they promise it will get better.
I watch insurance companies decide to sens people home who cant tranfer and dont have in home caretKers, and its unsafe.
I may return to private duty peds, which is a hUge pay cut. I did it 21 years ago, anD some how the pay is the same. Insane. If its less stress it may be worth it.
I want out completely. I just dont know what to do.
Don’t even get me started on insurance companies and their complete disregard of anything that isn’t money. Insurance is a crock of shit.
I did my BSn as well, and realized very quickly what a waste of money that was.
Hopefully you can find something that you enjoy. Good luck to you!
I’m afraid that nearly every area of healthcare is feeling this by now. As an LPN of 12 years, and a dialysis PCT for 5 years prior to obtaining my license, I can tell you that I felt everything that you’ve expressed. I felt this so much, and I almost cried reading your words. It’s made me angry, at least in the past year. We got used up and thrown to the wolves. I’m all for accountability and I follow policy and procedure. But the relationship between us and administration is piss poor, non-existent. No support, just unrealistic expectations. Patient load is unsafe for so many reasons. Thank you for sharing, I only wish that our state legislators and our own administrators would give a damn.
Unfortunately, there are many many avenues of nursing with poor management. The hospital I came from was a prime example. Departmental admin was poor, but you couldn’t go up the chain of command because everyone in administration was friends so you knew it wouldn’t do any good.
Thank you for your post I am a retired LPN that came out of semi retirement to return because they kept bugging me. I am so sorry I did! Nursing homes now are full of younger sicker people that treat staff like crap and want waited on. Management is worthless and the RNs never even see a resident they hide in the office and criticize the LPNs taking care of 40 or more and say we need to work harder. Those bitches can burn in hell! I love my residents but having a panic attack before work is not worth it.
Hello, I have worked in the nursing dEpartment fOr 15 years, of which i’ve been an RN with my BSN for 7.5 of those years. We work short staffed Nearly daily and get mandated too. Sometimes i have to work off the clock to finish my charting. I’m not slow bY any means, the work load is unrealistic. MY previous nursing job was even worse than this one. Lasy year i was exposed to COVID early on at work, beFore the hospital had any type of COVID plan in place, before everyone was wearing masks at all times. I Nearly died from COVID and i lost coworkers to COVID. I feel overwhelmed and stressed. I’m strongly considering quitting nursing because i’m so unhappy. I have no idea what else to do for an income, but life has to be better than this. I still owe on my student loans for my bsn, but i’m not sure i can hang in there long enough to get into a better financial position. I’m tired of too many patients to one nurse, working short staffed, constantly feeling overwhelmed, and the crazy long shifts that become even longer with mandations. Also, there is no support from management. If the unrealistic workload is not completed by the deadliNes, they will just write up RNs rather than heLping with the unrealistic workload.
COVID has brought so many things to light in terms of nursing. I didn’t think it could get worse, but 2020 showed me otherwise.
Sorry about the caps. The form insists I write in capital letters.
FIRST year nursing student BSc. I’ve decided at the end of the year I will go back to my old job in construction. THROUGHOUT this degree I have faced bullying on a level I have never experienced BEFORE. Sometimes I feel as if my mentors are taking bites out of me subconsciously because they hate it THEMSELVES and want to discourage me.
Burnt out mentors are the worst kinds. It’s unfortunate that in this day and age many nurses still choose to “eat their young.”
I don’t blame you for going back into construction. Good luck!!
I’m so glad to find this post. This week is nursing Week, i’Ve been a nurse for 20 years, and with growing drEad i realize im completely burned out. I just don’T care any more. I feel, yes i will saY this…ASHAMED to be a NUrse. FuriOuS For myself aNd my colleagues, furious for the defeatist system that gets us here in the first place. It’s a thankless job and I cant WAIT to leave it. I regret the day i decided to apply to Nursing school.
You’re not the only one. It seems like the majority of my nursing friends are burnt out. It’s so sad that healthcare has come to this.
YEP, I FEEL THE SAME 10 YRS AS A NURSE, AND I CANT DO IT ANYMORE,
MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY IS MY PRIORITY NOW.
