Do you recommend becoming a nurse?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. Do you recommend becoming a nurse?

    • 169
      Yes
    • 157
      No
    • 85
      Not sure

411 members have participated

Nursing is not an easy career path to choose. It is certainly one of the most difficult. When friends or prospective students ask, do you recommend becoming a nurse?:)

Specializes in ER- Correctional.

I have been in nursing for quite some time, & have really enjoyed it. But when my oldest daughter wanted to go into health care, & was concerned about the beside vomiting,diarrhea & everything else that is involved in caring for sick people, I recommeded Radiology to her. She is now taking classes (& is top in her class,I might proudly add) towards a career in Radiology. She will still be able to help people, the Dr's will be fairly decent to her,can travel if she wants to, & "no one usually ever sues the picture taker". So I always reccommed Radiology. I do think if I were to go back to school,after retirement, I would go into Radiology myself. But I am planning on something totaly different, right now.

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I selected not sure because this profession isn't for everyone.

I wouldn't recommend that someone who is not suited for the job become a nurse but if they have a passion for it then I would say go for it. I did and so far I have no regrets.

I love it even when I hate it I still love being a nurse.

Sometimes I think I need my head examined for enjoying some of the crazy things I do and see on a daily basis.

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May I just say, I am a new nurse, 3 months experience, and I am having a hard time adjusting. Now, granted, I did not work in the medical field before I went to school, so yes, it was ALL a culture shock. However, I just feel VERY disillusioned. I guess that's the most appropriate term. I enjoyed school very much, was at the top of my class, and couldn't wait to go to clinicals every day. Now I work a very busy med/surg floor at the hospital, and I dread coming to work every day. I think they should tell you at the beginning of school just how emotionally and physically taxing nursing is on your mind, body and soul. If I had known just how much this was going to take out of me, I don't know if I would've gone to school for nursing. Yes, I love helping people, and no, not all days are bad. But I never stop thinking about my patients, or what I messed up, or what I missed, or what I'll probably get sued over.

The other girls I graduated with feel the same way. Surely we can't all be sissies, can we?

I just feel that I am working in an environment where I am set up to fail.

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Specializes in Med Surg, LTC, Home Health.
The other girls I graduated with feel the same way. Surely we can't all be sissies, can we?

I just feel that I am working in an environment where I am set up to fail.

You and your classmates are certainly not alone. A poll of over 10,000 nurses in May produced these results:

73% of nurses asked don’t believe the staffing on their unit or shift is sufficient.

59.8% of those asked said they knew of someone who left direct care nursing due to concerns about safe staffing.

51.7% of respondents said they thought the quality of nursing care on their unit has declined in the last year

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In our country I would go for a NO.. :nono: not recommend it at all

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Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
In our country I would go for a NO.. :nono: not recommend it at all

Just curious, what country is that???? and why????

here in USA, the staffing issues are the major problem......

and the lack of respect from co-workers, doctors, visitors, etc, etc....

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:nono: If someone asks or mentions it, I tell them how hard it is to get into nursing school, how hard it is to be in nursing school especially with a family or a job, and how hard it is to be a nurse (the physical, mental and emotional toll it takes on a person).

However whenever there is a nursing student on my unit, I try to be encouraging and helpful to them. I remember having b#####s for nurses while I was in school who seemed to have forgotten what it was like to be a student!! I vow to not be one of those!!

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You know, after being yelled at by my nurse manager, hit by a patient, buried by skin folds while placing a foley, having poo slung on me, followed up and down the halls by family members, and was never able to sit down except for a 10 minute lunch today,

I have to wonder just why anyone would be a nurse.

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

not sure, it depends on the person.

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Hmmm... if you're someone who thrives on chaos, finds stretches of quiet, focused time boring, finds it stimulating (versus overwhelming) to be constantly interrupted, likes to 'jump right in' as opposed to stand back and watch awhile, tends to learn well by doing, is methodical and concientious yet not obsessively perfectionistic, has a strong sense of confidence even without outside approval, can hold their own with pushy people... I'd recommend nursing to folks like that.

For others, I'd highly recommend they do some first hand research into what nursing offers to ensure that their impression of what nursing is and what opportunities are available isn't completely inaccurate or unrealistic.

In an ideal world, compassion, a desire to help, a willingness to work hard, etc would be enough. But it seems that the bulk of readily available nursing jobs out there are bedside nursing with bare bones staffing that makes an inherently challenging job all the more difficult... more interruptions, more responsibilities, more short-tempered colleagues, more frustrated patients, etc. So if you're skin's a little thin, if you need a bit more time to pull things together, if it drives you nuts to never be able to give care "the right way", if you need some extra encouragement from others to build confidence, making it in nursing will be especially challenging. Not impossible by any means, but more challenging than the average entry-level job, I think. That's why I don't think someone being smart and caring is enough for me to encourage someone to go into nursing.

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Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
You know, after being yelled at by my nurse manager, hit by a patient, buried by skin folds while placing a foley, having poo slung on me, followed up and down the halls by family members, and was never able to sit down except for a 10 minute lunch today,

I have to wonder just why anyone would be a nurse.

Because when we start out we have these ideals of being a compassionate caregiver......but that bubble bursts fairly quickly, depending on what setting of nursing you are working....

I am having more and more days like the one you have mentioned, no lunch or breaks whatsoever and am getting tired....just plain tired....

I know now why so many nurses get in to the administration part of nursing.....I wish I had my BS and I would do the same....for now, tho, I am cutting back to part time....there are some great moments.....:rolleyes:

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I think my bubble has burst. Yes, I have a problem with giving less than great care. It really bothers me that there are days when my "good" patients get ignored because my needy or psycho or 3-page orders patients are more demanding of my time. I know it is my job to prioritize, but it bothers me that the nurses that I see leaving on time every day and are "shining stars" in the boss's eyes are the same ones who don't assess their patients, don't wash their hands, and do 2 minute max chart checks. They spend all day at the beside visiting with their patients being chatty Cathy. Therefore they are loved by patients, so therefore they are always being mentioned to the NM about how good they are. And no one sees the things that are not done, the things I believe are vital to good nursing care.

So is this the way that I should conduct my nursing duties so that I can be happy in my job?

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