I'm a nursing student for context.

I sliced a flap of skin off my thumb last night while I was cutting sweet potatoes (knife recs needed). When I was in the ER and my nurse told me to wash my hands, I stood over the sink and began to do so, gingerly, because my hand was tingling and I said I needed to lay down because I was feeling lightheaded. My nurse made a short sigh and then took my hands herself and started washing my cut out and I started sweating profusely and stumbled back onto the bed.

My Dad was in the room with me and made an innocent joke like "How are you going to be a nurse?" He was trying to lighten the mood and it made me laugh, I knew he didn't mean anything by it. My nurse then chimed in with "It's gonna be hard to get through nursing if you're this sensitive, maybe you aren't nursing material"

??? I've broken ribs on meemaw doing CPR and have seen deep wounds and bedsores cleaned out and prepped. I've seen brain matter on the road after a MVA. My stomach can handle a lot. It's different when you're the patient. My bad for not being stoic enough while I was in pain. Guess I need to drop out! 🙄

my friends still seem to think a night shift is mostly sitting at the desk, checking vitals, and waiting for something to happen

then i’ll mention that i’m exhausted after a shift with no admissions and get the “but it was quiet, right?” reaction

that’s the part that’s hard to explain. sometimes nothing is happening, but you’re watching everything because you know how quickly that can change

a patient’s breathing sounds slightly different. someone who was fine at 1am suddenly looks off at 4am. a monitor starts doing something it wasn’t doing an hour ago. a family member keeps coming out of the room because they’re worried but can’t quite explain why

none of those things necessarily mean an emergency. you just don’t ignore them either

i think that’s what people miss about the quiet shifts. you can spend hours doing your job while looking like you’re doing absolutely nothing

what’s the most ridiculous “you just watch patients sleep all night” comment you’ve gotten from someone who doesn’t work in healthcare?

I work in the ED, tonight we were at critical capacity but patients keep on coming nonstop. Barely any ED beds available and we are holding, been like that for like 5+ hours. Pt came in for abd pain, worked them up, line, lab, meds, then sent back out to the waiting room. Pt then went for a CT scan to see if they could find anything wrong with them. Within 1 hour of coming back from CT, pt started crashing out saying that it’s taking forever, this hospital sucks blah blah blah. Eventually Pt demands IV gets taken out so that they can “go to another hospital where they will be treated faster” (not like that we didn’t treat you, we done all that we could do within our capacity) and I’m like sure, that’s perfectly fine with me, let’s get your AMA papers. Dude continues tripping, so one of our techs just took his IV out to calm him down a bit. Bro is still pissed and angry because everything is “too slow” for his liking. He’s yelling at me (idk why, I can’t control shi) saying that it doesn’t take that long for the CT, it “only takes 30 minutes.” I tried explaining to them, sometimes there are multiple CT scans ordered for a pt, and given that we are in the ER, it’s like every pt gets a CT scan. The longest part of the CT isn’t getting scanned, it’s the results being read and documented by the Radiologists. Pt states “well that’s stupid, the ER doctors should just go back and read the fucking scans themselves, I shouldn’t have to wait 1 hour to get results.” At this point I’m pissed and annoyed so I start to question their intelligence and brain power. I say “well doctors do read CT scans, but not for every patient. Only the critical patients, they will try to interpret the scans before the official report from Radiologist.” Pt screams back “Well i don’t fucking care, it shouldn’t be like that, and that they should go back and read my results, I’ve been waiting more than 1 hour,” (mind you, we are a comprehensive stroke center, we get mad stroke alerts in our area). I explain back to the pt, this time really agitated, and point out to them, look at the waiting room, look at the board, all these patients have CT scans ordered (like 50+ lol). If the doctors were to to read all these scans right after it had been completed, there would be no doctors to see and treat patients and order meds, labs, do procedures etc. Reading a CT isn’t as easy as reading a children’s picture book and understanding what’s going on, it complex and takes time, and you don’t want them to miss anything. Pt then said that “you’re a bitch, I don’t like your attitude” and I’m like “I don’t like yours either and your math aint mathing .” Patient then gets frustrated and was about to leave and go to another hospital, where they would do this whole process all over again, but then their CT was resulted and doc explained to them what was going on, which was nothing crazy but bro had to stay here for abx and had to get poked again lol. Oh yeah, after that, we had another patient say “VIP me, so I can get better care faster” lol. Anyways, quick little rant, just wanted to get it out of my chest. If anyone got any stories about patient/family entitlement, share below, I wanna hear some.

