I used to feel for the 'underdogs', until the very 'underdogs' I
cared for, turned around and bit me, and became unruly and
unreasonable and just plain, downright ugly dogs. 
You'll soon see what I mean, firsthand.
Job Satisfaction has to come from within. External conditions
aren't going to help much. In my previous ward, the morale was
extremely low - high turnover rates were rampant, amongst those of
us who stayed, we were grouchy and grumpy and jaded, and we were
all constantly picked-upon by the nit-picking nursing officers, who
didn't help us much but rather, added on to our burdens and stress.
There was an atmosphere of distrust and, dare I say it,
dictatorship. 
And whilst we derived satisfaction from helping our patients
recover, or helping the relatives cope with impending death, we
weren't happy with the working conditions at all.
Things are better in my new ward. We have a better system of
management, and our Snr Nurse Mgr is a patient, caring and flexible
lady who really cares for her staff, so the atmosphere is much
breezier, everyone's happy at work, and even when we're busy, we
all roll up our sleeves, help each other out, and there's generally
a good working comaraderie. Of course, there's still the politics
and occasional back-biting and all that, but it's much much better,
compared to my previous ward. 
So, when it comes to our job satisfaction, I'll say it's really
dependant on the nursing management in the ward you're assigned to,
and your colleagues. 
Like you, the second question you asked continue to faze me. I've
even brought it up to a Nursing Director, "Isn't the Dept of
Nursing Admin alarmed by the increasingly high turnover rate every
year?" and you know what? She arrogantly dismissed me by boasting,
"If the nurses want to leave, go ahead! We can always get more
nurses!" I was 
. The stupidity of it
all! How much time, money, and resources are spent every year
training nurses?! And then, after their bond period, they leave,
and nobody's interested in doing anything to stem the outflow?!
Man, that defies wisdom! It's a violation of
every single common-sense HR guideline and what-not I know of!
But year after year, the same thing happens. The situation's
actually getting worse, but the public's none the wiser. The
statistics look 'ok', but we're on the ground level, we know.
Why do you think the nursing school needs to recruit up to 1,000
nurses for each year's intake?
