Job Story: Loves Nursing, but not the system....LPN Nurse

[Unregistered]

This is currently my first semester of nursing school and I am overwhelmed how is it possible to work and attend school without going insane. I chose nursing b/c I am tired of being underemployed even though I have a BS in business administation

[Unregistered]

Do not go into nursing. Run Far Far away. Instead take your business degree and work towards an accounting designation or something that interests you. I have been nursing for 1.5 years. I graduated from the 4 year Bachelor of Nursing program. I work on a surgical floor in hospital and hate it passionately. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think about wanting a different career. Teaching and accounting were my other choices. Why oh why did I choose this thankless, shitty career. I cry all the time. Today I was yelled at first thing by a patient. I cleaned up liquid stool 4 times today amongst gowning and gloving to provide care for an mrsa pt. Transferring another one of my patients midshift because they needed the room desparetly for another admission, whom I had to prep for surgery. Amongst all of this, I am performing head to toe assessments, ensuring they have or have not eaten, walked, changing dressings, administering medication, etc, etc. Believe me I have tried to find other work opportunities and managed to obtain a 4 month term position to relieve others for vacation time as a Home Care Coordinator and loved it because it was m-F no weekends, no holidays. I felt more like the kind of nurse that I intended to be when I took this god forsaken program. I have an appointment with a student advisor at a local university in 2 weeks and I am either going to choose education or accounting. No more working weekends, holidays, no more cleaning up crap. No more every, I mean every shift turning into overtime and not being able to claim it half the time, because "Why didn't you tell us you were sinking earlier" Anyway, I could go on and on. Please Please run from nursing. I hate it beyond the meaning of the word!!!!!! By the way, on my eight hour shift today (that turned into 9 hours), I didn't sit down once other than my morning break and 40 minute lunch break. You don't see the light of day, because 40 minutes isn't even enough to walk through the hospital, get in your car and go somewhere. My feet and back ache and once again I have no energy to do anything this evening. Yaaaah I get to go back for 9 more days straight of this crap!

[Unregistered]

i feel for you.i also am treated like crap.(lpn in l&d)i hate it,i hate it,i hate it.(and no way out)spouse has psych disability and i can only leave him by himself for limited amounts of time.

[Unregistered]

I have been an LPN for 61/2 years, and have had12 (yes 12!) jobs in the last two years, it just doesn't seem to suit me anymore, I am in a financial bind and don't have a choice to change careers at least for a while, my true passion is social work, but I have 3 small children, and at times can't even afford groceries from week to week, isn't that a shame? I work in a nursing home where these residents spent thousands of dollars to live every month, but the nurses providing their care barely make enough to survive. I am soooooo tired of the too many cheifs and not enough indians routine, its the same everywhere!!! I was very young in nursing school (18) and swore that nursing was my passion, because I was a CNA and so wanted to be that nurse behind the desk, little did I realize how much nurses really had to do and put up with, although I was the first to complain and call them lazy when I had 12 residents to get up, and 3 showers to do, I had no idea that the nurse had way more on her shoulders. Don't get me wrong I love being around people and making sure they are taken care of, but I am so tired of being a pill pusher, and being looked down upon b/c I am not an RN, I am a good nurse, but would give my left foot to go back to school for something that I really thought was helping someone, I was a supervisor for a while, that turned out to be a joke, I was asked to step down from my position basically b/c I didn't do enough butt kissing, and I was actually caring for my residents and staff as well./ Someday I will pursue my passion and chalk up my nursing career as a learning experience and nothing more, I have two daughters, and have already stressed to them not to pursue nursing!! sad huh?

[Unregistered]

I am a CNA and I agree with you mostly. But there are some of us hardworking CNA's really do care for the patients and take the time to know what is exactly going on with them. Because most times we are the ones who have the most contact with the patient throughout the day. I know that nurses sometimes dont get the respect they need but as nurse aides we don't either.

[Unregistered]

I work in Assisted Living and I have a nice job and a great staff who works with me! I stay out of the hospitals, though, because the pay sucks. I have friends who work in hospitals who make about 10K less a year than I do. Many of the hospital RN's are paid the same as I am.

My last job (in drug rehab) sucked...

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Unregistered
I am a CNA and I agree with you mostly. But there are some of us hardworking CNA's really do care for the patients and take the time to know what is exactly going on with them. Because most times we are the ones who have the most contact with the patient throughout the day. I know that nurses sometimes dont get the respect they need but as nurse aides we don't either. [/QI fidnUOTE] I find that the rn's get respect, but lpn's and nursing asst's don;t in many places. yet we work with the patients and know more then the rn. when it comes down to that. We earn respect and yet we get none. I have worked at a va hosp and it was the place from hell. Worse job i ever had. Too much politics, and no one seems to care, especially management.

[Unregistered]

I am a cna and I love my job. I work hard....very hard with out brakes and all that jazz, but its worth it

[cindi]

lpns are not respected in Canada especially BC

[whyme]

I really hardly know where to start. I have been in nursing for 12yrs. I am almost 52. You would think someone that old would know something about a profession before she got into it. Well I didn't and no one ever said a word about what a nitemare it could be. How I have gotten thru these yrs. without losing my license is anybody's guess. But I can tell you this. If I had told some of the mistakes I have made then it would have gone bye bye some yrs. ago. I really hate to have to say this but any nurse who admitts to mistakes that would otherwise never be known or at the very least cannot be proven is a dam idiot. Don't think it will make them think good of you. It will not. And lets face it. We are only human. And lets not forget that if you are one of the DON's favorites then you will be protected. If not you are screwed. I know this to be a fact because I have been on both sides of the fence. The only reason I am on this crazy unappreciated job is I need to make a living. Otherwise I would gladly tear my license up and never think twice about it. If you go into nursing I hope you don't mind sucking up all of the time, working under jerks who are always coming to you with stupid complaints that are not even worth mentioning, having to watch your back lest some other nurse, aid, or whoever tells something on you that may or maynot be true, and lets not forget always being told that can cost your license. Oh Lord I get so tired of hearing that. Well I don't hear it so often now. I do the best I can at my job. But if I need to go to the bathroom I go, If I am thirsty then I go get something to drink, and if I am hungry I will get a little snack and take it back to the nurses station. Unless someone is dying of course. Is there anyone who can relate to what I have just said.

[whyme]

Originally posted by Unregistered
i feel for you.i also am treated like crap.(lpn in l&d)i hate it,i hate it,i hate it.(and no way out)spouse has psych disability and i can only leave him by himself for limited amounts of time. Have you ever tried working prn for several places. That really seems to help. By the time one place is nearly putting you six feet under it is time to go somwhere else. You make your own schedule which makes it nice. I will be praying for you.