If you could redo it....would you choose nursing?

[ICURNPA92]

Would you redo choosing nursing or the medical profession?

Curious to the feelings of others

[KourtneiNurse]

I would choose nursing again, though not for the rosy, glorified reasons. I entered the nursing field to help patients and fulfill my desire to do something skilled and technical. I stay in nursing because I love being needed and the money and flexibility is great. Where I live, in MD, it is a respected career. I am able to afford a good life for my family, nice job, great home, great cars. I make a difference in the lives of the elderly population in my community as a care coordinator and I work M-F. If I were confident that I could make the same money and have the same job security, I might consider pursuing another field like event planning or interior design and contracting (things that really peak my interest). Nursing is great, but it wears on you to be a caregiver both in your personal life and career.

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

Reasonably happy with Nursing.

But my real preference would be to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth, be royalty, have a trust fund, do whatever I like, whenever. You know - win the Lottery.

That would be my choice also.

[nehneh14]

Absolutely not. I've been a nurse for 25 years and have worked in many different capacities. The common thread with all of my positions has been the general lack of advocacy, value, consideration and respect afforded to the nursing staff by management. (Including by the nurse managers) Which I know is not at all exclusive to nursing, but, what is so punishing and demoralizing is that the stakes in nursing are so high. Nurses do not work with widgets. More care needs to be taken for the nursing staff, because mismanagement and neglect of nursing concerns has a very dangerous trickle down effect. We literally have people's lives in our hands and yet are treated as though we are no more than warm bodies to that need to be (reluctantly) paid for a certain number of hours per week. I would never encourage anybody to go into nursing.

[rock hopper]

Some encouraging and discouraging posts here from a perspective of a prospective nursing student.

I suppose that I have been floundering on obsessively looking over career choice websites or trying to find something that pays decent and doesn't require 4 or more years of schooling that I would enjoy--and always really came back to nursing.

For me, getting personal satisfaction in genuinely helping someone and that confirmation of them knowing that I will take care of them is what would drive me. That and I am a social butterfly--I seriously doubt I would enjoy a career in which I wasn't surrounded by and talking to people all during the day. It just makes me happy.

I am also considering a code bootcamp to become a Web Developer. I have always been drawn to computers. It's really between those two fields for me, but i've found that I just need to be in a place I love doing something I love to remain happy. That's the goal anyway.

[gettingbsn2msn, MSN, RN]

Yes and no. I love what I do as a Nurse Practitioner. That said I am in a highly restrictive state. I love being involved in the team aspect of helping people BUT with the current climate and people far more demanding and less appreciative I would say no. I have a friend who started doing mink eyelashes and threading eye brows. She has a high school education and is making far more than I can ever expect. Women will drop hundreds for her services.

[mt9891]

so hilarious

[mt9891]

Nailed it. I used to love bedside nursing, I used to be able to give TLC...worked in oncology 10 years and never comforted family while staying dry-eyed myself. Now that we are married to computers patient perception is they are secondary to documentation and they are correct. Of course we always documented but there was a time when one could spend time with patient since we didn't document in 'real time'. That and we have become such an entitled society we have scores based upon getting family their trays, " can i get you anything? Food, happy marriage, a dime bag, fulfilled life. I have the time!" Scripting, CMS reimbursement based upon. ' customer satisfaction, Studer etc...have created a perfect storm of making bedside nursing hell.

- THIS. YES.

[Timbal]

Yes. I only wish I had started sooner. I decided to become a nurse at age 30, after my daughter (age 2) spent 2 weeks in PICU. I've loved it.

I spend 6 months as a CNA, then 13 years as an LPN, now 7 years an RN!

[Zyprexa]

No, I would not pick nursing again.

[Bravemom]

Yes I would do it again but I wouldn't get a masters as an FNP. That was a big mistake. I had a lot of freedom as a nurse with more days off. Now I feel owned by my job, the market is flooded making it harder to negotiate for change, and I feel stuck.

[Bravemom]

You likely won't get away from the crumbling hospital system by becoming an NP. Most clinics are owned by large organizations and guess what...they are profit driven. You will still be a scut monkey

[Quo Vadis]

I would most definitely go for nursing again. Even though some days I wish I had kept with my previous degree (teaching), I love my job! And maybe someday I will combine the two.

Although I have to admit that the idea of med has been toying with my head as well.