What Do You Love About Nursing?

[Allison007]

I am going to be starting the nursing program in January. I recently had an orientation at my school, which seemed (to me) to be devoted exclusively to informing us how difficult the program would be, and how we would have no life, and how we would suffer tremendously, etc., etc. I came home feeling pretty awful. Then I joined this wonderful site to see if anyone had any tips to offer to new students, and to look around to hear what other nurses had to say.

Wow! It seems like everyone hates their jobs/bosses/co-workers/patients. No one gets paid, everyone is exhausted, drained, burnt out, and miserable. Suddenly, nursing seems like the worst job on the planet.

I literally started crying. It seems like I am doomed to be miserable for two years in school, and subsequently for the rest of my life in my job.

SO...can anyone tell me something they actually like about nursing?

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I don't know what school you were accepted to. I doubt that your orientation focused on the negatives. They were trying to tell you that nursing school is a tough gig.

If you are crying at the thought.. you may not have what it takes.

It takes heart and soul, blood ,sweat and tears.

I liked the paycheck, saving lives, and challenging myself.

Best of luck to you, let us know how it's going.

[amzyRN]

From time to time, I make a huge help make a huge improvement in someones life and that is more rewarding than anything. Non traditional work hours, the 12 hour shift. I make over 100K per year and work less than 40hr per week.

[cms51212]

As a nurse of ten years this upcoming June 2017, I must admit I lack the optimistic views that others have posted. I wish you the very best in your future endeavors in nursing. You will be grossly undervalued and underpaid and overworked. My best suggestion is to shadow as many nurses as possible to be sure of your standing. It is a tremendous amount of responsibility with little authority. As far as my nursing school experience I did bust hump in my associates program before pursuing my bsn. I would hope that nursing programs finally updated their curriculum and no longer involve pointless careplans; there must be a better approach to educate and prepare nurses. I felt that nursing school was trying to sell you a good deal but kept you from seeing reality of what nursing truly involves until you are actually practicing as a full fledged nurse. Be prepared to pursue a masters degree or doctorate degree since everything now involves research which is sadly not employed in practice like it should be. Good luck in all you do.

[Susie2310]

I did not choose nursing because I had a strong desire to be a nurse; at the time it was a practical decision. But when I found that I bonded with patients during student clinicals and discovered that I genuinely cared and wanted to do my very best to take care of my patients and help them with their health problems, I found I liked nursing. That was/is how nursing became meaningful to me.

[kldepp08]

Allison,

First and foremost, congrats to you for getting into your program, that's a great accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself. Second, I am so sorry you came here looking for support and were left feeling overwhelmed and questioning your decision, certainly an unfair start for you.

I will not lie, nursing school and nursing ARE difficult, but, if your mind and heart are in the right place and you are determined to put in the hard work, I have no doubt you will be successful. What I want you to remember when coming here, yes, you will see people posting their frustrations, again because it IS hard work, and as humans, we vent. We also come here for support, and being a safe forum for nurses and students to discuss their experiences with their peers helps us all process our feelings. So, while you may have seen many negative posts, please don't think that's all it is! We tend to voice our aggravations more so than the successes as human nature tends to show, misery loves company!

Now, I can only speak for myself, but I am absolutely thrilled with my chosen profession! Yes, there are hard days, days when I can't wait to punch out at the end of the day, days when I think I just can't take any more, days when I think too much is expected of us. You will have those day no matter what you choose to do in life. What so I love about nursing? I went into this job with the intention of making a difference to the patients I care for. Again, this is not always easy, but 100% rewarding when it is achieved! When I say make a difference, I don't just mean in the big "life saving" sense of it, I find the most rewarding differences I make are always in the little things. If I am able to reach a "difficult" patient, or make someone who finds no reason to smile, smile, mission accomplished! If I am caring for someone who is alone and has no one, and I make them know that even if for 12 hours, someone REALLY does care... success!!

When I say goodbye at the end of my shift, and a patient says, thank you for being there, thank you for caring for me, thank you for x, y and z, I know I made a difference!

