What are the reasons?

Merlyn · May 25, 2012

The negative post are from people, like me, that have been in the business for centuries and do not work in the area of nursing they want. Or they are from people that feel they made a mistake in going into nursing. Or great nurses that are burned out mostly not from the patients but from the fate that, do to all the BS and Knuckleheads in this business, they can not give all the care that they can give.

Pneumothorax, BSN, RN · May 25, 2012

why be a nurse? why not?!:heartbeat

we have the ability and privilege to touch lives, and people (in more ways than one LOL) to help them achieve the goal of health and wellness.

ya some patients suck, smell, stink are rude and ungrateful..but it happens. & its not the end of the world. and if it wasnt for them we'd have no $$ in the bank..(after taxes that is)

Juniper248 · May 26, 2012

I've been feeling the same way as the OP recently. I'm moving across the country and broke up with my boyfriend to go get my nursing degree. I know I really want to be a nurse, but will all this be worth it? I hope so!

I know I'll love it. And I know it will be hard. I know about all the harsh realities that everyone has listed above. But I would like to hear the great parts about it too. I think that's what the OP is getting at. Post some inspiration so we know that nursing isn't all horrible.

♑ Capricorn ♑ · May 26, 2012

I wish you lots of luck CinDRnyc, I really do. :hug:

I guess I'll add my $0.02 :twocents:

I agree this board can be brutal sometimes. Yet, I do understand how and why some nurses feel and act the way they do. But, like others above have said...it is an internet forum. Whatever, may be said sometimes should not always be taken at face value. We don't know these people, and in turn, they do not know us. We aren't walking in their shoes daily or relating to them on a personal level in real life. What we read here, is what we get. By no means, is the forum an entire census of all nurses values or beliefs, only the ones who post. And, even then, some of them aren't even nurses...myself included. I'm merely a student nurse.

I don't expect anyone to sugar-coat nursing for me. I don't wear rose-colored glasses. I appreciate honesty, facts and realism with a heaping side of humor. I enjoy the forum. I am interested in what people have to say about nursing, good or bad. Yes, there may be some comments I don't agree with 100% of the time, but to each their own. I say, one needs to decide for oneself what one believes in. What others say, may only be opinion. One can only allow other's opinions to affect one's judgement, if one allows it. If one allows him/herself to be dissuaded by an internet forum, who is at fault? No, I am not pointing fingers so please don't misunderstand me. I'm just saying one has the choice and the power to think and feel the way one does. And, to allow a forum to have that much control over one's thought...should be re-examined. To put it plainly, think for yourself and stand firm in what you believe in, and not allow what other's say affect your judgement of what is right to you. Try not to allow this forum to control your thoughts or have power over your emotions. You are your own being, and as such, you can think for yourself. You'd be doing yourself a great disservice, otherwise. You already know this because it has all been said before up above. I just wanted to re-affirm it.

This forum is not a bad place. There are plenty of positive things said here. I am thankful to have found a refuge in AN and glad it exists. I have learned alot from AN from just reading. I believe, nursing is what you make it, and attitude means everything. If you go into it negatively, that is what you will get. I'm not saying it will be a pleasure cruise 24/7. But, gosh darnit, I'm gonna try and make it be that way. I want to love my future job, so slap me. If you don't like something, change it. Change your job, change your attitude, change yourself, change your life. No one can do it for you. Its up to you to be happy and to pursue happiness. No one can take that from you.

Takes a bow and wishes you good luck. :)

(bows out)

Juniper248 · May 26, 2012

well said Capricorn :yelclap:

♑ Capricorn ♑ · May 26, 2012

Thank you :lol2:

:thankya:

cally527, RN · May 27, 2012

11. Being flirted with by little old men cracks me up.

Maybe I am over tired after a long day in the hot sun, but that made me laugh so hard that I cried!!!! Thanks not.done.yet

