I had dinner with a friend last week who like many of my other friends asked me the ever present question, when are you going to retire. I put on that candy striped uniform at 13, Nurse’s Aide at 17, and hit the floors in white complete with my cap at 21. Being a nurse is the only thing I have ever wanted to do. I have no regrets. It’s an incredibly difficult profession and how you navigate through your career is truly important and all on you. If you work for a hospital, especially in bedside care you will be paid at a higher rate but work under awful conditions. You will also get the best experience with the most variety of cases and you will have a lot of opportunities to move around into different specialties and be constantly learning. Nursing however is the greatest career choice if you want diversity. You can go anywhere in the world and get a job. You can change specialties every couple of years. We are constantly in demand and this is the most important part of the puzzle. As long as we are in demand, we will gain greater control. If we can get together as a group (not talking union here), we have the power to demand better. If you don’t feel you are being treated with respect, working in a safe environment, are able to do your work effectively, then quit and find another job. The absolute worst thing you can do is stay in a job where you feel awful about how you are being treated and expect that it’s going to change. It’s never going to change, it’s only going to get worse. Get out, find another job, leave your current department or your employer. Stop being afraid of change.

Hi Debbie, I loved your heartfelt story and am so sorry that you had to write it, that nursing has been that way. I shared it to my Facebook post and added this..... " Yep, same age range as nurse in this article. And yes, everything she says is true. Of course, I went into travel nursing long ago, so never had this "nice meal" at a country club... can't imagine that happening at any of the hospitals in my state. And NOW, I challenge all you millennials to get off your cellphones playing Candy Crush or any other games, and FIX the system !!! You have so much extra time that I and others of my time never had, then FIX NURSING !!! It shouldn't be this way... we should only leave our home jobs for fun and to travel, not because of the $$ and hardships at our "home" hospitals. Not right.... in my time, we nurses have become NOBODIES unless you have an entire alphabet of initials after your name and RN. All of those letters should instead have equated to FIXING NURSING !!! PLEASE!!!! " Take care, Patty Gauthier, RN, Florida

Hi Debbie, I loved your heartfelt story and am so sorry that you had to write it, that nursing has been that way. I shared it to my Facebook post and added this..... " Yep, same age range as nurse in this article. And yes, everything she says is true. Of course, I went into travel nursing long ago, so never had this "nice meal" at a country club... can't imagine that happening at any of the hospitals in my state. And NOW, I challenge all you millennials to get off your cellphones playing Candy Crush or any other games, and FIX the system !!! You have so much extra time that I and others of my time never had, then FIX NURSING !!! It shouldn't be this way... we should only leave our home jobs for fun and to travel, not because of the $$ and hardships at our "home" hospitals. Not right.... in my time, we nurses have become NOBODIES unless you have an entire alphabet of initials after your name and RN. All of those letters should instead have equated to FIXING NURSING !!! PLEASE!!!! " Take care, Patty Gauthier, RN, Florida

I feel your pain - no one can possibly understand unless they were in our shoes. Someone once said that even heroes have a right to bleed. That's us.