Is it always sunshine and rainbows? Certainly not, however, if something that I can do that is so small and takes nothing from me can make an impact on those I care for, then job well done! I tend to gravitate toward the patients that everyone else doesn't want to deal with, those with mental illness, those with addiction issues, the little old ladies on the call bell a million times an hour because they are lonely... I find that giving just that extra five minutes of time to let that lady talk about her husband of 50 years who passed and how much she misses him, well... she tends to call less for trivial things. I always make sure when I am with them providing care, giving meds ect, that I am 100% with them. I know the argument of nurses not having enough time to provide this extra attention, but for me at least, While I assessing, or giving meds, or changing a dressing I can also provide that extra touch and it takes nothing out of my day! Now, I'm just as guilty for getting annoyed and frustrated as the next person, and also vent my frustrations too, I'm just saying I always (TRY) at least to leave it outside of the patients care.

I trust you will find your niche, you just need to get through school and into a job. Everyone has something different that speaks to them in this field, and you will most certainly find yours!

Best of luck to you, and don't let anyones experience take away from yours... their story is not yours, nor will any experience be them same that you will have. If you hear a negative thing about a patient in report, don't walk into that room with that attitude, as it hinders you before you begin and you may find that you don't feel the same way. Your job is to find what YOU love and love what you do from there!

Good luck to you!!

[kldepp08]

As a Vet I have enjoyed meeting and talking to America's Vets. Met many WW2 Vets, Korean, Vietnam and Gulf war as well. It's an honor to take care of them. The VA has failed them miserably. We owe them everything, we are free today because of the Armed Forces of the US. If you ever come across a Vet be sure to thank them and let them know their service to this nation is appreciated.

For myself, it's the icing on the cake, would not want to do anything else.

Thank you for your service, and continued service!

[nursegj]

I've been a nurse over 40 years and have never regretted my choice. The great thing about nursing is that it offers SO MANY choices!. The field is ever expanding. I started out in Med/Surg then specialized in L&D and the OR. After I got older, I realized I wanted a change, so I went back to school, completed my BSN and MSN and became a nurse educator. This is the best of both worlds. I teach nursing and get to guide the upcoming generation of nurses and hopefully instill a nursing conscience and provide evidence based education. I'm also back in school pursuing a PhD in Nursing.

Don't give up or be discouraged. There is so much you can do in our profession. Adults, pediatrics, oncology, research, education, public health, administration, military, missionary - just to name a few!

Hang in there and you will find your niche!

[5150rn2]

First let me say this.. what they say about school is true. It will be one of the most challenging in every way thing you do. Better to tell you up front don't you think? But look at how many survived.. and for me it was worth every minute and every dime.

Let me also share this.. nurses vent.. they have to and who else would understand but another nurse.. and in any profession you won't really find an online community where people are like" OMG I had the best day"

so things like hours and bosses and charting and not peeing and not eating are part of a nurses daily life..

But, then you have a day, when a patient looks at you after you have relieved their pain ( physical, mental emotional) and they say thankyou.. or when someone has been in the hospital for a long time and have fought their way back and now they are going home, you celebrate with them. I had days when I left all I could say thank goodness I didn't kill anyone today.. ( not literally) but there are days. the moments when you do take a sec and pause to talk to your patient. And that is s luxury these days..

through my career (20 years and counting) I have done various types of nursing., and now I work in psych and I love it. Again good days bad days. But it's my passion.. it's so really hard to explain .. but you will know why you became a nurse.. and your "rewards" and "victories" will change and be different than mine.. it's about the heart of nursing . Does that sound absolutely cheesy and corny.. but it is what drives me..

for everyone it's different, an ER nurse has a different perspective than an oncology nurse. And there will be days and jobs that make you wonder why the heck you did this.. and then some smallthing will happen and it will again come into focus..

if someone is just looking for a job and there are nurses who 9/5 they probably won't be happy. It's a tough job., but the rewards are priceless. Can't imagine doing anything else. ( secret: often the most hard core scary nurses or instructors are the ones who feel the most and cry the hardest.and you'll likely never see it , but trust me it's often true. You can learn a lot from them .

So follow your heart on this one, only you know what speaks to re this career choice.

[natmanzo]

I am a nursing student as well. I am graduating in December if all goes well. I work as a NA on a cardiac progressive unit so I will be using both experiences.

What I love about nursing is that the options are endless. You will find your nitch! When I am at work, I love the interaction with my patients and their families. Being in a hospital is not easy so I love to make people smile. Sometimes it is as simple as sitting with them for a while so they have someone to talk to. Nursing school (although awful most of the time) is great because you are surrounding by the support of your peers. I got to witness two lady partsl births while in my OB rotation and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. I hope to be an L&D nurse some day, although I have peds now but we shall see.

[Tpa.travlr946531]

Oh yeah, they always act like this at nursing school orientation. Some teachers will seem mean and intimidating, while others love student nurses. It's the same when you are working with nurses on the floor and you're a student nurse.

What do I love about nursing? There are so many things I could list here. One of the best things about my job is working with student nurses! If I could have one every day I would!

I love teaching at the bedside, not from the nurse's station. Other preceptors might stay at the nurses' station and direct you to do tasks and call it teaching. That's fine IF you feel comfortable. If you don't feel comfortable doing something you have been asked to do, you must speak up!

I also enjoy catching things or finding things the rest of the interdisciplinary team has missed or overlooked. Things that need to be addressed. After you develop keen assessment skills, you will be able to do this too. Often times, patients and families are grateful that we found it and spoke up because we have addressed their needs, sometimes they didn't even realize the need!

I'm in my ninth year, and I still love it. I can't imagine doing anything else. When/if you get burned out, you can do something else in nursing. The sky is the limit. For me, I started travel nursing. I got a national certification. And finally, I went back to school so I can be a clinical instructor one day.

Good luck in school. You can get through it. On your worse day, remember why you chose nursing. The rewards are more plentiful than the bad day everyone has once in a while. You made a great decision.

[wannabeny]

I'm a nursing student in my 2nd semester, so hugs for support and congrats on your acceptance!!

I came from the horseracing world...where we were on the track by 5am 7 days a wk, galloping 6-10 1200 lb animals in 15 degree weather, counting any day you didn't break a bone/get thrown as a good day.

Nursing school is kinda equal to that. But, in my opinion at least, well worth it. You'll feel overwhelmed, but you hit your groove, and it goes by quickly.

I love the fact that I get one style of uniform, and it doesn't involve a vest and a helmet.

The sense of humor involved is definetly top.

The challenge of constant change & having to adapt to it.I feel very satisfied at even the smallest interactions with patients.

There is ALWAYS something to learn. And so many paths you can take career wise.

It has given me even more of an appreciation to how nurses are the center of the healthcare field.

From my experiences so far, there's big highs and big lows, but I still couldn't imagine doing anything else.

[camillemmrn]

I have been a RN for 35 years. I still work fulltime. I have had a fabulous career. I started out at a large teaching hospital on a general medicine floor. From there I "floated" for a year to all the specialty units (Recovery, PICU, NICU CCU, etc), I then did ICU for 10 years and loved it, from there I did hemodialysis for 3 years (loved that too), now for the last 20 years I have been a k-12 school nurse/intake nurse @ a school for deaf and/or blind (I love this job too). I've had other nursing positions that I haven't liked. I'm the kind who can tell right away if the job is for me, if I don't like it I leave. In between jobs I've done camp nursing, worked as a RN in a juvenile detention center. Fortunately that was at a time where if you were a RN you could walk in nearly anywhere and get hired on the spot. I understand times have changed. I have been blessed in my career. But, having said all that, if I was a young woman today I think I would have chosen to be a veterinarian or an MD......don't know why but back when I was in college I never thought of that. I still toy with the idea of going to vet school, but not sure they'd take a 60 year old! Good luck with your career. Never feel you have to stay in a job that's not right for you. Find your passion.