I've posted this on the general nursing forum as I was hoping to gain some perspective from experienced nurses (especially) about the working environment in the nursing field.
I am wanting to pursue a batchelor in Nursing/Midwifery as a mature age student. I expected to be nervous about starting the course and doing well in it but I am now also beginning to feel extremely anxious about the said "horizontal voilence" and "**********" that is often experienced by many in this field.
I am by nature a kind hearted and caring person with a very gentle personality. I am respectful and don't make a habit of being rude or displaying a negative attitude. I want to learn and do well within the field for my patients. I have a great deal of respect for Nurses and the brilliant work you all do day in and day out and I want to learn from the great Nurses out there so I too can be a great Nurse myself.
Do you need a tough personality to survive in Nursing? I always felt Nurses would be supportive of one another...am I ignorant to think this? Much of what I read, including from Nurses seems to be quite the contrary. I realise that Nursing is first and foremost about caring for patients, that's why I want to be a Nurse. Even if Nursing is "******" , I still want to be a Nurse, I just worry that I won't have the mental strenght it takes and that I will crumble So many Nurses seem to want to warn others off Nursing as a career and although this may be for many reasons, workplace bullying seems to pop up quite a bit. Would be nice to hear from some Nurses who love their job or find value in what they do :) Surely Nursing sees some great teams working on wards.
I also worry about being a Student Nurse on clinicals and being "in the way" or "asking too many silly questions". I worry about feeling alone and unsupported in my learning. I will be no doubt so nerwous to begin with and I don't want this to be off putting to the Nurse/s around me who will be there to assist with my learning.
I was wondering if there were any qualified Nurses (or even Student Nurses) that could give me some advice on what to expect and how to best deal with my concerns. Am I worrying too much over nothing? Are there things that Student Nurses should / shouldn't do to better help themselves? Will a strong willingness to learn and show initiative at clinicals assist with developing better working relationships with the qualified and experienced Nurses around you? Or, is it merely a case of just building that bridge and "sucking it up"
