Any nurses that don't regret becoming a nurse?

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I have been reading a lot of negative discussions about the nursing field and I must admit, I've considered changing my career path. Problem is, I can't see myself doing anything else. Please tell me that there are nurses out there that like their job!

Specializes in Critical Care.

When I have a good day I can actually enjoy being a nurse, but the difficult patients (morbidly obese) and violent dementia psyche patients overshadow the good times. I really think nursing is very stressful, unhealthy physically and emotionally and frankly dangerous due to the violent patients and the morbidly obese patients we are forced to deal with. I wouldn't encourage someone to go into this field. It is a very hard job! You earn every cent. We should be paid a lot more, even hazard pay for some of the patients that are forced on us!

If you choose to become a nurse, get some good disability insurance because you could end up disabled from a neck or back injury! Many nurses have chronic back pain and get massages and/or see a chiropractor on a regular basis so factor in these type of costs in your budget! How do you deal with pain? Can you handle it or will you become angry, upset, cry or end up becoming dependent on pain meds. Most nurses live in chronic pain from the job and many are eventually injured if you stay at the bedside, especially as America has become so super obese! It can happen at any time from when you first start till years later. I know people who have ended up on disability, even one poor person who was only 18 and just starting out in the hospital! Others use bengay and get epidurals on a regular basis and even have had to have neck/back surgery!

So I suggest your get a BSN and be open to MSN NP in order to have decent working conditions and not being stuck at the bedside where you are most at risk of becoming injured and disabled. You don't want to become trapped in a dangerous, overly stressful job. Also consider the adverse health affects of excess stress from HTN to even cancer and shift work is also associated with increased risk of breast cancer and other diseases. It really isn't a healthy job to have!

That said if I had stayed a secretary I don't think I would ever have been able to own my own home, absent marrying a rich guy! Funny there are plenty of guys out there that think nurses are their ticket to the good life because it is one of the few female dominated jobs that pay a living wage! I know too many nurses that are married to lazy leaker losers that have no ambition if they work at all!

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I love love love being a nurse. Nursing is a stressful profession. I find that I have bad days, but for every bad day there a good days that make me forget about the bad ones. I wouldn't change my profession one bit!

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I am only a little more than a year into it, but I love it. I am an older third career nurse. Like a kid in a candy store with all the options of things to do!!!!

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I definitely don't regret it! Some days are bad, some days are frustrating, but overall I find myself in a rewarding, well paying career. I can apply for a job also anywhere and be employed in a matter of days. I have a flexible job where I make my own schedule. I have been able to travel and see places I never would have moved to. I find satisfaction in helping people.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I have loved being a nurse, and I have hated it. But do I wish I hadn't chosen it as a career? Not for a second.

Even though I was pushing 40 when I graduated, nursing forced me to grow up the rest of the way and become responsible and hardworking, which was something that did not come naturally to me as a person with a then-undiagnosed mental disorder. It didn't so much as nudge me out of my comfort zone as SHOVE me out of it bodily, requiring me to learn how to be nimble and think fast on my feet. And I did it well, for a good number of years and in several different kinds of nursing jobs.

Regrettably, I have had to semi-retire from nursing because I've undergone cognitive changes due to a combination of having been sick and taking certain types of meds to get (and stay) well again. Thus I'm working only part-time in LTC doing admissions, recaps, and some QA/QI tasks......things that don't demand that I cope with constantly shifting priorities and frequent distractions. There really is a place in nursing for all of us; sometimes it just takes patience and being willing to settle for something less than our ideal.

In some ways, the stress of nursing exacerbated my illness and brought it out of the shadows, so to speak, to the point where I could no longer deny its existence. But on the other hand, if I'd never become a nurse, I wouldn't have had so many wonderful moments that have kept my faith in humanity alive and given me a reason to stay on board, even after the best of my career was over. Today, I have one foot out of nursing, but also one foot that's planted very firmly IN; only time will tell if I can continue, even at this low level of responsibility.

Still, I'll always believe that I made the right choice at the time I began my adventures in this profession, and I'm glad I haven't had to leave it entirely just yet. :yes:

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Specializes in long term care Alzheimers Patients.
I have been reading a lot of negative discussions about the nursing field and I must admit, I've considered changing my career path. Problem is, I can't see myself doing anything else. Please tell me that there are nurses out there that like their job!

