I verbally abused a patient who wanted to hit me. I have always advocated for my patients. We had an ice strom here, lost my house, car and pole barn.  they came and got me to work, extra shifts,short handed staff. e.t.c...

I started nusring 4 years ago.  Always short handed in any facility, administrators cuttting staffing, working up to 60 patients in nursing homes.  Praying my aides are watching closely and "that no one falls!"

My patient was physically abusing her roomate, I re-directed her to her chair and brought the patient to the nurse's station.   The pateint reared back to slap me, I stated we don't hit1 That was assault and battery, than I said if you hit me maybe a jail cell would benefit you. The patient backed down.

I was ashamed of myself.  I genuinely cared for this person.  Previously tried to get the primary MD to re-evalaute the patients medication which he would'nt, nor the patient's psychiatrician MD.

I have been hurt before in this facility, my $350.00 glasses broken and the previous administrator refused to replace,  I had to wear sunglasses until I could afford new glasses.

I have since quit nursing, gotten counseling and have no desire to return to nursing.  I have always wanted to be a nurse since I got burned a 10 years old.  I worked hard for my license and the priveledge to work as a nurse, but the work load and responsibility is not worth any amount of money.

Does any one think wounds heal and I might return to nursing or just move on?  I miss the satisfaction of helping people but not the workload, being mistreated by administrators by cutting staffing, for the profits!

Any saged advicce ou there?

Thanks for listening!

You did nothing wrong in trying to defend yourself from abuse.  It just seems like you are suffering from some type of PTSD because of such an abusive environment you had to deal with.  Not all places are as bad as the one you left. 

Give it some time and when you are ready, just look into a different speciaty.  Maybe an ambulatory clinic or doctor's office would be a less abusive environment.  Even school nursing or community health would be less stressful from what you describe.

But, no matter what you decide to do, do not ever think that anyone has the right to treat you like you were treated in the place you had described.

LTC is very stressful and draining. I was an LPN, and had sworn I'd never work in a LTC facility b/c of the understaffing. When I became an RN I took a position as an ADON. The facility was well run, and the staff truly cared for their residents. I know that's rare, and I was lucky.

LPN's can get jobs in clinics, and hospitals. I did just about every area of nursing that I could as an LPN. Continue your education, and maybe get on PRN with a hospital while you finish school. That's what I did.The hospital was great about working my schedule around school.