No I wouldn't recommend nursing

Nurses Career Support

Published

It surprises me how many students are going into nursing. I had my BSN since 1992 and have worked in the hospitals since then. Nursing is back-breaking labor with the reoccurring role of cleaning poop. There is no way my back can last another 20 years until retirement. Pick something else to go into.

Manuel

Hope I don't get chewed out for this but...

It really surprises me how many nurses adivise others NOT to go into nursing and really dislike their current positions.

I understand nursing has plenty of negative aspects but it has one giant positive aspect and that is the high DEMAND for nurses. We are in demand and there are is a huge variety of settings in which a nurse can work.

I feel like the majority of nurses who "hate" their nursing jobs probably are too unimaginative/lazy to find ones that suit them better. Disliking your job is one thing...but not doing anything about it is terrible for you, and probably your coworkers, patients and facility!

If you don't like bedside nursing, move somewhere else...it isn't rocket science. I really doubt you would hate ALL of the many wonderful careers nurses have available to them, especially when you factor in the current job market.

First off, I no longer work as a bedside nurse because I was "imaginative" enough to find a completely different field that suits me. However, I can still state my opinion about nursing as a career, because I have first-hand experience with it. Have you worked as a nurse? If you have and you like it, great - then share your opinion and don't call others names like "lazy" and "unimaginative" because their opinion differs from yours. If you haven't worked as a nurse, then you really shouldn't judge others who actually have first hand knowledge of the field, because you simply don't know where we're coming from.

Also, have you considered WHY there is a huge demand of nurses? Do you think a job that is truly wonderful really would have such a large number of qualified people who could work in it, but choose not to? Why do you think there is a "shortage?" And yes, there are many varieties of jobs within nursing, but there are many unhappy nurses competing for those jobs (see my previous post about new grad NPs taking up to a year to find a job).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
If you haven't worked as a nurse, then you really shouldn't judge others who actually have first hand knowledge of the field, because you simply don't know where we're coming from.

I am a student and no I have not worked as a nurse. But that doesn't mean I'm completely in the dark.

Since you have worked as a nurse, I agree that you have an excellent perspective on the type of nursing you have done. However, there are many facets of nursing and unless you have worked or thoroughly explored each of them, your perspective also has its limitations.

Also, have you considered WHY there is a huge demand of nurses? Do you think a job that is truly wonderful really would have such a large number of qualified people who could work in it, but choose not to? Why do you think there is a "shortage?" And yes, there are many varieties of jobs within nursing, but there are many unhappy nurses competing for those jobs (see my previous post about new grad NPs taking up to a year to find a job).

In my humble opinion, the shortage is mainly caused by a lack of educators and the sheer number of nurses NEEDED by the healthcare system. I THINK (although I'm not positive) that nurses makeup the majority of employees at hospitals, this obviously leads to the higher demand as well.

I think overall, nurses lack the support they need in the workplace which is contributing to turnover.

and sorry for using the words lazy and unimaginative of me. Honestly, I could have phrased it in a more appropriate way but I suppose I was being lazy and unimaginative.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

there is no nursing shortage, only a shortage of nurses willing to work under the current conditions

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Hope I don't get chewed out for this but...

It really surprises me how many nurses adivise others NOT to go into nursing and really dislike their current positions.

I understand nursing has plenty of negative aspects but it has one giant positive aspect and that is the high DEMAND for nurses. We are in demand and there are is a huge variety of settings in which a nurse can work.

I feel like the majority of nurses who "hate" their nursing jobs probably are too unimaginative/lazy to find ones that suit them better. Disliking your job is one thing...but not doing anything about it is terrible for you, and probably your coworkers, patients and facility!

If you don't like bedside nursing, move somewhere else...it isn't rocket science. I really doubt you would hate ALL of the many wonderful careers nurses have available to them, especially when you factor in the current job market.

Kristie beat me to it and said pretty much everything that I was thinking when I read this post. I was also imaginative enough to leave the bedside and I did it after less than a year in acute care. I do enjoy working in public health now, but if I had to do it all over again, I still would not choose nursing as a profession. The negative aspects far outweigh any positive rewards of being a nurse, in my opinion.

The nursing "shortage" is very complex and I don't believe that there is just one reason for it. However, I wish that I would have done more research before going to nursing school and discovered that there are over 500,000 RNs in the US that are not in the nursing workforce. That is more than enough nurses to cover the nursing "shortage". After working at the bedside, I now know why so many nurses have left the profession.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

this sounds like it would be just nurses in a hospital or nursing home...what about nurses in doctors offices, etc?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
The nursing "shortage" is very complex and I don't believe that there is just one reason for it. However, I wish that I would have done more research before going to nursing school and discovered that there are over 500,000 RNs in the US that are not in the nursing workforce. That is more than enough nurses to cover the nursing "shortage". After working at the bedside, I now know why so many nurses have left the profession.

While perhaps the need isn't as 'acute', I wonder how many other professions have similar statistics? I worked in IT for 6 years...I can't tell you the numbers of co-workers with IT experience/knowledge/expertise have left the field in droves....looks around on this site....IT analysts and programmers are expected to continue to be in demand in the future....others can have it; I got sick of layoffs, outsourcing, threats of both of those things, management, etc....never mind the JOY of being salaried and have mandatory overtime, often while we twiddled our thumbs because someone's project plan demanded that we show time on their books because they were behind in other areas of the project and it helped "bolster" their claims of our working as hard as we could....one summer 3 developers were forced to work 15% overtime for 6 weeks even though our part of the project was completely done and tested. It got to be asinine. Mind you, this is UNCOMPENSATED overtime since we're "salaried"....

Nursing isn't the only career where management has issues.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

No, I would not recommend nursing. Everything is about the bottom line now and doing more with less. The patients suffer because of this. I want to take care of my patients whatever the task is, but it is virtually impossible in this day and age and I leave work everday knowing this. It is not a good feeling. This is the reason I am seriously thinking about going back to college.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I had a desk job for 4 years before becoming a nurse. I worked hard, but could take things at my own pace. I was not used to my full potential so it was boring, and annoying, but it was tolerable. I decided to go into nursing to quench my thirst for medical knowledge and to make a difference in someone's life. I wanted emotional and mental stimulation which I thought could come from nursing.

wow. My prior bachelor's from a prestigous university did not compare to getting an associate's of nursing at a community college. I missed out on a lot of family time due to studying. I missed large chunks of my nephews growing up, and rarely spent time with my husband. Maybe it was the school, less than 1/3 of those who started the program finished it. After becoming a nurse, I have been amazed by the physical and emotional stress as others have pointed out. I feel like I'm in my 60s when I'm actually in my 20s. I've asked others how they handle the big patient loads and they tell me point blank they have to cut corners. You simply can NOT give the kind of care you want to to your patients because you have too many other things on your plate. One shift, one of my patients almost had a fall. She was very upset by it and was crying. I wanted to be there to comfort her in her time of need. I held out for a couple minutes and thankfully a tech was there who took over holding her hand so I could attend to my other patients. How awful and cold I felt leaving the room when she was bawling. One of my other patients had wet the bed because she didn't want to use her call light because "you nurses are so busy I didn't want to bother you". I emphasize to all my patients right off the bat every shift that they should use their call light. But after they've been in the hospital for a day or so they know how it is. I feel so bad for these patients but I can only do my best for them. You have so many tasks/patients that you can't give the care you want. I have discovered that for my floor, 12 hour shifts are a myth. And all in all I work in a relatively good work floor environment compared to many other hospitals.

I do know that I am making a difference for people. But even though I knew nursing would not be easy, one cost I didn't fully think about, and the one that is the most upsetting is the cost to my health, and the cost to my family. Here I thought I'd have more time to spend with my family. Instead, I come home feeling like a 60 year old woman, sometimes take out my stress on my husband, I can't always make food for my family because I sometimes feel so terrible and head to bed early, but sometimes still I'll have trouble sleeping, thinking about my patients, and many times, to my dismay, I wake up on my days off feeling nauseous and have to continue to lay down, missing family time. I run around at work in practically solid go-go-go mode. While this can be done ok for a shift here and there, when this becomes a near everyday occurrence, your body just can't continue to handle it. When I was first hired, my two main young educators on orientation were there because they had to leave floor nursing due to medical conditions caused by work even though they are fairly fit people. Back injuries are a serious health hazard in nursing. Kidney stones, urinary tract infections, bringing home c-diff/influenza etc, needle sticks, contamination, being hit/bit, etc are just a few more worries. I have continued to tell myself "It will get better" since nursing school, but it hasn't. Knowing I have made a difference makes my spirit soar immensely, but seeing that my family has been, and continues to be hurt because of it brings out my claws. I am moving in the summer so I will stick out my current job till then, and after that I will be looking for a non-bedside nurse position. Volunteering will give me the emotional satisfaction of helping others that I crave.

My advice to you: make your family your number one priority as you'll never have that time back with them, and if your job offers no stress hold onto it! Get your emotional satisfaction from helping someone through volunteering.

Thank you so much for post. It really made me stop and think.

I've been working parttime at a hospital as a phlebotomist and I

already have seen alot of what I read here. I'd rather know now

then spend the money and time on a career I thought I could

make a difference in, but in reality I think you just get beaten down.

I've seen it in the nurses I've met already. Sad, because I think

if management at the hospitals would be more concerned about

patient care instead of profits maybe things would be different.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i am in nursing school and doing quite well. i really like it.

yes.. i have heard it can be nuts working the floor in a hospital. there are other options out there like advocacy, legal nursing, management, doctor's offices. these jobs may be harder to come by, but they are out there.

as far as money goes, yes.. you probably get paid more in a hospital, but that varies too. my heart doc. told me he pays his cardiac nurses $80,000 a year and that's in a docs. office. so hard to find, probably, are those jobs out there, yes. you have to look for them and don't settle for floor nursing if it's not your thing. as with anything, some jobs stink, others are great. i am sure there are some nurses out there who are happy. look around for other avenues and good luck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm just wondering really why this post exists on a message board meant to advance the nursing field. Sure, it is widely based on opinion and I believe in free expression, but caution should be taken by nurse students reading this thread that these are merely opinions. Not all nurses are jaded or unhappy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
EVERYWHERE! (LOL) Been through all areas with rotations in school, if it's not poop, it's some other bodily fluid!

poop if you're lucky (lol):biggringi

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Assisted Living Nurse Manager.

Wow, this thread has been around since 2001. It sure seems nothing has changed in 6 years. Will there ever be better staffing ratios for those nurses on the floors? Will there ever be any solutions to the problems that exist within the nursing profession? Anyways I was just making an observation and talking out loud.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment