Why should I be a nurse if it's so awful?

Nurses General Nursing

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I've been reading allnurses.com for about six months. Started posting today. I've read over and over and over about nurses in tears--not due to patients, but due to other nurses. This is disheartening, and as one who is starting school full of the enthusiasm and idealism that is the norm for student nurses, I'm truly beginning to question whether or not I will have wasted a LOT of money and my time, only to find the work environment so horrible.

A sincere question: if this profession has a work environment that is extremely hostile more often than not, why should I become a nurse then? If patients are hardly ever the "problem," then they aren't the solution, i.e. "You're helping people!"

I interpret your answer to mean, "Yes, the work environment is quite horrible, and no one should become a nurse if you really don't like hostile work environments?" Is my interpretation correct?

ETA: This is in reply to applern.

Nursing is about caring. if you do not have that will to want to care for people, then it hard for you to be a good nurse. A lot of profession out there are "awful" but still people do them because of the love and their goals. No work environment is the same, some are much demanding than others that it can stress you out but remember you are in nursing to care and to provide the best care for the people you serve. There are different types of nursing.

Your interpretation means you are not ready to be a nurse.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
What you have to do is learn early how not to let the negativity suck you in, so that you don't become part of it.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Great advice. It's a skill not exactly taught in nursing school, I'm sure, but I'll work on it. :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
Nursing is about caring. if you do not have that will to want to care for people, then it hard for you to be a good nurse. A lot of profession out there are "awful" but still people do them because of the love and their goals. No work environment is the same, some are much demanding than others that it can stress you out but remember you are in nursing to care and to provide the best care for the people you serve. There are different types of nursing.

Your interpretation means you are not ready to be a nurse.

I absolutely agree with what nursing care means. And, your assessment of my readiness is noted.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

It has been my experience that many of our outcomes are a reflection of us. Be realistic. I don't expect every day to be a walk in the park or every one I work with to be delightful. IMO being a nurse is in large part what you make it. If you look hard enough, even here, there are many of us who really enjoy our jobs and love being a nurse.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
It has been my experience that many of our outcomes are a reflection of us. Be realistic. I don't expect every day to be a walk in the park or every one I work with to be delightful. IMO being a nurse is in large part what you make it. If you look hard enough, even here, there are many of us who really enjoy our jobs and love being a nurse.

Yes, everything is what you make of it. I plan on making the best of it--I've been the primary family member of way too many hospitalizations of loved ones, and I admire nurses and want to be one of them--but my original post was referring to what I've seen over and over: "Nurses eat their young", which for some threads was also someone new to a job. Most of the replies here have been very helpful to me in giving balance of reality vs. what I've read, including yours.

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My assessment of you means you a ready to be a nurse because you are already showing great interest. Forget about awful environment (believe me there are just a few). Nursing is a diverse field that offers a myriad of environment and opportunities. Don't limit yourself. Why don't you think about the things that initially attracted you to the profession. May be remembering those things will help you reclaim your love for nursing. Remember you play a very important role in helping people regain their health. You comfort people and their families in what can be a very difficult time their lives. You are a knowledgeable advocate for patient rights and needs.

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but my original post was referring to what i've seen over and over: "nurses eat their young", which for some threads was also someone new to a job. most of the replies here have been very helpful to me in giving balance of reality vs. what i've read, including yours.

don't believe everything that you read. i have made it a practice to help less experienced nurses and encourage them. there are more experienced nurses who value your fresh knowledge and sharp eyes! find a more experienced nurse whom you trust to encourage you and offer guidance. make allies.

we need you, dudette! you don't sound like someone who buys into a mob mentality.

look for the best in people. decide for yourself.

let us know how it goes! ok?

denise

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
My assessment of you means you a ready to be a nurse because you are already showing great interest. Forget about awful environment (believe me there are just a few). Nursing is a diverse field that offers a myriad of environment and opportunities. Don't limit yourself. Why don't you think about the things that initially attracted you to the profession. May be remembering those things will help you reclaim your love for nursing. Remember you play a very important role in helping people regain their health. You comfort people and their families in what can be a very difficult time their lives. You are a knowledgeable advocate for patient rights and needs.

I must have misinterpreted again. I thought "Your interpretation means you're not ready to be a nurse," was extremely straightforward. Thank you for clarifying.

I do feel I have the unfortunate "leg up" on some of my peers being in hospitals so much--SICU, PICU, ER, etc.-- and I plan to take that to clinicals and practice. I've never lost my love of actual nursing, but negative environments that really don't have to be there--through what *seemed* to be the plethora of ******* peers in this profession--sort of halted my idealism. I believe that idealism is not necessarily a bad thing for student nurses, especially if it means that it will help them focus on patients, rather than chronically bad-tempered peers (which I now know I have to recalibrate my idealism and not really think of nursing as a sister/brotherhood). As for peers, everyone can have a bad day, but when I saw words like "mean-spirited" and "humiliation" with no follow-up on someone apologizing for being a raging *****...YIKES!

I'm glad I started this thread. I now understand there's some venting going on about co-workers, and that's a reasonable thing. I'll focus more on the inspiring patient stories.

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Its like any experience really. If someone had a great experience at a restaurant they will tell about 3-5 people about it. If they had a bad experience, they tell 10-14 people about it.

You're just not getting every good experience here on all nurses. Besides, if it really is that bad, we need good people to make it better. You have to be the change you want to see.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
but my original post was referring to what i've seen over and over: "nurses eat their young", which for some threads was also someone new to a job. most of the replies here have been very helpful to me in giving balance of reality vs. what i've read, including yours.

don't believe everything that you read. i have made it a practice to help younger nurses and encourage them. there are a lot of older nurses who value your new knowledge and sharp eyes! find an older nurse whom you trust to encourage you and offer guidance. make allies.

we need you, dudette! you don't sound like someone who buys into a mob mentality.

look for the best in people. decide for yourself.

let us know how it goes! ok?

denise

ha! you'll have to re-do your post to say "more experienced nurses"! :D i'm 39, so that "older nurse" could be 25, where i'm concerned! :p

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

don't believe everything that you read. i have made it a practice to help less experienced nurses and encourage them. there are more experienced nurses who value your fresh knowledge and sharp eyes! find a more experienced nurse whom you trust to encourage you and offer guidance. make allies.

i agree and also try to be very encouraging to my new co-workers. fwiw while not all the seasoned nurses loved me immediately or bent over backward to help me when i was new overall i have been treated very well by the more experienced nurses i work with. i always make a point to let them know how appreciative i am. again i think in part we are back to "it is what you make of it". :)

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Ha! You'll have to re-do your post to say "more experienced nurses"! :D I'm 39, so that "older nurse" could be 25, where I'm concerned! :p

lol!

@ 39 we never accept we are old

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