how do you feel being a nurse

I haven't been a nurse for long but so far...... I've laughed with patients :rotfl: and their families, I've also cried with them , I've enjoyed acting on the spur of a moment to keep a patient alive :heartbeat, all of these things have helped me to feel human :hug:, fulfilled, called. Some days are good , and some days are bad :confused:and I still have A LOT of learning to do :smackingfand I may not fully enjoy the specialty I am working in at this time, but overall I am glad I chose to be a nurse. And yes, it is an amazing experience.

Nurses, like many other of the professions that do the most for the common good, are underpaid, undervalued, and in some cases abused IMHO... I have worked 1 nursing job, and realized that my back is probably sore when I go to bed at night because everything at my job was so ergonomically incorrect (and stuck that way)... I had to bend over to wash my hands (I'm 5'11")!

However, this might and I am sure does pale in comparison (for some) to some of the things that previous poster mentioned. I have laughed with patients and families, and do my best to make sure everyone under my wing is taken care of as any such competent nurse should. I get satisfaction and feel good about myself when I know I changed someones life for the better.

The good things is there are so many avenues to take in nursing (pt. care, education, research, etc.) that I think and hope in the near future that I will find a balance between the major pros and cons of the overall profession.

I have only been a nurse for a few months, and to be honest my emotions are up and down. Every once in a while I have those "Why did I become a nurse?" days. These are the days we are severely understaffed, I have family members and patients being absurd, my feet and back hurt, and I feel as if nursing school taught me nothing. Then, there are those "I was born to do this" days, like today! Those days that I walk into a room and a completely confused patient who has flipped on everyone else recognizes my face and says "There you are, *$%$#! Where have you been?" Or I realize that I learned alot more in nursing school than I thought. When I realize that maybe my nursing judgement really isn't so bad. Or even when the CNAs that I work with approach me and hug me and say they are glad that I am working the hall with them. It's the little things... I stress alot, but in a sick, twisted kind of way, I love the high that I get from nursing. I really cannot explain it. It gives me purpose.

I have only been a nurse for a few months, and to be honest my emotions are up and down. Every once in a while I have those "Why did I become a nurse?" days. These are the days we are severely understaffed, I have family members and patients being absurd, my feet and back hurt, and I feel as if nursing school taught me nothing. Then, there are those "I was born to do this" days, like today! Those days that I walk into a room and a completely confused patient who has flipped on everyone else recognizes my face and says "There you are, *$%$#! Where have you been?" Or I realize that I learned alot more in nursing school than I thought. When I realize that maybe my nursing judgement really isn't so bad. Or even when the CNAs that I work with approach me and hug me and say they are glad that I am working the hall with them. It's the little things... I stress alot, but in a sick, twisted kind of way, I love the high that I get from nursing. I really cannot explain it. It gives me purpose.

I could not have said it better!!!!

" I stress alot, but in a sick twisted kind of way, I love the high that I get from nursing. I really cannot explain it. It gives me purpose."

Dead on.

I love it. I earn an adequate salary (indeed, I am the primary breadwinner in our family now): I'm saving for retirement and my kids' college, the only debt we have is our mortgage, which will be paid off within 10 years.

I work hard. I love the combination of the physical aspects of floor nursing (rolling up your sleeves and getting sweaty and dirty) with the cerebral aspects of caring for complex, ill patients.

I love the challenge, I love the schedule, I love the work. I feel respected by the community at large (though not by all my individual patients! and administration is hit and miss), and I love my coworkers.

I am proud to be a nurse, and I happily recommend it to others, with certain caveats. It isn't for everyone, for sure. I feel you have to be tough and smart and decent, in general. I love how all sorts of personality types can find their niche in nursing.

Ok, OK, befroe I get started, there has to be a disclaimer. There ARE bad days in nursing ( MD's yelling, nurses eating their young, un-ending diarrhea, nasty patients or families, missing holidays etc)

That said, being a nurse has been one of the greatests gifts of my life ! Oh, the unforgettable experiences....

Holding a towel to the neck of a cancer patient whose carotid has just eroded, Providing a presence and comfort to him as he died....

Caring for a 22 year old septic primipara in the ICU for two months and delivering her there. Both mother and baby now fine

Being there the first time a neurosurgical patient opens his eyes after a months long coma with NO sequelae !!

Assisting with the gift of life through organ donation.

Rescuscitating patients in an ED with your peers... It' like a beautiful dance....

Witnessing the courage of patients and families over and over again, and wondering if you could be as graceful under pressure as they are...

Experiencing some of the most intense shifts imaginable, to the point where you develop and appreciate "graveside humor"

Mentoring new nurses into the fold....Oh, their excitment over "firsts"....first patient, first shot, first code... and remembering when you were there....

The constant learning curve. No nurse know it all. Each time you think you do, there's something new and exciting !

There are legions of us out there, all with amazing stories:loveya: