An Unapologetic Reasoning On Why You Don't Want To Be A Nurse.
Being a nurse is a tough college course to decide to take and too many people are walking in eyes wide shut. There are a lot of disappointments on the way and at times you will feel like you've made the wrong choice. The purpose of this article is to make people aware of these issues but hope that it will strengthen the resolve of the ones who know this is what they want to do.
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OK, being a nurse is tough. I don't mean the training is tough, I don't mean you'll have tough days, I don't mean that continuing professional development is tough. Being a nurse is tough and you need to be prepared for a tough career. Yes it is rewarding, yes you will be pushed to become a better practitioner and a better person but it's going to be tough.
This article will have a UK bias but I'm hoping that the key message comes through, you need to be the right person to be good at this job.
So you've picked nursing as a soft option through University/College, think it will be an easy Degree/BSc with the healthcare system picking up your fees? Wrong. All those cool fresher parties, all the social clubs, the late nights; they ain't going to happen. Not only are you working on a full time academic degree but you have to put the clinical hours in too, you need to be willing to put this course in front of what you might want personally. This can include friends, previous hobbies or sports or even relationships. Most courses are based around the working system so while you're friends enjoy a few months between terms/semesters you get maybe two weeks off at Christmas and summer, with the occasional one thrown in if you're lucky.
Nursing education is evolving, you now need to learn biology, physiology, sociology, some psychology, healthcare management, healthcare politics, multidisciplinary team interaction management, and those books don't come cheap. The library won't have enough copies so you'll have to budget more than any of your friends and start pulling in some extra cash.
So now you've qualified it'll all get better? Maybe, but maybe you'll not get that job you really wanted and have to take a second choice. It's hard to be motivated for a job you don't really want to be doing, and believe me it shows. But you get on with it anyway and try to resist the insipid feeling that no one else really wants to be there either. Try to remember why you wanted to do this job.
For the most part you will be respected; people generally do love nurses. But that one person who says "just a nurse" or "didn't you want to be a doctor really" is really going to get to you, especially when you experience an issue where management takes the Drs side on an issue when you really believe you are in the right.
As a nurse and midwife mentor it's really hard to see students coming through who just don't have the stuff it takes to be a responsible practitioner. You can have the academic side but you need to be able to put that into practice and relate to your patients. Likewise the days of people getting through because "they're really good in practice and get really nervous in exams" are over, you need to able to perform in the classroom and the clinic.
Nursing courses have a very high attrition rate and if you think I'm saying all this to put you off then good, because you are the person who won't make it through and I don't want to waste either of our time. If you can read this and still want to be a nurse then please come and join the family.
It is tough, it is heartbreaking, it is ecstasy, it is pain, and it is not for everyone.
Hopefully you will find your dream job and have a long and happy career but the reality of it is that there will be some major obstacles which stand in your way, it will be tough.... but worth it.
