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?

[Zakaton]

Yep, that about right. Do not forget, there will be legal issues, complaints, letters to CNO, investigations. Find a lawyer now. You will learn about yourself a lot of interesting stuff.

If you are smart, you will use nursing education to build upon. Get out of hospital nursing as soon as possible. There is no future there. Use the degree to get into smth else. You will never be appreciated for your work, reprimanded - very possibly.

[Wshrock]

What I like about nursing? First of all, the nursing school I went to should never have been allowed to start. The first day of class as the 45 of us students were in the class room, the DON came in to welcome us to the school. Part way thro her welcome speech, she said that most of us would not graduate because we did not meet the requirements of being a nurse; one of the students asked what were the requirement, of being a nurse. With a very strict view, she said To be a nurse, you must be female, white, single, wealthy, and good looking.”

A few days later she saw me in the hallway and said Wayne, why don't you drop out so we don't have to fail you out”. I told her You do what you can to fail me out, and I will do what I can to pass and we will see who wins”. Of the five of us that did pass the program, I was the only one who did not meet the requirement of being a nurse”. You see I am a married male who is not that good looking, not at all wealthy and up in years. Now, I can tell you that before the school year ended that DON was no longer employed by the school and most schools are not as horrible as the one I went to.

So one may ask Why did I go through all the hell just to get my LPN?” One simple reason, I love to help others. I have been an LPN now for around 25 wonderful years. I have had the enjoyment of working in a lot of different areas in medical field, such as the Orthopedic rehab, ER, med/surg, LTC, Clinic, Outpatient Clinic, doctor's office, Urgent care center; Occupational health, Pain management clinic, Pediatric clinic, and an ER overflow, summer camp nurse, and Progressive care unit. So you see there are a lot of different areas to work in, Also over 15 of the great 25 years working as a traveling nurse and that is why I was able to work in so many different areas.

Going back to the question, What do I actually like LOVE about nursing?” I really do love to help other get and feel the best they can. Most of the time, you meet the patient when they are not their best, they hurt, they have been in an accident, they are ready to have their first baby, they are up in years and don't have much time to live--all these people need the same thing, your love and understanding while providing physical help. I love being able to be there to assist them where they need help, to let them know that I have been trained to offer them the help they need and I am there with them. I look at each patient as my mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter, treat them like I would want them to be treated.

I have very much enjoyed working with some of my coworkers, and because of them we were able to work through the problems. I choose to deal with my stress and there can be a lot of it, through my belief and love in my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as other, have said, Nursing is like anything else--it is what you make it”. Go in with a positive attitude and do the best you can.” To me the real pay is the satisfaction of a job well done, the paycheck is just icing on the cake so I can pay the bills

Yes the Nursing school can be very difficult and challenging, and I think mine was one of the worst, but I survived being one of the 5 out of the starting 45, so if I can do it so can you.

I am almost 70 and still enjoying nursing.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

My dear. as was posted earlier, although there is a lot of stressful moments in nursing, there are also numerous wonderful moments that make you feel so good, they make your stress go away at least for a short while. One of mine was witnessing a set of triplets being delivered, and how happy the grandmother was seeing the pictures of her new grandchildren. It literally made my day, even though I was yelled at by the Gynecologist. This is a lot of what you can experience too, and when you become an RN, You just may feel very good about your accomplishment. Why not try it if it's something you would love to do? After all, any field you choose has its stressful parts even if it's becoming a secretary, a housewife, a farmer, a mechanic, an engineer, etc.Good luck.

[al3x117, RN, EMT-B]

What I like about nursing? First of all, the nursing school I went to should never have been allowed to start. The first day of class as the 45 of us students were in the class room, the DON came in to welcome us to the school. Part way thro her welcome speech, she said that most of us would not graduate because we did not meet the requirements of being a nurse; one of the students asked what were the requirement, of being a nurse. With a very strict view, she said To be a nurse, you must be female, white, single, wealthy, and good looking.”

A few days later she saw me in the hallway and said Wayne, why don't you drop out so we don't have to fail you out”. I told her You do what you can to fail me out, and I will do what I can to pass and we will see who wins”. Of the five of us that did pass the program, I was the only one who did not meet the requirement of being a nurse”. You see I am a married male who is not that good looking, not at all wealthy and up in years. Now, I can tell you that before the school year ended that DON was no longer employed by the school and most schools are not as horrible as the one I went to.

So one may ask Why did I go through all the hell just to get my LPN?” One simple reason, I love to help others. I have been an LPN now for around 25 wonderful years. I have had the enjoyment of working in a lot of different areas in medical field, such as the Orthopedic rehab, ER, med/surg, LTC, Clinic, Outpatient Clinic, doctor's office, Urgent care center; Occupational health, Pain management clinic, Pediatric clinic, and an ER overflow, summer camp nurse, and Progressive care unit. So you see there are a lot of different areas to work in, Also over 15 of the great 25 years working as a traveling nurse and that is why I was able to work in so many different areas.

