Reality Check on Nursing
Many people ask me how I entered the field of nursing, and if I "love the job". I have always struggled with my answer to these questions. Mostly I am scared to give the wrong impression by saying: if I could go back in time I would change the decisions that I had made.
After a failed attempt at a degree in psychology at Concordia, I was faced with a decision on what I wanted to do with my life. Having always hated school, although always doing well academically, I decided to return to college and take a three year program. Nursing was my choice by elimination only. I had ruled out all other 3 year programs at Abbott, and decided on nursing as a default. I had NEVER even been in a hospital prior to entering the program, and had no idea what the job entailed.
Let me say that nursing in school is not in ANY way close to the real job. If they painted an accurate picture of what nursing conditions are like in Quebec hospitals in 2006, no one would finish the program. In school, the number of patients you care for is one to two, until the last year, and even then the max is four. Four patients!!!!!!!!
Advice for new students: go sit in an emergency room and observe before entering the program. I work in an ER. We are overworked, underappreciated, underpaid and constantly put down. The worst is that the public users of the heathcare system are the people who make the job the hardest. I can no longer handle being yelled at by patients about the waiting time. Do you realise that the doctors are the ones who have to see you before a nurse can process their orders? The governments budget dictates how many MDs can work per shift. The nurses understand your frustration, but yelling at us only makes us want to give up.
It does not help that there are no GPs or family docs left in Quebec, and the clinics have limited hours of service. That just leads to overcrowding in the ER with minor complaints such as splinters and colds. The medicare system is just so screwed up, it seems like we will never be able to correct the system. With the aging population things are only going to get worse. Is that even possible?
Despite the numerous media depictions about the state of Quebec ER waiting times, people are still upset after 3 hours. I know I would be upset as well. But don't yell at the nurse who is helpless in the situation. Everyone thinks that their ailment is serious, or they would not be waiting incredibly long amounts of time in a waiting room. We can not see you all at the same time. We are given guidelines from the health department about what is considered a priority, we do not just decide on our own.
So, the negatives in nursing would be:
1. The public dismay, usually projected on the nurse (the only visible hospital worker)
2. Forced overtime (huge shortage of nurses in Quebec)
3. Having to work shift work
4. Having to work holidays
5. Having to work weekends
6. The odors (these come in all types)
7. Lack of support staff
8. Lack of budget in ERs
9. Overcrowding
10. Poor salary
11. Losing RNs to the USA (where salary is better)
12. Lack of public knowledge about realistic waiting times
But after all that, there are days where I come home with a good feeling. It is the day where there was no waiting time. Or the day where you made a patient smile. Or when a family member breaks down on you and you can console them. The day where you watch a patient pass away in peace after a long time of suffering. The time when you eased someones pain and then watched them walk out with a smile, all in the same shift. The day where someone sends a thank you card. The odd occasion when you have time to spend 15 minutes learning something from a patient with a lot more life experience than yourself. There are so many other positives, but they are harder to remember than the negatives. But these experiences and memories, they will remain in my soul forever. They are the reason I continue to go in for my shifts. The reason is definitely not in the paycheck. And any nurse who is in it for the money, will never last in this profession, it is just too draining.
So, if you are tough, come join us. We desperately need nurses. You will always have a job. But come in with your eyes wide open, and expect to shed many tears. And look into what is in your future as a nurse, because times have changed, and so have the working conditions. But if you can tough it out, its all worth it in the end.
After a failed attempt at a degree in psychology at Concordia, I was faced with a decision on what I wanted to do with my life. Having always hated school, although always doing well academically, I decided to return to college and take a three year program. Nursing was my choice by elimination only. I had ruled out all other 3 year programs at Abbott, and decided on nursing as a default. I had NEVER even been in a hospital prior to entering the program, and had no idea what the job entailed.
Let me say that nursing in school is not in ANY way close to the real job. If they painted an accurate picture of what nursing conditions are like in Quebec hospitals in 2006, no one would finish the program. In school, the number of patients you care for is one to two, until the last year, and even then the max is four. Four patients!!!!!!!!
Advice for new students: go sit in an emergency room and observe before entering the program. I work in an ER. We are overworked, underappreciated, underpaid and constantly put down. The worst is that the public users of the heathcare system are the people who make the job the hardest. I can no longer handle being yelled at by patients about the waiting time. Do you realise that the doctors are the ones who have to see you before a nurse can process their orders? The governments budget dictates how many MDs can work per shift. The nurses understand your frustration, but yelling at us only makes us want to give up.
It does not help that there are no GPs or family docs left in Quebec, and the clinics have limited hours of service. That just leads to overcrowding in the ER with minor complaints such as splinters and colds. The medicare system is just so screwed up, it seems like we will never be able to correct the system. With the aging population things are only going to get worse. Is that even possible?
Despite the numerous media depictions about the state of Quebec ER waiting times, people are still upset after 3 hours. I know I would be upset as well. But don't yell at the nurse who is helpless in the situation. Everyone thinks that their ailment is serious, or they would not be waiting incredibly long amounts of time in a waiting room. We can not see you all at the same time. We are given guidelines from the health department about what is considered a priority, we do not just decide on our own.
So, the negatives in nursing would be:
1. The public dismay, usually projected on the nurse (the only visible hospital worker)
2. Forced overtime (huge shortage of nurses in Quebec)
3. Having to work shift work
4. Having to work holidays
5. Having to work weekends
6. The odors (these come in all types)
7. Lack of support staff
8. Lack of budget in ERs
9. Overcrowding
10. Poor salary
11. Losing RNs to the USA (where salary is better)
12. Lack of public knowledge about realistic waiting times
But after all that, there are days where I come home with a good feeling. It is the day where there was no waiting time. Or the day where you made a patient smile. Or when a family member breaks down on you and you can console them. The day where you watch a patient pass away in peace after a long time of suffering. The time when you eased someones pain and then watched them walk out with a smile, all in the same shift. The day where someone sends a thank you card. The odd occasion when you have time to spend 15 minutes learning something from a patient with a lot more life experience than yourself. There are so many other positives, but they are harder to remember than the negatives. But these experiences and memories, they will remain in my soul forever. They are the reason I continue to go in for my shifts. The reason is definitely not in the paycheck. And any nurse who is in it for the money, will never last in this profession, it is just too draining.
So, if you are tough, come join us. We desperately need nurses. You will always have a job. But come in with your eyes wide open, and expect to shed many tears. And look into what is in your future as a nurse, because times have changed, and so have the working conditions. But if you can tough it out, its all worth it in the end.
posted by Tamara @ 3:13 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:53 PM,
Christine said…
Considering I'm feeling a little out of it right now, this contribution won't be all that long. (I promise to write more later!) I'm all for your list of 12 though.. how very very true. And I haven't even been in the profession long, but the realities become evident all too quickly.
And yes, I am one of those nursing leaving to go to the US... hopefully my experience there will make me a better nurse. Maybe even teach me more patience :P Although i would like to think that I have a lot of it already.
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