Do I really want to be a nurse?

jamonit · Jul 7, 2007

nursing gives a person freedom...

3 days on, several days off.

the pay isn't as great as they lead you to believe, but you could definitely live comfortably.

job security. you can pretty much quit one day and find a job the next week (at least in the phoenix-area).

on the other hand, the hours are long.

the thank yous are few and far between.

you will feel constantly tired.

you get it from all angles--the doctors, the patients, their families, your charge nurse, the nurse giving you report, management, etc....

the shortage has screwed up ratios--on a tele floor in phoenix, expect 3-4 patients, a couple discharges per day and a few new admits--so basically you have 'nursed' up to 6-8 people by the end of the day

you have a lot of exposures to diseases; meningitis, hep c, hiv, pneumonia, c. diff, mrsa, vre. even using standard precautions may not protect (in some cases).

it's a mixed bag. you have to know that it's a challenging job. some days you will leave the floor screaming mad, other days you will leave crying, some days you leave feeling like you did a little good in the world. you have to do it for those days that you feel like you did something good for someone and their families and hold on to that feeling.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jul 7, 2007

Well said....

It sucks sometimes, and it's great sometimes.

You just have to be happy knowing that all the time you are doing a greater good for people, and that's where your 'thanks' are at...

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2007

.... I was mainly going into this field because of the money...

Of course, nurses need to be fairly compensated. But, it disheartens me when I see that many people are mainly interested in nursing because of the pay.

Nursing is really tough.

Don't want to start any controversy here. But-

Having been a nurse for 15 years, if I was in it just for the money, I would have left nursing. In my opinion, nursing is something that needs to be important to you personally, in order to be able to deal with it and stick it out.

aviator411, RN · Jul 9, 2007

Nursing is very hard work if you "do it right" and the work schedules and conditions are often very difficult. Many nurses enjoy what they do in spite of this. There is a reason why a nursing short exists: there will never be a surplus of people willing to do this kind of work under ANY conditions. If you're not among those of us who feel that we "have" to do nursing regardless of the conditions, you are headed in the wrong direction.

We've all worked with nurses who don't "do it right" and are only there for the pay. Please do your patients and future co-workers a favor and do something else if you're not willing to make the effort in the best interest of your patients.

You need to pick up Nursing Against The Odds by Suzanne Gordon at your local book store before you pursue nursing any farther.

Good luck!

sassiebaz · Jul 9, 2007

Let me elaborate on my statement...I have done homecare as a caregiver, I am currently a medical assistant, and I have worked in a hospice environment and pretty much been around hospice since I was a kid as all the women in my family do this line of work even as far as having patients in their homes to live and be taken care of. So, when I say Im doing it for the money, it's simply that I want to stay in healthcare but, with 3 children to raise, me working for $12-15 an hour just doesnt make sense. I need to be in a dicipline where I can make more money.

That is what I meant!!!

Nurmom86 · Jul 9, 2007

hey everyone,

okay the way i look at this situation is......yes the money is nice, but you have to be compassionate and have to want to be there every day and have to want to care for people. so many times have i been in hospital and had family there and the ratio of nurses whom are compassionate about their job to those who are not is unbelieveable. you can see it on their faces, you can tell by the way they react to situations that they dont care about their patients. THERE ARE SOME WHO DO THOUGH! its getting few and far in between now adays though. I am a total germ freak....infectious diseases scare me...especially knowing that i could potentially bring them home to my family....:madface:but....i love helping people and making a difference in their lives...regardless if i only get one thank you from a PT in a month...you still know if you were caring and compassionate your PT will remember you in a good way! I have alot of hurdels i must overcome b4 i begin working as a nurse, but with time it will all work out the way it should. good luck to you and to anyone who may be in this perdicament.

Heather

Mayaquice · Jul 19, 2007

I always go back & forth with my decisions about nursing, until a patient told me to close my eyes and tell my life story to her what I would want said at my funeral

*Also, you could work PT or a 7a-7p shift be let you be there for off to school time and you'd be sleeping wile their in school. Then picking them up and attending thier programs & what not, you'd also be there for dinner, then off you go to work. So your sleeping when their at school, with them teh rest of the day/evening and your husband could get them to bed.....This is how I look at it; from the family view. Not too bad;)

* As far as if yu want to nurse or not, maybe shadow somewhere or volunteer on a floor to see what is they do exactly maybe that will settle your thoughts.