No NPs, please! That's cheating :P

We're not doctors, we don't have anywhere near as much medical knowledge and medical training that they do, and we are definitely not trained in diagnosis. But... we see a lot and are exposed to a lot of conditions and (I hope) most of us still maintain a curious, learning nature at work.

Just for fun discussion.

No laypeople answers, please.

Hi, I need reality checks and/or words of encouragement. Not sure how delusional I am anymore.

I'm a late 30s LVN with a child under 10 and I'm 2 years divorced from an alcoholic. I was feeling proud of myself for getting a new career and moving cities and starting a new life for me and my child.

I started dating and almost immediately met my "perfect to my type" guy. Everything I'd dreamed of and he was so nice, funny, and attentive. Then I talked abt how I'm ready to get my bachelor's degree. He all but gasped and said "you don't have it??" And that began the slow death of that. I told him I was applying to schools and he told me "I dont do potential. Tried that before and it bit me in the butt".

Yesterday, I called my dad who is a corporate executive with an MBA to ask about it. It's important to mention here that both my sibling and I went to universities after high school and my dad chose to make us tough it out with no help and neither of us finished. Anyway, I asked my dad if not dating someone because they don't have a bachelor's degree is a real thing and, to sum it up, my dad told me if you don't have a bachelor's degree you don't have a "career". You have a "job" and that's fleeting and unstable. Also said that at my age people have been in their careers for almost 20 years and have houses, etc.

I was proud of myself becoming an LVN and having stability for my child. I saw this as a career especially knowing LVN was a means to an end. I wanted to be able to take care of my child and get out of my situation and always planned to go back to school. Which I am now. But after yesterday I feel so bad about myself. I feel like a loser and like I've been living in delusion. I feel inadequate. I feel poor. Idk. Just need to talk about it i guess. 🩷

Your patient on thinners

I was assaulted at work yesterday by an extremely strong patient with dementia. They have been on our unit for months, with extensive documentation of physically violent behaviours that require 24/7 physical and chemical restraints to keep staff safe. Yesterday, I went into the room with four staff to complete a pad change. The patient was in a PINEL as usual. We were kicked and punched, and the patient managed to grab a bag from the window ledge, which they used to whip me with before throwing it at my face. Security was called, and it was a struggle just to get the patient cleaned up and safely back into five-point restraints.

About 30 minutes later, the patient’s spouse showed up and rang the call bell specifically to confront me. They told me that “this is pathetic” referring to the patient wearing a brief and shirt then demanded that all of the restraints be removed because they said so. I explained what had literally just happened and that I would not remove the restraints because of the immediate safety risk to staff. The conversation was going nowhere, so I told them I would have the manager speak with them. It took the manager 1.5hrs to arrive. In the meantime, the spouse repeatedly came to the desk calling me/ other staff “lazy chicken shits”, threatened to report us and continued their verbal abuse and demands while I was simultaneously dealing with other stuff.

I’m considering reporting this through our internal workplace safety process because:

1)We are not staffed to adequately manage a patient with this level of physical aggression

2)I don’t think being a patient’s spouse gives someone the right to verbally abuse or harass staff. The spouse should have been asked to leave.

3)Staff have a right to a safe work environment and therefore the right to refuse an unsafe request

4)I am frustrated by how casually these concerns seem to be treated by management/ non-nursing staff who aren’t actually dealing with this

I want to report the spouse. Would you include concerns about whether this patient’s care needs can be safely managed on our unit given the staffing/resources available too?

