Nurses Burning Out & Boundary-Less
Nurses across various specialties and experience levels express a deep sense of being undervalued and overwhelmed. This manifests as frustration with superficial recognition, inadequate support, and a lack of genuine appreciation from both hospital administration and external businesses. The emotional toll of the job, combined with perceived inequities and limited resources, contributes to burnout and cynicism.
SOURCES (60)
“Apologize??? What in the ever loving fuck. Sorry grandma that you dug your poop encrusted fungus nails into my arm, I shouldn’t have approached you so carelessly with your meds. Sorry pops that I tried preventing you from getting up from your chair and falling…”
“No! And please don't. I was charging and called a nurse, he answers and grunts as he's talking to me. I'm like... Are you in the toilet? Yeah. WTF‽ Why did you answer?? You're my charge, I have to answer! No!! You really don't! Call me back! 🤦🏼♀️”
“Just accidentally bleached my purple scrub pants and I’m in mourning but I got a good laugh out of this.”
“lol! I was wearing an N95 in my COVID patient’s room and she told me that I looked pitiful in my mask. I said, “ma’am, you have COVID”.”
“Bold stance to have for the folks wiping your ass judgment free. Don’t come to my hospital; even our physicians are tatt’d”
“That is pretty much how it was done at the two different hospitals worked at where they adopted bedside report.”
There’s a lot of walking in nursing. I average 7+ miles a day
“I can’t stand that! Having tattoos, uniquely colored hair, or even piercings has absolutely zero to do with whether you’re a good nurse or not!”
“I feel like coworkers would resent having to cover your class every day. I understand your delimma though. My youngest would not take a bottle either. It was very frustrating.”
“find me @ 3 am chowing down on a pork bun given to me by a 58 year old RN who ive never met because we're in different float pools but i have decided i would die for and YES it always feels so cursed when they call in!!”
“Oh they did. But it was nothing compared to what I would have said. I am grateful they took care of it. I don't think I could have been professional”
“My manager brings ice cream sandwiches once a week. A little thing, but man those are good”
“Not always. Ours is electronic, so you can fill it out from home. It also opens in a series that rotates. Team A gets the first chance one 6 week period, Group B the next 6 week period, etc.”
“I feel like there's so much untapped potential here. I just want my shifts to be more efficient! submitted by /u/talkinglikeajerk [link] [comments]”
“For context, I work nights in skilled nursing. My tote arrived and my bf (non medical) said I should’ve put A&O x4…. but that’s the joke. He said people will think it’s stupid. What do you think? submitted by /u/Mystic_Marceline [link] [comments]”
“sometimes you just had to throw it away.. yes, I also want to get rid of my OR scrubs too”
“My wife's a peds nurse and she says it never fully goes numb, you just learn to carry it differently, she writes a short note about each kid in a journal after shift, nothing clinical, just what made them laugh or what stuffed animal they had, and somehow that makes the weight feel more like a purpose than just pure ache”
“Wait you’re throwing scrubs out? On shift? Not even attempting to take home and wash? That is an extremely expensive habit”
“I get an unpaid 30 mins and paid 15. That is pretty standard for the hospital systems in my area. I can also take more breaks if needed. My work is volume based and has to be completed by the end of my eight hours. Nothing carries over to the next day.”
“ok so I have been an ER nurse for more than 10 years now and I change my scrubs way more than people think. some shifts I straight up change in the middle of it because of "you know what" happened that day in the ER. I can't even touch it again or bringing it home. so gettin scrubs every couple of months that bugs me how much a decent set costs now, like more than jeans money for two pieces of fabric. is it actually that much or that just for branding and stuffs? anyone else in the”
“I just wanted to send a thank-you from the basement dwellers <3 You guys are the front line of patient care, and fill in the gaps for every task that isn’t specifically part of someone else’s job description. Every time one of yall comes downstairs and tells me what’s going on up there, I’m grateful to be in a secluded area where all the biohazard materials are domesticated (in tubes) and my biggest concern is turnaround time. Thank you on behalf of all those who don’t realize how much you ta”
“Six months in and I've consumed an embarrassing amount of free food that just appears in the break room. Someone on nights always leaves those little cheese and cracker packs. Day shift has an unspoken rule that whoever gets the last of the coffee makes a new pot or faces social exile. There's a nurse on my unit who brings in homemade tamales every time she picks up an extra shift, and at this point I think half the staff signs up just because of that. It got me thinking about how much o”
“I started in healthcare before oatient satisfaction surveys and I will die on the hill that its a crock of 💩, it has only been negative and empowered stupidity”
“Hi! I’m a new resident in family medicine, and the nurses in my clinic have been absolutely amazing and so incredibly helpful to me and all of my co-residents during our orientation, so we want to get them something to thank them for their support! For context there are about 15 nursing/MAs/techs who work in the office, all females 30+. So far I’m thinking of getting: - 2 dozen donuts from this local place that just opened and went kinda viral. -a cut fruit platter - drinks? Maybe coffee? Maybe”
“Can a nurse almost always have the 6 days on 8 days off schedule. Like this: Friday - Saturday - Sunday:work Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday:work All the other days off submitted by /u/Quirky_Paper9541 [link] [comments]”
“Ah okay I see where you were going with it. Yes gotta look at the total compensation / "blended rate"!”
