Nursing is a rewarding profession, but it comes with its share of daily challenges. We asked nurses to share the things that drive them up the wall—and they didn’t hold back. Here’s a candid look at what really gets under a nurse’s skin.
Top 10
- My hands feel like sandpaper from all the hand sanitizer I use nonstop.
- I’m tired of people assuming I became a nurse because I couldn’t handle medical school. This was my goal all along.
- Some patients treat me like a personal server. Sorry, but I can’t pause an emergency to fetch your third pudding cup.
- Friends and family think I’m their free health hotline, even when I’m off the clock.
- It’s frustrating when physicians brush off nurses, especially after we help them through their first years.
- People assume nurses earn big bucks. Try managing a chaotic floor while understaffed and underpaid.
- Rude or hostile family members who act like we’re invisible.
- Being challenged by someone who “read an article” and now thinks they’re a medical expert.
- Colleagues who take extra-long breaks and expect everyone else to cover for them.
- When a doctor tosses a chart on the floor and looks at you to pick it up.
Runners Up
- When people say “just a nurse” like that’s not enough.
- The constant short-staffing that somehow always becomes your problem.
- Patients who hit the call bell for things they can easily do themselves.
- Being expected to smile no matter how bad your day has been.
- Having to chart every tiny detail while still running a full load.
- Coworkers who call out right before shift change—again.
- When visitors sneak food to patients who are NPO.
- The phrase “it’s just a 12-hour shift” from someone who’s never worked one.
- No breaks, no lunch, but plenty of people asking for help.
- Equipment that never works when you need it most.
- People who assume nurses “only” give meds.
- Explaining the same discharge instructions three times because no one listened the first time.
- Having to act cheerful when you’re running on two hours of sleep.
- Constantly being told you’re “such an angel” when you’re actually just doing your job.
- Cleaning up bodily fluids… and then hearing people say nursing isn’t hard.
- When patients lie about pain levels just to get stronger meds.
- Being the emotional buffer between upset families and everyone else.
- Having to cover multiple patients because “budget cuts.”
- Watching upper management make decisions without ever stepping on the floor.
- Patients who rate your care poorly because the hospital food wasn’t good.