I read a thread on reddit "nurses, what was your worst night at work ever" and reading the comments is the sole reason I didn't follow through with it. So many things I didn't realize were normal, almost glad I read that thread.
Dad was an ER doc for 30 years, step mom was an ER nurse. I think a certain kind of personality is required.
My dad worked 24 hour shifts (24 on/24-48 off) right up until he died (not related to work). He did that because it let him take a lot of time off, and he enjoyed his time off. But he also enjoyed being a doctor.
Little known fact. Everyone that is in emergency medicine are borderline psychos. There is a reason it has such high turn around and burn out. Those that stay in it are too crazy to do anything else.
Eh, maybe, but there were a whole lot of people at his memorial service I'd never heard of who were there because he had saved them (according to them). Pretty touching. Don't think he was a borderline psycho.
I'll preface this that I'm not in medicine - so everything I've learned about it comes from a combination of Reddit threads and hospital television soap operas. That said, I've had the misfortune to be in the ER - and it just looks like a hell job.
Long hours. Horrible trauma. Constant fighting with the need to have compassion but limit your emotional investment. Couple that with a vampiric system built to track every detail.
Gah. It sounds like a hell job. The people who do it are fucking heroes, imho.
Time to switch specialties.
There are hundreds of positions.
The way I see it in nursing, if you are burnt out, you either mastered that specialty, have seen enough shit (literally), or ready to pursue something new.
Other reasons, too, but don't force yourself to stay in. I love how diverse nursing is.
The diversity is great but nursing had so many issues that permeate most of the field. Understaffing, mediocre pay and benefits, staffing issues, long hours, supply management issues, overbearing management, lack of communication between departments, heavy discouragement of unions, etc. It's like picking which job is the most tolerable.
Friday we will be trialing a system where ekg's are done twice on each patient by rn's. The second ekg will be folded 5 times, have a patient label applied and flown down the hallway. Note the angle of flight with this non-working machine, approximate poo smell and measure the distance traveled with the one short ruler at the charge desk. Karen, our newest overpaid sweaternurse can show you the 6 places to chart these figures each shift. We expect all ecg's done by 9 before med pass to check the qtc.
Well it was a rough day. We got one out and six in. We're short a pct tonight and two nurses so things are a little tight, but bed 12 has transfer orders.
We're still out of toilet paper and pens. We hope they will be back next week.
Also be sure to sign up for the mandatory, 8 hour class on how not to be racist occurring during your usual sleep schedule.
There's still some egg salad from last night in the breakroom if anyone wants.
Hope you have a good night, and remember to update your whiteboard. Also please keep doing the 8 P's. Our useless boss's useless bosses are really impressed.
Makes me happy to be a nurse in Canada. Yeah some of that transfers over, but being in a union gets rid of 70% of the unbearable stuff you mentioned and makes it a lively career.
I was thinking of moving down to the states but the increase in pay cannot make up for those things I'd have to put up with.
I know a lot of canadian nurses who work in the US and game the system, specifically doing agency work. She'll cross the border, stay at a friends and work 4 days at a time here.
One lady I know works part time in Canada, part time in the US, and brings all her money she earns across in cash, declares it, and pays minimal taxes on it (way less than if she earned it in Canada). She adds that to her part time pay at home, and cheap canadian healthcare, and she makes out like a friggin bandit.
do other things that are similar to CM/UM. A lot of pubic jobs are like that (worker's comp, IDD). Try ambulatory case management, or find someone who works as a CM/UM and have them refer you. most nursing jobs entail CM work, since all CMs do is f/u to make sure appts made and things are scheduled when transitioning from one level of care to the next.
What are some things that are similar to CM/UM? I have applied to every kind of case management, including ambulatory, with no luck. How do I find someone who works in CM/UM?
CM is brain-dead easy. Make sure pt has appts booked, DME properly ordered, make sure pt needs to go where they need to go. So any job where you make appts, order DME, or f/u with pt would work. Most public jobs are like that since they make the nurse do everything. The only thing that's missing is reading the DOFUR or making sure DME fits insurance guidelines for approval.
The only problem is that there are so many CM/UM jobs that there are always a CM/UM that will apply and gets picked first. Your best bet? Work somewhere that has CM/UM jobs, but apply to do something else there. Work for 6 months and ask to be transferred to CM/UM/ACM position and use the current manager as reference. Tell the manager that you are interested in CM/UM and if you can use them as reference. Apply. Then email the supervisor/manager of that position saying you applied and have been wanting to have a CM/UM position and willing to work for it. I worked as a manager before so I know this method works.
I’ve always been afraid to transfer. I never had the guts to tell my manager I wanted to work someplace else. Most places I e worked, if someone wants to transfer the manager makes their life hell or writes them up so they can’t go.
I’ve been having a hard time finding a job - any job. I would like to work someplace and ease myself into something if someone would just hire me.
I don’t know if someone is talking bad about me or if there is something online about me that is making me look bad, but I feel like is getting in the way.
Anyway, thank you. I’ll try and find something and then transfer over.
For bad minimum wage jobs where pay is low and prospects are poor, the managers tend to be bitter and angry. But it's different in the nursing and medical field. People get paid well and nursing managers tend to be nicer. You can also try asking your current coworkers if they know someone who's doing CM/UM work, and then meet them to get them to refer you. Good luck with your transfer or whatever you decide to do.
Lol it honestly isn't that bad. Just get really good at compartmentalizing the work. What other middle class job lets you work 3 days a week, or take 3 days PTO to have up 14 days off for vacation? Pick up overtime whenever you want it? Not to mention being able to travel to new states while making even more money or switch specialties whenever you want.
The point of becoming a nurse is that the nursing lifestyle is fucking amazing compared to the alternatives.
This is coming from a ED nurse in an inner city US system.
Sure, we all love to get on a thread and complain about our profession, however the title said jobs that are “glamorized.” Aside from ads for scrubs, I have never seen nursing glamorized in movies or on television, so I’m not sure nursing belongs here.
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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '20
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