Business Insider asked new nurses nationwide to share the most difficult aspects of their job.
Here are seven noteworthy responses, as compiled byBusiness Insider:
1.Losing patients. "Seeing those patients you took care of die and how devastating it is to the family" is the hardest part, a nurse from Oklahoma city told Business Insider.
2.Being judged for their career choice. "It is often hard to explain to people what we do," one nurse from Pennsylvania said. "There is a notion that I'm 'just a nurse,' and I struggle to explain to people that this is what I want. No, this is not a step to medical school. No, I never thought about being a [physician assistant]. I am a nurse, and I am proud of that."
3. Working long hours. For a Wisconsin nurse, the hardest part of the job is dealing with the "total mental, emotional and physical exhaustion by the end of a shift … then getting up to do it all over again six hours later."
4. Experiencing physical/verbal abuse. A licensed practical nurse in Florida said it's difficult to deal with the "lack of respect and verbal/physical abuse from families, management and fellow healthcare workers."
5. Navigating hospital politics. "Nursing has become more about politics," said one Iowa nurse. "That it isn't just about helping people, but about making a profit. Healthcare should not be for profit."
6. Using outdated or time-consuming technology. A Texas nurse said it's hard to "deal with all the technology that keeps us from actually providing hands-on care with the patient." She said EHRs require nurses to spend more time with a patient's chart than with the patient.
7. Feeling pressure to know everything. "Nurses have different specialties," said a Massachusetts nurse. "We don't know everything. But what we don't know, we research evidence-based information and educate ourselves."
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