How has becoming a nurse changed your life?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all!

I have never wanted anything more in my life than to become a nurse. I look up to all of you & I have nothing but respect for nurses. What a great profession to be in! It's seriously my dream, I think about it constantly. I can't wait for my dreams to actually come true. I've ALWAYS wanted to ask this question to current nurses, how how this profession changed your life? Hopefully there are more pros than cons =) I want to hear both! How have you changed since your college/ nursing school years? Is your life much more stable? Has nursing brought tons of opportunities into your life? How does it feel to be financially secure? Share your stories with me, i'd LOVE to hear them!

Good day!

Since nursing school, I've been getting worse and worse. I feel like I've burnt out, even before I begin. I have less patience with anything and anyone. In clinicals and at work, it feels like I'm running away from the dragon for 8 or 12 hours at a time. At home, I'm just so effing tired to do anything. I've been fighting more with my mother, who thinks I've sold out my soul by getting this other job I have. I hate myself everyday. I see the nurses, and very few of them actually make an impact on patients' lives and are appreciated for it. Many patients don't care because they are not that grateful, or they are too sick to care, and won't get better. Too many tasks to complete under the fear that you will get fired and/or lose your license. Too many tasks to complete under the fear of your hospital losing funding, which is already tight. I have some preconceptions that certain areas might be better than med-surg, but I don't know now. I hope it gets better when I actually start my career. Otherwise it will be curtains soon.

So tired.

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Pros:

I've been married 3 years yet for the past 3 months, it is the first time hubby and I are living in the same state! I could never get a job in my first career where he was (no MF programming there and he is active duty).

I love my hospital and my coworkers. Most of our patients are back surgery and are thankful for the care they get and most go home the day after surgery.

I work 3 days a week so it feels like a PT job!

For the first time in 18 yrs, I am not worried about my company sending my job to India!

Cons:

Pay is 1/2 of what I used to make. I can just pay my bills and nothing more. :(

Work nights, so I sleep during the day. Since I am HOH, noise is not an issue, but I get off, stay up an hour, sleep, get up and go to work. Ugh.

FF's and PIA patients. Looking at that mordibly obese pt with bilateral AKA, sicker than a dog and thinking....how could you do this to yourself! Family who think it is ok to keep that 98 yo, demented, TF, non-responsive pt on Full Code!

Not always having the same schedule! Working holidays and weekends.

Constantly having to take classes. In IT you pretty much learn your job, become an expert and classes are a rarity! Also, the PIA of having to renew your BLS and ACLS. Having to pay $ to keep license current.

It is what it is. Financially secure? No, but not suffering either. Going for my MSN in informatics to get my pay back up close to where it was.

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I have learned that the world is full of lies, and that health care is one big scam.

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Nursing. hmm. It has its pros but it has it's many cons.

As much as you want to think and believe that you are helping people and that is all that matters, that is requiring you to neglect the fact that you are not taken into account by your employers.

I have learned that we take on so much! not just the illness, or whatever brought them there, but their family, their personal lives, and EVERYTHING. If a family have commication issues and they don't get along, but need or want to be active in the patient's care, you have to be the mediator. If your patient was abused, you have to be the emotionally strong one to keep them up, if you have someone who is mad at the world, you have to get through all their negative emotions, to simply care for them.

Ill admit, im in my early 20's and still growing up and having to deal with people's personal problems to care for them is a heavy load on me. Especially when they are old enough to be my parents, Nursing is not simply giving medications and providing acute care or whatso it be, you literally are caring for a person as a whole. their beliefs, their wants, they needs everything. Im drained.

I have just been doing alot of "tough military spiritual learning" to grow up quicker to be able to understand why some of these patients are the way they are, and how I need to respond so everyone wins.

It may not change you in the beginning, but you may find yourself conditioned in a way that you had no choice to become. You just have to or not. and I am not. I wont work like a machine, just to pay my bills. I am seeking my breakthrough, whatever that is. I see so many nurses who HATE everything about their job but have been doing it for 20 + years? wow.

Ofcourse, nursing has it's Pro's, financially, and learning that people have it out there worse, health wise.

..but the politics of nursing, is by far draining.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I get awesome pay checks.

I lose faith more than I gain it in humanity daily.

I've helped people come into and leave this world.

I can shut emotion off just by stepping into a different room.

