I'm thinking about becoming a nurse mainly because I absolutely love travel. That's all I really want to do in life. Like the only thing in fact. But here's a few of my concerns:
-I did some CNA type work and HATED turning clients and transferring them to wheelchairs, in fact it caused me a lower back injury. And I'm concerned my back won't get better/nursing will make it worse.
-I always imagine nursing being like my crappy first job at a fast-food restaurant. It was fast-paced, I hated tending to all the customers and their whiny, overly-specific needs, and I had bum coworkers who made me pick up their slack.
-I (mostly) hate dealing with people. I hated the customers at my fast food restaurant, but loved working with the clients at my CNA type job. (The clients were DD and I always came home with some crazy/funny stories.)
Another pro to nursing I guess would be that I'm intrigued by blood, guts, and gore and the functions of the human body.
Can my love for travel surpass my crappy back and hatred for people and fast-paced environments?
Other professions with whom nurses share common tasks: hotel maid, daycare worker, receptionist, therapist, social worker, chauffeur, coffee shop barista, customer service rep, coach, store manager, store clerk, and whatever it's called when someone pays you so that they can yell at you.
Nursing is a very challenging people-focused (I mean, we're taking care of people, right?), teamwork-dependent profession. It takes a lot of brains, heart and muscle to do this job well. I think it's the best job in the world but I know from experience that if it's not right for you (or you're not right for it) your patients, your coworkers and you will all suffer.
I can certainly see your point. If you have the time and inclination to do nursing school then go for it. With age and education your perspective changes. At least you would have a reason and a goal to attain, that's more than a lot of people, including people in nursing.
I'm not a people person at all. Not big on being all nursey either. I work OR and only get to talk to the patient and family minimally. The job is more technical than most nursing but less touchy Feely. I love it and working trauma, you save quite a few lives. Lots of blood and guts too.
Like you, all I really want to do is travel. Nursing, for me, has been a means to do that. I'm not a people person either, nor do I particularly enjoy doing any of the things you named you hate, but I see it as a small price to pay to have the flexibility and the finances to be able to travel often. I value being able to travel and having the means to do it more than I hate doing back breaking labor or dealing with people. I do several short, week-long vacations, maybe 6-8 a year, and use my PTO for big international trips twice a year. All this traveling and I'm not even a travel nurse! It depends how scheduling is done where you work, but I certainly wouldn't be able to do this with a regular 9-5, nor would I probably have the financial means to do this with most other jobs that would allow such scheduling.
I'm not a people person at all. Not big on being all nursey either. I work OR and only get to talk to the patient and family minimally. The job is more technical than most nursing but less touchy Feely. I love it and working trauma, you save quite a few lives. Lots of blood and guts too.
PACU nurse here, and I have always been suspicious of that OR nurse persona. Sounds like you know yourself and have found a perfect niche. Good on you!
Your love of travel will not make nursing worth your while because...well...nursing generally does not involve travel. It does if you take an agency position (that actually places you outside of your home state--many agencies place nurses in local hospitals/nursing homes)--which is a BAAAAAAD move for a new nurse. Seriously, you'd drown. Agency nurses have to be competent enough to work anywhere with little to no orientation. Novice nurses simply do not fit that description. Your other option would be to take a job on a cruise ship's infirmary. That is a very very tiny sliver of the nursing profession.
Nurses deal with people all day, every day. In many cases, these people are in really bad places and are stressed and afraid. They will not be on their best behavior. You would have one miserable career if you "hate" dealing with people.
Most of the "functions of the human body" you will come into contact with is feces, urine, and vomit. And if you are in a position to be exposed to "blood, guts, and gore"--OR, ED, SICU, etc.--you will not have time to be fascinated. It's go time. Even if you did land an ED position, it's not all trauma drama like you see on TV. People come or bring their children to the ED for supremely unsexy complaints--GI viruses, foreign bodies up noses, and head lice. Yes, I said head lice.
If you like to travel, you should look into being a tour guide.
I'm a travel nurse (contract end in 2 weeks). I can tell you, you still have to deal with the things you hate the most. The only difference between travelers and staff nurses is that as a traveler you don't have to put up with the "politics" of the unit, such as: the staff not liking their boss, or weird rules. You just go, do your job, and leave in 13 weeks. Sounds to me that you're getting into nursing for the wrong reasons. If you get into nursing just for the travel opportunities, I can guarantee you will not be happy in your profession. From multiple demands and dealing with all kinds of people, you have to feel like this is your passion, or you will quit or be unhappy. Like others have stated, there are other professions you can get into that will allow you to travel, such as: flight attendants, sales, etc. Explore other options, and find a career that will better suit you. Good luck on your journey!
I loved travel nursing but my dreams were always bigger than my reality. I took a travel assignment at an quaint little beach town. My first day there I took loads of pictures. After beginning work at their local hospital, I never saw the quaint little village again. I was too tired and slept the rest of the time.
Go into nursing prepared for constant high expectations from your employer dealing with unhappy customers with a lot of responsibility in a fast paced environment. Then double that.
Your other option would be to take a job on a cruise ship's infirmary. That is a very very tiny sliver of the nursing profession.
I looked into that. All they want is ex-ER and ex-ICU nurses. It's so frustrating because it's as if us acute care nurses have never encountered an emergency. *eyeroll*
Dinsey
112 Posts
Other professions with whom nurses share common tasks: hotel maid, daycare worker, receptionist, therapist, social worker, chauffeur, coffee shop barista, customer service rep, coach, store manager, store clerk, and whatever it's called when someone pays you so that they can yell at you.
Nursing is a very challenging people-focused (I mean, we're taking care of people, right?), teamwork-dependent profession. It takes a lot of brains, heart and muscle to do this job well. I think it's the best job in the world but I know from experience that if it's not right for you (or you're not right for it) your patients, your coworkers and you will all suffer.