Nursing Horror Stories

Posted by karo58314
November 30, 2009

I’m currently on my 4th semester of nursing school and like many postings here, i love what nursing implies and obviously i want to help people and make a difference but i have been discouraged since i started nursing school despite how hard i have worked only to be dissapointed. i’ve realized that in this profession you are truly by yourself and no one will back you up, as i don’t expect to be babied but i quite frankly didn’t expected to be sabotaged by the staff either. i aggree with a lot of horror stories about nursing here because i have seen them time and time again. reading these stories makes me rethink if i indeed want to be a nurse, not because of the hard work it implies but mainly because i’m not willing to sacrifice my integrity. nurses are indeed overworked but to many, this is no excuse to make errors, well i guess whomever is free of guilt should cast the first stone. as a student i prepare for the patients one day before by reading the complete charts but once you become an RN, you don’t do this and basically any information you get in report is very minimal compared to the chart information and some things are lost in translation pretty much like when a story gets passed around 10 people, the meaning is lost. Most institutions are more concerned with charting on time which takes away from actual nursing care because everyone is too afraid of not documenting due to law suits. for those nurses that are perfect and free of fault, checking dosages and contraindications for patients receiving 15 medications is not very realistic especially when you have 4 or more patients on a med/surg floor. i agree that i am a novice but judging from what i have read here and seen personally this a persistant problem. i am not attempting to make excuses for inadequacies and/or errors, i’m simply stating that nursing is a very hard job that can sometimes seem thankless. for any person out there looking to go into nursing school and then nursing, be aware that no matter how hard you try, you may not win. be prepared to work very hard and 10 times even more. currently i think the whole nursing school program sucks because in my experience there is no consistency and every instructor tells you different things and rules. just be aware of what they (instructors) tell you, because you really should trust no one. today, i gave a PO dose which was seven times the allowed dosage, i checked the lyte labs and indeed they were below normal, the MD was called and said to proceed in giving it, i was told to give the med, then when the pharmacy said it was too high, i had by then given it and of course, she denied telling me to do this. i was mortified and dissapointed. luckily this person was being diuresed and the plan was to ensure this high a dose which was backedup with another order later. reading these other horror stories is making me think if all this is worth going over and how even postgrad i will encounter even more. i have sacraficed so much and would hate to see it go to waste but i would not forfeit my sanity.

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  1. Every nurse out there makes mistakes. There is a big push for "reporting errors." You may as well write "resignation" on top of the form because they don't forgive and don't forget. The facility I work at is constantly hiring and training new nurses, because they are constantly firing nurses for the smallest infractions. I swear they must have a corporate quota on firing nurses. I think it's their way of weeding out older, sicker nurses. They always keep an old sick nurse around for insurance--but just one. Also, when minority nurses have their annual lunches and discover reasons to file complaints with the EEOC, they just throw a few white nurses under the bus to cover their asses. It's so cynical and nasty--and the union can't do anything because there are more regulations than a nuclear power plant and you could easily fire Florence Nightingale herself for screwing up. I don't know what the answer is. Traditionally, they would bring in foreign nurses to torture, but with the job market so tight, Americans are desperate to try anything. A tip for new nurses, don't talk to patients or their families, and if you do, act stupid and subservient like "Steppin' Fetchit." Also, if you accidentially give someone Tylenol and they are not allergic to it and no harm done, I would think twice before reporting it because it is a HUGE deal and could get you fired down the pike.      by Rene J
  2. I have been a nurse for 36 years. It is hell. There is nothing else to say about it. You work 12-16 hours shifts...now we don't get any overtime unless we work over 40 hours a week...so none for the doubles. You work holidays..I have worked so many Christmas and thanksgiving holidays...that it makes me cry. You get treated like dirt by the families, the doctors, the nursing administration. I hate my job and everyone I know who has been a nurse at least 10 years also hates it. I am 9 years from retirement...I just hope I make it. I have a bad back, torn rotator cuffs and a bulging disc in my neck from years of lifting and reaching and carrying. You have to often do it yourself, because there is never enough staff to help. We are always short staffed. The benefits suck, the pay sucks. I wouldn't recomend that to worst enemy that they become a nurse. If you were in any other line of work...after 36 years...you would at least have some kind of promotion...not in nursing. Also, nurses are mean as hell to each other...they will stab you in the back every time...it is the high frustration level. Hospital administrators who have never worked the floor, never had their nose broken by an angry patient, never had a full urinal thrown at them...never done what we deal with every day...they make the decisions that affect our lives. The rosey "you are helping people" bull is from people who have no idea what they are talking about. Nursing is a job where you will be abused every day...if you can get out now..get out. I wish I had some alternatives...but at my age...I don't. Get out...do something else and don't look back. You will have a much happier life.      by sickofnursing
  3. will someone plz come wipe my butt      by Poopless
  4. well for me as i am frm NCC, well there are a few ghost stories i can tell abt our HQ at Amoy Quee camp....