BUT ITS WHAT ELSE YOU CAN GO INTO WHEN YOUVE ONLY HAD NURSING AS YOUR CAREER.
ANYTHING!! The world is your oyster. I have gotten my real estate license and become a Realtor, opened a shopify store and make crafts. Granted, I am still working as a nurse, but I found a niche I love, which is immensely helpful.
hello,
I can’t get the caps button to turn off so heads up in advance I’m not yelling. Although I want too.
I’ve only been a nurse 6 years and i feel like the life has been sucked right out of me. I am emotionally, physically and mentally dead after 1 shift much less two in a row. the entitlement has gotten crazy. expectation without appreciation is the norm. The nurse can do this, that and the other so staff can be cut in different areas leads to me asking “what am I to do next with all this “extra” time I have on my shift”. I have voiced my concern in a recent meeting stating the “people who make the rules aren’t the ones coming to the floor receiving the same treatment I’m giving to my other 5-6 patients because the are “vips”. I’ve recently watched a video by z dogg about how nurses are not suffering burn out (which is a sort of victim shaming) but a moral injury. i love nursing. i love helping others. i don’t enjoy life, and i’d venture to say i don’t have one because i get off the last shift and sleep the day away and then the next day off is spent in dread of the next shift. i thought i was a good nurse, but when i can’t get around to the 16;30 insulin for a blood sugar of 232 because three people call for pain medicine and then you get stuck in the rooms like they are black holes for legitamite and not so legit reasons the insulin gets missed. i don’t know. i just don’t. I’m glad i came across your post. at least i feel like after reading it and the comments others feel the same way.
Thank you!
Im an lvn, i work at a level one trauma HOSPITAL. I was very proud to be a nurse, that is until Upper management made all us lvn’s on our unit feel like we weren’t. Due to covid, there was a bonus to commit to one extra shift for foUr weeks and all nurses would get $20 eCp pay for the extra shift but here is the kicker! Rn’s get a bonus at the end of the 4wks get $2500, lvn’s bonus…….$750. We do everything they do but hang blood, initial assessment and some bP meds. Thats it! Our cna bonus for commitment $750!!! I know my worth, i know more then some rn’s. This is very disheartening. I no longer want To work in healthcare any longer, I have be there 16yrs total 5 as a lvn.
That is complete garbage. Some of the best people I have worked with aren’t RNs and get paid to do the same work (sometimes with WAY more knowledge). I’m sorry that was done to you. It sucks!!
Tina,
boy, can I relate. I have been an LPN for 30 years. I have worked in nearly every DEPT and area (including ICU/CCU/ED). I dropped out of school prior to getting my RN, due to illness of myself and family. I have dabbled in getting my degree and even went back to school in 2019 (only to have to repeat science courses, and even English…not kidding). I thought i was accepted to an online program only to discover that I still “need” yet another Psych class (??!) and English Comp II. I’m just FED UP. People say “Comp out, test out”. Like that is readily available or free.
I finally came back to Hospice, my passion, only to discover in the last week that, i just need to stop and accept that this will never get better. I am good at what I do, but had a horrific family situation last week, in home care, only to have the family say that I wasn’t welcome back after 3 hours and being yelled at by 12 family members for that entire time. I had no phone support from an experience MD or RN. after all of these years, of being a wimp, I’ve had it and I AM DONE. I am going to continue school for ANYTHING else and even at 56, will not give up on finding a career that is NOT THIS. My body is breaking down, I still have to work full time and I’m just tired.
You are NOT alone, anyone here. TRUST me. IF I have tried for 30 years + and i still hate it, PLEASE, PLEASE do not waste your time and life like I did. You can do work that brings you joy and respect, if you know that you deserve it. LPN/LVNs are NOT respected in the least. Some circles don’t even consider us “nurses”. The audacity! I have also not been paid higher bonuses, by not being an RN as well. Bridge programs are hard to get into and rare in my area. I’m so tired of the BS. I take courses every semester and keep being told that i need more…and I’M fortunate enough to be reimbursed for courses. Imagine those who cannot? I know MDs that have practiced for years that are still paying off loans.
Don’t wait like I did. I know that I will have challenges and still have to ween myself out of nursing slow but sure, but i am READY. Life is so short and to waste it is ridiculous.
