Would YOU recommend to a friend/family member, etc..

pedsrnjc · Apr 1, 2011

To family and friends: Regardless of the economy, if it's a calling, go for it, just know it might be hard to find a job in the area you want to work in. If you want to get rich, be a bank CEO.

hopefulwhoop · Apr 1, 2011

Honestly, no, I would not recommend nursing to anybody. I have actually discouraged people from entering nursing. I hate that I had to, but they wanted honesty and that's what they got. I don't 'hate' nursing, by any means, but I definitely don't love it. Nursing is full of stress with little reward. And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I plan to leave bedside by the end of the year.

Flo., BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2011

No. I am planning on leaving the field.

dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I · Apr 1, 2011

You're assumption that "there is no longer a nursing shortage" is inacurate. The market for nurses waxes and wains in general. Some places are always short of nurses, some places it varies. I've been disabled for over a year but get 2 or 3 emails or phone calls per week offering me positions all over the continent plus Saudi Arabia. When the market is tight, some places can be more picky about hiring. At other times I've seen recruiting before graduation and even outside the US.

Would I recomend? I love nursing and 25 years went by way too fast. I encourage everybody to find something they enjoy, then they'll never work a day in their lives. Like to help people, good pay, ability to move geographically with fair job security? Nursing, Resp Therapy, Rad techs are always in demand for travel positions!

Daisy_08, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2011

good question.

i think it depends on the person. i have encouraged and discourage people. for myself its just something that is in me, it feels right. i know a lot of nurses who love their jobs and some that hate it. i will mention that one of the most popular conversations in the staff room is the "i wish i just would have done (ultrasound tech, dental hygienist, ct tech ect) cuz they make more, have way better schedules, and work less" (fyi that last part about working less is not something i said so please don't get upset with me).

i think you need to consider if you really want to be a nurse. or are you looking for a secure job, with good pay, where you can make a difference, then you can get a job that offers that with less stress, less physically demanding and with better hours. but if you want to be a nurse then go for it, in the end i love it.

Chin up · Apr 1, 2011

Absolutely not, unless you have guts of steel and ice water in your veins. My position and I'm sticking to it...peace!

Black Jade, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2011

I haven't encouraged or discouraged anybody from entering nursing. I just give them the facts and it's up to them to decide on their own if this for them. There was a former coworker who asked me about nursing. He was lazy, took shortcuts, did not take school seriously (he was in his 40s), etc... I was upfront and told him that if you go into nursing just for the money and not because you love helping people, then no, nursing is not for you. I think he ended up changing careers. Good, one less selfish individual in this field.

LPNweezy · Apr 1, 2011

"There is always a need for nurses"

Darkfield · Apr 1, 2011

I love it when other people become nurses. I am in ICU, and I love what I do. There are days that I hate it, but I'm in where the drama is. Life, death, blood all over, old family feuds boiling over, some of the weirdest cases, good and bad doctors, mercy flights, young people who are really really sick and then get better (or don't). Daily, I see the sort of thing that people watch TLC for. And I get paid.

When I tell people that nursing is great, I also let them know that it isn't easy, that I hated school and almost dropped out the first semester. And that it is constantly stressful, and you'll be in a lot of situations that you won't know how to deal with. I'm not really about holding someone's hand and making their day better (occasionally, but it doesn't thrill me to the core of my being) but about learning as much as I can about the human body and its pathologies, and how to apply my knowledge. If you are a pharmacist, you know a lot. But you never get to see your work in action like we do. We are right there, with patients. I think it would be frustrating to see be, say, in radiology, because you might see something wrong with a patient, but all you can do is take an x-ray. We're different.

And if you burn out of your job, there are a million other things to do. Management, telephone triage, public health. There are niches for nurse entrapeneurs; a market that can only be filled by use. The nursing shortage is not over where I live; and there is a huge primary care gap that needs to be filled by nurse practitioners.

sameyjaney · Apr 1, 2011

Hhhhmm....I usually look for their intentions. If they speak of a "calling" or say something like, "that is all I have ever wanted to do" I would say go for it. However, they should be prepared to get out of school and work another job for the 1-2 years it may take them to find a job in the nursing profession. If they speak of the steady income, vast array of opportunities and "nursing shortage" I would readily explain to them that this is not only inaccurate, but it is probably not enough to keep them in the profession for long, as they will most likely get burnt out rather quickly.

colleennurse, ASN, RN · Apr 1, 2011

I usually tell people that it is not at all what they see on TV and that if they are serious that they should go shadow a nurse for a day to see what it is really like. I just make sure to point out that they should investigate it more before inesting time and money in school.