Honest opinions needed

honeykrown, MSN, NP · May 15, 2011

If you feel this way about pharmacy, i doubt you would do any better in nursing. Stay in pharmacy there are various aspects to pharmacy than just clinical and community. That is where the different rotations come into play. You would have to wait till final year to find your fit. You cant find it out in the first two/three years where you are sent to a drug store etc.

Some options of pharmacy include out patient care like kaiser, FDA, the public health corp. My husband didnt find his spot until rotations (One thing he was sure of before that was that he didnt want to do community).

Patience is a virtue. I believe if you stick it out you would know that there's more beyond the classroom. You cram for school but in the real world there are several resources to help

HealthyNurse · May 15, 2011

I agree that you should spend some time shadowing a few nurses before you make your decision. I always enjoyed math and science as well and you do have to be prepared that nursing is an applied science, which is much different than a pure, hard science. It is true that the math required for nursing practice is not advanced at all. That being said, I believe that there are a lot of positive things about the nursing profession. At one point, I considered applying to pharmacy school, but I thought I would be bored with it. There are also a lot of different career paths in pharmacy, but I just don't think that there is the same versatility as nursing, especially if you go on to get an advanced degree in nursing or a similar field.

How often do you have to clean a patient?- Anytime that you work in a clinical setting, you won't really ever get completely away from this. The good thing is that it gets easier when you realize that cleaning a patient provides dignity and comfort and it's really not that horrible of a task. It is a VERY small part of what nurses do. As other posters stated, there are some clinical specialties where you will encounter this less than others. I worked in home health and you still had to be prepared to help clean up a patient, but it was much less frequent than what I encountered in med surg or ER settings. Since obtaining a master's degree in health care administration, I've had jobs in education, quality improvement and patient safety, and nursing management where I've not had to clean a patient at all. By the way, I've worked in these fields and I am still a relatively young nurse- so you don't necessarily need years and years of nursing experience. The master's degree does help to obtain these type of non-clinical positions.

What field of nursing deal the least with that kind of stuff?- I think I've already answered this above, but there are many, many more ways that you could use a nursing degree that do not involve as much hands-on care. A lot of nurses limit themselves to bedside nursing, which is a very honorable career choice- but there are SO many other career possibilities for nurses! I do believe that you definitely need at least a few years of direct care experience before pursuing other options in nursing though.

How much do nurses earn? (I know of someone who is a nurse and seems to be living very comfortably)- It's hard to answer this question because of the variability in career choices. In my career so far, I've earned between $24/hr (as a new grad) to $38/hr (as a nurse administrator). A master's degree can really increase your earning potential.

What makes a nurses job stressful?- Having to care for too many patients with too few resources, lack of support from administration, lack of respect from physicians or other health care professionals (at times), never-ending documentation and regulatory requirements, long shifts, shift work.

Is it physical or mostly mental?- Even when I did work in clinical nursing, it was mostly mental stress for me. It is definitely a physical job, but if you are fairly in shape and try to take care of yourself by working out regularly and using proper body mechanics, you will be fine. In my current role, it is all mental stress.

taalyn_1, CNA · May 15, 2011

If poop/urine bothers you, nursing probably isnt going to work for you. What about blood, sputum, foul-smelling drainage, pus filled/oozing sores, etc?? I remember watching a reality medical show once where a homeless man came into the ER, the nurse or DR (dont remember which) asked the man to take off his sock so he could exam the guy's foot. The man didnt have on socks, his whole foot, up to his knee was covered in maggots. .... Theres a lot of "gross" things in nursing, Thats all a part of the job, you get used to it or you dont.

RockinChick66 · May 15, 2011

I say stay with pharm. I was just recently wishing I had gone into pharm myself. Nursing is super hard work and we are underpaid. The major stress for me are the long hours of standing/walking, time managemnent, and multiple tasking is an understatement. If you are seriously considering nursing, then I suggest finding that pause button and going to shadow a nurse about a week or two. I usually have a total care pt that I have to clean up almost every time I go to work. That doesn't bother me tho, you get use to it.

Good luck on your choice.

hannahmaepunk · May 15, 2011

Answers:

How often do you have to clean a patient?

Answer: as often as you clean yourself. Patients are, like you, humans.

What field of nursing deal the least with that kind of stuff?

Answer: OPD, receptionist nurse (lol), school nurse, nurse

educator, nurse administrator, and nurses-too-lazy-to-clean-their-patients-

How much do nurses earn? (I know of someone who is a

nurse and seems to be living very comfortably)

Answer: philippines=crappy pay. On average, phil nurses

get less money than carpenters, security guards, and

clerks. But in US,Canada,middle east= very good pay and

I mean VERY GOOD PAY.

What makes a nurses job stressful?

Answer=irate patients, irate doctors, irate administrators,

and irate NURSES.

Is it physical or mostly mental?

