Are there any nurses happy to be a nurse?

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Specializes in Emergency.

I am a first year nursing student and just started my real clinical in a nursing home. The nurses are LPNs. I was placed with one that was very helpful as far as teaching me the correct way to do things and giving me many opportunities to do them. However, she was very negative about the profession. I appreciate her insight but she said "don't stop here, work in administration," "your life goal wasn't to work weekends and miss your family's Christmas was it?", "RNs barely make more than me and you're putting yourself at this much risk for what, 40k?"

I've heard all this before but I think the accumulation of hearing so many people unhappy is starting to make me wonder if this is right. I'm fairly certain I will continue on to nurse practitioner or admin or something like that as I love school and am usually good at it. I just need to know, is anyone actually happy being a floor nurse for once? I know there are many negative things pulling you away from patient care but does the good outweigh the bad? Do you think that nurse felt that way because she was in a nursing home and maybe because she was LPN as I know they have a hard time defending their position?

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Specializes in Trauma | Surgical ICU.

There are a lot of nurses who are happy with their job. I am one of them. Happiness in nursing is finding a place with kin minds and a unit you can grow on. The most rewarding part of the job is seeing your patients improve and that you have contributed to that.

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That is a difficult question to answer. It is like asking someone what it is like to be a parent.

Some people will have things easier than others. Some factors have to do with the situation you find yourself in, and some things involves your coping skills, expectations and ability to handle life.

A nurse who starts off working in a "troubled" department (high turnover, high disatisfaction, low standards of care) is going to struggle more than one who works direct patient care in a unit with good staffing, high morale and a focus on good patient care.

The nurse who gets into nursing with realistic expectations, an ability to manage stress and a positive outlook will do fine.

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I've been v. happy with my career. Not every moment of every day :), but, overall, v. satisfied.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I love my job! True, I'm only 5 months into being a nurse, but my unit, coworkers and most patients are amazing!

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

37 years at the bedside and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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As in any job, if you are not happy in your current circumstances, it is your responsibility to attempt to find a better situation. There are happy, satisfied nurses out there, so it is not impossible. When the bad outweighs the good and the individual can not make the necessary changes, then it is time to consider another occupation, just as with any other job.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I've been v. happy with my career. Not every moment of every day :), but, overall, v. satisfied.

This.

Very happy with my career. :yes:

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Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

I really think if you are someone that goes into nursing looking for a paycheck, you will be very unhappy. I mean sure, we need to be compensated for our work - but honestly, I do think the calling to be a nurse is just that. A calling. I work with some VERY unhappy people - and I can guarantee you that they would be unhappy regardless of what unit they worked on. While I have some hard days and some times or moments where I think to myself... "I don't get paid enough to put up with this crap"... I really do love my job. I love my patients. I love what I do. I go home at the end of my shift feeling accomplished and like I actually did something.

Good luck. You'll find your place!

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Specializes in Emergency.
I really think if you are someone that goes into nursing looking for a paycheck, you will be very unhappy. I mean sure, we need to be compensated for our work - but honestly, I do think the calling to be a nurse is just that. A calling. I work with some VERY unhappy people - and I can guarantee you that they would be unhappy regardless of what unit they worked on. While I have some hard days and some times or moments where I think to myself... "I don't get paid enough to put up with this crap"... I really do love my job. I love my patients. I love what I do. I go home at the end of my shift feeling accomplished and like I actually did something.

Good luck. You'll find your place!

I agree. There are a million ways to get a decent paycheck easier than nursing so you have to want to be here. Thank you. It was nice to hear this. I will make sure to find my place so I'm not miserable and don't make everyone else miserable.

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Specializes in Emergency.
37 years at the bedside and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So glad to read this. Thanks for the inspiration.

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I went into nursing later in life (started school at 37, graduated at 39), and I truly love what I do - like someone else said, not every moment of every day, but I really truly feel satisfaction at the end of the majority of my shifts. I do not aspire to management or administration. Would I eventually like to try a different specialty - definitely, but I have a wonderful group of co-workers, and that makes the (literal and figurative) feces easier to deal with.

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