Hey everyone, I need some advice and a sanity check because I feel like I'm losing my mind on my unit.

​I work in an ICU where we are constantly short-staffed and doing mandatory overtime. I raised concerns to my manager about nurses taking group breaks unannounced, leaving me to cover 7–8 ICU patients alone. Nothing changed.

​Recently, a critical safety event happened. A nurse went into another patient's room without handing off or letting anyone nearby know. Meanwhile, her patient's Norepinephrine drip ran out, and the IV pump was alarming for about 5 minutes. The patient's BP dropped significantly. The charge nurse and I jumped in to help and replace the line. When the primary nurse finally came back, I told her, "Next time, please give a quick handoff to nurses nearby before stepping away."

​Instead of acknowledging the safety risk, she blew up at me and yelled, "Don't you EVER step into my patient's room again, even if an alarm goes off!"

​I was stunned. This wasn't personal drama—a patient literally decompensated because of neglect. So, I submitted an anonymous internal incident/safety report about the unmonitored Levophed runout and the lack of coverage/handoff culture.

​Instead of investigating the safety issue, my manager took a photo of the incident report and posted it directly into our unit's nurse group chat. She was furious and claimed that:

1) ​I didn't report it directly to her first.

2) ​"Peer conflicts" should not be put in incident reports.

​Since then, the nurses on my unit have been extremely hostile and mean toward me. On top of mandatory OT, I am emotionally exhausted and thinking about quitting on the spot.

​Isn't an empty Levo drip causing hypotension a clear patient safety issue, not just "peer drama"? Is it even legal/allowed for a manager to photo an anonymous safety report and blast it in a group chat to shame the reporter? Should I escalate this to Risk Management/HR, or should I just hand in my resignation and walk away?

​Any advice or perspective would be greatly appreciated.

A patient I had a few weeks ago came in with another family member yesterday (their dad came in a week before that for an ablation, we see all of them in the cath lab constantly) and he pulled me to the side and said "Hey so I think that needle from the IV you put in me three weeks ago is still inside my body. I am not sleeping well because I'm worried it's going to penetrate my heart." I explained no, theres needle in his body, I just wasn't able to advance the plastic catheter further and had to try another one in a different spot. The needle retracts and nothing is left in his body. "Ohhhhh ok, I really thought that when you said you missed the IV you meant you lost it inside my body. Well that makes me feel better thanks!"

You're welcome buddy, glad I didn't leave a needle inside your vein.

ER RN was fired from Trinity Health in Ann Arbor after showing a patient the exit after they wanted to leave AMA after a head CT. A man was brought in by ICE who claimed he tripped while fleeing and hit his head on the curb. His face was bloody when they brought him. After imaging, the nurse removed his IV as it was no longer needed and showed him the door near the ambulance bay. After review by security footage, the hospital fired her as there were no formal discharge orders. Charges are being brought against her for interfering with a criminal investigation.

I’ve been a nurse for 2.5 yrs so far, moved from Med surg to the ICU and been here for about 7 months thinking a change might help my mental .I love it so much ! But I realized that I’m still struggling. It doesn’t help that I rotate.
I’ve been struggling so badly that I am going to start IOP soon (intensive therapy) and currently on meds. I’m hoping that it helps, I love my job so much and I hate that it takes me so much to
do it. How do other depressed nurses do it?
Any tips?

Background: I completed my nursing degree and lived in a blue state for the last 10 years. Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to move back to the town I was born (a smaller >250,000k city). When I moved here I was afraid of how the patients would treat me but it has actually been my coworkers that are causing me to be uncomfortable.

I am having trouble connecting with my coworkers in the sense that I cannot believe some of the things they say. They frequently make comments about gay /transgender people “going to hell”, asking how I feel about them, horrible comments about POC, looking at patients addresses and saying they “are probably this way because they live on the bad side of town”, “God is my God, Trump is my president”, laughing at parents who CHOOSE to vaccinate their kids. I’m sure there are people like this everywhere (im sure even where I came from..but they wouldn’t dare say these things out loud) so I have never been around so many outright hateful people. I genuinely have only heard of people like this on TV. Everyone says you just “get used to it” but as a new grad who is trying to learn, it makes it hard when I don’t understand or want to understand the people I work with.

