When I worked at my RN jobs in hospitals I got my hand slapped more than a few times. These incidents had nothing to do with breaching the standard of care or doing my nursing job. Instead, I was slapped down for being too mouthy and opinionated about patient rights and about doing the right thing for my patients. I felt like one of those moles in a whack-a-mole game. Every time I stuck my head up for a patient – you guessed it.
I felt like I was being punished for caring and trying to excel, while the RNs who kept their heads down and treated nursing as just another job, breezed through their day. And their lack of effort gained them the same lousy raise I got. Not exactly inspiring if you know what I mean. I knew I couldn’t be that head-down, no effort, just doing my job type of RN and that’s one of the main reasons I stepped out to start my legal nurse consulting business.
Consulting with attorneys on medical-related cases, I felt as though I had been freed. Even when I disagreed with my attorney-clients, I didn’t experience the backlash of administration or supervisory negativity. Just the opposite – attorneys encouraged the dialogue and seemed to like a little bit of sparring. I loved being an entrepreneur, I loved my legal nurse consulting business and I loved the intellectual stimulation of discussing cases with attorneys.
Before I left my last RN job at the hospital I thought I wouldn’t work nearly as hard owning my own business. Turns out I was wrong – even today I probably work harder than I ever did in any of my RN jobs. But I’m not just surviving, I’m thriving because I am free to express my thoughts without punishment. Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone; some people just don’t want to work that hard and that’s a good thing for those of us who aren’t afraid of hard work.
The hard work I can handle and have handled for 32 years. Censorship and being suppressed for trying to do the right thing – that’s a deal-breaker for me. Just surviving as an RN ain’t going to cut it for me. How about for you? Thriving or just surviving another day on the unit?
I’m Just Askin’
P.S. Comment and share if you are thriving or just surviving as an RN.
