After reading negative thread, want to give up nursing dream!

professionally speaking, there is much to gripe about.

that is why there is the current nsg crisis; much going on with minimal resources to turn it around.

yet, despite its' frustrations, i have never been so personally satisfied and that is why i choose to remain a nurse.

thank God we have this bb where others can vent.

Lord knows we don't have the support on the job.

but i have a hunch that many feel as i do: that no matter how maddening the job can be, the personal rewards are far more satisfying than the professional hindrances that makes one pull our hairs out.

one's attitude will make or break the staying power of our profession.

best wishes to you.

leslie

I really think that you should stick it out. The good thing about nursing is that there are SO MANY different options with nursing. you don't have to work in an area (or hospital) where it is understaffed or overcrowded. You can be a DON, teach, LNC, CRNA, etc. You can travel, and look at all of the different specialties you can go into. Please don't limit yourself to others personal experiences. One of the reasons that solidified my nursing decision was the fact that I had to leave Louisiana and start anew in a different state during Hurricane Katrina. If I had been a nurse, I could have gotten a job within days to support my family through that rough patch. But, instead, it was very hard for me to find work with the degree that I already have. I'm saying that to say this.....everyone has their own reasons for going into the field, make yours specific to you and take others' experiences for what it is "just their experiences".

It seems that there is so much you can do as a nurse, if one part is terrible go and do something else. I see nursing as my ticket to reach my full potential, there are so many different directions one can go as a nurse, and almost all of them are up.

I really think that you should stick it out. The good thing about nursing is that there are SO MANY different options with nursing. you don't have to work in an area (or hospital) where it is understaffed or overcrowded. You can be a DON, teach, LNC, CRNA, etc. You can travel, and look at all of the different specialties you can go into. Please don't limit yourself to others personal experiences. One of the reasons that solidified my nursing decision was the fact that I had to leave Louisiana and start anew in a different state during Hurricane Katrina. If I had been a nurse, I could have gotten a job within days to support my family through that rough patch. But, instead, it was very hard for me to find work with the degree that I already have. I'm saying that to say this.....everyone has their own reasons for going into the field, make yours specific to you and take others' experiences for what it is "just their experiences".

Repeat after me: It's only a Bulletin Board.

It is definitely slanted to the negative for sure, but that's because we come here to vent.

However, nursing is not for the faint of heart, it's a tough demanding, aggravating, stressful career choice.

Good luck.

Jollyjenny-

Like so many before me have said, this website is a way for the nursing community to anonymously vent. We all have bad days, and we all have days that put us on cloud 9. Here, we can sympathize with eachother and offer coping mechanisms, which in turn allow us to get out of bed and do it all over again with a happy face!! The fire department has a website similar to this, and is WAY more negative. You would think that every last fire fighter and EMS worker dread every second that they spend at work... but we all know that is a misrepresentation. It's human nature to complain!!!

If you're not sure that nursing is for you, look into volunteering or finding a job that you don't need any experience for. In Maryland, you don't need any training (other than CPR) to work as a caregiver in Assisted Living. I got my start that way, and moved up to CNA and PCT because I found that I liked it. All of the hospitals near me have volunteer positions- you help restock, get patients and visitors comfort items, transport patients, answer phones, etc... Some doctors offices will let you volunteer to "check patients in"- you take their weight, vital signs, show them to the exam room, and so on...

Nursing is what you make of it. There are many jobs that require an "RN" after your name, but don't involve patient contact. Good luck!!

i must admit that when i first found this site and started reading i too was a bit frightened. but after reading a lot more i thought you know this is a good way to learn. i have learned how to take crabby teachers, crabby co-workers etc. i take this thread as a way for people to vent and talk about things they just need to get off of their chest that no one else will understand. i am so glad i found this site and even more so that i am going to be a nurse. :balloons:

Just an unofficial count, as this thread seems to be referencing the "95% negative attitude" on the - would you recommend your daughter to nursing - thread:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/would-you-recommend-nursing-your-daughter-213148.html

I looked at everyone of the 93 posts so far on that thread. 42 of them (less than 50%) stated they would NOT recommend nursing to their children (although about half of that total stated they would support the decision.)