Should I quit and try to find a new unit…? I am afraid it might be like this at other hospitals in the area.

Eta: I do value their expertise within the field & know I can learn a LOT from them but at what cost?

I work in skilled care. We just had a resident who was ACTIVELY dying. He has been like this for about two weeks. I came in yesterday and apparently he is eating and talking.

He was all of the things. How does this happen?! Am I losing it? Have you ever seen this and how was that like?

One of the strangest things about bedside nursing is that the moment you finally sit down at a computer, everyone suddenly assumes you are available.

I can spend the previous two hours running between rooms, hanging meds, calling providers, answering families, dealing with admissions, helping someone to the bathroom, fixing whatever new disaster appeared at 14:07.

Nobody interrupts me while I'm visibly sprinting.

Then I sit down because I have six assessments, notes, education and approximately 900 tiny boxes left to document.

Within five minutes:

"Hey, since you're sitting..."

"Can you help me with something real quick?"

"Room 12's family has a question."

"Are you busy?"

And somehow saying "yes, I'm charting" still feels socially weaker than saying "yes, I'm in a patient room."

A coworker actually called it my "downtime" recently. Not maliciously. She genuinely meant the period when I wasn't physically doing a task at bedside.

But charting isn't what I do after nursing. It IS nursing work. If I don't document something, everyone suddenly becomes very interested in why it isn't documented.

I've also noticed I contribute to this myself. If I see another nurse sitting at a computer, my brain immediately labels them more interruptible than the nurse walking down the hall carrying supplies.

So I've been trying to stop doing that.

Unless something is urgent, I now ask, "Are you caught up enough for a quick question?" instead of assuming sitting equals free.

It sounds ridiculously small, but I think bedside culture sometimes punishes people for finally getting organized enough to sit down. If you're behind and running everywhere, everybody sees you're busy. If you've managed your shift well enough to chart before 18:45, congratulations: you look available for additional work.

Does your unit treat charting as actual protected work, or is sitting at the computer basically interpreted as the universal sign for "please give me another task"?

Fool proof phrases to use in your patient notes, admissions, discharges, etc?

Hi. OP onc nurse here. Had a patient for the first time today that was given blood labeled as incompatible. Called the blood bank and there is an entire protocol for administering. An order needs placed by the physician to acknowledge. I can’t remember what it said exactly, but something along the lines as the patient has some type or lacking some type of protein, and only about 5% on donated blood could be an exact match. I was on edge the whole time they were there, but they got through the transfusion with no trouble. Has anyone else witnessed this? No other nurses at my work, including managers, had seen this before.

i’m an LPN and was wondering if their associate in nursing program was legit. i plan to be an RN, to take my NCLEX-RN and it appears this is the “quickest” path to that.

however it seems that they’re ridiculously expensive (my tuition is covered through the military as i’m AD) and even then this program has random additional/unmarked fees i’d have to pay out of pocket for, almost $400 per semester. it’s an accelerated program being that i’m an LPN with medical military experience, and have a lot of general education requirements done.

i’m trying to consider if it’s worth it. and i’m not quite sure about the layout with clinical hours, or even normal coursework and how that works. if somebody has actually done this or knows about it and if they don’t regret it/would recommend it that would be great!

I'm looking for some opinions from fellow nurses, especially anyone who has been in a similar situation or has experience with nursing management.

A few months ago, I transferred internally to the Emergency Department at my hospital. During the hiring process, I discussed my scheduling needs with the hiring manager because I have a young child with a serious medical condition, and childcare can be challenging.

I was very upfront about the fact that I wanted to work in the ED but that night shift would not be sustainable for me long-term.

