Do you like being a nurse?

amygarside · Mar 30, 2013

I love being a nurse, it is a difficult job but I still fulfilled especially when I see a patient going home.

RNperdiem, RN · Mar 30, 2013

It is hard to answer if I "like" being a nurse; it depends on what kind of day I had at work.

Overall, nursing brings me great satisfaction.

The work is difficult, but it is meaningful. After a temp job where I spent two full-time weeks feeding menus into a laminator machine and two more weeks photocopying mortgage files and having my brain atrophy, I appreciate meaningful and well-paid work.

I never "dreamed" of becoming a nurse, though maybe the notion existed somewhere in my mind so I brought fewer expectations with me and never had to carry the burden of dreams disappointed.

Nursing school is only the starting point; you truly learn most of what you need at work.

Tait, MSN, RN · Mar 30, 2013

Now that I have children I can make this equation, for me at least: Nursing is like having children, there are moments where you are blown away by the human spirit and potential, and other times when you want to run out the door and hide in the woods. :)

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2013

For everyone out there, do you like what you do? Especially for all those people out there who dreamed of being a nurse, is it what you expected? I'm trying to get into nursing and sometimes I wonder can I really do it. And if I can will I like it like I've always thought I would. I've always felt like nursing was the career path for me. I also really want to know, how stressful is your job? After nursing school do you feel adequate enough to take care of your patients safely? Do you like going to work? I guess I'm trying to get a grasp of what life is like as a nurse. I really want to be in a career helping people and no I am not trying to have an easy job, I am a very hard worker. Basically I am spending a lot of time stressed with school trying to stay on top of things while trying to work and I have at least another two years of being stressed with school. When I finally get done with school I don't want to have to worry about being stressed at work all the time. I would love to hear your guy's experiences.

I love being a nurse.....but the job is hard, stressful, frustrating, annoying, overwhelming, depressing at times....but for me, there is nothing else I would rather do.

The first year after your graduate will be difficult and overwhelming...you will feel like you learned nothing in school and will never get anything right. That is normal.

Anytime you deal with life and death and the brutalities, heartbreak of humanity.....it's a hard job.

My favorite poem sums it up. By Melodie Chenevert RN......

Being A Nurse Means...

You will never be bored.

You will always be frustrated.

You will be surrounded by challenges,

So much to do and so little time.

You will carry immense responsibility And limited authority.

You will step into people's lives

And you will make a difference

Some will bless you,

Some will curse you.

You will see people at their worst

And at their best.

You will never cease to be amazed

At people's capacity for Love, courage, and endurance.

You will experience resounding triumphs

And devastating failures.

You will cry a lot,

You will laugh a lot,

You will know what it is to be human,

And to be humane.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Mar 30, 2013

I love my job. Yes, it's tough work at times, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

porridge · Mar 30, 2013

Loathed being a floor nurse (like every single nurse I now work with in a specialty outpatient setting - we all agree it was awful). Very much enjoy my work now but if I'd had to stay a floor nurse I would have changed careers, without doubt. I paid my dues and I'm never going back into that miserable environment again!

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Mar 30, 2013

20% of the time. For every five days a week I work, I usually have one good day.

I stay because I'm getting good experience. After I finish my BSN, next May, I'll have three years of med/surg experience and GTFO.

SwansonRN · Mar 30, 2013

I went straight from nursing school to ICU which, I gotta say, was awesome. I'm a textbook nerd kinda girl and I love looking back and realizing how much I've learned and how much I still have left to learn. I admit I still fantasize about the day I leave the bedside, but I'm proud to be a nurse and generally enjoy it.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2013

It is ok enough. I do not love it but it pays decently and I can have a lot of days off. I was very stressed as a new grad. Tons if anxiety. I dreaded every shift. I ran into so much I didn't know about and not many nurses were experienced or able to help. It was sink or swim and not depend on others for life boats. I would not want to relive the first six months. Now that I know how to handle most situations on my unit it is better. but get a shift with no aide, insulin drips, IV IG, blood transfusions, whiny pts and the anxiety and dread comes back

beeker · Mar 30, 2013

Ill be honest. I don't like it. I am a floor nurse and feel burnt out in just a year. The stress and toll on my body are nowhere near worth the pittance I get paid. I live in the South and we get paid crap and have terrible benefits . We are constantly under staffed and worked to death. They literally want to squeeze every last drop of life out of you. I could never recommend this career to anyone in good conscience.

Nurseinthemaking20 · Mar 30, 2013

Thanks for all the responses! You guys are great. It seems to me it depends on the person. I guess I won't really be able to see until I actually start working. I know that first job after nursing school is going to be horrible because I'm already stressing about whether I'll be good at it. I work at LTC facility as a med-tech and I do love that. I really do love fast-paced work and I'm good at it. I don't know, I think I'm mainly afraid of the responsibility.

But my ultimate goal is primary care, as a nurse practitioner. I don't think I'll hate the few years of floor nursing that I'll have to put in, but I definately don't think I could do it my whole career.

For those of you who said you don't like being a floor nurse, why not make a change? Isn't life too short to work a job that you are miserable at?

DaniannaRN, ASN, BSN · Mar 30, 2013

I hated being a nurse before my current job. Back when I worked in direct care, I was so miserable. The schedules, the management, the patients/families, everything about it was bad. And I got paid horribly. I was looking to go back to school for something else.

Then I got a job in the insurance industry. I could not be any happier. I am not stressed and I get appreciation for what I do. Just the other day, we had a staff meeting. The director of my department said, "No matter what happens, I always believe the nurse first." You will never hear that in a hospital. Actually, you will never be believed in the hospital. Everything will be your fault and you will always be wrong.