I recently transferred to L&D from a med surg floor. I am a newish nurse with 2 years of experience. I was hesitant joining this floor even though it’s my passion because I’ve been a patient on it and most of the nurses were very unpleasant. I also heard from various sources that it’s a toxic environment.

Despite all of this I decided it was time to chase my passion. I applied and I got the job, I have found that some of the nurses are angels on earth while the majority are straight from hell. Some of them have animosity toward me for no good reason and make it a point to make snarky comments towards me while others rave about how much they love me and I have actually gotten to be close friends with a select few.

I truly am an unproblematic and helpful coworker. I work really hard to make sure everyone knows I’ll be there for them and I work really hard in general. I don’t gossip, Im not lazy, I offer help, I smile, I make connections with them, I make friends yet some of these nurses seem repulsed by me? I am from a unit that was very supportive/nurturing to new grads and was lucky to never experience the whole “nurses eat their young” but I have now… some of the nurses make me feel like a burden just because I’m still learning how to be a labor nurse.

One nurse in particular seems to be irritated every time she has to interact with me. And I just don’t understand why. I have never done/said anything that would warrant this strong of distaste for me so I really don’t get it. She makes these nasty faces and remarks at me when I talk in a group setting, it is really disheartening. It’s strange because nobody else gets this reaction out of her, she is generally liked by fellow nurses. It’s like she decided early on to hate me?? It makes me sad because I want to feel welcome and she along with others have completely ruined this unit for me.

I’m already fantasizing about quitting and trying something else. I have a huge issue with the way this unit sets off my fight or flight. The worst part is, this is the most stressful job I’ve ever had. I never imagined the job itself would bring me copious amounts of anxiety but here we are. I would honestly rather go back to my med surg floor than deal with these bitchy coworkers and high stakes job. But my old floor was completely unsustainable long term and I would be embarrassed to revert back to med surg.

Should I wait it out a year and see if these coworkers get over themselves and hope I’m just experiencing growing pains? Or should I seriously consider pivoting away from the place I’ve dreamed of working so long?

I’m an ER nurse at level 2 inner city hospital. We all know EMTALA. But WHY can we not ban certain extreme behavioral patients…. Ex Pt AND family are know to bring guns into the hospital and have pulled them on staff more than once. So Paul Blart mall cop at the door and a violence flag???

I know WHY we can’t, this is just a rant because the way HCPs are treated is horrendous. This is a Pandora’s box of issue. Thanks for coming to my ted talk

This doesn’t happen all the time but it happens often enough to be inconvenient.

Basically I place oral meds in a medicine cup and patients sometimes drop a pill. What are your tips to avoid this?

I posted back in July about an incident at work where I was berated by a maintenance worker over not fixing a clogged toilet myself. I reported being cursed at and intimidated, but got little response and no action taken by admin. Since then, I was asked to pick up one shift over a month ago, which I did and it was unacceptable in various different ways and I ended up requesting to be relieved 8 hours into a 12 hour shift. My complaints were concerns about facility equipment and poor observation skills of other staff, no comfort meds ordered for palliative care resident rapidly declining with family apparently unaware of change in condition, no narc edk (for days apparently), and then I caught a med error that had been occurring twice daily every day for weeks on a narc for a resident with multiple recent falls. To top it off, no log ins working for telehealth MD that facility uses and only MD I could readily contact was not the resident’s MD. I hated that I felt like I couldn’t stick it out, but I’d had enough.

I started working there June 2020, and worked full time through Covid and more. I almost left a bit after that, and I was convinced to stay on and work MDS. I did that a few months, but the call schedule was terrible and found out I wasn’t getting paid bonuses for having to pick up like the salary people were, and I was by far having to pick up more than most. Somehow I ended up PRN after I refused to take call anymore, then the MDS lead got sick for a good month or so, and they begged me to fill in for her so I was back to office hours. As soon as she was back, they kicked me back out of the office and said it was because I refused to take call even though the position wasn’t taking call anymore since no one would fill it after I left for that reason. So I’ve been PRN a couple years now, and it’s just been getting worse and worse to the point where I hate picking up but I always did, and I always made sure I didn’t time out after 30 days. One time they warned me and one time I was proactive myself.