I have worked in the medical field most of my adult life. I worked as a CNA for many years. Then as an administrator of little rest home. When that closed in 2005. I decided to go to school for my LPN. At almost 50 I became an Lpn. Do I regret it not at all. Like others have said I wish I had done it sooner.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC/SNF, Rehab, Corrections.
My only regret about nursing is that I didn't go into it sooner: I could have been a nurse during the economy's glory years, instead of being a new grad right when the job market for nurses started tanking.

Then again, I also believe everything happens for a reason...and perhaps becoming a nurse when I did is what was meant to be.

I know, right? I've only been a nurse for a year and 1-2 months but I get irritated when I think of how further along I could've been had I just attended after highschool. It's as you said though, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, you have to go on a journey to come into your own...before you know what you're meant for. I mourn the lost time but... you know what? The situation really couldn't have happened any other way.

I don't regret becoming a nurse. I'm just getting burned out with my current job. It's just too much.

I also wouldn't feel put out by 'vent threads'. If I actually created a thread to go on about what bothers me about my job? You'd think I had an issue with nursing, too. In the meantime, nursing isn't all sunshine and roses. You need 'less than glowing' perspectives. It helps to have a balanced opinion of things.

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I have been reading a lot of negative discussions about the nursing field and I must admit, I've considered changing my career path. Problem is, I can't see myself doing anything else. Please tell me that there are nurses out there that like their job!

Thank you for posting this! I needed this. I've felt a calling to nursing since high school (16 years ago) and am finally at a point in my life where I can go back to school. I'm in my first semester of nursing school and reading a lot of the posts on this forum are very discouraging. I find myself thinking "why do I want this so bad if everybody hates being a nurse?".

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Love it, but i am lucky that I have a great job. A different job might cause a very different answer.

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LadyFree28,

You are actually inspiring to me as a future nurse and I appreciate the fact that you have been in the line of work for a really long time and still feel passionate with a heavy dose of realism. It makes sense that your attitude toward nursing has prevented burn-out. Thanks for the optimism!

Emily

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Even though I was pushing 40 when I graduated, nursing forced me to grow up the rest of the way and become responsible and hardworking, which was something that did not come naturally to me as a person with a then-undiagnosed mental disorder. It didn't so much as nudge me out of my comfort zone as SHOVE me out of it bodily, requiring me to learn how to be nimble and think fast on my feet. And I did it well, for a good number of years and in several different kinds of nursing jobs.

Wow! Viva!

The strength it takes to share this and to know yourself as you do should make you proud. You went through some hard times in your body and mind and all while giving back to others. It makes you face yourself to be disciplined, attentive, forgiving, timely, and positive for others when you have personal challenges, but who doesn't?

I commend you because you are brave.

My mother worked for decades as a nurse in geriatrics with a real touch for care-giving for the elderly. Her work was slow, I think, and when she left to work for the state as a disability examiner, she took the same diligence and concern for others into the paperwork. It might not be for everyone to run themselves ragged on a floor.

I, however, am looking forward to the fast-pace, the intensity, the managed warmth, the personal touch, the ability to be distant, the analysis, the calculations, the process, the papers, the people, & the intensity(I said that twice). I am not sure where I will work but I am a linguist and want to work with global health, and possibly oncology and/or genetics. We shall see.

I too feel like nursing will push me in ways I need to push myself again. I can't wait to test myself in the waters of a difficult transition, and in the politics and pressures of a stressful but rewarding career. I'm glad to learn from you and and others on this site because I know you are all good people doing good work. Thank you for sharing!!:)

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I never regretted my career choice. I worked long and hard for my license and although my job is stressful, I wouldn't change my career. I was 40yrs old when I finally made it. I have worked as a receptionist and a few long very hot years in a factory before going to school so many years ago. I make more $$ now, I can help support my family, and I love my pts (usually).

I do think nursing is taking a huge hit today. It is difficult to get a job, the pay scale is rather stagnant (but still not bad in the overally working world, in my opinion), and I work weekends and holidays. Still, underneath everything, I really feel it's my calling.

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