Did you initially think you weren't going to like nursing

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello,

Did you think that you weren't going to be "cut out" for nursing but ended up liking the profession?

Thanks

Yes, currently looking. I'm also considering doing something other than nursing, but we will see.

Good luck. Just curious, and if you don't mind me asking, what made you want to pursue nursing in the first place? Did you have any previous experience in healthcare?

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Actually, I started out thinking I'd LOVE nursing and that it was so for ME!

But after 4 years I realized that I prefer a bit more solitude that I don't like talking to patients and their family members, wanted very little interaction with most of my coworkers and now I'm looking for a job that's more flexible and keeps me away from all the crazy.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

I hated nursing school. I didn't love clinicals for even a second. But.....the further into the program that you get, the less it makes sense to quick because none of those classes are going to count towards any other major. So.....I just kept going. When I graduated, I wasn't even sure that I wanted to work as a nurse but, I mean, I got the degree so I might as well try, right?

That was about nine years ago. Turns out I like taking care of patients and I found a population that I really enjoy working with (pediatric critical care). Maybe I hated nursing school because I didn't get to find my niche until after graduation. Maybe it was because nursing school is so regimented and you are supposed to keep your head down and fall in line, and I wanted more autonomy in my practice. I don't know.

Anyway, TL;DR....I hated every single day of my degree program. I've liked BEING a nurse much more than going to school for it.

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Actually, I started out thinking I'd LOVE nursing and that it was so for ME!

But after 4 years I realized that I prefer a bit more solitude that I don't like talking to patients and their family members, wanted very little interaction with most of my coworkers and now I'm looking for a job that's more flexible and keeps me away from all the crazy.

This is me. I start nursing school in January and of all the things to be stressed or nervous about, I really feel like patient/family interaction is what I will have to work on. I'm just naturally an introvert.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

I started health care as a CNA and decided to go to school for my RN as at that time I thought I would love it. It would be so much easier, after all the nurses sit around charting half the day and just give people pills the other half and they make a ton more money besides. Boy was I wrong!

That being said though, for the most part I actually love what I do. I don't like the bureaucratic BS part of the job but I do truly enjoy caring for my residents.

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This is me. I start nursing school in January and of all the things to be stressed or nervous about, I really feel like patient/family interaction is what I will have to work on. I'm just naturally an introvert.

Awww. Just treat people with respect, be polite and courteous and abstain from judging them and it'll be fine. Youll get those that don't like you but you'll learn to detach with time. I'm actually good with interacting with them but I'm very much a hermit/solitary by nature.

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Awww. Just treat people with respect, be polite and courteous and abstain from judging them and it'll be fine. Youll get those that don't like you but you'll learn to detach with time. I'm actually good with interacting with them but I'm very much a hermit/solitary by nature.

That's good to hear! I posted this thread mostly because I'm scared I won't like nursing, mostly because I am an introvert. So I'm glad that there are introverts surviving in nursing. :)

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
This is me. I start nursing school in January and of all the things to be stressed or nervous about, I really feel like patient/family interaction is what I will have to work on. I'm just naturally an introvert.

I'm a massive introvert, and also fairly shy.

For me, at least, something changes when im on the floor working as a bedside nurse. You are in charge of that patients day. You are the gatekeeper. Because of your position of authority, you have the upper hand in your patient and family interactions, and I think that makes it a little bit easier to manage, for me, anyway. If you saw me at work, you wouldnt think that I was the type to hate talking on the phone or being around people. Once you get settled into your role, I think that you'll find that BiaRN2OT at home is not the exact same person as BiraRN2OT at work. It's a process, though!

That's good to hear! I posted this thread mostly because I'm scared I won't like nursing, mostly because I am an introvert. So I'm glad that there are introverts surviving in nursing. :)

One people skill that you will have to learn, though, is how to steer and control the conversation. Its a different type of conversations from your typical everyday interactions - its half professional, half personable. Each patient/family will be a little different. Some patients/family members will talk at you for eternity if you don't escape. You'll learn how to politely end the chat so you can get your work done (or just get away from the talking!)

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I hated nursing school.

Loved the LPN program. Suffered through the RN program.

I purposely became an LPN first in order to make sure I wanted to decide if I wanted to make nursing my career choice. I have almost never regretted becoming a nurse.

In the LPN program, I was unaminously voted class representative, participated in extracurricular hospital activities, was the first in the classroom/the last to leave, and generally made a nuisance of myself during clinicals in order see and learn everything I could.

Near the end of the program, my fellow students wanted to impeach me, but I was hired by the hospital.

During the RN program, I worked full time and went through a couple of major life crisis. I was asked to be a class representative and turned down the offer. During the OB rotation, being the only male in the class, I was made to listen to every one of my classmates' birth stories of every child they had, in great detail, and why theirs was soooooo special. If I had not already had a vasectomy performed a couple of years before, sitting through that class would have made me get one. Even if I had to do it myself. Without anesthetic.

Initially on the Dean's list, I made C's my last semester. I did not attend the class photograph session, graduation, or the pinning ceremony. I was one crispy critter.

The RN program was my aversion therapy to a higher education.

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