So confused

[WannabeNurse(:]

I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was seven or so. I really thought it was what I was meant to do, you know? A calling. This year, though, I had a really tough time - I was diagnosed with slipping rib syndrome and had to have surgery to remove part of my ribs.

The surgeon told me that it could be a same-day surgery and that if I had it on a Friday, I could go back to school on Monday. I ended up in the hospital for two nights, almost three. I was in awful pain and because the surgeon had said that, the nurses and doctors especially didn't believe me. The doctors were very rude and it was just a really bad experience.

Considering that I had this surgery at one of the top rated children's hospitals in the country (I'm only fifteen), I'm now very hesitant about wanting to be a nurse. I had this whole plan - I even wanted to work at the hospital where I had my surgery! I'm so unsure of everything now. I still have these lingering thoughts of being a nurse, but I don't know what to do. Is it just because my only hospital experience was such a bad one, or do you think it's not meant to be?

I don't know if volunteering at a hospital might be a good idea, just to see if that changes my view. What do you all think?

Thank you so much!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Volunteering would be a great idea. Don't base your choice of a lifelong career on your perceptions of one experience. Get yourself into the environment and get a more complete picture. See how you feel working in that environment. No career is going to be perfect - and neither is any work environment. Spend a little time there and see how you feel about your "calling" after you have a little more experience under your belt.

I hope you're feeling better. You didn't say how long ago you had your surgery.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Too many times we do undertreat pain. Your experience might help you be a better nurse in the future. I hope you are better soon.