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domestic goddess
11-2-11, 6:41pm
That when nurses are off duty, they are not sitting on the nurses' shelf, waiting for the next shift. I have responsibilities and activities in my life, too, in addition to the hours I work at your house. I know that you are overwhelmed and it is hard for you, but I'm not a spring chicken any more and when you ask me to stay extra hours the next morning, I sometimes just can't take anymore. You don't know it, but my mother's youngest sister died this past weekend, and supporting her from a distance has taken its toll on me. I need a little advance notice when you want me to stay late, and I need permission from my office, as insurance reimbursement doesn't work the way you think it does, or the way you want it to.
Thanks. I just needed to let off a little steam. My patients families don't seem to understand why I need some time off. I have the nerve to be going on vacation (to do a lot of work for my mom), or why I would want to have a holiday off (will I pick up the open shift on Thanksgiving and/or the night after?) Don't even get me started about Christmas. We don't get paid anything extra for working the holiday,and I will probably work Christmas night, anyway, if there is an open shift. Sometimes I just need to rant a bit and get it out of my system, and you all are the lucky recipients. Sorry for the complaining, but now I can hopefully be more patient at work.

Aqua Blue
11-2-11, 6:50pm
A fellow nurse here and I so hear you.

Stella
11-2-11, 11:48pm
Hugs!

Marianne
11-3-11, 7:50am
Hang in there, and thanks for what you do. Our future DIL is a nurse, too.

Mrs-M
11-3-11, 9:12am
You've come to the right place, Domestic Goddess. :) P.S. Oldest daughter (19) is currently working on getting everything sorted and lined up for her first year of post-secondary education. She's looking to pursue a career in Pediatrics.

Zoe Girl
11-3-11, 12:45pm
I hear ya and it is ok to vent here. I know when I was teaching I often had admin (who I thought knew better) schedule meetings during lunch and before and after school yet is was super difficult to get the time I needed for my daughter with mono that year. ( school went to 4 in the afternoon). I can assume if we want good care and not meds mixups then we need to accomodate for time so you can get the rest of your work done plus not be dog tired for caretaking.

domestic goddess
11-3-11, 2:42pm
Thanks, guys. I knew there were nurses here who would understand. I'm sorry, just tired and cranky. I haven't taken a vacation in a year, in spite (or maybe because) of the fact that there are a lot of things I need to take care of for my mom. I just have put it off because of issues here, with my dd, and because I wasn't working much, so wasn't really in a financial position to just take off. Now I have the nerve to take 2 weeks off to deal with her business! How dare I!! How will these parents make it if I'm not there?! I'm already hearing, "I have open shifts during the week of Thanksgiving. You'll be back by then, right? Can you pick up some extra shifts?" Yes, I'll be back by Thanksgiving, because my dd's idea of cooking is Hamburger Helper, so if there is going to be a dinner, I need to be here. I'm also working that week, so after I'm done cooking I'll be at your home, to stay up all night and take care of your child. I know our parents are tired and stretched thin, but so am I.
Well, I am done with this rant, I think. I am so ready to get out of here, that is all I think of. I worked an extra 1-1/2 hours this morning, which is hard, because I start getting ready to hit the sack @ about 4 a.m. I'm not always safe to drive after 8 a.m. It may only be an hour, but it matters.

Gardenarian
11-3-11, 3:13pm
My mother is now needing full-time nursing care, and her nurses have been caring and competent and truly giving - way above and beyond the call of duty. Nursing is a job I could never do, and I have had many times in my own experience to be thankful for nurses - they have literally saved my life, more than once.
Blessings to nurses everywhere, but especial blessings to you Domestic Goddess!

flowerseverywhere
11-3-11, 9:07pm
When I left the hospital it was because we were mandated to stay and cover. It got to the point if you went in on the weekend you would invariably end up working 16 on Saturday and Sunday there was such a nursing shortage, and they would pay us time and a half after 8 and a holiday, evening and weekend differential. I ended up going to an office (where we often stayed until 6) and picked up some time on call on the weekend which worked out much better, as they only mandated the full timers. I made a lot of money, so paid off my house and put my kids through college but it was really hard. Working like that I had a couple of close calls, but fortunately never did anything really harmful to anyone. Working 7 am to 11 PM two days in a row I thought was very dangerous. I would be really cranky if it was all straight time.

One thing I still have a problem with, and I haven't been in a clinical setting in over five years is people sometimes ask me questions, saying we'll you're a nurse, what do you think about this problem? I always tell people I don't know anything about that (even if I do ) and advise them to call their MD.

So I feel your pain. It is hard work, can be heartbreaking if you get attached to patients, you can be subject to violence in the ER or any any unit with a mentally unstable patient or spouse, see abused children and adults and you are exposed to all kinds of creepy cruddy stuff. So all in all I know I did a lot of good working as a nurse, but it was hard and often times thankless work.

domestic goddess
11-4-11, 6:15am
I haven't worked in a hospital setting for many years. I am now in the for-profit area of medicine, working as a private duty nurse. Don't go there. Insurance companies (who I think should be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license) are cutting out nursing hours for many of our clients, regardless of what the dr. says about the case. Raises are few and far between, because they interfere with profits, so I am surely not doing this for the money. It can be physically hard work, and it can be exhausting and mentally and emotionally wearing, but I still don't know what else I would rather do.
Yeah, people ask me for advice all the time, and I always advise them to see a doctor. Even if I think I know what the problem is, it is hard to know for sure without proper testing and diagnosis. If they aren't getting the help they need, I may steer them toward someone who I feel can help. But, as critical as I am about insurance companies, I don't practice medicine without a license.
I knew a lot of people here would understand. I don't think I really want anything extraordinary, just a little consideration of the fact that I have a family and some other interests, and I do have some responsibilities other than just going to work. The closer I get to 60, the harder it sometimes is to work 12 hour nights, and not take time off. Maybe that is just me, but I can tell that the years have taken their toll. I try not to use that as an excuse, but it is always in the background, at least.

Aqua Blue
11-4-11, 10:23am
I got out of hospital nursing a long time ago because of the long hours. I worked as a nicu supervisor at one point and many times came in during the night because of an emergency and short staffing and then came back during the day for my regular shift. Supervisors in that hospital were required to work 2-3 shifts in their unit per week. I personally think that greatly contributed to my fibromylagia and chronic fatigue.

On a rather funny(now) aside once at a supervisor meeting they were talking about calls for police/disorderly conduct assistance and my NICU had more than the ER, people are not at their best in a crisis.

I worked most recently in an office and getting out at 6pm seemed heavenly after hospital work.

Nursing is physically, mentally and emotionally hard. Then you throw in the all the politics for good measure.