Diana
What is the worse thing you can go through as a nurse?
I want to know if I want to become a nurse. I want to know whats the worse thing you have to go through as a nurse #experience
2 answers
Stephani Hunt
Stephani’s Answer
That is definitely different for everyone. I had a 19 year old patient when I worked in oncology that missed his prom and senior year for cancer treatment, and passed away shortly after. It was awful to watch him suffer and lose his battle, but unfortunately it is part of life, and you will experience both bad and good in nursing (there are many success stories as well!). I have held many hands while people died, helped people cope with devastating news, watched excruciating pain and suffering. To be perfectly honest though, I looked at it as an honor to be able to make these experiences just a little bit easier for the patients and their families. One frustrating thing can also be when you work in a situation where certain co-workers have poor communication skills or don't work using a team approach. You might know what you need to do or what would benefit a patient and not be able to do it because someone else is getting in the way (eg. conflicting opinions with other nurses, doctors, family members, etc.) As a nurse you will see many traumatic things, an you never really "get used to it", but you do get better at it. You learn how to cope with the suffering you see and develop your own approach to things along the way. There is also the nasty factor. You will see MANY absolutely disgusting things you would never have even imagined before nursing school. As a wound care specialst I have cared for patients with open wounds into their abdomens, or infections that created wounds so bad that you could see a patient's vertebrae (spine), amputations, etc. You will help many people as they puke, pee, poop, and anything else you can imagine. Yuu need a strong stomach to do these things, and it definitely isn't for everyone!
I agree with the earlier post. You will experience every type of body fluid you could imagine, and sometimes all over yourself. Some Nurses find it difficult to deal with blood. I worked in Senior Care and sometimes the Families were more stressful than the patient. If you chose to work in a Nursing Home you may experience unsanitary conditions (better known as Code Violations). You will see Elder Abuse, Financial Abuse from Staff and other patients. You will become victims of other Nurses stealing from you. You will see your best friend in Nursing School become addicted to pain meds and do anything to get them (including lying on you). You may be asked to provide inaccurate information on a patients chart. But ... I loved it anyway ...
M j Shelby
I agree with both of these posts! I work in pediatrics and, for me, the hardest thing to deal with is child abuse. Every case I see breaks my heart. But, like Stephani said, I like to think that while I was with them I did my part to make their world a little brighter.
Gabrielle Le Sage
I agree with all of the above. Because my husband was in the military, I traveled a lot, and worked in a number of areas: psych, home health, hospital, and public health to name a few. Every area has its heartbreaks. However, this is at the heart what nursing is all about. Your calm demeanour, patient teaching, and competent care will uphold others through difficult times. And sometimes it is hard to give that. You can and will do it, even if you think you can't. In nursing, you will discover inner power you never knew you had. Do your best to give error free care, and you'll always know you did your best to make appalling times, at least, tolerable - for others, as well as yourself.
Jennifer Shawker
Ashley Denomme
Ashley’s Answer
I don't think it's possible to categorize anything within the nursing field to be the "worst" thing. Nursing is incredibly rewarding and I'd not change my profession for the world, but I think every nurse thinks "what the hell was I thinking getting myself into this" once in a while. The best part of being a nurse, for me, is seeing patients progress in their treatment and knowing you play a huge part in them getting better. I think the definition of the worst parts depend on the nurse and the kind of unit or specialty they work in. Generally speaking, we all will have issues with being short-staffed, having difficult patients (or families of the patient), we all have days when everything seems to go wrong (medical emergencies, cleaning up copious amounts of bodily fluids- it really depends on what makes you tick). In my case, I am a psychiatric charge nurse on a unit with severely mentally ill males. There is nothing better than when a patient who began his inpatient stay acutely psychotic, aggressive, and/or treatment resistant become stable and actually thanks me for not giving up on them- it's truly amazing. The worst part for me is when patients start to fight each other or get aggressive towards the staff and the only choice we have is to physically hold them or, in extreme cases, seclude/restrain them (S/R has gone down significantly since I started there). It's a dangerous situation for the patient and the staff... My other petpyeeve is doctors who disregard suggestions from the nurses and social workers. The WORST thing I've seen thus far though, is a nurse get put in a choke hold at the nurse's station- remember, I'm in a psych hospital with psychotic patients, don't let this scare you but remember to always be on your toes... Lastly, one thing that drives me bonkers, and I hope you never have to experience, is the bullying that sometimes occurs between nurses and staff. If you ever find yourself being bullied by a fellow nurse, nip that in the bud right away. Talk to the offending nurse first, and if that doesn't work, talk to a supervisor. We're supposed to be there for the patients afterall.