I HAVE loved a lot of what I do and as you all do, love our patients and most families and have felt gratitude for my skills, yet, it isn’t enough anymore. I specifically work for a corporation/profit organization. It is not just broken, it is MANGLED and shattered.
We need to support each other to let go and follow our dreams. It is beautiful to work in care. Yet, we often lose ourselves in the process. If we aren’t in 100%, we shouldn’t be there. Good luck to EVERYONE!!
Very well said!!
I FEEL THE SAME WAY. I LOVE BEING A NURSE, BUT HATE WORKING IN THE NURSING FIELD. mY HUSBAND LOST HIS JOB DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF COVID, AND HE IS NOT COLLEGE EDUCATED, SO IT’S NOT EASY FINDING A JOB AS WELL-PAYING AS HIS WAS WITHOUT A DEGREE. i LEFT STAFF TO TRAVEL BECAUSE OF THE MONEY, AND I HATE IT EVEN MORE. i FEEL LIkE i CAN’T LEAVE NOW BECAUSE OF THE MONEY AND BEING THE SOLE FINANCIAL SUPPORTER. i AM CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO BE ABLE TO EARN CLOSE TO WHAT i AM NOW, AND NOT HAVE TO TRAVEL OR WORK BEDSIDE. i’M CURRENTLY IN SCHOOL FINISHING MY bsn, AND i DON’T EVEN WANT TO CONTINUE BECAUSE i SEE NO POINT. tHE BIGGEST BENEFIT WOULD BE GETTING ME AWAY FROM BEDSIDE AS SOMETHING ADMINISTRATIVE, AND I WANT THAT EVEN LESS THAN i DO BEDSIDE. i DID CONSIDER GETTING MY cnm, BUT i’M NOT SURE IT’S WORTH TAKING OUT ALL THE STUDENT LOANS JUST TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE PAYING THEM OFF. UGH.
Ugh. Getting my BSN was the BIGGEST waste of money. Unfortunately most employers look for it now. Which is sad, because you don’t learn DICK about being a nurse in a BSN program.
The only good thing left about nursing is the money.
I am so glad i read this ArtIcle. So much of it really resonates. I’Ve been a rn going on 12 years and made the decision earlIer this year to get my message therapy license and will be Finished in may. i don’t plan on working in the traditional nursing role when i’m finished any longer. I’m completely burned out and oVer it. The world oF MasSage therapy is kind of a pandoras box once you get into it. It’s also an avenue of holistic Care that aligns More with my philosophy of healing, i can still utilize my rn license and best if all i will be working for myself soon. Just knOw, there are other options out there where you don’t have to dread Going Into work. Don’t stop searching. The world needs your light and your healing.
Thank you for this post. I feel the same in wanting to not be a nurse anymore, and it feels heavy and i often feel ashamed and bad like it’s my fault, even as i come to realize more and more i have in no way been put in a position to succeed by any hospital administration and i am another nameless rn easily replaced by an eager new grad who knows no better. it is hard to accept that this job is sucking my soul dry in it’s heaviness and complete disregard for my or my patients well being, and not see it as a failure on my part. crazy how a failure by the hospitals and healthcare as a whole is carried by the nurses in feeling as though we are failing. i say no thank you… and think every day of how to get out. thank you for sharing your voice! Much love.
And unfortunately, it’s about to all get so much worse. Much love returning to you, my friend!
