As good as, Better or Worse than you thought it would be...

netglow, ASN, RN · Jul 12, 2010

One of my instructors told us near the end of school that the intelligent students/nurses will be the first to burn out/get out of bedside nursing. So, I guess that means if you stay in it more than a few years you are stupid, huh. Nice.

TipitiwichitRN · Jul 12, 2010

This thread makes me want to cry. Everyone's responses have been soo realistic. As a CNA, and last semester RN student, I can feel it already... what have I done! And all the effort it took.... my family counting on me...

Yes there are good moments... but staffing problems, management, and all the other poo just drops a brick on my head.

Wth is going to happen when I graduate and start as an actual nurse? I dont know.

I know I am racing my mind @ the moment, trying to find a way to work with this degree in a way that I will enjoy it.

I think psych may be the way to go at this point... I dont know.

Good luck in your decision. I wish I was smart like you- and had this board to ask this question to before I started and did all of this work....

chiclet81 · Jul 12, 2010

This thread scares me. I'm a single mother of two, and I worked my butt off for a year just to get accepted into the RN program, which begins this fall. I need a job that will pay decently and allow some flexibility for parenting (I plan to long days when the kids are with their dad half-time). I have always liked the idea of nursing, and this seemed like a good idea. The science courses have gone well, so I feel like I should be able to do well in school... But the way people talk on here, I'm wondering if I'm making a mistake?! I sure hope not. I can only afford two more years- at most- of school, and then I need to be working full-time. Fingers crossed that things will work out the way they should!

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 12, 2010

Hello,
For those who have graduated and now working as nurses--is being a nurse as good, better or worse than you thought it would be and why?

Yes.

It's all of the above. I've just come off a tough weekend, and it has been a tough few weeks for me and my peers. In fact, the whole past year or so hasn't been a picnic. Lots of changes to adapt to, and a patient population that has been getting sicker and more difficult. Just lately a run of confused/combative pts and a few pts and/or families that have been abusive or just unreasonable. A lot of our nerves are stretched pretty thin.

And in among all that, a few victories, some pts who are just lovely people, and co-workers who are right there with you, muddling through as best they can.

Bedside nursing puts a lot of strain on your feet, your knees, your mind, and even your soul. The pay is mediocre, you complain almost constantly, and your mood flips back and forth between despair and smoldering rage. But for some, God help us, it's worth it.

shoegalRN, RN · Jul 12, 2010

I look at it like this:

When I first started off in nursing, I was very idealistic and excited about my new career. This is a second career for me.

I started off in the ICU straight out of nursing school, which was a huge mistake. I had only worked as a tech one year while in nursing school. I simply didnt know what I was getting myself into. I cried everyday I had to go to work. I feared for my pts and my license. I did not "fit in" with the clique in the ICU. I had several preceptors. I was eaten alive every night I went to work. This whole experience made me question my decision to remain in nursing.

Then I switched the ER and all those thoughts went away. Some days I really love my job, sometimes, I hate it. I love it when we are fully staffed, when I can spend "some" time with my pts before getting them up to the floor, when someone actually appreciate me saving their life. Some days I hate my job when I get mistreated by some of the pts, when we are short staffed, when I am blamed for not getting the pt up to the floor when there is not an open bed, etc.

Nursing school does not even touch the surface. I believe if everyone in nursing school knew what the real world of nursing is like, they would all drop out.

Nursing school really focus on NCLEX and mainly theory. They don't address staffing issues, how to deal with family members, other nurses, doctors, or even the pts themselves. They make it seem like everything will be roses, every pt will love you, you will make a connection with every patient, and the doctors will all respect you. They often display pictures of nurses shown holding babies, smiling, and looking like she doesnt have a care in the world. I think this is what most nursing students look at and really think it's gonna be like that in the real world.

I think every nursing student should follow a RN in every department for a full 12 hour shift, from start to finish to see what nursing really is like.

netglow, ASN, RN · Jul 12, 2010

Totally agree with your thoughts afrocentricRN, only the shadow needs to be longer, like at least a week because they really need to see the "wheels fall off".

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 13, 2010

One of my instructors told us near the end of school that the intelligent students/nurses will be the first to burn out/get out of bedside nursing. So, I guess that means if you stay in it more than a few years you are stupid, huh. Nice.

Huh? I'm not sure I understand your point. Could you please explain it in simpler terms?

mykrosphere · Jul 13, 2010

nursing is full of ups and downs.

if you like to feel and you like to think, it will work out.

i find it gratifying and exhausting at the same time.

i will never regret it though.

there is always something to learn

FroggyMama · Jul 14, 2010

So much worse, you would not believe. If I knew then what I know now, I would have run so far the other direction, they'd never find me! Why, you ask? Low pay, crappy hours, tons of responsibility with no authority, no backing from management, you're the peon for everyone--my food's cold? yell at the nurse; my room's dirty? yell at the nurse; the doctor didn't explain things to me? yell at the nurse. Everything about this job is awful. The only reason I'm still here is that I can't find another job that pays as much. If I had the chance to do it over again, starting at college and choosing a major, there's no way I'd do this. I'm trying my darnedest to figure out how to afford to go back to school to get out of here.

tubbybubby · Jul 19, 2010

I'm really glad you posted this question! I am in a similiar boat; in fact, I found this post by googling "will i enjoy nursing?" I, too, am feeling uncertain about this path even though I have thought about it for 10+ years. I'm finally starting school this fall. My question for nurses is, what about for LPNs???? I live in a more rural area so decided that being a LPN and working in long-term care is more realistic for me. Other than "don't-waste-your-time-go-get-your-RN-instead" (which I hear all the time), what thoughts does anyone have on life as a LPN?

pedicurn, LPN, RN · Jul 19, 2010

One of my instructors told us near the end of school that the intelligent students/nurses will be the first to burn out/get out of bedside nursing. So, I guess that means if you stay in it more than a few years you are stupid, huh. Nice.

Oh dear !!!

There are lots of intelligent nurses STILL IN NURSING.

They can be found amongst the 'nursing is a profession camp' and they are also members of the 'nursing is highly-skilled but not a real profession' brigade.

Many have a bachelors....many don't. Some have advanced nursing education and many have no intention.

But what the really intelligent possess is the ability to WORK nursing to achieve their own personal goals .....whatever that means to you

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Jul 20, 2010

It's a very interesting question. I haven't really given it much thought.

I don't know that I could say better or worse, really. Different days present different challenges, different challenges present different rewards. Some days I absolutely love being a nurse, and some days I ask myself what in God's name was I thinking when I decided to change my career in middle age and apply to nursing school.

I can tell you that the things I hate the most about nursing are the things that I never learned about in school. Things like being charge nurse, crappy staffing, frequent flyers, drug seeking behaviors and the ever present freaking Press-Gainey surveys. In my opinion only, nursing went downhill when the patient became a customer, and nurses became customer service representatives.

Of course, I'll see it differently tomorrow...!