If You Had It To Do Over Again?

Nurses General Nursing

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If you had it to do over again, would you be a nurse?

If not, what would you be?

I'm starting nursing school in a few days, and while I know that I want to be in the medical field, I find myself wondering if I will be a burnt out, stressed out wreck, after a few years. I work in Respiratory Therapy (Secretary) and I see those guys and gals always joking and laughing and very seldom really stressed out. Everyone in my department for the most part, is great to be around and work with. They never seem so overworked that they cannot function, and although sometimes there are more treatments than time to do them in, there is always someone elsewhere that can generally run down and pitch in at the other unit in order to take the strain off, if needed.

I've wanted to be a nurse for awhile now, and the thought of helping others and taking care of people really appeals to me, but I can't help but wonder if I'm going to be back at this board in half a dozen years posting in a thread about nurses leaving the profession...I should probably end with the disclaimer that I am NOT in this for the money at all, so money will never be the reason that I stick around. I'm here to help people, and to make a difference. I want to be able to be "that nurse" that was understanding when someone was sick, and who made being in the hospital/doctor's/surgery/whatever just that much less traumatic/painful.

Specializes in Ortho/Uro/Peds/Research/PH/Insur/Travel.

By the way, I studied opera as an undergrad on a full-tuition scholarship for biochem. So, anything's possible!

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I would be a Rockstar, than a Dragster Driver, but those didn't work out, so I became a nurse.

If a nurse didn't work out I would be a Rockstar, then a Dragster Driver.I still play in a band and race my car on the weekends. :smokin:

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Specializes in behavioral health.

I feel like I would have been more suited in psychology, but as a science-person, I would have missed physiology and pharmacology a lot. and I know that I don't have the emotional stamina for the abuse med students and residents survive through. I've been thinking about a lot of different fields, but i keep going back to psych nursing.. where behavioral health and physiology meet.. (which would be ideal if nursing wasn't the stressful, disrespected job it is). I plan on continuing nursing education (ie. DNP).

I'm not sure I would do this all over again, but such is life's path. I believe that life's journey is made up of detours and our reactions to them. Maybe my true place is as a psychiatric nurse practitioner? Maybe your path will steer away or towards nursing or into something you had not expected.

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Just out of curiosity, if the people in RT are always joking and seldom really stressed out, why are you becoming an RN instead of an RT? Don't you know we're a stressed out bunch? :wink2:

I actually only took the job in RT once I had applied to nursing school and realized I was not going to be able to make it through school without a part time job. The job I have doesn't pay very well, but its really been immensely rewarding in all other ways. I have learned a lot about respiratory related illnesses, the various tools of their trade, types of treatments, etc. Everyone is very interested in helping me learn anything I could possibly want to know. I watch them fill the code boxes and ask what everything is, how it is used, etc etc. I love to learn and in that respect, being around RT's is very rewarding thus far. I probably WOULD have went RT if I had been there before school started, but as the PP suggested, I really like the ability to move around within the field, which is not as easy in RT, and I really like the opportunity to expand my knowledge base and endless educational choices that nursing provides.

Its been a great thread thus far and I am very excited to see the varied responses.

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First off, my theory as to why respiratory therapists are happier is because they don't have to spend eight or twelve hours with the same patients (AND their families). Quick in, quick out!

As someone else stated, you do NOT have to stay in bedside nursing. There are a lot of different things you can do with it as your foundation.

The one thing I would strongly advise is to consider (and reconsider) signing ANY contracts. I owe my employer two years as a bedside nurse (tomorrow is my one-year anniversary!) and I would NEVER do that again. NEVER! It's nice to be able to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way whenever YOU'D like.

GOOD LUCK! :)

Thank you for the tip. I was going to sign a contract but maybe I shouldn't. It won't be all that expensive for me to go to school in this area as I've paid for the 1st half of my RN already (my LPN) so maybe it wouldn't be worth it. I do want to get atleast 1 year of bedside nursing under my belt before doing anything else though, if only to have it on my resume forever.

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So everyone keeps saying there are a million different paths a nurse can take, but what are they? I'm not finding anything but hospital and clinic nursing.

Unless I want to take a huge pay cut, that is.

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Specializes in Ortho/Uro/Peds/Research/PH/Insur/Travel.
So everyone keeps saying there are a million different paths a nurse can take, but what are they? I'm not finding anything but hospital and clinic nursing.

Unless I want to take a huge pay cut, that is.

So, the question is, "How important is money to you?" If it IS important to you (and there is NOTHING wrong with that!), then you may want to consider working for an insurance company, big pharma, or as a legal nurse consultant. Some days I feel like if you can't beat them, then join them. So, perhaps a master's degree in hospital administration is in your future. If you can continue to handle the demands of nursing in 2008 AND you want to earn MORE money, try working as an agency nurse. In the right place, you could probably earn the same amount working two twelve-hour shifts that you would working 36 hours at home.

I think it's important to determine what IS important to you in life. For me, my life goal is to see the world. So, I am heading to graduate school for a master's in public health and then I am considering applying to the US Public Health Service.

Good luck with your future endeavors! :)

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