Why be a nurse if you're not up to it?
I have worked as a nurse since 1992 and have witnessed much change over the past 16 years. However I am sick and tired of these nurses who are university trained and think they are immune from certain duties such as changing beds and washing/dressing patients etc. Well I have news for this handful of work shy nurses out there. Under NMC rules you are NOT immune from these duties and if ever caught you can be disciplined accordingly as it comes under the general heading of neglect!
I am also sick of hearing career nurses complain about their pay. You knew the average salary and expected pay wasn't up to much when you began your career in nursing, so why moan? A lot of nurses aim for a career in nursing for the vocation and job satisfaction, not the pay.
I went into nursing as I looked after a terminally ill relative of mine and seemed to be the sensible choice as I had the correct attitude and personality for it. However I did the old fashioned diploma where you learned on the job and went to nursing college about once a week to learn (then it was 25% theory) the rest was hands on. We had a bit of a tyrant ward sister, and if something was asked to be done by her it was done straight away, no arguments. It also had to be done by her standards or it had to be done until it was correct.
Perhaps if they were to re-introduce the tyrant sister's or old style matrons then maybe the NHS would not be in the state it is in today, crawling with super-bugs, shoddy managers with no medical experience and a public school background, and nurses who think because they have a piece of paper from university they are gods gift. Florence Nightingale would be positively turning in her grave with the state of our hospitals, it's an absolute disgrace and I am seriously considering a different career because of this.
By: Jonny
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Chris - if patients don't deserve all the attention then who does?
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It is just a shame that relatives and patients believe that they deserve all of the attention.
Because of the debt, recession and general incompetence of upper management, patients and relatives are unable to accept that in some wards, they are essentially in a queue for their care.
I work on an stepdown unit for critical care.
Managers earning double my annual salary pcm, work frontline staff stupidly. They take away the staff meant for us because of budget cuts, make sure we get de-moralised by scathing patients and relatives, fed up with their so called care and then launch expensive questions and investigations to find out why the nursing staff have been complained about.
Told the truth, they deny that they have no managment ability and ignore it, instead, blaming us.
Look at the bigger picture boys and girls.
Because of the debt, recession and general incompetence of upper management, patients and relatives are unable to accept that in some wards, they are essentially in a queue for their care.
I work on an stepdown unit for critical care.
Managers earning double my annual salary pcm, work frontline staff stupidly. They take away the staff meant for us because of budget cuts, make sure we get de-moralised by scathing patients and relatives, fed up with their so called care and then launch expensive questions and investigations to find out why the nursing staff have been complained about.
Told the truth, they deny that they have no managment ability and ignore it, instead, blaming us.
Look at the bigger picture boys and girls.
+2
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Some, and I mean some frontline staff should have never been recruited. They have poor communication skills, are extremely lazy, arrogant and with attitude problems. I watched a relative in Intensive care post heart bypass being treated badly by Intensive care nurses! I was absolutely mortified by their resentment at working and wondered why they had applied for such a sensitive and specialist job. Sick patients are in intensive care because they're nearing death (and I am stating the obvious here) but being treated with contempt by some nasty and lazy frontline nurses. Having complained about their bad behaviour, my relative was ignored and disrespected by other nurses in other departments. Clearly they'd been spreading nasty comments. It took confrontation with a Consultant, indirect threats and raised voices to humble them quickly.... I am outraged and saddened by the state of our NHS and think of those who have no-one to defend them at such vulnerable times.
-3
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NHS exploded! - 22-Nov-10 20:46
"After a number of hospital stays by my mum, dad and myself I can honestly say that there are too many nursing staff for whom actual nursing care is simply beneath them.
I won't go into to many details, but I know that bad care ki11ed my father - my mother almost died due to the same negligence (in the same hospital but different ward) and I was left in agony and bleeding for hours after major surgery in a half empty ward when staff ignored my beeper and continued chatting at the nurses' station (I could see them from my bed).
If I could afford private I would use it - I never ever want to experience that again.
Lots of good nurses - but it is a lottery and they are not always on duty."
Same here. All the same happened to me.
I won't go into to many details, but I know that bad care ki11ed my father - my mother almost died due to the same negligence (in the same hospital but different ward) and I was left in agony and bleeding for hours after major surgery in a half empty ward when staff ignored my beeper and continued chatting at the nurses' station (I could see them from my bed).
If I could afford private I would use it - I never ever want to experience that again.
Lots of good nurses - but it is a lottery and they are not always on duty."
Same here. All the same happened to me.
+2
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After a number of hospital stays by my mum, dad and myself I can honestly say that there are too many nursing staff for whom actual nursing care is simply beneath them.