Typically, nurses in this department have to complete six months after orientation before being eligible to join the waitlist for day shift. However, the hiring manager specifically agreed to place me on the day-shift waitlist immediately upon hire, rather than making me wait the usual six months.

This was a significant factor in my decision to accept the position. I also have the agreement documented in emails.

Unfortunately, the hiring manager left shortly after I was hired, and we now have new leadership.

I recently reached out to my new manager to confirm that the original agreement would still be honored. During our conversation, I was told that my original waitlist date would NOT be honored because it "wouldn't be fair to other employees."

I completely understand the importance of fairness and consistency in scheduling policies. However, I also feel that it's unfair to change an agreement that was made during the hiring process, especially when that agreement influenced my decision to accept the position.

To clarify, I'm not asking to be moved to day shift immediately or to jump ahead of anyone already on the waitlist. I'm simply asking that the original date I was placed on the waitlist be honored.

I also requested some flexibility with my schedule because I consistently work every Saturday and Sunday and have difficulty arranging childcare on Fridays. I asked whether an exception could be considered regarding the requirement to work every third Friday.

I genuinely enjoy working in the ED and want to stay in this department. I'm not trying to create conflict with management, but I also feel like I should be able to advocate for an agreement that was made in writing.

I'm torn because I don't want to start off on the wrong foot with new leadership, especially in a department where I hope to stay long-term.

My questions are:

1. Am I being unreasonable for expecting the original agreement to be honored?
   
2. Is it common for new nursing leadership to disregard agreements made by previous managers?
   
3. Would you escalate this to HR or higher nursing leadership, or would you let it go to avoid damaging your relationship with your manager?
   
4. How would you approach this professionally without coming across as difficult?

I'd really appreciate some honest perspectives from other nurses!

I went to shadow at a potential job yesterday, it went well. I haven’t gotten an official offer yet but we seem to be going in that direction. I think they called my hospital I’m currently at because I got a text from my manager asking if we could “chat”. I’ve never explicitly told them I’m trying to leave but I’ve definitely been open about being unhappy and wanting to switch to day shift, which they keep pushing off because night shift is dropping like flies. It’s a little awkward. I’ve applied to a bunch of jobs and interviewed and shadowed but this is the first to actually contact my current employer lol. I’m interested to see what’ll happen. I’m tempted to not text her back and make them talk to me in person about it because why would a night shift nurse answer you to chat in the middle of the day before a shift…(yes I’m bitter about the way they treat us night shifters and contact us in the middle of the day and schedule meetings in the middle of the day) But they don’t stay past 3pm so that conversation will have to wait until next week when they make me stay late after a shift to “chat.”

I work on a telemetry floor as a new grad rn and have been thinking about this patient for a bit now. Male in his 60’s, A&Ox1-2, GCS 9. Family brought him in because he was showing signs of increasing weakness and LOA. I got in for night shift and all was going smoothly, same mentation as day shift, stable vital signs, no decreasing trends in BP or increase in HR.

Patient was distended and resident ordered NG tube insertion. After putting in NG tube I noticed bright red blood and notified resident to come and take a look, resident assessed patient and ordered stat H&H, leaving NG tube inserted as is confirmed by XR. Hgb above 7 so no transfusion per resident. I checked on the patient around 0445, vitals were still good, no bowel movement. Came back into the room around 05:30 and immediately smelled the GI bleed, patient lost color, lifted the covers and sure enough large bloody bm soaking the sheets. Blood pressure dropped, and called rapid response. Stat H&H came back at 4. Patient transferred to ICU.

I’d like to know from other more experienced nurses, what could I have done differently?