Answer= both. Because of interpersonal relationships and conflicts and working hours (8-12 on average). And partly spiritual ahaha

JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN · May 15, 2011

I don't say this to be insulting, but don't go into nursing. I can tell from the types of questions you're asking that you're trying to figure out how to get into nursing but still do as little of the actual duties of nursing as possible. Perhaps you'd be better suited to something like research, or even going to med school. If you are the sort of person who likes diagnosing and figuring out what's going on with the patient but doesn't like to be a caregiver (which is, honestly, how your list of questions makes you seem), then you might consider being a physician instead of a nurse. Nurses do that sort of investigative work too, but it's on top of the duties you would hate and they can't act on their findings - they can only report them to those with the license to actually make that call about what treatment to do.

It's ok to wonder about the money in nursing, but I can tell you that if you don't particularly like the actual job duties of nursing, you could get paid $75.00 an hour and you would still never feel like it was enough. Nursing isn't a job to go into for the money. You can get paid well, but you will earn every penny of it, sometimes while scraping literal **** out from under your fingernails because you couldn't get the gloves on fast enough to stop the diarrhea covered patient from falling to the floor if you didn't just grab them immediately.

As for how often you clean a patient? As often as the patient needs it. I have had patients not want a bath or to be bothered with hygiene, and I have had patients that **** the bed every 15 minutes and I've spent most of my night cleaning them up and changing bedding. In critical care, it's not uncommon to not have a tech in your unit. I have had nights when both of my patients were swimming in a flood of cdiff diarrhea and had to be constantly cleaned up.

Do not go into this thinking you can avoid the unpleasant aspects. You may eventually move into an administrative role, but that could take a very, very long time. And it probably won't happen if you are visibly not committed to your role as a staff nurse.

CareRx · May 15, 2011

Thank you all for replying to my post. There is no way to address these issues without appearing less dedicated while trying to escape the kind of work that nurses will be called on to do. I apologize if I appeared that way, yet I appreciate all the great responses and guidance. To address the many comments, this post can't be too short.

My brother had cancer and this whole experience shifted my career goals from engineering to healthcare. I chose pharmacy because it provided an intellectual core wherein chemistry, math and other courses came into play. I shunned medicine because it was cutthroat and long after they earned their MD degree, they still act as if they are God. Of course, there are exception, but truth is, I was not willing to sacrifice my time and my future spouse to become a physician. In addition, the massive loans would be a constant reminder that would shoot the stress level really high. So that settles that.

After taking the PCAT, a grueling 4hr pharmacy entrance exam, I was admitted to the schools I applied to. Good so far. Of course, I had other problems in life, but performed much less below my level. With that, my goals of becoming a clinical pharmacist diminished considerably. I'm not a research kind of person, hence clinical. Pharmacy is very intense with a fair dose of memorization. It was challenging always to reach into the memory bank on an exam. Ironically, imho, this does not produce better clinician. In the workplace pertinent information is readily available. To me, the calculations and of course pathophysiology is much more important (if you had to memorize) and even the trivial info is so necessary. I'm willing to bet no physicians know/remember all the intricate parts of the body. Just as such, no pharmacists remember all the myriad of drugs (generic vs brand names) and their mechanism of action. I got sick and tired of all this memorization and to make matters worse, I was not liking the work in retail. My grades were slipping fast while I searched for the right career for me. It was very painful. Yes, there are some things I enjoy as a pharmacy student. I like that I could just do cerebral work most of the time (mostly hospital or clinical). I was disenchanted with corporate reducing pharmacy to what seems like another food chain. I hated dealing with non-pharmacy related sales in retail. After working in retail pharmacy, you use very little of what is taught in pharmacy (which is a lot!) Pharmacy pays very well and perhaps, I might have sucked it up and try to finish the program, however, I was not doing well this semester and I wasn't sure if I should continue through that grueling 2nd year to with another two years to go.

Many of you are right in that I may be rushing a decision to attend nursing. The fact is, given the rigors of pharmacy school, I had no time to do any kind of research at all and the loans are starting to pile up. Pharmacy school is not exactly cheap and it is for four years (except a very few accelerated programs, which I don't think is worth the brain cells). I did ok in undergrad, I set myself for the competitive fields: engineering, pharmacy, nursing etc... But now, I feel a bit like a failure.

In engineering, you have PhDs that keep a low profile, realizing there is so much more to learn. Physicians, belittling nurses makes me sick. To go through med school, all it takes is to be prepared for the workload and a good memory at the time of exams. They are not any brighter than say, engineers who are solving very complex problems and sending robots into other planets using Newtonian and Einstein's equations. I respect this kind of work. Physicians are not God, and many of them are down right ignorant. I thought about becoming a physician because it is the first thing one tends to think about when a family member succumbs to an illness. But being around that kind of inflated egos is not for me. I think I love pharmacy in that I can possibly have my own pharmacy (though hard these days) or finding my niche later in life. However, I'm trying to hopefully, figure out a way to memorize and do well on exams. Interestingly, there were the same students in my class that would be done in ~20-25 mn for a 90 mn exams! These, probably have parents paying their way through college and with very little care in the world.