Many of the posters, also not a majority, but many of them stated that they WOULD recommend nursing to their kids, or they had, in fact, already recommended it to their children.

ON balance, that thread is certainly not "95% negative". It's not even 50% negative.

~faith,

Timothy.

I never said I wanted an apology. Please don't put words in my mouth.

But you are saying that you are contemplating giving up nursing as a goal because the opinions expressed on this site, specifically that thread, do not uniformly reflect your idealized concept of nursing.

Either you think that WE are being too negative or, you are reconsidering that maybe YOU are being too idealistic.

I disagree with the first assertion (not saying that is your intent in creating this thread, but it DOES seem like you are placing some blame on us for your decisions because we are being 'too negative'.) The views expressed on this site represent a wide swath of nursing, with members that have walked in many different shoes along various lengths of the many pathways of nursing. Your feelings about nursing, should you decide to continue, will be based on the shoes you wear and the miles you walk. You will find that your opinions regarding nursing (just like each of us, individually) will also vary and change depending upon both the type of nursing you choose, and your length of service. The difference is the difference in perspective that does indeed change over time and experience.

You are right in that many of us here no longer share YOUR perspective of nursing. It is also true however, that you do not share ours - and cannot fully share our perspective WITHOUT that time and experience.

I think it's too cut and dried to suggest or feel that our perspectives are now all colored black. The world is grey. There are things that most of us LOVE about nursing, or we would have long ago became another statistic that walked away from the job. There are also things that we HATE about the current state of nursing. Because we have a commonality of experiences, many of us can vent about our dislikes regarding nursing without discrediting to each other the true extent of our greater passion for the job.

Regarding any consideration that you might be a tad less optimistic about the ideal of nursing vs. the reality as a result of reading that thread: To the extent you get THAT impression from this site or that particular thread, that is a good thing. Better to go into nursing eyes wide open then to be posting in 3 yrs that you were totally unprepared for the reality of nursing. Better yet, if you DO decide to give up on nursing as a result, then you have made an informed decision.

As a result, either way, that thread or this site by extension, has been of considerable service to you. Personally, this site is such a service to ME, that I feel honor bound to pay the piper his dues. By that, I mean, Thanks, Brian, and the premium dues are well worth the service provided. This site is a true bargain. And it would be, at twice the price (but don't get any ideas).

For those of you who aren't paying premium dues, this site is practically a steal.

~faith,

Timothy.

I never said I wanted an apology. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Would you kindly stop wagging your finger at us? It's considered rude in any circles.

I agree with Timothy; if you are so bothered and bewildered by venting, then maybe you should look for another profession. But please, do not admonish those of us who need an outlet to air frustrations. We need no lectures about nursing from people who are not yet nurses.

Don't give up. We all need to vent from time to time. I love nursing. I became an RN at age 32 with my Associates degree. At age 38 I finished my BSN. In 1 1/2 months I will finsh my MSN / Adult Nurse Practitioner. My daughter is in Nursing school and I support and encourage her. It is a great career. According to Martha Rogers "nursing is a learned profession, both a science and an art", this is so true.

Luanne

Hearing negativity did not stop me. I had cousins and a mother telling me "DO NOT DO THIS" and that I was "crazy". The cousins were both long-term nurses of 20-30 years' duration. Still, despite that, After 10 years in the military I decided to get out (giving up being 1/2 way to retirement no less) to go to nursing school. NO REGRETS. Still love it; still want to do it. YES bad days happen. And venting is what we do to cope and deal. That is what you see here. Don't let anyone steal your dreams. WE NEED YOU IN NURSING. Keep looking up and reach for that dream. Good luck.