This is not another "should I be a nurse" question. I KNOW I want to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse for 40 years. I wanted to go into nursing back when I was in college in the early 90's, but my mother talked me out of it (Go figure). I am now 39 years old, have had a few career detours (2 BS degrees later), but am now 100% ready to pursue my dream.
I've researched the job market IN MY AREA and right now, it's still good. But I don't know if it will be in 2 years...then again, how could I know that? I can only see what they are projecting...which all bodes well for me down the road.
BUT - I've been reading AN for about a month now...daily...many times a day in fact...and I am just bummed out! No one seems to like their job, their managers, their co-workers...and this is if they are lucky enough to HAVE a job. That coupled with the fact that my (extended) family thinks I'm crazy for going back to school because I am married with 4 kids and have been a stay at home mother for many years and do not (financially) have to work...(emotionally - that's another story), makes me just completely question everything I thought I knew. Husband is behind me 100% which is a huge plus. This is my last shot...I've gone to school twice tip toeing around what I really wanted to do because I was afraid of the science courses. No more. I have a 3.9 in computer science...I'm not afraid of science any more...I have more confidence now than I ever have....
I really WANT to be a nurse. I don't care about the money you make or am delusional and think it's all a piece of cream pie. I, of course, want to contribute to my family's finances...but we've done just fine for 10 years on one income...so it's not money that's motivating me is what I guess I should be saying.
So what IS motivating me? I don't know...I just have always wanted to BE A DAMN NURSE! I'm not thinking ahead to when I'll be a NA or a NP or an ABCDEFG...I just want to go to school, be a nurse, and go from there.
But now...reading AN where the only excited people are the nursing students, and everyone else, even here, is looking at me like "Nursing? Really? you're an idiot". And more like..."you want to work? you're an idiot". Same thing in this case. Well...the whole thing is enough to make me want to eat an entire DQ cake myself. And I just left the gym...
*sigh* I'm frustrated, scared, and have 2 weeks before my pre-req classes start.... UGH!
I never dreamed to be a nurse. I never wrote essays in high school about becoming a nurse when I grow up. Actually I wanted to be a teacher. When I entered college the classes for elementary education seemed boring. I wanted to challenge myself. I don't know why because I spent half of my high school years partying and hanging around boys. But one day I went and changed my major. Told my parents, they were confused... and I've never looked back. I don't know what made me decide to choose nursing. I honestly cannot remember.
But, I can not imagine doing anything else. You get to think and use your brain every day. What you do effects the lives of other people. Literally... You can make a difference in someone's future. And I get to teach. I get to teach students, externs, new grads.... and most importantly patient's and families....
Everyone in every profession is going to complain about something. There are nurses who hate their job, love their job, suck at their job, and rock their job. Personally, I think I'm a damn good nurse. I'm not lazy. And I care about the out come of my patients.
If you want to do it... DO IT... You only live once.
I too felt the "calling". I admired nurses, I thought everybody did.
We are overworked and underpaid. I have never felt respected, let alone admired.
Everyone from nursing assitants to lab techs to ward clerks feel nurses must take their crap.
Administration views us as a costful burden in their profit making endevours.
I am sorry I am a nurse. Yes, I have saved some lives, I have made a difference on occasion, but the
lack of respect/appreciation all the way around is what makes it a losing "profession".
I am really sorry that you feel that way.
Why do I want to be a nurse? Well, I've always loved medicine and am fascinated by the human body. That's probably a standard response, right? Still, it's true. I love the portability of the profession...meaning if ICU is not your thing, you can move to peds, and if that's not your thing, you can be a school nurse, etc... (And YES, I KNOW this is assuming one can find a job).
But I would say that probably the single thing that made me want to finally pursue nursing was when my husband was seriously, seriously ill. He had a perforated bowel and had to have emergency surgery that resulted in a temporary (3 month) colostomy. He was hospitalized for a very long time, and I learned the hospital 'beat' from the inside as a family member. After he came home, we had a home health nurse that was my savior. But, the funny thing is, I had to learn myself how to do the wound care because she wasn't always there. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to do it. But, I DID. And...I was better at it than the NURSE was. She would come, hand me the supplies, and stand there while I cleaned the ostomy, prepped and put the new bag on.
I was happy to do it for my husband - but also was up close and personal with the nurses for several months of in and out hospital stays. I was amazed at some of these people. And, I was disgruntled with some of them too. And I thought, "If I could be a nurse, I'd be like such and such nurse, and NOT like so and so nurse." I don't know...the idea (to be a nurse) that I had always pushed away as 'ridiculous' took root in my heart and that's where it stayed.
Additionally, I have a son whom we adopted from China who was born with a cleft lip/palate. He's had multiple surgeries and I've had to deal with many nurses in the education department of the cleft clinic and they also, were my lifeline when I returned home from China with a malnourished little guy who couldn't eat. I would love to be that kind of lifeline for someone else.
