Nursing, not for babies

In 2005 I entered the nursing arena believing I would make a huge difference in the lives of those I would take care of. The difference was laid out upon me. As a male I expected to get picked upon and possibly even some jokes made. I never expected a female to cuss me out over asking her to sign the narcotics book when we finished the count (that is a state requirement in that case). She had her outburst in an all male locked down psychiatric unit. As she slammed doors and cussed the residents came to the window to see if they could help me, I ask them to remain calm and go to their rooms. I wrote a letter of complaint to my Director of nursing. She laughed and tossed the letter aside stating, "nursing isn't for babies." I am glad to tell you, neither of these women are working in the field. Incompetence seems to run rampant. On another occasion, another female nurse decided she could physically smack me in the face when I asked about an IV medication and if the resident had received the dose, after the resident told me they never got the lunch dose. In that state I simply picked up the phone called the police and filed assault charges. She too is no longer working in the field. My car became a victim of an angry nurse who was caught on video at the hospital I worked. All these crazy women yelling they were the victim when after investigation I was the real victim. I have survived by documentation, and lucky for me video with sound recordings were made at the companies I worked. I keep telling myself I will stop working in the field because there are some really sick people that work in nursing. And they won't get help. There are the ones who won't give the medications as ordered, the ones who can't seem to put in a note for the shift they worked. The ones who constantly call off but are above reproach because their closest friend is the Director of nursing. The ones who are having sex with the doctors so they can get them to write a prescription. Nurses who will not wash their hands or use PPE (personal protective equipment) as directed. Nurses who scream, cry and yell at residents and other staff when they are frustrated and over whelmed. I have seen more violence in nursing than my fifteen years in construction and not just from nurses. I worked on a cardiac unit when male doctor exploded on a nurse. He scared the residents so badly two began to have cardiac issues. The nurse began crying and had to leave the floor she did not return. I approached the male doctor and told him to shut up and real it in. I was a nursing assistant at that time. I got wrote up and told he was wrong and so was I because I was not his equal. I'm sorry, did I fall into a vacuum of screwed up personalities? I thought the NCLEX was tough. To be fair I have worked with some fantastic nurses and doctors. They are the ones I aspire to be like. Yet, I still here those words "nursing isn't for babies."