I won't go into to many details, but I know that bad care ki11ed my father - my mother almost died due to the same negligence (in the same hospital but different ward) and I was left in agony and bleeding for hours after major surgery in a half empty ward when staff ignored my beeper and continued chatting at the nurses' station (I could see them from my bed).
If I could afford private I would use it - I never ever want to experience that again.
Lots of good nurses - but it is a lottery and they are not always on duty.
I won't go into to many details, but I know that bad care ki11ed my father - my mother almost died due to the same negligence (in the same hospital but different ward) and I was left in agony and bleeding for hours after major surgery in a half empty ward when staff ignored my beeper and continued chatting at the nurses' station (I could see them from my bed).
If I could afford private I would use it - I never ever want to experience that again.
Lots of good nurses - but it is a lottery and they are not always on duty.
+5
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you ought to have explore other nurses view about university education in nursining.
+7
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Registered Community Nurse (...and loving it)
First Port of Call.....address the ward manager/ team leader with your concerns.
According to the NMC you have a duty, as with every other staff nurse, to educate and assist student nurses in their learning and development. Therefore you should be quite able to help change this very lazy approach that these student nurses have adopted. The hospital that I trained at was extremely strict with students, sometimes a good thing sometimes bad. But we had to chip in and take care of the patients utilising a holistic approach.
You are able to make changes to this.......but at the same time this needs to be dealt with in the right manner. Do not come accross angry to the students......
......Because after all they are our future at the end of the day.........teach them well !!!!!
First Port of Call.....address the ward manager/ team leader with your concerns.
According to the NMC you have a duty, as with every other staff nurse, to educate and assist student nurses in their learning and development. Therefore you should be quite able to help change this very lazy approach that these student nurses have adopted. The hospital that I trained at was extremely strict with students, sometimes a good thing sometimes bad. But we had to chip in and take care of the patients utilising a holistic approach.
You are able to make changes to this.......but at the same time this needs to be dealt with in the right manner. Do not come accross angry to the students......
......Because after all they are our future at the end of the day.........teach them well !!!!!
+4
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Victoria Louise Armstrong - 27-Apr-10 15:56
Battered Nurse - "I believe that is why nursing assistants are hired. To assist the nurse. Please get a clue. Florence lived in a different time. Go back there if you want to."
You're right. Nursing Auxiliarys were hired to assist the nurses, not do the patient care for them!.
Still, at the end of the day, it is the Nurse that is ultimately responsible for the patients care or lack of. *sigh of relief*
You're right. Nursing Auxiliarys were hired to assist the nurses, not do the patient care for them!.
Still, at the end of the day, it is the Nurse that is ultimately responsible for the patients care or lack of. *sigh of relief*
+1
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As far as I can see Nursing has gone the same way as schools it is all about getting the statistics for the goverment right ,people do not matter and let us face it the people who pass all these bills can all afford private health care they will not have to suffer there parents dying from C dif because of the discusting state of the hospitals, they take the cheapest tenders for cleaning and then spend millions paying out for claims, it is time cleaners took exams and a recognised one not a day cource with a certificate and then when our cleamers were recognised as professionals the stigma to what is probably one of the most important jobs in the hospital would be recognised and professionally trained cleaners would do a good job and if this combined with nurses and doctors putting on clean uniforms when they get to work that have been hygeincally cleaned and not worn to and from work picking up all sorts of germs on the way we could probably have a safer system of health care.
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T.James
I am seriously worried about you bedside manner you don't appear to have one..
I am seriously worried about you bedside manner you don't appear to have one..
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I reentered nursing after many years away. I see a huge difference between the nursing of then and now. I do not think it is the education so much as the hospitals making money more important than the patient care. In every occupation there have always been employees who will sit and do little work, while others never stop. I think the idea of the work ethic is very different today than it used to be too. At any rate, nurses need to support each other as opposed to beating each other up-- definitely a female thing.
+8
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Oh god another nurse who hates students. Oh we love those friendly nurses. You do something well and on your own- they hate you for being stuck up, you ask them something - they hate you for being ignorant. You do your placement, keep your head down and vow never to work there when you qualify.