I want to say sorry for writing in all caps, I am Sending this from my iphone and I cannot figure our How or why it is making me type in All Caps. Anyway, i want to say i completely, totally, and utterly agree with everything you said 1000%. Being a nUrse in real life is Nothing like they tell you in nursing scHool. I’ve been a nurse 12 years and have felt this way for about the last 10 of them! My first job was awesome until a crna called a 3 year old girl the b word while we were trying to put her To Sleep for a surgery. Everyone in the room lauGhed at that but me. I had been out of School aBout 2 months at that point. So after the case, I told one of the OR managers about it and they made me write a statEment. From that moment on every single person in surgery hated me, never mind What the crna Said to the 3 year old pAtient. They made my life hell for sTicking up for a patIent, even the surgeons and the or managers, because “that could have gotten the crna fired” is what I was told. So i left there and loved my next job. No problems there until about my 5th year in surgery at a difFerent facility. I was gIven a job wIth no on-call rotation and then in the snap of a finger the Director Disolved my job and told me i had to start taking call again. When i told her i had no one to watch my children for me to taKe call, she told me that was not her problem. I went to HR Just to be told if i didn’t like it, i could find another job. I was sexually assaulted at my next job and Even tHough i had a witness another rn who was standing by, FAcility admin investigated and told me My complaint was unsubstantiated and Was unwilling to transfer me to a different area so that i did not have to work with my Attacker. My next job was great and i loved it until my son needed a tonsillectomy and the OR manager told me that i could not have his surgery Done in the summer, fall break, spring break, or at christmas because she has already approved vacation time for the rest of the staff. Hr Quickly told her that is fmla a federal law and that she could not tell me That my son could not have Surgery. In the end, i left that job. My next Job was at a urology clinic. I took some orders to one of the urologists for him to sign and he said to me “you are going to have to practice Signing like me so that you cAn sign Orders for me”. I told him i would be happy to write orders torb or vorb with his name and my name, but under no cIRcumstances wAs i going to forge his name. I went to the long time RN in the clinic To Ask her about this in complete shock. She told me that she forges his name all the time, that she is old school, and that is what nurses are supposed to do. I went to the clinic manager about that and he reported it to the VP of operations who came dOwn hard on the RN And Urologist for that. I lefT that job and currently work in another clinic. I was in love with This job until i was just told a couple of weeks ago that the entire moBile heAring conservation program is being put on me On top of my regular job and will require me to work a lot of really early hours. So i explained to my boss, who i also considered a friend, that i cannot take on this responsibility with no help and cAnnot work the eArly morning sHift because of my Kids and not having a sitter for them. Her reply was well i hate it for ya, but it is what it is. So now i am desperAtely seArching for another RN job with decent hours not terrIbly far from home. Every fAcility and Every single boss or manager is the Same. I work my butt off, worl crazy hours, bend until a break, carry home every single day The stress and exhaustion of caring for my patients, spenD countless hoUrs away from my kids and husband, Do whatever is asked of me, help my coworKers, and gIve until There is notHing left of myself, and for what? For what? Not one Single manager or director or facility adminiStrator has Ever Cared One bit about me, or my kids, or my family, or my life, or how i feEl, or How hard there DeciSions are on me. And it is not just me, Managers, diRectors, and facility admin rarely if ever care about any nurse becAuse we are a dime a dozen. As A nurse, i have worked with the worst equipment, worst supplies, worst conditions imaginable. Administration changes policies and procedures That make absolutely no Sense because They do not Care for patIents. My entire career in one word is summed up best with the word hate. I hate being a nurse! I dEspise it! And That is sad and pathetic Because it Never had to be this way. I love caring for patients. But i hate being a nurse. I am working hard to find a job even if it means making thousands of dollars less so that i can stop being a nurse! It breaks my heart that I feel this way becAuse it is not caring for patientS, iT is this way because of our so called leaders and other staff. My advice to anyone considering being a nurse, don’t! If Nursing was a great pRofession as nursing schools would have everyone believe, then why do so many of us feel the Same eXact Way and why do so many of us want out of nursing?
Nursing these days is TOXIC!!!
Any update on how nursing feels at Vanderbilt right now??
I work in a very small department that has luckily been unaffected by what happened. At least, no one is saying anything.