So why nursing? In the hospital, I saw how diligent some were and it was nice when nurse paid special attention to my loved one. It's quick and very little loans to repay back. Yes it is twelve hour shifts, but physicians and pharmacists have same hours in hospital. It is very stable! There are many different specialties to choose from and so on. Fill in all the positives you can think of.

Engineering fascinates me. I mean, goodness gracious, I love the thought process. Believe me, when you solve physics, there is very little memorization involve. In fact, one is allowed to bring the sets of equations during exams. This proves that you really have to understand how to solve the problems. I work hard like the rest of you, so I'm no expert in physics. I believe if you truly love something, it breeds motivation and effort. I had many painful moments in physics, but I sought help and soon I was doing well in physics with calculus (where actually using calculus can simplify how you solve problems). Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I'm probably going to go the engineering route. To respond to some of you, it is one thing to love something, one must be honest with self about truly able to use these types of tools in the work place everyday. And I've had my doubts. As stated in my post, I've been out of calc/physics class in a while and naturally, I'm concerned. Plus, I've been in school for a while, and I dread somewhat the length it takes for most engineers to be marketable. Most go on to earn a Master's. However, I have a spouse and while I wouldn't mind doing this, soon I must find a way to contribute to the family income while not sacrificing my choice of career and satisfaction for the rest of my life.

Decisions, decisions... I leave you with a link that piques my interest in engineering: Mechanical/Aerospace engineer

If I can get excited about the very complex math and physics, I see myself doing that kind of work. However, if I don't feel too confident, I must pick a career that will eventually put food on the table for my future kids and family.

Or I earn a nursing degree to have something to fall back on. Any thoughts on this is welcomed.

Cheers!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · May 15, 2011

"

how often do you have to clean a patient?

what field of nursing deal the least with that kind of stuff?"

why do people always think about bedpans and "cleaning people" first when they think of nursing? first, there are approximately a bazillion jobs requiring nursing expertise that don't involve that. i haven't given a bath to anyone but my own children or grandchildren for my last twenty years of full-time nursing employment (though i did in the first fifteen or so). second, though, remember that giving a bath to someone is more than wielding a washcloth. you're assessing how well or poorly they move, how well or poorly they breathe, what their nutritional status is like, how good their cognitive and communication abilities are. you can see if they have unexplained bruising that might make you think of abuse or blood clotting problems, or both; you can find out, by talking with them as you wash, about their home situation, their educational background and capability to learn about their condition and treatment and meds, fears, spiritual needs, referral needs. there's a lot more going on here, which is one reason why nursing is so often underestimated. we know, and assess for, a helluva lot more than people know.

what makes a nurses job stressful? is it physical or mostly mental?" right now, mine is made stressful by deadlines :]. any job has stresses; they can be mental or physical or both. for example, mine involves a huge amount of research and writing; physically, this is very stressful because i sit at my desk for hours and don't get enough exercise; at my age, that catches up with ya. i am also too dam' old to do heavy lifting or run around on my feet for 12-hour shifts, thankyouverymuch.when i was younger, i did it for years.

here's an idea: get your nursing bsn and then wend your way over to biomedical engineering. you could do the engineering directly, but i'll tell ya, if you have an engineering degree and nursing background you can write your own ticket in the biomed business world. a nurse who can explain to an engineer why and how something needs to work in a clinical setting is a very valuable commodity. think about it.

PinaColada · May 15, 2011

If I could do it all over again I would have gone for pharmacy in a heartbeat. It'd be a mistake to leave it.

JulieCVICURN, BSN, RN · May 16, 2011

. To go through med school, all it takes is to be prepared for the workload and a good memory at the time of exams. They are not any brighter than say, engineers who are solving very complex problems and sending robots into other planets using Newtonian and Einstein's equations. I respect this kind of work. Physicians are not God, and many of them are down right ignorant. I thought about becoming a physician because it is the first thing one tends to think about when a family member succumbs to an illness. But being around that kind of inflated egos is not for me.

Consider that only you can decide whether or not to have an inflated ego and belittle nurses, that the vast majority of doctors I've worked with are not the sort you describe, and that they do work that is much more in line with your sensibilities than nursing. I do not think physicians are smarter than nurses in most cases, but it is a different kind of work.

lckrn2pa · May 16, 2011

Ok I know this is a nursing forum so forgive the invitation to the dark side but you think about PA school? There are 2 girls in my class that were pre-pharm type undergrads but decided against it and applied/started PA school. Just another option the think of. Decent pay, new grads around 80k, no cleaning pts EVER! (after 19 yrs of wading thru GI bleeds I can say that lol), mentally stressful but not as physically demanding as nursing. Just an idea.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · May 16, 2011

Please, please, I beg you to stick with engineering.Good luck !