After three years in nursing, I'm leaving it all behind. Considering how much I've invested myself in this field, this is painful. But it's also a relief.
In the last three years, I've already worked in three different provinces, mostly in emergency and intensive care, sometimes in rural areas. I'd like to leave a few notes based on my personal experience for new nurses to consider. Don't extrapolate too much from it :-)
Many health care providers don't like their job, but still do it because they believe leaving the field would be catastrophic (lower salary, lost of investment, fear of the unknown, instability, etc.). Some of these individuals can be a pain in the ass. Learn to recognize them and deal with them accordingly.
You don't save a life, you extend it (sometimes a bit too far).
How ever knowledge you've acquired, try to play by the rules, unless you're ready to loose your job.
What makes a good nurse is: compassion, knowledge, and integrity
What many managers are looking for is: workaholism, fear of authority, and subjective prioritizing
There are many amazing nurses out there. Learn from them as much as you can and tell them about how much you want to learn.
There are amazing teams out there. Look how they trust one another, how they love learning and teaching, how the chemistry is evolving. Get involved in projects with them.
Update yourself on a constant basis. There's no need to go crazy, but every now and then, learn a small bit about a diagnosis, a drug, a pathology, a procedure, an organ.
Don't loose your vitality. If you feel awful, take a break and look at yourself as if you were an "external observer", unjudgmental of your thoughts, but keen on your actions.
Nurses are very much the "doers" of the health care system. They are often enablers without knowing it.
In addition to the excessive amount of responsibilities nurses have, they are often required to take extra roles such as administrative clerk, social worker, maintenance, housekeeping, physician assistant, respiratory therapist, teacher, cook, security guard, legal witness, baby-sitter, etc.
You *will* be asked too much on a regular basis. Don't do it all. Prioritize and consider leaving the non-urgent, non-important, non-legal tasks behind.
Sometimes, when your patient is about to die, you have a choice: to act in the patient's best interest, or not to act; either way, it may lead to anger and resentment from the medical doctor, and you may be punished for which ever choice you make.
Get vaccinated. It's worth it, especially before a few dirty needle sticks.
Get used to blood, saliva, phlegm,faeces, urine, and the like..
Keep reading about the nursing profession and explore what's possible to do out there, including seemingly unrelated jobs - you might later decide to leave too.
If you don't know someting important, admit it now and master it later.
Don't get emotional with emotional people, especially the staff.
Trust yourself. Follow your instinct.
Poor management is a standard.
Not all standards are good.
If you wear spandex with your uniform, you're also a superhero with super-powers.
I've had very bad and very good times in nursing, and will always respect you guys. The last few years really felt like a very long acid trip, mixed with academia, medical gurus, and free chocolate. Putting the dreadfulness apart, I must admit that if I was parachuted naked in a dangerous country, with only chop sticks and a stetoscope, I would surely make it alive.
