I am a lurker here and decided to post yet another 'should I become a nurse?' question.
Quickly: I am a 35 year old stay at home mom with a bachelor's in another field and think I might want to do nursing with a BSN and then Master's. I am attracted to the medical field, having a job 'that means something', the flexibility, the good pay and abundance of jobs.
HOWEVER, whenever I do a search on nursing I get hundreds of links to something like "I HATE NURSING!!!" and it is starting to make me think!
What is your opinion on this? Is it because there are so many nurses that of course you will find a LOT of unhappy ones? Do BSN's and NPs generally have a better experience than ADNs and LPNs? Is there a part of nursing that has happier employees? Perhaps it's because nursing is populated by women who like to vent?!
Also - do you always have to do a certain amount of time in a hospital after graduating? Seems to me this is where most of the unhappiness is. (don't laugh, I just don't know!). I would think you would learn a LOT in that setting however.
I would hate to judge the entire field without getting more detailed info.
Also, I must admit to being worried about MSRA and Strep. My husband was in the hospital for 4 days with a strep infection in the elbow and was super ill. (Yes, another 'germs' question!)
Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks to all you nurses that have taken care of me and my family! You are an inspiration!
I'm a new nurse, thinking about leaving nursing >_<. i am very conflicted as both love and hate nursing. that it is such an important interesting job what you do really does make a difference to some patients. the enormous drawback ridiculous amount of work are expected complete without rest sometimes disrespect.>
I think the reason you hear more negative than positive because its more common for people to talk about negative experiences. I know when I used to be in the restaurant business they would tell us that if a customer had a bad experience they would go and tell 5 different people about it; but if they had a positive experience they basically keep quiet. I am a recent new grad but I absolutely love my job. I am lucky to be at a teaching hospital and it is very easy for me to learn there. As for your age-in my nursing class the young people were the minority! It was mostly people on their 2nd-3rd careers and of an older age-there is nothing wrong with that. You might be able to skip the majority of your prerequisites due to your previous degree. I will admit it is very physically demanding, emotionally demanding; but to come back to the hospital and see how much better a patient is doing or that they were transferred is extremely rewarding. (I work in the ICU). I would definately check into it if it is what you want to do. You could also always job shadow a nurse (for the full 12 hr) to see what it is really like and what all it entails. Good Luck in your decision!
there are so many factors involved that its hard to say exactly where all the problems are but yes, bedside nursing has the highest burnout and nurses that work outside the hospital tend to be happier.
And I will have a lot of prereqs before I start the degree. I would probably be in my 40s before I become a certified nurse.
You will be in your 40's anyway, so go for it! (I graduated last Dec. I was 36;) )
I come here to learn and vent. Nursing is not the easiest job in the world, but it was my third career and is the 'hardest job I have ever loved'. :)
I think that many nurses vent out of frustration. In my case, I am frustrated when I do not feel that I am able to decently take care of my patients when I have too many/too high acuity. That does not mean that I hate being a nurse. It means that I am frustrated because I want to be a BETTER nurse.
Age shouldn't be a deterent in the least. This is my second career and I'm a new nurse who is your age. If it is truly your calling then anything you read here won't deter you because the pull on your heart will outweigh it.
Truth is nursing school is tough. You put in a lot of hours in the classroom and even more out of it. You will pass as long as you put in the time.
Bedside nursing is difficult. The pay while vg isn't enough for all we do. Nurses are also the whipping posts in a lot of places as they get blamed for just about everything and most of it out of their control. You need to have a spine and be assertive. I got rid of my people pleaser side in a hurry in nursing school or I would have been eaten alive.
All that aside it can be very rewarding helping people get better. It's a good feeling to know you bought someone in pain some peace of mind and comfort. Most are grateful. If you have a good employer and work with a wonderful team it can be a positive experience on the whole.
Specializes in med-surg 5 years geriatrics 12 years.
I think you see a lot of negatives here because nursing can be very frustrating and sometimes we need to vent to someone who actually GETS what we're saying. As has been said in many threads, we love what we do it's the externals that drive us crazy.
I was always told, and have come to know, that nurses that "hate" their jobs will automatically send negative vibes and tell you off from nursing. I mean, it DOES make sense. Every person finds their niche.
Specializes in CNA, Surgical, Pediatrics, SDS, ER.
I think if you find the area of nursing you want to pursue it makes all the difference. For me that is anything to do w/ surgery or caring for sugical pts. I absolutly love every minute of work. :heartbeat
Not all days are good days but that comes with any job. If you find the right facility & area to work in then there won't be much unhappiness.
The aspect of having to deal w/ customer service and other politics in nursing is what I hate :barf01:but it's not going away so you do the best you can for your pt's because they are your priority.
All jobs have pros and cons. If nursing is something you are unsure about starting out as a CNA gives you a good introduction into nursing.
I liked what Sillystudent had to say, "You will be in your 40s anyway..." So true!
And Batman24 mentioned being assertive. I am a black belt who used to work for Chuck Norris and I own a karate school with my husband.. who knew it might come in handy in nursing! :chuckle
So I need 42 (!!!!) hours of prereqs at UTA before I can even apply. Holy smokes. With two young kids that isn't easy. I wish I had been more grateful in college years ago - all that time just to study! But back to the prereqs --- I checked UT Southwestern's PA program and they require half that amount of prereqs for a MASTERS level program. That's crazy.
And lastly... I start having 2nd thoughts after reading posts about bad hospitals, etc and then my heart always goes back to wanting to do it. If I can just figure out the kiddo situation - hard to be a stay at homer for 6 years and then stop. But I gotta get back into the game.
I am a lurker here and decided to post yet another 'should I become a nurse?' question.
Quickly: I am a 35 year old stay at home mom with a bachelor's in another field and think I might want to do nursing with a BSN and then Master's. I am attracted to the medical field, having a job 'that means something', the flexibility, the good pay and abundance of jobs.
HOWEVER, whenever I do a search on nursing I get hundreds of links to something like "I HATE NURSING!!!" and it is starting to make me think!
What is your opinion on this? Is it because there are so many nurses that of course you will find a LOT of unhappy ones? Do BSN's and NPs generally have a better experience than ADNs and LPNs? Is there a part of nursing that has happier employees? Perhaps it's because nursing is populated by women who like to vent?!
Also - do you always have to do a certain amount of time in a hospital after graduating? Seems to me this is where most of the unhappiness is. (don't laugh, I just don't know!). I would think you would learn a LOT in that setting however.
I would hate to judge the entire field without getting more detailed info.
Also, I must admit to being worried about MSRA and Strep. My husband was in the hospital for 4 days with a strep infection in the elbow and was super ill. (Yes, another 'germs' question!)
Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks to all you nurses that have taken care of me and my family! You are an inspiration!
I had a big transition for my job too. I was a business consultant for a big company and then I became a nurse for 3 years. I got really burnt out and refused to go back to Med/surg because of the dangerously high pt to nurse ratio. I had to take care of up to 7 patients and could bearly take a break. I don't mind to deal with the dirty jobs like cleaning poop and
changing incontinence pads. I just didn't have the time to do it. While I saw 4 techs (nursing assistants) smoking downstairs, refusing to pick up calls from me and I got no help on the floor at all, all that really explains why I will never go back to work in the hospital.
Some nursing jobs are easier or better than the others, I guess you will just have to bear with it and try to find the best one that will fit you.
The easier nursing jobs are cardiac rehab, same day surgery, endoscopy, infusion center because you get to deal with one patient at a time. And you feel like you are doing something good for the patient.
Good luck with your transition and don't give up.
I work in GI and I don't have a problem with my job. I actually like to go to work because it is so easy. And now my only complaint is I am getting bored.
Anyway, good luck to your new career and hopefully you will find nursing as a career.
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If you find the right facility & area to work in then there won't be much unhappiness. 
nads786
59 Posts
duno if this is true, but have any of you heard the stat that within 5 years
most nurses leave their job to higher positions or out of the field?
any merit to this "stat"