Hi, I’m a new grad and I don’t feel ready to be off orientation I’m not sure if it’s just anxiety, the unit being bad or I am really just not ready?
I just got a new grad job after a year of searching located in the East Coast in basically a skilled nursing facility. Prior to this I’ve had no cna or tech experience just my clinical experience and an outpatient internship. Starting this position I was worried I wouldn’t be able to know what to do since I haven’t worked with this patient population before and having a lot of pts are stressful and makes it hard to leave on time. I got off my orientation and I still don’t feel ready I already got more additional orientation days and my preceptors have said I’m good but that I’ll keep getting better but idk how trustworthy that is because I’ve had like 8 different ones with different teaching styles and some said I’ll need more time but others said it just takes time to get used to everything. There’s a lot of things I don’t know, am not sure about, don’t know how to use like doing certain orders and fully understanding how dialysis works. I haven’t been on my own yet and even on my off days I can’t stop thinking about work and how I’m going to mess up, what I’m going to forget, how I’m going to interact with the patient, family and staff. How certain things I’ll just have to answer with “idk” because I really don’t and I’ll forget to do certain things even with a checklist cause I’m not the fastest. I can’t sleep, eat, enjoy time with my family because I’m constantly worried I’ll mess up somehow. Nursing here is kind of scary cause I could mess up and lose my license so I am always trying my best to do the best with the resources I have and the fact that it is not unionized does not help. I hear from a lot of people that the anxiety is normal as a new grad and it takes like 6 months to a year to feel comfortable and also that not knowing something is okay but I worry cause these are sick patients with a lot of physical or neuro health problems so catching things like a stroke or a neuro change is very important. I am afraid I’ll be so caught up in trying to put in a certain order, fill out a mandatory flow sheet document, find a certain supply that I won’t be able to catch changes. There’s only 1 other nurse around and staff so I could always ask for help but there’s like no regular charge, ANS, manager nurse or I don’t notice the same staff so everyone is new all the time I see them, it’s hard to build a connection or ask for things. My anxiety is only getting worse with each day I’m almost on my own and I wanted to reach out and ask you all for your advice? I’ve thought about quitting but I don’t have that much experience and it’s already hard to find a job. If you do suggest finding another job, when is an appropriate time to quit (how many months?) and how should I go about it? Should I put in my two weeks? I’m constantly browsing around for other jobs but Is this much anxiety okay? What helped you get through your new grad anxiety and when did you feel ready to be on your own? Does it feel like it clicks somehow or it’s always a new day and a different thing every-time? Should I ask for more orientation days even though I already got more or this just me scared to be on my own?

I’m 6 years into bedside nursing and I’m so burnt out. Bedside’s been chaotic since COVID and I feel like there’s still no support for nurses and their workload. I’m on the younger side but I degraded my back so bad that I ended up needing spinal surgery, which became my last straw for bedside nursing.

I’m trying to explore non bedside nursing jobs that don’t require heavy lifting or lots of bending/twisting. I started looking at nurse educator, clinical research nurse, and clinical informatics but if there are any you want to recommend, please let me know your experience along with the pros/cons! I’m trying to not be picky with pay/salary but ya girl’s gotta pay her rent somehow :’)

Thank you in advance!

I’m 6 years into bedside nursing and physically and mentally exhausted. I’m on the younger side but I hurt my back so bad that I ended up needing spinal surgery, which became my last straw for bedside nursing.

I have my med-surg (CMSRN) and oncology (OCN) advanced certifications. I’m also ultrasound guided PIV certified. I’ve also been a clinical instructor for 3 years (but the pay isn’t great so I’d prefer not to do full time for that job).

I’m trying to explore non bedside nursing jobs that don’t require heavy lifting or lots of bending/twisting. I started looking at nurse educator, clinical research nurse, and clinical informatics but if there are any you want to recommend, please let me know your experience along with the pros/cons! I’m trying to not be picky with pay/salary but ya girl’s gotta pay her rent somehow :’)

Hey all,

I started work in 2020 as a new grad, burnt out hardcore and officially left nursing about 4 months ago. I took an extended break last year (about 7 months) to try and recover from burnout but I just never did.

I'm sure many here know the feeling of something just breaking inside them during COVID. At some point, I think in early 2025, it's like my brain snapped and I just stopped caring entirely. I felt no care or compassion towards any patient and I knew I had to step back immediately.

