Family not supportive, is nursing really that bad?

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Hi everyone!

I am currently in my final year of high school and trying to decide what I would like to do with my future. I am really interested in nursing however my family tell me I'm not the right kind of person to be a nurse and that it isn't a good job. It's making me doubt myself because I am worried the hours nurses work will take over my life and I won't be able to have a life outside of work. Can anyone give me advice? Is it possible to have a good personal and family life whilst being a nurse?

Thank you! Any advice is appreciated :)

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Nursing is a good job. It's not an easy one, though. If you think getting through school will magically give you an amazing life, think again; nursing is hard work, especially when you're learning the ropes.

The hours can be tough, but if you find the right fit in an employer, it is certainly possible to live a wonderful life and not bring your work home with you. I love being a nurse, and my family life doesn't suffer because of it.

If being a nurse is what you want, go ahead and pursue it. If you have doubts while in school, it's not the worst thing in the world to change majors.

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The question is not so much if nursing is a "bad" or "good" job.

The real question in my opinion is:

1. Are you able to deal with the realities of today's healthcare systems and todays view on nursing ?

Wish is to provide care and make an impact on people's health or illness.

Reality is that healthcare including nursing is financially driven and impact can be very limited as you get tangled up in documentation, never-ending tasks lists that turn you into a task master - the chances of errors are higher and your critical thinking skills are not honored to the full potential.

2. Are you able to deal with working nights, weekends, holidays when perhaps most of your friends and families are not working those days?

3. Are you able to deal with uncertainty and are you comfortable with being uncomfortable?

If you answer "yes" - nursing might be still perfect for you - if you answer "no" you would have more problems adjusting to the realities of nursing. Many new graduates get disenchanted within a few weeks /months and get discouraged as they discover that the reality is very far from what they were told in the program.

I think that in the near future healthcare systems will have to make a decision how to use RNs and if the model of primary nursing in facilities is do-able given that we are looking in less linear but mostly interrelated processes / decision-making and such.

4. Are you able to get through a very competitive program that will require you to focus on academics and clinics ? Nursing school is demanding

5. Can you leave your drama for the lama? Joke to the side - there is an endless amount of drama in nursing because we are dealing with real life people who are totally frustrated by the healthcare system and their inability to navigate it. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are frustrated because money dictates what we do and common sense does not necessarily prevail. Drama within families, staff, from administration - the list is neverending. Personally, I have tolerance for a good amount of "reasonable drama" - meaning the frustration gets expressed in a very emotional way - but it can such life out of you if you encounter high drama nurses or high drama floors every single day.

Good luck with your decisions.

Depending on what you feel drawn to you might also want to look into other healthcare professions.

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My question is why do they think nursing is not right for you?

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The question is not so much if nursing is a "bad" or "good" job.

The real question in my opinion is:

1. Are you able to deal with the realities of today's healthcare systems and todays view on nursing ?

Wish is to provide care and make an impact on people's health or illness.

Reality is that healthcare including nursing is financially driven and impact can be very limited as you get tangled up in documentation, never-ending tasks lists that turn you into a task master - the chances of errors are higher and your critical thinking skills are not honored to the full potential.

2. Are you able to deal with working nights, weekends, holidays when perhaps most of your friends and families are not working those days?

3. Are you able to deal with uncertainty and are you comfortable with being uncomfortable?

If you answer "yes" - nursing might be still perfect for you - if you answer "no" you would have more problems adjusting to the realities of nursing. Many new graduates get disenchanted within a few weeks /months and get discouraged as they discover that the reality is very far from what they were told in the program.

I think that in the near future healthcare systems will have to make a decision how to use RNs and if the model of primary nursing in facilities is do-able given that we are looking in less linear but mostly interrelated processes / decision-making and such.

4. Are you able to get through a very competitive program that will require you to focus on academics and clinics ? Nursing school is demanding

5. Can you leave your drama for the lama? Joke to the side - there is an endless amount of drama in nursing because we are dealing with real life people who are totally frustrated by the healthcare system and their inability to navigate it. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are frustrated because money dictates what we do and common sense does not necessarily prevail. Drama within families, staff, from administration - the list is neverending. Personally, I have tolerance for a good amount of "reasonable drama" - meaning the frustration gets expressed in a very emotional way - but it can such life out of you if you encounter high drama nurses or high drama floors every single day.

Good luck with your decisions.

Depending on what you feel drawn to you might also want to look into other healthcare professions.

Thank you for your response it has given me a lot to think about.

I am just wondering what you mean by uncertainty? As in job insecurity or uncertainties within a nursing job?

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My question is why do they think nursing is not right for you?

I am a fairly anxious person which I can understand may not be compatible with nursing but I was hoping I could get past that as nursing is something I'm really interested in.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.
I am a fairly anxious person which I can understand may not be compatible with nursing but I was hoping I could get past that as nursing is something I'm really interested in.

I am an incredibly anxious person too...except when I have my "nurse hat" on at work. Something about the job makes you put on your big girl pants and do what needs to be done, and the anxiety waits till you clock out. At least, for me it is like that. I realize that its not the same for everyone.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

I think that in the near future healthcare systems will have to make a decision how to use RNs and if the model of primary nursing in facilities is do-able given that we are looking in less linear but mostly interrelated processes / decision-making and such.

Not to get too far off topic, but I am curious --

Nutella, would you be able to elaborate more on this? How do you think healthcare systems might move to use RNs differently in the future?

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

I love being a nurse! I have 5 kids and don't need to work, but I do because I want to.

The hours don't have to take over your life. A full time job is often 36 hrs per week, divided into 3 shifts. My husband used to be a corporate tax auditor; during tax season, he would sometimes work 100 hours per week! Our kids, then 4, 2, and newborn literally didn't see their dad for a week -- he left for work around 0400 and got home after midnight.

It's true that many of is work holidays. It stinks, but no job is perfect. My family has been celebrating Christmas w/ the grandparents over New Years, every other year for years. Personally, if I have to work a holiday I would MUCH rather be doing something necessary, than be waiting tables or serving expensive coffee.

Just curious, are any if these relatives who say it isn't a good job, nurses themselves?

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How are you not the "type" of person for nursing? Just because of anxiety?

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I love being a nurse! I have 5 kids and don't need to work, but I do because I want to.

The hours don't have to take over your life. A full time job is often 36 hrs per week, divided into 3 shifts. My husband used to be a corporate tax auditor; during tax season, he would sometimes work 100 hours per week! Our kids, then 4, 2, and newborn literally didn't see their dad for a week -- he left for work around 0400 and got home after midnight.

It's true that many of is work holidays. It stinks, but no job is perfect. My family has been celebrating Christmas w/ the grandparents over New Years, every other year for years. Personally, if I have to work a holiday I would MUCH rather be doing something necessary, than be waiting tables or serving expensive coffee.

Just curious, are any if these relatives who say it isn't a good job, nurses themselves?

Thanks so much!

No they aren't and don't even work in healthcare which is why I get frustrated but I still can't help but wonder if they are right.

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