“we have a pin but it’s so easy I imagine the first person to actually try will get it.”
“I think OP is talking about the SVT shirt 😅 but I do indeed wear masks when cleaning stinky patients up, partially so they don't see my stank face.”
The catholic hospitals I worked at since do not. The irony.
“I’ve run into a surprising number of people that are much higher levels in medicine referring to themselves as first responders. Haha I just can’t wrap my mind around it. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but only 911 medics/EMT’s are actually first responders. We already make significantly less why do you want to take our title too? 😂 submitted by /u/stoicturtl [link] [comments]”
“What are some objects you guys can’t look at the same because of work?? I’m a nurse in a level 2 trauma ER & was thinking about objects I will never be able to look at again without associating them with something that had to do with a patient of mine whether it be sad, funny, tragic, or just mind-blowing. For example some things that I see and automatically think about an event in my nursing career are: -Red Crayola markers -Laundry detergent -Monster Energy drink cans -Scrub Daddy’s -Hand”
“Including by colleagues! NP in my office ordered a UA for a MyChart message complaining of dysuria. It doesn’t get done until the next day when the NP is now out of clinic. This UA lands in my lap with the demand for treatment by MyChart. I’ve never seen this patient or performed an assessment. Yet I’m somehow being pressured including by MD/DO colleagues that the right thing to do here is “just smooth things over” Since when do we work for free??? submitted by /u/FallGuyPigeonSkin [”
That’s pretty on par with the ED at my place (unionized) :/
“I do not want kids because of this, although there are many other reasons as well. I’ve briefly worked in L&D, and have experiences in both mother baby & NICU. I get that it’s not common and we always see the worst of it all, but how could u see a traumatic birth and think yea i wanna do that?? Like im talking placental abruption, full DIC, pulmonary embolism, 3-4 degree tear, placental retention, PPH, and for babies shoulder dystocia, HIE, extreme premature birth, NEC, CP.. I guess for”
“Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to get some opinions on a job opportunity I've been offered. I currently work three 12-hour shifts a week and was recently offered a flu clinic nursing contract that pays about $1,600 per week—almost $2,000 more per month than I'm currently making. The schedule would be five 8-hour shifts per week, and the clinic is about 45 minutes from my house each way. The positives are that I'd be making more money and getting a break from”
“I did actually speak to that nurse, first. She was apologetic and told me she was following the facility protocol (I totally understand that). I asked her what she would need to make it available for me to get up and pee without a babysitter, and she told me it would need to be a doctor's order; hence my conversation with the hospitalist the next morning where I asked him if he felt comfortable writing the order to keep my bed alarm off, since I was A&Ox4, and entirely capable of managin”
“PACU. I’ve never worked with people this entertaining and interesting. I could write a book on all the characters who work there. A large majority of them are just holding out till retirement so there is no egos, no drama, and no trauma . So different from the floor . The patients come out silly goosie sometimes too . Occasionally you get one who is off their rocker as they wake up but at least you know you don’t have to spend a full 12 hour shift with them so it’s okay.”
“Hot take… but in my experience, often times the people who obsess over getting every single detail in report lack critical thinking skills. It’s not always, but it’s often.”
“I’m type A as a nurse and otherwise, but I definitely don’t care about a long ass report. Just tell me what’s gonna kill them fastest and anything you didn’t get to. I’ll figure the rest out pretty quickly lol”
“I definitely get the impression that it is a ymmv situation. I have patients tell me that they have a better experience at our clinic compared to other cancer centers in the area. I do work between multiple locations in a system, and one is definitely more whimsical than the others so culture variations across systems does make sense to me. Additionally (at least in my experience) most of us try to do our best at reading the room or complementing a patient's energy. Some patients may not wan”
“This has the same vibe as the old man who asked me after personal care tasks "do your parents know youre here doing this?" Homie idk where you think here is but I know youre not judging me with your danglers in the breeze 😂”
“Couldn’t agree more. Tl1 sicu and if you see me coming just know that I want you out of there, home and in bed as soon as possible. I got it from here.”
“at my current hospital, we get full report (or at least as full as the ED can😂) it's helpful that i work in a specialized pediatric area where most of our patients we've known since birth. BUT i came from adult med surg where we only got "pt is 76yoF here with CHF exacerbation" from the house sup, not even the ED 😂 figuring it out as we go 😂”
“school nursing mate. got a mate from uni who went straight into it and his biggest stress is confiscating vapes and dealing with fake tummy aches. he wears daft socks every day and his office looks like a craft shop threw up in it. no nights or weekends either so his social life didn't die like everyone else on our course. doesn't pay as much as the hospital gigs but he reckons the trade off in sanity is massive. the kids are brutal in a funny way and he's never once had to hold pres”