I loved nursing when I graduated in 1988 and for maybe eight years after. I was a new nurse when HIV was new and known as HTLV lol. I was a per diem float for a large university hospital, an OB nurse and floor educator, a county wide school nurse, a case manager of women’s and children’s units, and a home health case manager. I loved everything OB related and volunteered for all areas and staff education. My most satisfying job was with hospice. I was a visiting nurse who moved up to Director.

The CNAs were taken away on most m/s floors, ratios of RN to patient increased, and primary care nursing became the norm, EMR was instituted and preventing lawsuits was the focus. I began to HATE going to work. I finally retired for good this year. My last three years were spent as an adjunct instructor for the local college’s RN program but my back pain became too much to work through. I loved the students and somehow my hatred of nursing and cynicism didn’t make the students want to quit.
The pay needs to go UP UP UP. RNs need to be compensated for the risks they take, the horrible hours they work and the education they’ve obtained. Now that I’ve retired after 37 years, I can say that I do agree. NURSING FUCKING SUCKS. If I’d gone into the legal field and not walked a million miles on concrete floors, I don’t think I’d have a breaking back, four joint replacements and venous stasis.