If there are so many negatives to nursing, why would anyone choose this field?

gimmeabreak · Mar 20, 2001

things were alot different 25 years ago when i started nursing. if i knew then what i know now i would have RUN not walked to the nearest line to register for a degree in law, engineering...anything but nursing. we call ourselves professional yet are treated like anything but. our salaries are pathetic when compared to the rest of the business world and anyone who thinks healthcare isn't a business needs to get their head out of the clouds. it is long past time for all nurses to cut the florence nightingale crap and realize that your management dines out on your selfless, sacrificing and ever compliant natures to get their job done. WAKE UP!

fyrnymph · Mar 20, 2001

I love being a nurse and I love being able to make a difference in peoples lives.

I am glad that I did it. Nursing is a human job so therefore you learn not only allot about people but yourself.

Currently however I am back in school and paln to leave nursing.

The hours that I work are getitng to hard. I am no longer able to do the job in shich I was trained.... if the admins, profit mrgins and stocks would get out I might never have felt compelled to get out.

I feel like the only furture that I have in nursing is a bad back.....it is sad to say but I would not encourage anyone to become a nurse

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Mar 20, 2001

I would still go onto nursing, but I would prefer to go into it as an older, wiser person. I was 17 when I started and really needed more life experience dealing with grieving or angry families is rewarding but only if you know HOW to deal with them. I would also learn the art of assertiveness and when to pick your battles. I am still learning that one (sigh).

I think the most important point would be to research the hospital you will be applying to, because if you spend your days doing 12 hours at top speed and still go home thinking you let your patients down, didn't accomplish anything, you may as well work in a factory. I've worked in small and large hospitals and the small offer more personal care for patients AND staff. They don't have a lot of bucks or cutting edge technology so they attract patients and staff looking for the caring side.

I guarantee no one but a fool does nursing for the money, and you need a strong stomach. No other profession gets to see the cool procedures, or interesting characters that we do though.

I think to get more specific, I would look for a hospital owned by the community it serves, not a for profit institution. The whole point is to care for clients, and it is easier to do the job if even the higher ups have that as their mission statement.

[This message has been edited by canoehead (edited March 20, 2001).]