Any RNs willing to answer a few questions regarding nursing?

allnurses Guide · Feb 7, 2019

12 hours ago, kittycat48 said:
Hi there everyone. I'm currently working on finishing my undergraduate degree and I'm very interested in going into the nursing field. For my practicum assignment, I'm interviewing someone who's career I'm interested in. I would really appreciate it if a few kind nurses would be willing to answer some questions I have. (I'm not sure if this post belongs in a different section, and I apologize if it's out of place)
Please list your name, speciality, and how long you've been a nurse! ?
What lead you to the nursing field?
What specialties you have worked in?
Satisfying aspects of nursing?
Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?
What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?
Most memorable patient experience?
If you have anything you would like to add that I have not listed above, please feel free to do so. Thank you!

I'll bite

My name is not.done.yet. For purposes of anonymity and privacy, I will not give my real name on this forum. I work in Nursing Professional Development and I have been a nurse for 8 years.

I came to the nursing field after losing my oldest boy to cancer at the age of 13.

I have worked in ICU stepdown, cardiac critical care and nursing education/professional development.

Satisfying aspects of nursing, for me, include the connection and community between nurses, the feeling of doing good in the world, helping people at their most vulnerable moments, serving the marginalized and underprivileged and helping both new and established nurses find satisfaction and proficiency in their chosen career.

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing include working in a healthcare system that is profit based and therefore chronically short on staff and supplies. The profit goals result in ethical dilemmas between what the patient or their family need and deserve versus what we have staff, time and ability to do.

Misunderstood about the nursing profession? We aren't handmaidens of doctors. We have our own scope of practice and we can be sued. We also aren't pillow fluffers, butt wipers or there to pass out endless compassion and sympathy. Those things can be part of what we do, but it isn't the core of it. If you are in the hospital it is because you need nursing care.

My most memorable patient experiences involve the times that I helped people who were dying have a good death and helped their families.

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Feb 7, 2019

Please list your name, specialty, and how long you've been a nurse!

NutmeggeRN, 25 years as a school nurse, 36 as an RN

What lead you to the nursing field?

Cherry Ames, lots of nurses in my family

What specialties you have worked in?

Med Surge, Office: Ob-Gyn and Family Practice, LTC and Home Care

Satisfying aspects of nursing?

Watching the healing process that I have been a part of, be it small or big

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?

It's a bottom line ($$$) business for administration (more so in the private sector than in my current school job)

What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?

Physically and emotionally VERY taxing

Most memorable patient experience?

Many!

Watching a HS kid graduate on time after a very debilitating illness.

Meeting up with former students who have transcended their crappy childhoods and they express appreciation for the time I spent with them.

Davey Do · Feb 7, 2019

Please list your name, specialty, and how long you've been a nurse!

Davey Do, psych, 36 years.

What lead you to the nursing field?

The Fates. Want to see a picture of them?

fates.png.5da16175efdd48c99aeb442ee97a755c.png What specialties have you worked in?

Psych, Community Mental Health, Home Health, Chemical Dependency Tx, Administration, ER, OR, Med Surge.

Satisfying aspects of nursing?

Nursing is a very interesting and diverse field, I have always found employment, I feel like a contributing member of society, and the money is good.

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?

Bureaucratic pencil-necked Geeks in control of policy & procedures.

What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?

I've tried to come up with what I believe would be something truly generally misunderstood and could come up with nothing.

Most memorable patient experience?

There are so many patient experiences that stand out that choosing a "most memorable" one would be next to impossible.

So I'll just link you to the most memorable patient experience this past weekend:

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2019

Won't say real name ?

I became a nurse because my dad wouldn't let me major in Latin American Literature due to no job prospects with this major... for which I am eternally grateful.

5 years as a nurse: 3 in community clinic, 3 inpatient Med/Surg and Stepdown (some overlap)

Most satisfying aspect: camaraderie with coworkers, relationships with patients, ability to help people at their worst and see them progress, sense of contribution to your community, physical work (no desk!)

Least satisfying: short staffing, unrealistic expectations from admin, culture of blame and little recognition, poop/pee/blood/guts, burnout, injuries, seeing REALLY sad and horrible things

Most memorable experience: Etoh withdrawal patient with altered mental status with his hand in his diaper stroking his genitals. Asked him what he was doing and he said "I'm petting my little kitty it's so soft and fluffy", then later picked apart the white fluffy part of the inside of the diaper and was throwing the fluff all over the room yelling "It's snowing! Come play in the snow!" Also just yesterday meth withdrawal patient told me "I will die soon and when I do I will leave you all my money". However when doc asked him who the president is he said "Abraham Lincoln" so I'm not counting on him to remember his promise =(

missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2019

Please list your name, speciality, and how long you've been a nurse!

Miss Mollie, Neurosurgery ICU and PCU, 4 years

What lead you to the nursing field?

It was on a whim, to be really honest. I was going to enroll in the RT program, but my sister convinced me just to go for nursing. Turned in my paperwork on the very last day and was accepted.

What specialties you have worked in?

Neurosurgery and Neurology. I work overtimes on different floors and feel confident to pick up in med-surg and medicine. Only floor I won't volunteer for is cardiac.

Satisfying aspects of nursing?

Utilizing skills, experience, and critical thinking to help a patient is satisfying. My days are never the same even if I have the same patients.

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?

Charting, violent and verbally abusive patients. Patients just there for pain meds, doctors who won't listen, and charting. Oh the charting.

What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?

That we just follow doctor's orders. That is not true. We spend more time with the patient than anyone else. We notice trends and issues before anyone else. A good nurse can save patients by preventing little issues from becoming big issues. Assessments are key, but so is interpreting data.

Most memorable patient experience?

Helping a patient work through survivors grief over the course of 3 months.

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 15, 2019

Please list your name, speciality, and how long you've been a nurse!
LilPeanut (you're not going to get people to list their real names LOL) NICU, RN since 2007, NNP since 2011

What lead you to the nursing field?
Both of my children were premature. When my (now ex) husband stopped working, I needed a new career. I learned a lot of medical stuff during my high risk pregnancy and their NICU stays. It felt right.

What specialties you have worked in?
Only NICU. Big people are disturbing.

Satisfying aspects of nursing?
Helping families, saving babies ?

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?
Families who lose sight of their child's best interests. Clinicians who do not keep up to date/are unwilling to change. Coworkers who can be unpleasant, depending on where you work.

What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?
People thing the computer and charting aspect is not part of nursing/advanced practice, but it really is. The better you can utilize an EMR, the better your patient care will be. Many times EMRs are not utilized well because they want to replicate what they were familiar with on paper, but keeping that same flow doesn't work as well on a computer, so it is more frustrating than it needs to be.

Most memorable patient experience? Too many. Here's one:
Having to call a mother while her child was coding, she was driving on the way in, and it took 45 minutes to get there. We needed to be honest and let her know that he was possibly dying, but also make sure she didn't have an accident. I kept her updated, we got her baby back, and she still had a 20-30 min drive left. I asked if she wanted me to stay on the line to keep talking to her to keep her calm while driving. So I stayed on the phone and discussed the current tv shows with her, until she was able to arrive on the unit.

Trauma Columnist · Feb 16, 2019

MOved to Nursing Student Assistance forum

nalie2, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 17, 2019

Nalie, been a nurse for slightly over 1 year.

What lead you to the nursing field?
I volunteered at an ER and loved what nurses did.

What specialties you have worked in?
I started in a jail inpatient med-surg unit and now I'm in ER.

Satisfying aspects of nursing?
Watching patients go from an altered mental status to being fully aware of what's going on after treatment. Helping people that want to be helped. Being part of a great team that literally saves lives. Going home and being satisfied with my days work.

Dissatisfying aspects of nursing?
Not being able to help those who want help. Dealing with violent and verbally abusive patients and them having way more rights than us. DAs rarely file assault charges against patients. Working nights, weekends and holidays.

What is something that is generally misunderstood about the nursing profession?
Nurses don't just carryout doctor's orders. I'm lucky to work in an area where doctors appreciate nurses recommendations.

Most memorable patient experience?
Each serial killer I cared for.

When I began nursing I never thought I would be caring for inmates. While I'm glad I'm no longer doing that, I feel lucky to have experienced it. One of the great things about nursing is all of the career opportunities available.