Are there any nurses happy to be a nurse?

Nurses General Nursing

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I am a first year nursing student and just started my real clinical in a nursing home. The nurses are LPNs. I was placed with one that was very helpful as far as teaching me the correct way to do things and giving me many opportunities to do them. However, she was very negative about the profession. I appreciate her insight but she said "don't stop here, work in administration," "your life goal wasn't to work weekends and miss your family's Christmas was it?", "RNs barely make more than me and you're putting yourself at this much risk for what, 40k?"

I've heard all this before but I think the accumulation of hearing so many people unhappy is starting to make me wonder if this is right. I'm fairly certain I will continue on to nurse practitioner or admin or something like that as I love school and am usually good at it. I just need to know, is anyone actually happy being a floor nurse for once? I know there are many negative things pulling you away from patient care but does the good outweigh the bad? Do you think that nurse felt that way because she was in a nursing home and maybe because she was LPN as I know they have a hard time defending their position?

I don't regret becoming a nurse - it was the right decision based on my situation at the time. I do regret that I didn't manage my education and career (or lack thereof) in a different way that I was never put in the position of choosing nursing in the first place. Lately I've been considering looking for jobs outside nursing mostly because I resent having to get a BSN (which would be my second bachelors) in a program where I have learned literally nothing that wasn't covered in my ADN program or through working.

I love my current job...the one I had before that was so stressful I think my personality was starting to change.

Lots of nursing jobs are that stressful, and there are lots of nurses that have to work at them. My advice would be don't let a fear of change stop you from taking steps forward.

A lot of nurses at my old job did not enjoy it, and when I asks why they'd been there so long, I'd get a shrug of the shoulders, and a response like, "I'm used to it here. I know everyone."

Specializes in PICU/Pedi.
A lot of nurses at my old job did not enjoy it, and when I asks why they'd been there so long, I'd get a shrug of the shoulders, and a response like, "I'm used to it here. I know everyone."

That was an easy trap to get into. The reason I didn't leave the area I was in sooner was because I liked the people I worked with and knew the doctors and what they wanted, for the most part. I was just comfortable enough to be afraid to make the jump somewhere else. Glad I did, finally.

After floating through most of the units in an acute inpatient hospital and hating them all, I found a home. A year later I'm still nearly giddy to head into work. I think the thing people miss in an acute inpatient setting is that these people are stressed out and scared. Their family is stressed out and scared....generally this doesn't bring out the best behavior and who would expect it to? For me, once I wrapped my head around that, it was easier to understand and care for some of the more challenging patients who make bedside difficult. That being said, there are jerks who are jerks on their best day.....but you will encounter those people in any job you do. Restaurant, retail, management, business.....

I love nursing - but there are no "cushy" jobs in nursing whatsoever.

Management is ever more stressful in my opinion.

I'm a student too and I've heard those comments as well. I choose to make this MY experience and not let others deter me. I hated my last career so I chose to get out of it. I would never discourage those getting into the business because they may love it. We choose our own path and if they are so miserable, they should find a way out. It's not easy, I know, but it's always an option. I agree that it is unprofessional and completely rude for someone to tell a student who is busting their butt to become a nurse how horrible they perceive their job to be. Ignore it. You are not them!

I'm very happy to be a nurse. Have I had times that I felt like I might have made the wrong decision? Yes. Have I experienced burn out? Yes. Have I been so frustrated with healthcare admin in the hospital that makes being a nurse so hard sometimes? Yes. But I still am happy being a nurse. Because aside from all of those things that make nursing difficult and frustrating, ultimately, I love what I am able to do for my patients. That is why I became a nurse and that is why I will always be a nurse. I left hospital nursing after two years and my happiness with being a nurse came back after I left that environment. I am in home health care now and it's great. It has it's own challenges and frustrations, as every job does, but I am overall very happy to be a nurse to my patients and that's what counts.

I love being a nurse.

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