    well i will post it up soon      by cheseeBoheple
  5. thanks for the post and stories!      by grteryyy2
  6. Renee J and sickofnursing,my advice to you two is get out fast. I have been in nursing for 33 years,first as LPN, then as RN and I know that patient care can be very difficult. I have not, Renee, seen nurses discharged for errors like you report. I have reported errors that I've done and was not fired. As for your minority nurse comment, you obviously feel somewhat persecuted. Obviously this is not the profession for you and you need to use your degree to find something you will like of enter a totally new profession.
    Nursing needs people who are going to constructively change the culture of nursing and bring it to the professional level it needs to be. There is no room for racism,sexism, etc. If you work at a facility that does not uphold the level of professionalism that it should, then I would consider having a meeting with administration. Yes it can be done, I've done it. You should also contact your state's Board of Nursing as well.
    As someone once quoted,"If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."      by Ellen56
  7. Thanks for all who have commented sincerely about their nursing experiences. Yes, being a nurse is one of the greatest challenges I've encountered in my lifetime. I've been a nurse for twelve (12) years (BSN) and have worked in various practice areas: ED, Pre/Post Op, Medical ICU, Neuro/Neurosurgery, as well Acute Care/Step Down and will happily say that I have enjoyed having the ability to utilize my skills and knowledge to promote the best patient/family outcome. However, I to soon learned to dread the lack of appreciation patients and/or families demonstrate toward nurses, and even more, became quite shocked and alarmed by how unappreciative and unsupportive management staff were toward nursing staff. I can certainly agree that I have felt the distress many nurses have written about on this post. However, respectfully, I feel a need to shed light on another dirty little secret about nursing which is shared by many African American nurses as I am. In addition to all the other evils of nursing spoken about here, African American nurses are constantly bombarded with race issues and, sadly, most of these discriminatory insults are inflicted upon African American nurses by their nursing peers. It's disheartening that some nurses are unable to view nurses as just that--a nurse--someone who shares in the struggles of a more than admirable profession and as one who will also go home at the end of a long day, hopeful, that the next shift will be a better one.      by kaliza1
  8. Trust me it is very helpful for everyone because this type of issue face more people....      by johnwtsn149
  9. I graduated 1 year ago and have been fired from my first 2 jobs! I am a hard worker and the reasons for me being fired from these two positions were I was not fast enough! Any advise for a new nurse? My first job I was hired with a former class mate and she went the same pace as I! She still working. And, my second I was hired with a former classmate and she was even slower and has her job! What am I doing? Feel like I'm going crazy! Obviously I can't see what I'm doing and don't get feedback? Both bosses who fired me wished me luck in my future position and said, I was not fast enough with meds. I check them, use five writes, and obey the p&p. I do have a strong personality (I've been told) and a perfectionist! But, I really tried to calm this attribute down for my second job! Help - I need some advice! It's 2am and I awoke crying -      by Bb1977
  10. Obvious there is a pattern forming with 2x being fired! I really feel as if my confidence has been smashed! Maybe this was showing at this new job? I wish I could have taped myself working and play it back! I'm thinking the last three years where a waste! Maybe I'm not cut out to be a nurse!      by Bb1977
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  20. you are not alone. I have been let go from 4 jobs in my first year of nursing. came to work on time, never missing a day. No one wants to mentor a new grad, take you under their wing. Backstabbing, coniving, misunderstood. The nursing career is a field that has no job stability. No one gives second chances.      by matheren
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  23. Hi all, just wanna vent my anger at the nursing world. Currently a third year student in mental health and yes mental is the right way to put it. so at least they got that title right!! but seriously considering giving up yes at the 11th hour !!! yes god (sorry god) i do not want to be a nurse. Sick and tired of down right rude arrogant backstabbing two faced wotsits. No caring in nursing they took that out long ago especially when they introduced jumped up managers to the equation. And yes we got a few clip board mangers in the lovely NHS!!! Got to my internship the last placement ever and none of them (caring nurses) can be arsed working with me which is great and the office has no space for me to work in i.e. a desk or a computer !! that to be expected according to the unsupportive university especially as they are chopping and changing internally jobs offices etc etc etc.... Managers still keep there out standing pay packages though. AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH !!!! Just cannot believe i have wasted nearly three years of my bloomin life. Stresssed out and just reconsidering my future options to everything really. To all those abnormal people out there that do work as nurses wot is your secret ???? coz if u bottled and sold it you would make a fortune. Just don't know what to do with myself, family and husband want me to plod on only a few weeks left but to me that seems a life time away so decisions, decisions, ................ nice to know not just me feels like this      by mazfergie3
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