Going back to the question, What do I actually like LOVE about nursing?” I really do love to help other get and feel the best they can. Most of the time, you meet the patient when they are not their best, they hurt, they have been in an accident, they are ready to have their first baby, they are up in years and don't have much time to live--all these people need the same thing, your love and understanding while providing physical help. I love being able to be there to assist them where they need help, to let them know that I have been trained to offer them the help they need and I am there with them. I look at each patient as my mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter, treat them like I would want them to be treated.

I have very much enjoyed working with some of my coworkers, and because of them we were able to work through the problems. I choose to deal with my stress and there can be a lot of it, through my belief and love in my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as other, have said, Nursing is like anything else--it is what you make it”. Go in with a positive attitude and do the best you can.” To me the real pay is the satisfaction of a job well done, the paycheck is just icing on the cake so I can pay the bills

Yes the Nursing school can be very difficult and challenging, and I think mine was one of the worst, but I survived being one of the 5 out of the starting 45, so if I can do it so can you.

I am almost 70 and still enjoying nursing.

This was awesome man thank you for this! Great motivation!

[blondesareeasy]

The income. That, and the job security.

Sooner or later you'll be working beside a coworker with an iffy background, but "nurses are a dime a dozen " so they'll take anybody.

You won't find a more screwed-up career choice anywhere.

Your female coworkers are back-biting.

The "nurse practitioners" are functional morons playing doctor without the years of clinical rounding necessary to make good judgment.

Beware of those badges with "BSN" tacked onto it.

A nurse anesthetist is actually a worthy, independent practice choice, however. You don't have to work with nurses and you'll be very independent with the highest income return you can expect. And you'll get some respect EXCEPT from real MD Anesthesiologists unless they want you to cover for them when they're on vacation.

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

I like/love my job/employer! I am paid well! I enjoy taking care of people. Passing meds and teaching pts is a great fulfillment to me.

I think that your school tried to scare you is to make you understand how intense nursing school is. It is hard, but is do able!

[showbizrn]

The income. That, and the job security.

Sooner or later you'll be working beside a coworker with an iffy background, but "nurses are a dime a dozen " so they'll take anybody.

You won't find a more screwed-up career choice anywhere.

Your female coworkers are back-biting.

The "nurse practitioners" are functional morons playing doctor without the years of clinical rounding necessary to make good judgment.

Beware of those badges with "BSN" tacked onto it.

A nurse anesthetist is actually a worthy, independent practice choice, however. You don't have to work with nurses and you'll be very independent with the highest income return you can expect. And you'll get some respect EXCEPT from real MD Anesthesiologists unless they want you to cover for them when they're on vacation.

OMG! I pray YOU are never THE NURSE assigned to ME and My FAMILY/FRIENDS.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

OMG! I pray YOU are never THE NURSE assigned to ME and My FAMILY/FRIENDS.

You and the individual have been burned badly. I am sorry for you. It looks like you could use some counseling, or at least a very good listening and very sympathetic ear.

[Tomascz, ASN, RN]

At some point during school, while conferring with my instructors as to why they shouldn't kick me out of the program for one clinical or academic failure or other I asked them if they'd ever considered subjecting applicants to a psych eval; cut to the chase, find out whether this wannabe nurse was a couple bricks shy of a load or not. They thought that was pretty funny. I wasn't kidding. I thought a little preemptive screening would be the ethical thing to do. I still do, but I'm not sure what would qualify the screener.

Nurses come in all emotional shapes and sizes but one thing I think they have in common is a stainless steel backbone. You'll meet whiners and martyrs and some sages and saints and a lot of run of the mill, fallible, but otherwise good folk devoted to their lifes work and their patients well being,often fiercely so.

Workwise, nursing is a minefield, in my limited experience, but there are good jobs out there, somewhere. I got one after six months of beating the bushes all over the US (I am not your ideal candidate by a long shot) and it has turned out to be the perfect job for me. Don't let the MBA bots from HR get you down when it comes to job hunting and try not to get ground up in some private for profit medical abattoir posing as a health care company.

If you hold up your end, there are lots of good nurses out there that will help you make it through clinicals, orientation and beyond.Make friends, study your *** off, get sleep whenever and where ever you can, eat appropriately, drink sparingly (if at all) and eventually you'll walk out of the NCLEX test center with an RN license in the bag.

The first thing you have to do is get through school. Go ahead and cry and then reach way down inside and pull up all the grit and attitude you can muster, and give those sons a ******* a run for their money. They deserve it for being mean to a nice girl like you.

[wisereader]

There are days where nothing goes right, you are overwhelmed, holding back tears and would quit for a nickel. But then there are the other days. You drop an NG on the first try, and relieve somebody's pain and nausea. You administer someone's first chemo, and now they are on the way to recovery. You teach someone else how to manage and live with their diabetes. You inspire another person to go into nursing, because they know by watching you that you LOVE your job.

I have been doing this job for 30 years. Sometimes I gripe and complain, I am human after all. But I could not imagine doing anything else and getting the rewards that I feel with being a nurse. I know that what I do is special and wonderful. I wouldn't change any of it.

[guesT3]

Thank you for posting this! Pre-nursing here (hopefully applyl next Jan) and looked at all the harsh realities when I want to stay motivated.

[guest042302019, BSN, RN]

I love the people I work with [mostly].