Do you like being a nurse?

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2013

I love being a nurse. I really, truly can't imagine myself doing anything else. I felt adequately prepared as a new grad to enter the field as a new nurse 5 years ago, and have continued to grow as a nurse since then. Yes, work can be stressful at times but generally the "stress" comes from dealing with difficult patients or high acuity pts. I have been blessed that most of my career has been in facilities that seem to value nurses and not work the shift short staffed, as you will see other nurses complain of.

If I had it to do over I wouldn't change a thing.

Nurseinthemaking20 · Mar 28, 2013

ChristineN- it is so great and reassuring to hear a positive response. Don't get me wrong, when I say stress I don't mean working busyshifts. and dealing with difficult patients . I work at an Alzheimer's facility in the special care unit as a med-tech, and believe me I know why it's like to work busy busy shifts. I actually prefer busy shifts. It makes it go buy so much faster. And trust me I know how to deal with difficult patients, I've been slapped, cussed at, spit at. You name it. But I still love my job. What I'm scared of is not being able to do my job good enough.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Mar 28, 2013

I love being a nurse, so much that I've been at it for 36 years! When I graduated *1977* I was fully prepared to go to work. In my program, we were taking full patient loads and running one side of the floor for the last 6 months of training, so we had at least some experience. I have worked in several different areas, but mostly in pediatrics. Currently I work for a non-profit that provides homes for persons with developmental disabilities and foster care, doing research & writing, training staff and caregivers, and auditing charts to make sure we're providing the best possible care for our clients. This is a job I could not have done as a younger nurse, I believe. Now that I'm in my 50s I have the drive, the wisdom, patience, compassion and steel to get the job done and I love it.

roser13, ASN, RN · Mar 28, 2013

I love my job. But I wouldn't be in my current position without years of experience on the floor, which years I hated and which gave me anxiety attacks. In my mind, I've filed the anxiety-filled med/surg years under "earning my stripes."

As long as you are aware that you only learn one-half of what you need to know in nursing school and are prepared to spend some years on the floor earning the rest of your education, the nursing world will be your oyster, as they say.

Nurseinthemaking20 · Mar 29, 2013

It's great to hear positive responses. Geez, is med-surg really that bad? I'm volunteering on a med surg floor and I plan on starting there as a nurse. After a few years I want to go to np school though.

roser13, ASN, RN · Mar 29, 2013

Med/surg in most any facility is hard work. Perhaps I wasn't cut out for it, but you will find others who feel the same as I. And again, if you consider it as your further education, it's easier to tolerate.

Nurseinthemaking20 · Mar 29, 2013

Yes I will definately look at it as that initial learning environment. I can't see med surg being a passion of mine at all. I just want to start there, because if I'm going to be a nurse I want to be the best nurse I can be. Obviously I'm not speaking from experience, I just hear that med-surg is a great place to start. My ultimate goal is fnp though. My real dream is to do primary care.

Palliative Care, DNP · Mar 29, 2013

Nope absolutely despise being being a floor nurse. Hate it and dread every single shift. I have discovered a passion though for being a nurse practitioner. I have enjoyed my clinicals so far and look forward to finishing my DNP in 2015.

Nurseinthemaking20 · Mar 29, 2013

Mom to 4- can I ask what type of floor nursing you did before going to np school? E.g. Was it med-surg, ER, icu etc?

Tarabara · Mar 30, 2013

I work med-surg and I love being a nurse! My floor is a bit different though, I work for a VA hospital and we dont have a "step down" type unit so our acuity ranges widely. Plus we have rehab patients, chemo patients, and hospice patients. It makes for a huge learning curve but I love that :)

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · Mar 30, 2013

For everyone out there, do you like what you do?

I sure do. Second career nurse here and I really like my job.

For all those people out there who dreamed of being a nurse, is it what you expected?

I never dreamed of being a nurse, never had a romantic notion of it. But it is what I expected because I was a CNA for 3 years before becoming an RN.

I also really want to know, how stressful is your job?

It is incredibly stressful, and how the individual handles that stress is a crucial part of the job. Stress comes along with the job being demanding and challenging.

After nursing school do you feel adequate enough to take care of your patients safely?

Nope. That takes experience.

Do you like going to work?

Yep, and like anything else I liked it a whole lot more after I gained some experience and confidence.

I guess I'm trying to get a grasp of what life is like as a nurse.

Then get a job working alongside them in an area you want to work in. You may have to work your way to even get this type of position.

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.

Good.

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.

Work on ways to handle the stress. Your instructors and classmates will have very good advice here.

When I finally get done with school I don't want to have to worry about being stressed at work all the time.

It doesn't get any easier when you get out of nursing school. It is a whole different kind of stress, but my personal experience is that I thrive on occupational stress while I simply "get through" academic demands.

Good luck.