Do you regret going into nursing?

Published

And why?

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

Regret may be too strong a word. But there are days when I wish I'd chosen something else.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CCU, OR.

My first career was North American anthropology/archaeology. I adored my major, the class work, the fascinating things I learned about "man in all times, all settings, all cultures". I started grad school, and in those mid 1970's didn't realize that my adviser didn't like women as students and he scared the $%^$%& out of me. I became very discouraged. My best friend in archaeology was doing "salvage archeology", whch is when the US gov't, usually the DOT has a project that they are required by law to do an environmental impact statement, which included 1/2 of 1% of funding to be used to check out the area for archaeological sites(and to do as much as possible to collect stuff before the bulldozers gunned their engines and crushed the sites into rubble). I moved with my husband to an area where historical archaeology was the big deal- and since I had only worked on pre-historic stuff, no one was going to hire me. Not to mention the pay was low, there were no benefits(what benefits? hadn't even thought about them at that age), and then there were the days in the lab, cleaning up what we'd found, labeling every bit of it and then manually counting and plotting it. Just think how much more fun it is these days with computers!

So, I couldn't find a job. And I wasn't going to be Dr Bluestone, PhD in Anthropology. Even if I'd become Dr Bluestone, jobs in something as esoteric as anthropology aren't exactly easy to come by.

I gave it a lot of thought. I decided to go to nursing school, because(for so many years), you could always get a nursing job, even if perhaps it wasn't the one you wanted exactly. I did pretty well in nursing school, despite the initial hostile attitudes of instructors and students alike to my honesty about going into nursing to get a job. Nursing school was like torture; I couldn't find an area that grabbed my attention, and I was worried about post graduate jobs.....until I worked in CCU as a nurse's aide and found a niche.

I loved CCU, but the director of Critical Care didn't like me. She literally tried to force me to quit the hospital. If I'd known now what I know now, I'd have gone to risk management and gotten her in trouble for harassment.

Be that as it may, I was driven into the OR. After having been a very sharp CCU nurse, suddenly I was STOOOOOPID for two years. Suddenly, it snapped into place. I loved it, despite the weird hours, the call, the weekends, the very "good old boy system" we had back then. And I have stayed in love with it, despite suffering a bad back injury 3 1/2 years ago which has now rendered me pretty much unemployable by any of the hospitals around here.

The pay has never been that great, but that was never the point. The politics suck, the 'golden haired ones' who can do no wrong and the 'red headed step children' who can do no right, being jerked around a lot, etc- it all sucks. However, in every hospital and OR I've worked in, the problems are roughly the same, hospital wide as well as unit specific. I do hate that we no longer have the option of 8 hour shifts. Personally, I feel working 12's- and having to work day/nights as a constant rotation, is reckless endangerment of both staff and patients. I never could work nights. I admire those who rotate around like that but wonder how well they'll fare as they get older? That may be a real force for nurses to leave hospitals or at least, floor positions to have a permanent set of hours.

I have regretted several things about going into nursing; not becoming a CRNA in 1984(but didn't have a supportive husband to help me make that possible), ending up going to a Diploma school(despite getting an absolutely fabulous nursing education) because the lack of a BSN has been the bane of my working existence and a real issue in my pursuit of graduate education and the almost uniform dislike of the directors of the various OR's I've worked in. Oddly enough, I never could figure out WHY they disliked me, but my colleagues told me it was because I spoke up and was smart as hell. What can I say?

Now, as nursing appears to be leaving me, I simply regret that having a patient injure me and Workman's Comp not treat me correctly has cost me the career I love still.

Overall, I'd still rather be an OR nurse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

when i was a student i wasnt sure if i wanted to be a nurse. but as time goes by im beginning to love what im doing. what makes me regret that i took nursing now is the fact that is its been a year now and i cant still a get job because there are so many nursing grads

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Out of curiosity, what kind of job do have now?? Because I can relate and I'm too young to be this bitter.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/sug/onc/geri.

Every day of my life. The only good thing about it is that it pays the bills. If I would have had even the SLIGHTEST clue ahead of time of what I was really getting myself into, there is no way I would have done it. If I would have gone into healthcare at all, it would have been in a nice cushy specialty like PT, OT or SLP, where you work 9-5 and don't get blamed for everything under the sun, you just do your job and go home. Problem is, now I'm stuck. Gotta figure out how to afford to go back to school.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Home Care.

If I had a crystal ball 18 months ago I would never have quit my secure job to go to LPN school. I got my license 6 months ago and cannot find a job and I can't get my old job back. I'm supposed to start RN in August, I'm debating whether to do it or not since there are few if any new RN jobs here.

I want to be a nurse with a job.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

I am regretting it. The chronic short staffing and horizontal violence is getting to me. I do love that I can work non-traditional hours, though. It is great to have both parents working and not have to pay for daycare. I don't know how I will feel about the wacky hours when I have older kids in school, though. I probably won't like working eves/overnights/weekends then.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
And why?

Interesting question!

I wouldn’t say I regret it exactly now, but when I first graduated and had the incredible struggle to find a job, I did regret it. I have wanted to be a nurse since I was very young and I was soooo looking forward to it. I graduated and to my horror and surprise, it took almost 200 applications and 7 months to find a job – and the job I did find is not the kind of nursing I want to do (ambulatory care).

Now, I am worried that I am too far out of nursing school to be considered a new grad (but also currently work as a nurse and therefore don’t’ qualify as a new grad anyway) but don’t have the “acute care” experience that hospitals want and therefore I will never get to fulfill my dream of working at the bedside. :crying2:

I am incredibly frustrated, sad, angry, and hurt. I still have my days when I wonder if it was worth it (since it’s going to be quite awhile longer until I can FINALLY and hopefully start of dream of bedside nursing). However, I am deeply grateful for having some kind of job at all – many new grads now can’t even find jobs in other avenues of nursing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Both my parents taught school, as do two of my sisters. I agree teaching is difficult and the emotional toll is great, but still feel it is a good option for those who want to be in a helping profession. There are many opportunities, and for those who value somewhat regular hours and a family life, something other than nursing might be best-unless you can find a nursing position with daytime hours, weekends and holidays off. Better to think about it before getting the education. Thanks for your response-teachers do work very hard and aren't valued enough for what they do.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sorry; go on the wrong post somehow!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Both my parents taught school, as do two of my sisters. I agree teaching is difficult and the emotional toll is great, but still feel it is a good option for those who want to be in a helping profession. There are many opportunities, and for those who value somewhat regular hours and a family life, something other than nursing might be best-unless you can find a nursing position with daytime hours, weekends and holidays off. Better to think about it before getting the education. Thanks for your response-teachers do work very hard and aren't valued enough for what they do.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Every day of my life. The only good thing about it is that it pays the bills. If I would have had even the SLIGHTEST clue ahead of time of what I was really getting myself into, there is no way I would have done it. If I would have gone into healthcare at all, it would have been in a nice cushy specialty like PT, OT or SLP, where you work 9-5 and don't get blamed for everything under the sun, you just do your job and go home. Problem is, now I'm stuck. Gotta figure out how to afford to go back to school.

I'm sorry. I hope things get better for you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion