You think nurses have it easy, huh

Unless you are a nurse or living with someone who is a nurse or have spent lots of time in the hospital, it is hard to know what it really means to be a nurse. People say, "Oh, you are sooo lucky to be in a job that is in such high demand and you can get a job anywhere and you must make soo much money." I say spenf half a day in my shoes and you will say something completely different.

Myth: "You are lucky to be in a job that is in high demand."
Reality check: Because the job is in high demand and you can get a job anywhere means that there are SHORTAGES EVERYWHERE. Which means at your job you are doing 2-3 people's workload on most days, which translates into overworked underpaid nurses who are burnt out. Does that make us lucky? I think not.

Myth: "You make so much money."
Reality check: If we nurses are making so much money, why do we have to constantly put in extra hours just to pay our mortgages and bills? How come many of us are still driving used cars? How come many of us have to find second jobs?

Despite, I am proud of the fact that I am a nurse. I feel thankful that I am blessed to be able to take care of people and help them breathe easier. I love getting to know people from different backgrounds, jobs, life experiences, families and learning from them. I enjoy empowering patients to take better care of themselves. However, I feel that nurses today are so overloaded that they come home mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically exhausted. Days off are spent recuperating and thinking about all the things we could not get done and wish we could have done better. Taking care of yourself and nurturing the nurse is very important...

So when you think nurses have it soooo easy, think again.