CinDRnyc · Jun 1, 2012

i am not sure if you can start a positivity thread by stating you are disappointed in the attitude of nurses and how you are going to address this when you start nursing school. with increasing frustrations in nursing and pressures on the bedside nurse.the pent up frustrations are bubbling to the surface.
with changes in the economy comes changes in the nursing field. the demands that administrations are placing on nurses are outrageous. as the belts tighten and there are several nurses applying for every position......the hospital treats their employee poorer and poorer. i think many enter the profession with idealistic perception of what the profession really is....they hear recession proof and see annual salaries and think, that's a job for me. schools are counseling people to enter this "wide open field" with promises of making your own schedule, work where you want, the halls are lined with gold....that does not exist.
schools are not preparing new graduates for the reality of work force. nursing is a harsh, taxing, and draining profession. emotionally and physically, the harsh realities/brutality of humanity can be over whelming especially when you have an unsupportive administration breathing down your neck berating you at every turn. then it has become a satisfaction rated reimbursed system when the goal is to treat patient and make them better and when we can't......people aren't happy. you can't rate a hospital like restaurant. we do things to people that don't make them happy!
we are blamed for everything and given credit for nothing. i think the lack of clinical time leaves the new graduates unprepared for the brutalities and rigors of the profession. it is over whelming to deal with humanity in all its ugliness only to be berated and brow beat by your boss. i know that not all facilities are not like this and there are those that are wonderful to work for but they are no longer in large number that were present in the past. there has been study after study that good staffing and happy nurses make happy patients with good outcomes. staffing models were made out with this theory in mind. a theory that never came to fruition. no one listens to those studies anymore and the staff they said they needed no longer exists.
the poor job market is very real. there are multiple applications for every position. nurses are being treated very badly at the bedside because she is easily replaced. staffing is poor....not for a lack of positions but for a lack of hiring due to hiring freezes. when hospitals profit margins are cut into they place they cut is where they spend the most cash out......they cut nurses, they cut staffing.
nurses need a place to vent. voice their displeasure at what is happening to nursing. a place to go and hear they are not alone in their frustration and exhaustion. this has been talked about in many threads. as i have stated in another thread.......
"i don't think nursing has hardened me. am i the same 18 year old i was when i entered this profession as an asn? no. the grind of dealing with humanity in all it's ugliness and glory has made me less naive but hardened me? no. do i think 1 out of seven nurses have a drug or alcohol problem the answer is no.
nurses will not molly coddle you. they are not warm and fuzzy all of the time. it's a serious job with human life in the palm of your hand, someones child, mother, father, brother aunt or uncle, that you need to perform perfectly so you don't kill anyone.
they are only trying to prepare you for the harsh reality of our profession that will greet you. nursing is not rainbows and leprechauns, puppy dog tails and kittens with whiskers. it a dirty, ugly, gut wrenching, emotionally draining, physically challenging, frustrating, disappointing and at times depressive job. but it is equally rewarding, beautiful, fulfilling profession that i have had the honor of participating in for 33 years so far.
there is a huge difference in cleaning someones teeth and someones bottom covered in feces while they fling obscenities (or feces) at your head. see how dealing in dealing with abuse, neglect, tragedy and sorrow is not the dentists office cleaning teeth or someone with bad breath. people die. good people die, young people die, children die, infants die and get cancer. people leave to go to the store to get milk and never go home.
nursing has taught me to appreciate every day. to be thankful for my life and my families life. it has taught me that there really is a god. it has taught me to be spiritual. it has taught me to never go to bed angry and to never say anything you don't mean or that you will regret. it has taught me to be sure i tell my family, husband and children that i love them at every chance i can because you don't know if there will be another.
as a 51 year old (gasp) i am sometimes frustrated by the attitude, and lack of commitment/responsibility/ownership of the younger (and some of the older) nurses. but the younger/newer nurses........they don't want the reality of nursing and want everything sugar coated that everything is rainbows and lollipops and are shocked and insulted when they are faced with the reality that life is messy and so is nursing. i think you need to reserve judgement of us "old bats" and our "presumed" tough exteriors for we are only trying to teach you how to survive and be the best nurse you can be. by the way....put those phones down!
i wish you luck and i would like to revisit this subject about 14 months after you graduate and are working full time. i'd like to know how you are perceived by the new students when you are stretched beyond your means and have the responsibility to teach someone that you aren't being paid to teach. to take the time from your day and gently mentor a gum snapping, eye rolling, texting student with patience and grace when you have the responsibility of all your usual patients and have the added responsibility of the student on your license....and see if you always respond with poise and grace.
your point of view may be different. peace:paw: "
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...690-page4.html
there have been many discussions with the "new/entering" to the profession especially since about 2008/09.
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...168-page2.html
https://allnurses.com/nursing-activis...ls-695050.html
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...al-484217.html
https://allnurses.com/ob-gyn-nursing/...te-529316.html
https://allnurses.com/nursing-activis...re-686534.html
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing...al-484217.html
have i loved being a nurse for 34 years next month? most definitely. don't depend on a website to give you your inspiration. nurses have been inspired for years to become nurses without the assistance of electronic devices. when i graduated school we were barely over minimum wage. there were no promises of 6 figure incomes if you "advanced" your degree. we were simply nurses and we loved that we were.....just that nurses. your desire to become a nurse lies within yourself.
a frequent contributor to an rubyvee has said it well......
https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-...er-653061.html
good luck in school! i wish you they very best. become a good nurse then try to change the world.:hug:

thank you so much for this! i'll make sure i'm not the "gum snapping, texting" student at clinical when the time comes.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2012

Thank You so much for this! I'll make sure i'm not the "gum snapping, texting" student at clinical when the time comes.

:lol2: That's too funny. It's hard to really convey what you "mean" on cyber paper. The gum snapping, eye rolling, texting student is really quite the visual....unfortunately I've seen her and been care for by her.

Nursing is a great profession. I have loved it for as of today......34 years. If you include being a candy striper (which in my day we would make beds, give simple care like face washed and teeth done as well as feed the residents in the "nursing home") I have been at the bedside of a patient for 38 years.

While I have had really bad days and have had days I think having a position as a fast food sales person would probably be the better choice. I have loved being a nurse and the moments that my patients and their families have allowed me to share with them. It's been an honor and a privilege to be a part of their lives when the have been ill, frighten, and scared.

Good luck in all you do!!!!