+7
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I am a qualified nurse for 3 years now, quiet often I am the only trained for 22 patients on the ward (the same for the other qualified nurses on the ward), this could be me alone with 3 HCA's so with all the medication,phones, doctors,dressings etc that I have to deal with already I do 8+ dependent patients with an HCA I feel guilty if I do not do any basic patient care.It is the patients that suffer at the end of the day,but matron or ward manager who sit on their backsides everyday doing nothing come down and look through all the assessments and give out saying they are not updated and record keeping is crap,so im finding it difficult to know whats more important patient care or documentation,the choices seem to be neglect patients and catch up on paperwork or give proper patient care and risk losing your pin number because you had not got time to document properly. It is a no win situation or it means staying an extra 2 hours catching up with paperwork that you do not get paid for.I think matron should come down and work on the ward help out if he/she knows the ward is short staffed.More staff on the wards would solve alot of issues and more doctors,nurses would be alot happier and less stressed then : )
+6
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Oh shut up you are the one doing the moaning you idiot
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Florence Nightingale may well be turning in her grave because of the state of NHS hospitals, and some patients are going to theirs for the same reason! The root cause is the same as with other public services that have deteriorated - politicians, who rarely need those services, meddling themselves or letting accountants dictate to the service professionals.
+5
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I am a nursing student and I am dropping out due to the pressure of the theory part of it. My university has adopted a new course which I am not afraid to admit I struggle with. I joined nursing knowing that I had the correct attitude and the perfect personality for it, it's what I've always wanted to do. Lecturers, teachers, friends, family and colleagues all say I am very mature and steady for my age - I am 18. The physical side of nursing I can cope with and enjoy very very much. Caring for people is my nature, and I love the experience of caring for different people with different problems, seeing the difference you can make to their lives and improving their quality of life in any way possible. This is what appealed to me in nursing. A long winded theoretic view which is "required" now for all new nurses is what I cannot deal with. The stress and pressure I have been under to present essays of common sense in the highest academical level possible, (which isn't possible at times and often sounds silly) has been extreme. I have became a nervous wreck of an 18 year old who instead of enjoying the career shes always wanted to do, struggles because of the theory part which nurses half qualified without for years. I hope I'm not the only one on my course who feels like this. I am totally gutted about dropping out but that kind of pressure is far too much for me to deal with when the patient requires care not an advanced explanation of every single little detail. This is why the hospitals are in the state they are in, because the NHS is now becoming more theory based when all it has ever been is hands on. Back to the old matrons and sisters, the hands on being the main focus, then I'll be the nurse I always wanted to be. Afterall, if we wanted to be the more knowledgeable, then we would be doctors or scientists.
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Some of these comments are utterly unbelievable! Looks like a hell of a lot of nurses want to go back to a system where we are thought of as nothing more than a doctor's handmaid, well I for one certainly don't think so...I am also one of these university trained 'lazy, good for nothing' nurses that so many of you speak of. I did a degree, not a diploma at university and I did NOT get a bursary. I worked 3 evenings a week in a bar and every day of my holidays in a nursing home, just to make ends meet. I have been qualified thee years and as I work in neuro I do every aspect of patient care as we rarely have auxillary nurses (who are unsung heroes in my opinion!) there are a lot of young uni nurses on my ward and we are the ones who work hard - the older generation of nurses sit at the desk and slag off the uni students who I feel for. I was far more stressed as a student than I am now - coming to work as well as having the pressures of maybe 2 or 3 assignments, exams and most likely a second or even third job is something a lot of the older nurses have no clue about. I don't understand why we can't all just work together as surely we are in the job for the same reasons; providing excellent patient care and making a difference?!
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Sick of hearing about the nurses pay and conditions, the pay is excellent and the conditions are the same for all who work in the NHS. Many nurses work hard and deserve the pay, but there are also those who are happy to take the pay but do not want to work for it or feel that nursing assistants are there to help the poor nurses who just cannot cope with the work they chose to do. If its so bad, leave and do something else but for heavens sake stop complaining all the damn time, its soooo very boring to hear.
+1
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Jonny's anger is miss placed at nurses. It should be turned on to the bean counters who got in to health care in the 90's after getting laid off from there jobs. Most nurses I believe are there because they want to do the right thing. It is this business model that has gotten us into trouble. I am sorry if I can must pick what is a priority as an RN it is to make sure my patients get there meds, treatments, followed by the mountain of charting, and family interactions, and Dr. orders. Forgive me if I do not get to laundry and linens. I believe that is why nursing assistants are hired. To assist the nurse. Please get a clue. Florence lived in a different time. Go back there if you want to.
+13
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Battered Nurse - 15-Apr-08 04:54
Yes a lot of student nurses do struggle to make ends meet, however the bursary is higher than any other course, so it attracts the wrong type of people into the NHS who have had a braincell then it would be dangerous, get rid of the managers I say as it is them who are bringing the NHS down, one I saw recently got a 100K pay-off, of OUR money which could have been used for much needed resources.
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