Nurses: Worthy profession, sometimes not worth the headaches. Patient view

What a lovely tribute to nurses. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

I only hope that all of the great nurses get told about your article and get the chance to read it!

My mother was a nurse for YEARS and finally worked her way off of the floor. Being a nurse is a GRUELING job that too often is under-appreciated. What people need to realize is that nurses are often the face of the medical industry. They have the most direct contact with patients and make sure that their everyday needs are met.

Nurses clean up after patients who cannot clean themselves. They feed people who cannot feed themselves. They make sure medication is given out on time and in the proper doses. They should all be celebrated more often, and this article is a great start!

Nurses are some of the best people I know. And I'm speaking from authority because, 1) my best friend is a nurse, and 2) I saw them a lot in the past year! Every single one was kind, respectful, and competent....

...competent except for Stanton. I'll get to him in another story tho... :~)

I appreciate as do all the nurses on the vine the thoughts...It is a calling I believe not just a job and a ministry and mission field in a sense ...Cause its a heck of hard way to make a living !!!!!

I just copied/pasted this and sent it to my mom. She's been a nurse for over 35 years. I know I'm biased but she knows as much if not more than most doctors. 5 children, more farm animals and more injuries cared for than I can recount. When the doctors at the hospital where she works are stumped on a diagnosis, they ask her. When any of my former coworkers had an issue, they would ask me to call my mom all the way across the continent. She'd sooth them by phone and tell them what to do ("you seem to have such and such and need/do not need to see a doctor"). If anyone here needs a good mom...er, good nurse, I know a GREAT one! :)

Awe, thanks! You just made me cry :) I often feel like the many things I do in a day go unnoticed (not complaining b/c I love my job). So, when someone says something like you have, it really makes me feel good about what I do!

yes: I can often get a job in a week

Yep, this is true :) I got a job without really trying. I applied and didn't figure I would hear anything back (I wasn't actively looking but was just curious if I would get a call). They called the next day and set up an interview. Now, I am working "as needed" in a very small community hospital :)

I'm finishing my prereqs, hoping to get into a good local nursing school. I'm hoping that it's a wise career choice, though I guess some people are more cut out for it than others...I've heard great things about people that are RN's, and really bad things (how awful the job is, thankless, etc). It's good to read an atricle like this though, encouraging.

Great story, and thanks for sharing!

ICU RN here - 26 years at the bedside, working on finishing off my BSN, plan on my MSN in Nursing Education...a variety of ICU sub-specialties... *laughs*...everything but NICU, PICU, and Burns.

I have been an RN for 32 years. Nothing surprises me anymore. Nothing. I am the person who keeps people alive because I am the person who is with the patient at the bedside. I am the eyes and ears. I have to know when to call the physician and when not to. I have to catch problems before they become bigger. I have to call the doctor when they have written the wrong orders, wrong doses. I have to try to read handwriting that no other person could ever read. I have to try to communicate information to patients with no education. I have to give hundreds of medications in a responsible manner. I have to perform numerous assessments and be able to determine normal variances from the abnormal. I have to offer emotional support while setting limits. I have to be able to perform in an emergency and be prepared for anything. I have to be able to communicate with managers who have less experience than I do, who never work a shift and who have no interest in what goes on on their unit unless something tragic occurs at which time they find a nurse to blame and hang out to dry. I have to put up with doctors who don't answer pages and who yell at me for calling them. They however continue with this behavior because they bring money into the hospital so they basically do what ever they want. I have patients and visitors who are intoxicated who are physically and verbally abusive toward me and I have no recourse because the facility does not want negative PR. I work with nursing supervisors who will not offer assistance or back me up. I work short of staff daily. I work with patients who will not do anything for themselves, even when I tell them the importance of getting up and getting moving to prevent later complications. I have had people threaten to shoot me. I have been followed home after a shift. I have been in the middle of shootings in a busy inner city ED. I have been hit, kicked, spit at, pinched, clawed, cussed at, called every name in the book. It goes on and on. But I have to stay positive. Customer service you know!!

I am tired.

I remember from times being in the hospital that I made sure I was always nice and expressed my appreciation to the nurses. They seemed really happy when someone actually thanked them instead of just thinking it's their job and that's that.

Granted there are some nurses I've come across that didn't deserve the paycheck they were getting or any thanks. But that seems like the minority, and maybe it had something to do with them all being night shift.

My girlfriend is a nurse, sister is a nurse... I work in healthcare as an "office nurse". Giving immunizations to kids was the absolute worst. Some of the crap my girlfriend has to put up with is amazing, and she just keeps on smiling and working her a$$ off.

Great article, nice tribute...well done!

If one researches Florence Nightengale they will find their own conclusion however she in my opinion one of the great social activists of all time...Nurses are some of the most incredible activists in the nation . I read TDK 227 post and its excellent reading . It reminds me every minute of a nurses life includes some type of activism ...In a sense to many parties or preparation for an exchange of activism....Do not underestimate the quiet power this population has..It wasnt the doctors that identified in the old days infection as a source of problem for outcomes and need for intervention....It was Florence Nightengale..And I believe if Im not mistaking she has her own museum and maybe it can be accessed on line..I beliieve so ..And her flyswatter is also in addition to archives in that museum....To signify I believe bugs and her swatting them down and that led to steriel practice and procedure and handwashing ...Behind every good Doc are is a good nurse and team of nurses , CNAs , and all types of providers...But the nurse the chief right now and thats why you can always get a job....The old axiom is if you want something completely folllowed through on then go to the NURSE .....And that is a huge load to bear ..And why burnout is rampant however in a sense I believe God protects these activists...Refreshing them and its truly amazing their power ...And I believe one day a nurse will be president ...But right now this huge active and retired population has the capacity to rock this world ..with activism knowledge and push mighty and powerful in a gentle yet firm way.......

Great article ! My daughter is an Er/Trauma nurse. I also work in the medical field, but I do not have to put up with what she does. Everything from a sick child, to stabbings, to multiple vehicular accidents. She takes it all in stride with patients ( all though she will notadmit it) and a caring heart. She has want ed to be in the ER every since she was young and saw her first episodes of "True Stories of the ER". I am so proud of her and grateful all those that do what they do.

I know I used to watch those old 70s Emergency episodes with Randolph Mantooth and I think the other character was Johnie Gage.. Forgive me if Im not certain of actors name. I know I soon thereafter got my little plastic medical kit and was placing the stethascope on the pooch and taking my moms temperature ..Back then I believe few women paramedics but I was so motivated by that LAFD and firetruck and the action on the scene and in the firehouse that that sealed it for me too..Now plenty of female EMTS , paramedics and als, bls cerified .So the action areas so to speak of ER and OR great but remember there are so many venues..Telemedicine , transplant medicine , gastroenterology , there is home health, nurse midwifes and anesthetists and outpatient clinics, ambulatory care , pharmocology sales, informatics , clinical trainers and nurse specs in all areas, wound care and ostomy specialists and float nurses , and quite frankly Im sure that there will be new opportunities in cutting edge research , HIV and reproductive medicine and it evolves ...So there is so much lateral movement and chance to create new avenues ...So take flight even flight nursing ....Never need to be in one area and you make it bearable because its worth it !!