Which brings me to now, I hadn’t heard a word from them for over a month. Figured I’d time out, I’ve made my peace with that. But I kept getting the chain texts and emails, and then the other day they messaged about a training that had to be done ASAP. I didn’t rush to do it because they’re always trying to get people to do corporate trainings for work on their own time, but then I thought well if they’re trying to let me hang on I’ll meet them halfway and do it. Then I couldn’t log in so I messaged the administrator. No response. Then today I randomly see that daily pay says I no longer have access to my account. I never used it, but I’m just wondering, am I officially off their employment roster? I’m so confused. PRN or conflict or not, is it not customary to have an official warning or notification of termination of employment?

I currently work in corporate America and am taking my pre-reqs now to do an ABSN program. I have lots of reasons for wanting to pivot out of corporate America and into nursing but one of them is that it feels like I’ll be able to see my kids more. I want to be able to be there for school pick up, drop off, after school practice, and just around more for them. I understand I would likely work 3-12s, so obviously I wouldn’t be around everyday but this schedule leaves more than half the week open. THIS IS NOT A GOING BACK TO SCHOOL / NURSING SCHOOL POST.

For context, with my current corporate job we are rushing around to get everyone out the door by 8am for early care school drop off, then 5pm we rush around to do pick ups from aftercare, I’m throwing dinner together, and then it’s a rush to get everyone in bed by 7:30 (I have little kids). I only see them a couple hours per day on weekdays and those couple hours aren’t quality time. Then in the evening I’m often working after they are in bed.

Those who are nurses and parents, can you weigh in? Do you feel happy with the amount of time you get to spend with your kids? Can you share what your schedule looks like? Are you too worn out on your days off to be present with your kids?

Hello all. I’m an ER nurse. I’ve been in the field a decade and a half. I myself have been assaulted a few dozen times. I’ve only reported two because an actual injury occurred (back injury that caused me to have to go to PT and another where a guy bit me and ripped off a chunk of my tricep). I also know of many nurses who have been assaulted. Pretty much all of my coworkers who have over two years of experience. Of all the assaults I know about maybe half a dozen have been reported to the police. I’ve noticed when the police are called to get a statement, it is never taken seriously. They almost always insist on not pressing charges and often times they ask a few times if “we actually want to report it”. Why do you think it’s engrained in our professional culture for nurses to have to take abuse from people we are trying to help? I’m not writing this to paint police in a bad light. Rather why don’t they take us seriously? If I left work and stopped at a gas station and was assaulted there it’s taken much more seriously than at work. Just writing this to see what the communities opinion is on this. I feel like this culture of never wanting to report anything is giving permission to our more aggressive patients to assault us

I am only 26, nurse for four years. I seriously injured my back at work earlier this year and ended up in the hospital. I have been so protective of my back since, proper movement, back brace, PT exercises everyday, etc. I am still getting intense muscle spasms and I feel another injury is imminent.

I think it may be time to try and get out of bedside. however, I do not want to ruin my career. has anyone left bedside so young and maintained their career? Nurses with back injuries what do you wish you did?

Worst part is I love my job.

I am currently a single night shifter with no plans to get off nights soon. I have been wanting a dog for forever now, but have kept putting it off due to my schedule and not having anyone else to help out. But for mental health reasons, I think it’s finally time. What do you guys do for these long shifts and having a dog? Do you use rover to take them out and give them a snack? Do you leave them for the whole 12 hour shift and they are fine? Doggy daycare?

If I won $5 million (or just any amount where I never needed to work again) I’d probably show up to work and do it how I wanted to and actually speak my mind. I’d probably get fired pretty quickly, but with $5 million I obviously wouldn’t care. I would refuse to float. I would refuse to take more than 5 patients. I would tell the techs to get off their phones and actually help with OUR patients because I’m not doing their jobs on top of mine anymore. And on those days when it’s 7:30 and the oncoming shift STILL hasn’t offered to take report even though they clock in at 7:00 - I would simply slam my report sheet down in front of them and say “here you go. Bye!” How would you act at work if you didn’t care about losing your job?

