Being a nurse is a great job — but there are plenty of things I don’t love… This post shows the worst things about being a nurse.
I thought I’d save the best for last — hence, I’m doing the bad this week {check out the good stuff coming soon!}. I think most people think of all the bad things about being a nurse when they think of nursing. The things THEY think of aren’t necessarily mine.
Don’t miss my post all about the best gifts for a student nurse.
The worst things about being a registered nurse
Here’s my top 6 worst things about being a nurse:
1. You Gotta Work it.
You will work times that no one else is working. You will work holidays, you will work nights, you will work weekends. When you are new, you won’t get time off during the summer. We don’t have a slow season that lots of people can take off.
When you are new, you will have to suck it up and just work. New nurses that think they get the pick of the schedule get their heads bit off. The end. Seniority rules the roost as far as scheduling goes. It is just no fun to be the new guy.
2. Eww.
You will touch things that no one else will touch. Luckily, you get bathed in this during nursing school, so if that is something you’re ending-up squeamish about, you’ll know long before you have your degree.
I have certain things I am not a fan of — mucous. It just grosses me out to no end. I have no idea. I also hate feet. Hence, I don’t do respiratory and i don’t do podiatry. What a shame.
3. Thank you doctor.
Doctors may want to eat you and spit you out. Thankfully, the nursing profession has come a long way in this area — but not far enough. In doctor’s defense, they HAVE to learn to trust you. You are their eyes and ears. If you aren’t giving them good info, or the info they need, they DO need to let you know that. Nicely.
A lack of respect just isn’t tolerated by me, but I don’t mind correction — and yes, I have received it. And, yes, they have received it. You both, in the end need to have each other’s backs. That’s best for the patients.
4. Bad Managers
Sometimes nurse managers are just nurses and not so much managers. Most often, your manager will be a nurse. She got into nursing because she loves patients, or helping people or something like that. She may not be the best BUSINESS manager you’ve ever come across.
I had, I think 5 managers in my 7 years at one hospital. They just weren’t meant to be managers (even though they liked the paycheck that came with it). I love my current manager, and I think whatever manager you have there may be issues — but I think management can be an issue for nurses.
5. It’s a Rich Man’s World.
You are unlikely to be very rich. It’s not a lucrative field. I think nursing is something that IS caught in the gender gap. You’ll live. But the idea that you are saving people’s lives, but may not be able to afford a vacation with your family is something you might need to consider.
I did make GOOD money in the Bay Area, and I do think that Arizona, compared to the cost of living, pays fairly well. BUT, if you think nursing will make you rich — you might think again. Long gone are the days of double time or even time and a half for extra shifts. Hospitals are strapped, at least they say they are.
6. You Have to Learn to Love
You will have patients that you absolutely can NOT stand that you have to be nice to. I’ve had patients with 13 abortions who have told me that they forgot to abort this one. I still have to put on my smile and treat them like anyone else even though my brain steams at the thought.
Learning to be good to people who I REALLY don’t want to be nice to is one of the things I work on. I think most people work on it but I think it is front and center in the nursing profession sometimes. It’s a real reminder that Jesus served everyone, not just people he liked.
Again, please stay tuned for the upcoming GREAT things about nursing. There are many, and I can’t imagine having another job — but I’m always even handed. I can’t say there aren’t drawbacks to the career I chose.
Be sure to check out all of my posts in my be a nurse series.
Are you a nurse? Do you have negatives I didn’t mention? Comment your negatives below!
This post was originally written in 2014, but has been updated.
Marie says
The thing I hate the most about being a nurse is the abuse from patients and their families. Yes, I work in the ER in a low-income drug-riddled part of town, so many of my patients (and their families) are substance-altered. But it still makes me miserable — I’m there because I genuinely care about helping people. I’m NOT there to get punched in the face because someone is having a bad trip!
Hilary says
Oh yes — patients are certainly trying. I know how you feel. I bet the ER is worse than labor and delivery — but I’ve had some doozies. You’ve gotta think there’s a star for you somewhere, right?
Oxy says
Yes, I believe family members are the worst! When you do your job properly, they show up for 5 min and make you and the patient feel like nothing is done!!! I mean the floor is not mopped!
Hilary Erickson says
Yes… the floor. #floorpriorities
Elizabeth says
Each other! Nurses can be very rough on one another. Remember middle school girls’ gym class? Yes, it can be that traumatic.
You will get sick and so will your family. It’s not only patients that carry germs. Nurses come to work sick because they don’t want to hear grief from management, be disciplined for excessive absences, or let down other nurses. Coming to work sick is an unfortunate fact of nursing. Immunocompromised patients and babies be damned. So wash your hands, leave your filthy shoes at work, change out of your scrubs and take a shower before hugging those little ones. And stay home when you’re sick. And wash your hands. Please.
The job is demanding: psychologically, emotionally, and physically. Your back will hurt, your feet will hurt, your knees will hurt and your shoulders will hurt. The keyboards will not be at the proper height. The chairs won’t be, either. Take care of yourself! Advocate for safer work places and practices. Exercise not only for the stress relief, which you will need, but to strengthen your back. Stay healthy and safe.
You will see, hear, and experience events that aren’t exactly shareable. Don’t take it home! Find other nurses you can debrief with so you fell better. And get a ritual. Go home without the baggage. I spend an extra split second when I clock out of work to leave work at work. And I repeat this when I touch the car door. What happens in the hospital, stays in the hospital.
Mary says
Thank you for sharing this! I can only imagine how hard it can be a nurse but it definitely takes a special person to do this job!
Hilary says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Chris Fritz says
I read a lengthy article from the NYTIMES about a middle age woman from Indiana who was losing her $21 per hour manufacturing job after 17 years. Her ONLY consolation was that, “Thank GOD her daughter was going to college to be a nurse (scholarship)!”, implying that this life course was … salvation. Poor girl has no idea that mom’s ‘frying pan’ is only leading her into the ‘fire’.
Hilary Erickson says
Haha, I’m sure that it looks greener to be a nurse (from her point). 🙂