However, my empathy and compassion has not seemed to return. I hardly feel a thing towards family, friends, or anyone else I know who is going through a hard time. I've removed myself from a lot of situations I usually wouldn't in my personal life, and I've stopped supporting my family pretty much entirely. I just don't care anymore. And that is SO unlike me - I spent my whole life up until last year almost overflowing with empathy and compassion. I felt so deeply for people around me, I never had any issues putting myself in people's shoes. And now, like I said before, I just don't care. I want people to leave me alone. I hardly feel a thing if i hear about someone having a rough go of it in whatever capacity that may be. I have the bandwidth for interacting with and caring for about 3-4 close friends and that's it.

Anyone else who has gone through this? What would your advice be? Did you gain your compassion and ability to care for others and the world back?

Healthcare workers, if you could do it all over again, what career would you choose?

I’d love some advice from doctors, PAs, NPs, CRNAs, nurses, and anyone else working in healthcare.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to advance my education and make the most money possible without drowning in student debt. I genuinely enjoy patient care, so I don’t want to end up in a role where I’m sitting behind a desk all day unless I can still talk to patients. I’ve been a nurse for 12 years currently working in hospice and I love it. I truly love hospice work. I see what NPs make in hospice and I don’t know if it’s worth it?
Seeking advice.
I’m looking for the best balance of:
●. Great earning potential
● The least amount of additional schooling and debt possible
● Actually enjoying patient care
● A decent work-life balance
For those of you who have gone back to school or advanced your careers, was it worth it financially? Would you choose the same path if you could start over?
Are there any careers or specialties you think are underrated when it comes to income versus the time and money spent on education?
Tell me what you love, what you hate, and what you wish you’d known before choosing your path
If your goal was to advance your career, make great money, enjoy your job, and avoid as much student debt as possible, what would you do?

I have an upcoming interview with Elara Caring for a Clinical Team Manager position in the Midwest. Looking for honest reviews of the company, position, pay, benefits, etc.

All of my experience has been hospital-based, and I’ve been a nurse for 14 years. Getting older is becoming hard on my body, and bedside nursing just isn’t feasible anymore.

I cannot for the life of me understand how adults work this sloppy.

I am not talking about the “did not update the whiteboard” debacle, but truly leaving trash behind.
I get it, we all are busy, we all say “I will get back to it later” and we rarely do. I recognize we all are there at some point, but what sends me is how when I point this out, I get answers like “uh we are all busy, I do not understand how this is even a problem”.

That being said, I have witnessed my peers leaving computers unplugged and/or dead so that when the next shift is on they are unusable. On that note, there may be charged computers to about 60% sitting in the corner and my colleagues just takes the computer I was using without asking or bothering to bring it back.

People leaving broken/ dirty equipment in the hallways; half stocked shit and messy. Linen tossed alongside dirty diapers in the linen bin.
Needles left on the ground/ jn the bed.

Vitals done halfway and when we ask “hey did you happen to also record the temperature” I get an eye roll instead of “oh no/yes”.

We all are busy, but it truly takes two seconds to plug shit in, or to replace/return something. It makes the job easier for everyone 😭

I feel like I am on crazy pills.

I was on the interstate yesterday when a truck hauling a work trailer had a freak, single car accident literally right in front of me that blocked me in the right lane. Me and the other 2 cars that were blocked in the right lane bMgot out to check on the guy and call highway patrol. A solid 15 minutes after the accident, a random woman traveling in the other direction pulls over to the shoulder of the left lane on her side of the interstate, runs across the median, and then crosses 3 lanes of traffic to come up to us yelling 'I'm an RN!!!' with a hotmess bag of supplies on her shoulder. I was literally standing there, in my scrubs, dumbfounded. All I could get out was 'So am I and everyone's fine.'

Ya'll. DON'T DO THAT SHIT. DO NOT RUN UP ON ACCIDENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE WITH YOUR OLD BAG OF QUESTIONABLE SUPPLIES.