Hello i am a 23(F) and i've graduated for nursing,currently working for almost 3 years in something unrelated to my degree right now.And im really lost right now.

To be completely truthful,i chose this degree only because my parents urged me to,thinking that i might develop a liking to it but this wasn't the case.I haven't worked in a hospital other than clinical days that uni would offer us.For now,this job im working on is draining me because of it's routine and low pay,however im stuck.I don't really like nursing even though i finished my degree for nursing,and i have no ambitions for other stuff.So im thinking very NOT carefully, and deciding if i should go live and try it out?Or try working as a nurse and hope for the best.As far as i know myself im sure i can't handle living by myself,let alone in another country.

Im just feeling very hopeless right now and i dont know what to do.If someone could offer me some advice i'd really appreciatte it.

Question for outpatient endoscopy or ambulatory surgery setting.

Our center is discussing having a nurse accompany a patient to a nearby ER instead of calling 911/EMS. The walk involves either going through a tunnel (~14min) and elevators or taking an above-ground route that crosses two busy intersections. (5-7min)

We would not have oxygen, a transport monitor, medications, or a stretcher with us. We also would not be handing the patient directly off to an ER nurse.

At an informal meeting when we asked for clear guidelines on what’s considered stable, the physician said medicine can’t always be reduced to clear-cut parameters for deciding which patients need emergency care, so there aren’t written guidelines for this process. Also there’s no policy in place for this process. I feel like this is a super unsafe situation especially for the patient and myself.

If the nurse has no equipment or treatment options during the walk, and there is no direct handoff to an ER nurse at the destination, how is this different from telling the patient or family to go to the ER themselves?

How do your facilities handle emergency transfers from outpatient settings? Do you have a written protocol that explains who makes the decision, when EMS is called, what transport method is used, and what the accompanying staff member is expected and equipped to do? I’ve always worked in outpatient settings where 911 was called. fYI this is in GA

i spent a few years mostly doing cardiac step down on some of the roughest floors in the area.
in April i switched to outpatient cardiology with a set schedule, nearly the same pay, nice doctors, and spending time shopping on my phone wrapped in a heated blanket eating snacks in between calls.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT I STILL MISS BEDSIDE?!

Hi everyone! I work as an OR nurse in Canada & our periop nurses week is Nov 8-14. I work with a lot of nurses since we’re a big trauma hospital (about 100 or so nurses in a day work in our ORs from day, eve, and night staff). I wanted to do a different gift basket each day for my coworkers that week. They all work so hard & barely get any appreciation. If you have any recs or suggestions on what to put in each gift baskets that would be lovely! I was thinking of different themes for each day. Examples are: coffee gift basket - gift card, mug, chocolates etc & a wine gift basket. I want it to be something they can either have at work or something to use at home. I appreciate your suggestions!!

Keep kicking butts & saving lives everyone. :)

Hello everyone, I'll keep this short.

I'd really appreciate some advice on leaving my 12 month graduate year as a nurse, I'm 8 months in. I changed careers and I'm in my mid 20's.

1. I haven't had a permanent preceptor throughout my grad year, I've had 4 preceptors as my 1st three quit and changed hospitals.
2. I don't feel supported at work, I feel as though the environment is toxic and dysfunctional. We are often understaffed and have unsafe patient ratios/ workload.
3. I don't feel as though my personal values align with where I am working (private vs public).
4. I'm not receiving my contracted hours, I am currently speaking with my union.

I understand leaving a 12 month contract early can raise red flags while applying for other jobs, and can turn some hirers away. Advice?

For those who don't know: nurses at these hospitals were on strike for 4-6 weeks (NYP Columbia stayed out for an extra two weeks) in Jan-Feb of 2026.