HTH

Hoozdo, ADN · Jul 19, 2007

Let me elaborate on my statement...I have done homecare as a caregiver, I am currently a medical assistant, and I have worked in a hospice environment and pretty much been around hospice since I was a kid as all the women in my family do this line of work even as far as having patients in their homes to live and be taken care of. So, when I say Im doing it for the money, it's simply that I want to stay in healthcare but, with 3 children to raise, me working for $12-15 an hour just doesnt make sense. I need to be in a dicipline where I can make more money.
That is what I meant!!!

Well, you certainly will make more than 12 or 15 bucks an hour as an RN in a hospital, so I don't understand what you mean. It is possible to make close to 100K a year if you work some overtime, go for night shift, and work weekends. The money is there, but your heart has to be in the right place to put up with some of the crap (for lack of a better term.)

sassiebaz · Jul 19, 2007

Well, you certainly will make more than 12 or 15 bucks an hour as an RN in a hospital, so I don't understand what you mean. It is possible to make close to 100K a year if you work some overtime, go for night shift, and work weekends. The money is there, but your heart has to be in the right place to put up with some of the crap (for lack of a better term.)

I don't think you understood what I meant. I can ONLY make $12-$15 an hour as an MA so my point was I cannot even work for that and put my kids in daycare. So, one of the major reasons for getting into nursing is that I can afford to work, being that I will make enough that more than half of my paycheck would NOT be going to pay for daycare. I am interested in becoming an LPN first though. I can make between $20-$24 an hour which is still enough to pay for daycare and bring home a decent paycheck!

jamonit · Jul 20, 2007

ms. sassiebaz--

i think you know your answer. we've corresponded about nursing school and nursing as a profession...listen to your gut. in my opinion, finishing nursing school will be one of the most difficult things you will do in your life, but also it will mean so much to you and your family. the few years spent in school money will be sporifice and your time will be limited, but in the long run the rewards are great. you will have more time to spend with your children during your days off...you will be able to help save for college for your little ones with the extra money you will make. you will have more freedom and independence as well as more confidence. education is one of the most valuable commodities, no one can ever take it away from you and in can only open more doors.

i was once a medical assistant and i know the wage ceiling that you are hitting. as an RN, there are literaly thousands of ways to use your degree.

i think you owe it to yourself and your family.

best of luck!

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2007

This is one of those things that you just have to really look inside yourself and figure out if it's what you want. I went through the same thing while I was in school ..... I questioned whether or not I wanted to go on with nursing school. But honestly I couldn't imagine doing anything else ..... and I really did want to be a nurse. So I went ahead with it and I'm glad I did. But it's something you can only decide for yourself.

Some of the negative things you mentioned I hardly ever have to deal with.

10-12 hour shifts? I work 12 hour shifts and I love it ...... it enables me to get my work week done in 3 days, and then have 4 days off. Also we have self scheduling so we can get long stretches off at a time without having to use vacation time if we like to. I don't know many other professions that can do that.

Holidays? Yeah that's one thing that stinks about it. But sometimes it works out ok. This past year I only had to work New Years Eve and New Years Day. I was off for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day ..... which are big holidays for my family. Sometimes people are willing to switch too. But it's something that we'll always have to deal with, but families can work around it by celebrating the holiday the day before or day after, if it works for your schedule.

On your feet all day long? Now this just depends on the type of nursing I think. I actually sit on my butt quite a bit lol. I mean yeah there are nights where I'm running and by the end of the night my feet hurt, but that's not the norm. Keeps us in shape!

Patients' families? I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I was really frustrated with families. Granted I'm still pretty new, I've only been a nurse for 2 years, and I work with babies .... but they have some pretty demanding parents sometimes. I kiss butt and am overly nice to those types of parents though, and it usually works for me. The best part of dealing with families is when they tell me "thank you for taking care of my baby tonight". That makes it all worth it to me.

Infectious diseases? Again, I think it just depends on the area. We don't usually have to deal with infectious diseases on a regular basis, and the times we do we take precautions, so I feel pretty safe.

This is how it is for me. But I do like my job, so I try to see the good things in it, even through the negative .... as there will be negative things about ALL types of jobs. Nursing might not work for you and your family at this time ..... you might need a day time job that's 5 days a week, with less hours per day. I can't say for sure, it's only something you know.

Good luck to you, I hope it works out well for you all!