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Nursing has stolen some of my empathy, and I miss the time when things used to make me scared or happy or sad. Now I'm a little desensitized. However I love nursing and I would never change professions.

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It has changed my personality, and not in a good way. I used to be friendly and outgoing. Being a new nurse and getting treated like dirt by everyone (doctors, other staff members, family members of patients, etc) makes you grow more backbone. It gives you sharper edges. Being surrounded by cattiness and back stabbing makes you more alert and keep more to yourself. I have seen many new nurses on my floor get eaten I keep to myself and fly under the radar. I am more cynical and a lot less caring in general. I am actually leaning more toward anti social. I have lost my faith in humanity. I no longer enjoy working with people. I no longer want to be around the general public at all even on my days off. I suspect night shift has something to do with this as well. Being tired all the time makes you more prone to crabbiness. I just want to be home with my family!

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Many ways both good and bad. When I started in my early twenties, I was so innocent and sweet. Boy, have I changed. In a few years I became assertive and spoke up to managers, supervisors, and doctors. I got tired of being walked all over and humiliated. I spoke to patients. Let them know I'm not a carpet.

Even though it's hard earn money, it allowed me to travel, switch jobs numerous times, meet interesting people, learn about different cultures. I mean I walk into a room and almost all the time I get instant respect from patients and families. I'm a beacon of hope, the only person who listens, who made the person in the bed laugh...

On a more personal level, I was able to escape a very abusive situation. I was able to earn enough money to get an apartment quickly. All that and many more to nursing.

However, some of the most downright traumatizing situations in my life is due to nursing. It comes from administration, doctors, other fellow nurses and so forth. I take the good with the bad.

Although I can't say it's my passion, I ALWAYS try to do very best at caring for my patients. I am fiercely grateful for all the experiences I have had. It's help to shape me into the woman that I am today, which I am proud of : )

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Specializes in ICU, PROGRESSIVE CARE.
\ said:
It has changed my personality and not in a good way. I used to be friendly and outgoing. Being a new nurse and getting treated like dirt by everyone (doctors, other staff members, family members of patients, etc) makes you grow more backbone. It gives you sharper edges. Being surrounded by cattiness and back stabbing makes you more alert and keep more to yourself. I have seen many new nurses on my floor get eaten I keep to myself and fly under the radar. I am more cynical and a lot less caring in general. I am actually leaning more toward anti social. I have lost my faith in humanity. I no longer enjoy working with people. I no longer want to be around the general public at all even on my days off. I suspect night shift has something to do with this as well. Being tired all the time makes you more prone to crabbiness. I just want to be home with my family!

This sounds just like me, I could add that sociopathic management has contributed to this for me as well. I work days but I am still tired and antisocial.

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Follow a nurse for a day, before you say all that. A job is a job. Politics are everything in the hospital. I can promise you, that no floor nurse will ever agree with what you just said. I am by no means "financially secure" being a staff RN. Making 23/hr and paying back 35K in student loans..pfft.

Nursing is absolutely nothing like what you see on TV.

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Specializes in I/DD.

Pros: I am much more self aware. I'm more grateful for my health and more compassionate towards others going through health crises. Contrary to some people, I have improved my diet since being a nurse. After seeing what I could become considering the fact that most of my extended family has heart disease, I am more motivated to live a healthy lifestyle. I would make the stretch to say I eat/exercise more than anyone in my immediate family. I have a stable job, and enough experience under my belt that I am officially not a "new grad," albeit I am still a "newish nurse." God-forbid if there are staffing cutbacks, I could land myself a decent job somewhere else.

Cons: Life can be a bit of a roller coaster for me, depending on my week at work. Constantly switching between days and nights, never knowing if I am going to have a slow, slightly boring day vs. one where I am chasing my tail and STILL don't finish everything, and comparing myself to my coworkers... these things all take a toll on me. Some days I feel like a super star, and others I feel like the scum of the earth. For me these are normal feelings anytime I get a new job (just switched to ICU from the floor in October). Right now I feel like I barely grasp certain concepts and still rely on more seasoned coworkers to help me make sure I am taking the very best care of my patient. And did I mention the day/night rotation blues? But I wouldn't trade it for the world. The feeling you get after a tough shift when you know that you rocked it is irreplaceable, and will pull you through the days when you are barely hanging on.

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My job is awesome, the people I work with ate awesome

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