Am I really cut out for this career?

Nurses General Nursing

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Ok, for all of you who have been nurses for a while

I'm about to start my prerequisites for Nursing, but I'm sitting here thinking that it might not be for me. Ive always been interested in the health care field and I've worked for a major health insurance carrier :devil:

until I decided to be a SAHM when my daughter was born. I always thought nursing was a good career choice because of the different specialties, job availability and pretty good money. But I'm not sure if I'm cut out for the blood, puke, and the fact that it's such demanding work. I'm married with a small child and my husband makes a nice living for us. I want a more satisfying career, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up all of the weekends and holidays and have a super stressful career. A friend of mine suggested I look into a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program or another allied health profession. What do you think? My sister is a nurse, now in a management position and she says if your heart isn't in it you can become miserable and burnt out. Sorry this is so long, but I just want to hear from some of you.

April

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You could work in a doctor's office or the OR, or some of the areas like dialysis.

But it is demanding and stressful, and if a regular hospital nurse you will NOT have Christmas, Purim, Eid al Fitr etc. with your family.

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You could work in a doctor's office or the OR, or some of the areas like dialysis.

But it is demanding and stressful, and if a regular hospital nurse you will NOT have Christmas, Purim, Eid al Fitr etc. with your family.

what is purim?

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Specializes in Home Health Care.

I too, don't want to give up my week-ends or holidays so I work PRN (as needed, they call and ask do I want to work such and such day). It works out well for me. My husband and I have 3 kids and 2 businesses that deserve to be my # 1 stressors.

The only way to know if your cut out to be a nurse is to try it.... :wink2:

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Specializes in B.S. Psychology.
I too, don't want to give up my week-ends or holidays so I work PRN (as needed, they call and ask do I want to work such and such day). It works out well for me. My husband and I have 3 kids and 2 businesses that deserve to be my # 1 stressors.

The only way to know if your cut out to be a nurse is to try it.... :wink2:

Did you have trouble finding a PRN job right out of RN school?

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
what is purim?

It's a Jewish holiday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim

Explains it better than I ever could :)

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Nursing is for me, but the politics and pettiness is not. You will only know as you go along, and I really don't think that many people get a clear picture of nursing (unless they already worked in health care somehow) until they are actually working. School, I feel, deludes the student. I think that is what annoyed me the most. I worked as an aide for some time, and basically, I knew that I had to tell them what they wanted to hear in order to graduate and get my license. Real world can be an eye-opener, even to the strong.

What I get out of nursing is teaching my patients, caring for them, and finding miraclous ways to manage my time in impossible circumstances. But, I think that managers throw in so many UNNECESSARY monkey wrenches, that it makes me physically and emotionally tired at the end of the day.

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Can you afford to spend four years in school and accumulate a debt for a job that you might not like?

I've worked Dialysis and it's not what people think it is. Very mechanical, cold, and it's not a slow moving job.

I worked PRN for the first three years after graduation and had to work evening and weekends if I wanted hours. Being new I was at the bottom of the list to call.

Having said that, I knew that I wanted hospital nursing and didn't get a "real" job until my kids were old enough to be alone. And yes I work every other weekend and have to do my share of the holidays.

If I had to do it over, I'd probably become a coder or transcriptionist. Clean work environment, set breaks and start/finish times, no family members to deal with.

Listen to your sister, she knows you better than we ever will. Good luck with your choices.

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Specializes in NICU.

Like someone else said, you won't know if you like it until you try it. There are tons of people who graduate from college with certain degrees, but then get jobs in some other field.

I was told by a family member who is a nurse that I should not become a nurse because of all the "negative" things associated with the profession. I listened to her and didn't go to school for it. Several years later, still thinking about it and wanting a career change, I decided to just do it. I am so glad I did. It was the best decision I made. I wish I had done it sooner.

I love the versitility of it. There are so many different specialities to choose from that if you don't like the area you are in, there are many, many different areas to choose from. There are not too many jobs that can be so flexible for a family with kids as nursing is. You can work per diem, days, nights, evenings, or weekends only. You get very good benefits even if you only work part time (unless you choose per diem). If you don't want to work holidays, nights, or weekends, you can work in a doctor's office or ambulatory care center. Also, there is such a demand for nurses, that I feel secure in my job and profession.

There is no "perfect" job, whether you are a nurse, an office worker, or have some other job. All jobs have pros and cons. You just have to go with you gut feeling. I think you should give it a try if you have some interest in it. It is a very rewarding profession. Just my :twocents:

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Did you have trouble finding a PRN job right out of RN school?

It would be very difficult to find a PRN job right out of school. I would say impossible, but I'm sure that there is an employer somewhere that is so desperate for nurses that they disregard patient safety. As a new nurse, there is a sharp learning curve and most units want a full-time committment so that you are able to become competent. After 6 months to a year, you may be able to switch to PRN depending on what type of unit it is.

One of the good things about nursing is that there are lots of job options out there. However, the vast majority of positions outside of acute care require hospital experience. So expect to put in at least 1-2 years of acute care nursing. Can you handle doing that even if it is not your ideal job?

Personally, I am going through a rough patch in my career and I wish that I would have chosen a profession that was not a 24/7, 365 days/yr job. If I could do it all over again, I would chose another career. If I could figure out what exactly, I would be pursuing it.

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Specializes in B.S. Psychology.
It would be very difficult to find a PRN job right out of school. I would say impossible, but I'm sure that there is an employer somewhere that is so desperate for nurses that they disregard patient safety. As a new nurse, there is a sharp learning curve and most units want a full-time committment so that you are able to become competent. After 6 months to a year, you may be able to switch to PRN depending on what type of unit it is.

One of the good things about nursing is that there are lots of job options out there. However, the vast majority of positions outside of acute care require hospital experience. So expect to put in at least 1-2 years of acute care nursing. Can you handle doing that even if it is not your ideal job?

Personally, I am going through a rough patch in my career and I wish that I would have chosen a profession that was not a 24/7, 365 days/yr job. If I could do it all over again, I would chose another career. If I could figure out what exactly, I would be pursuing it.

My advice would be to take a career personality test or speak with a career counselor. If I have to put in 1-2 years of acute care, then nursing is not for me. Maybe I should take my own advice and speak with a counselor! ;)

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

First work as a nursing aide, then if all goes well go to school for your RN. Yes, its stressful at times but it really depends on what type of unit you work in, the management, and how you handle it. Most of the time the stress is somewhat controlled. We all have to take our licks and there will be bad days.

No one can really tell you if you'll like it or not. Only you can. So try it out. What do you have to lose? A little time? Maybe a bit of money. Worse comes to worse you can go back to your desk job - which you couldn't pay me a enough to do! I think many of the nurses on this board would agree that they would hate being stuck in cubical and on a computer all day. Nursing offers a certain satisfaction that many other lines of work do not, it offers diversity and flexibility. And you can make a decent living and work 3 shifts a week.

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