I am a home care trach vent nurse. I love my job and have been with my patient for 10+ years. My problem is that i am so stressed out about what is happening in the world of medicine in general. Nothing makes sense anymore. Covid opened my eyes to so much fraud and stupidity. (AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ABOUT INFECTION CONTROL- WEARING GLOVES, TOUCHING THE PATIENT, THEN TYPING ON THE COMMUNITY KEYBOARD, THEN GOING BACK TO THE PATIENT WITH THE SAME GLOVES. THEN THAT FILTHY KEYBOARD IS WHEELED INTO THE NEXT PATIENT’S ROOM. THE GLOVES ARE CHANGED, BUT ARE PICKING UP THE GERMS OFF THE KEYBOARD FROM THE LAST PATIENT. PPE IS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE PATIENT AS WELL AS THE MEDICAL PERSONNEL- BUT NOW IT’S ONLY TO PROTECT THE NURSE. ) Hospitals have no idea how to care for a vent patient. i always see them flat on their backs with the tubing going straight up and over. There is condensation in those tubes and should always be lower than the patient. We also always keep our vented patients in an elevated position. Vented patients cannot cough, so in home care we use cough assist machines to bring up secretions to help with suctioning. Hospitals do not use them, so as a patient is desatting due to fluid buildup in the lungs, suctioning does nothing because the fluid is not being brought up to where the suction catheter can reach it. family members were barred from being with their loved ones to advocate for them, so they were basically left to rot. most nurses are so lazy that even when a family member asks them to come help their patient, they sigh, roll their eyes, and drag their lazy asses into the room to give half-assed care. How bad it must have been during covid, with no one there to protect them! My heart breaks for all of those families torn apart, elderly couples not being permitted to be together when one of them were dying. There was no science behind those decisions. The hospital staff did not live their lives in isolation. After work, they went out and socialized like everyone else. There was no reason that a designated loved one couldn’t be escorted to the hospital room, in a mask and isolation gown, and instructed not to leave.
People were instructed not to seek medical care unless they were showing signs of respiratory distress. That’s too late. So many people could have been saved if a family doctor would have just called in a script for albuterol at the first indication that it was becoming a respiratory issue. A couple of hits of albuterol or via neb, and their airway would have been relaxed enough to cough effectively and prevented pneumonia. But then again, no one ever got rich off of albuterol. I truly believe that most people did not die of covid, they died from systemic medical neglect and malpractice.
Jump to today, and all of the side effects of the vaccine. Most of the myocarditis and blood clots are from an intermuscular drug getting into the bloodstream and to the heart, where it was never intended to be. Its not an IV medication. How is this happening? Well, the CDC no longer recommends Aspiration prior to administering im medication. Its been standard practice forever, but not anymore. And no rationale is given. I COULDN’T figure out why is seems to affect males more than females. After one quick search on human anatomy, i discovered that males have much more vascular deltoid muscles than females do. Recently the CDC announced that they are investigating the increased risk of blood clots with the Pfizer vaccine but that they don’t believe it’s a valid concern because they aren’t seeing the same results in some other countries. Those other countries still practice aspiration TECHNIQUES when administering im medications. Why isn’t the drug manufacturers insisting on this rather than allowing their vaccines to receive so much bad press? Are they as stupid as the rest of the medical field? It’s So hard to imagine that no one has figured this out yet.
I have instructed everyone in my family, and it’s also written in my wallet, that if i ever need to be vented, i want a trach and no sedation so that i can direct my own care. Then i can insist on being upright, and demand a cough assist machine be brought in. I strongly suggest that every one of your readers do the same.
100%
Hospitals are being bought out by huge conglomerates and turning healthcare into walmarts. As far as administration goes- just dont do it. They want to add tasks to your workload? Show me the money, or you can fire me. I couldnt care less- ill have a new job by EOD. Nurses need to play hardball with these administrative idiots. Recently, they took away the overtime bonus from the Heme/Onc floors which are arguably some of the most complex and acute patients save the ICU. So, we just stopped picking up overtime. Problem solved- the bonus was back in 4 days. If nurses quit letting these idiots kick us when we are down, we run the show. Period. But nurses, and this is the downside of being a good little nurse, is that you let them shit all over you. Stop it. Know your worth. I see a whole lot of complaining going on and not a lot of action. You would go nose to nose with a doctor to advocate for your patient, why is it so hard to advocate for yourself? These admins can only take advantage of nurses so long as we let them. Ill say it again- we run the show. Dont forget it.
Ive read each entry. (Caps wont go away). I hear you all. Im 65 and RETIRED And recently realized i was expected to be a nurse. I don’t even remembering wanting to be a nurse. Dont get me wrong. I was one of the best. It got the point tho that we didnt want more money We needed changes. I miss the patients but not the ‘job’. The nightmares are finely going away. I did some really good nursing. Im just not sure it was worth it.