So maybe not everyone respects nurses the way they should...and that's ok because as a stay at home mom for the last 10+ years, I can tell you that I am used to no respect and everyone wanting to give you crap! I'm sure it will bug me sometimes...I'm sure it will even infuriate me sometimes. And some days I'll want to quit...I'm sure. But, I won't...because I respect nurses...so I will feel honored to BE a nurse...whether someone else respects that choice of profession or not.
Volunteering can definitely be a benefit. I wouldn't discourage it at all. I'd still strongly recommend CNA training and hands on patient care as an aide if that's a reasonable option. That would allow *much* more exposure and experience than volunteering in most situations as volunteers are often *very* limited in patient contact. My experience was predominantly filling water pitchers and restocking gloves in pt rooms.
Whereas as a nursing assistant I learned many 'tricks of the trade' in basic patient care - bathing, linen changes, transfer assistance, the art of bedpan placement and removal - which can help ease the transition to professional nursing because you can free up more time and energy if you've got those basics down. As an aide, I also had to learn to work with time and resource limitations - AM care complete for all assigned pts before pts start being whisked away for PT, scans, etc? And work with both great and grumpy nurses. As a volunteer, I could more easily avoid grumpy nurses and take my time to "do things right" - when that can be much more of a challenge when on the clock for 8-12 hours with work that at times seems to require 14-16 hours to complete.
He was hospitalized for a very long time, and I learned the hospital 'beat' from the inside as a family member. After he came home, we had a home health nurse that was my savior.... And I thought, "If I could be a nurse, I'd be like such and such nurse, and NOT like so and so nurse." He's had multiple surgeries and I've had to deal with many nurses in the education department of the cleft clinic and they also, were my lifeline when I returned home from China with a malnourished little guy who couldn't eat. I would love to be that kind of lifeline for someone else.
It sounds like you've had more exposure to 'real' nursing than many, even those with family in the field. It sounds like you've been right on the front line already and probably have a much better idea of the realities than most at your stage of the game. Your motivation and inspiration goes well beyond the reasons "I always wanted to be a nurse" and even "my mom was a nurse for 40 years." Hopefully, you can feel more reassured about your plans!
i saw the title of your thread "feeling frustrated by an post and am second guessing myself " and read it right when you posted it. i thought, "fair enough, she wants input from experienced nurses based on the info she's provided vs random comments and venting from nurses who happened to have had a rough day, week, month or even year....:)"
when i logged on much later , i was going to write a well thought out response as it seemed you really were searching for a reality check. i was curious re the frustration mentioned in the title and first decided to do a quick search of your prior posts. i looked only at the first two lines of each post.*i'll admit, i noticed that many of your comments seemed slightly defensive but didn't think too much of it .
i read what was on the thread at that point and thought onaclearday gave a response that was very realistic. i planned to quote her and say ditto. i continued reading the remaining posts which included your response.
i thought geesh, now she's turning it into a sahm vs working women debate. without meaning to, you probably lost a lot of potential responses at that point. if you are sincerely seeking input, the best way to get that is to put the question out there and let people respond and then review them,selecting what is relevant to you and disregarding the rest. the flow of responses is disrupted if you respond defensively as posts come in.
it's usually the nurses that are working in the trenches that are venting so i suppose many made the mistake of assuming you wanted input and thus put some time in responding to what was thought to be an honest request for additional insight.
at any rate, no response needed as it's just my take on what happened.
*when i do a search of someone's prior posts, i initially just look at the first two lines to get a feel for whether i want to read more, which is what many do. i apologize if these are misleading and the body of your posts were quite different. in 19 days of posts , examples from the first two lines include: ( apologize for the format)
and while i was initially offended
- if you post something against the norm or current prevailing wisdom, be prepared to get skewered.
- i've researched plenty. this isn't my first time at the rodeo.
- i'm not trying to be argumentative
- i wish people would see what i am asking and not try and ....
i saw the title of your thread “feeling frustrated by an post and am second guessing myself “ and read it right when you posted it. i thought, "fair enough, she wants input from experienced nurses based on the info she's provided vs random comments and venting from nurses who happened to have had a rough day, week, month or even year....:)"
when i logged on much later , i was going to write a well thought out response as it seemed you really were searching for a reality check. i was curious re the frustration mentioned in the title and first decided to do a quick search of your prior posts. i looked only at the first two lines of each post.*i’ll admit, i noticed that many of your comments seemed slightly defensive but didn't think too much of it .
i read what was on the thread at that point and thought onaclearday gave a response that was very realistic. i planned to quote her and say ditto. i continued reading the remaining posts which included your response.
i thought geesh, now she's turning it into a sahm vs working women debate. without meaning to, you probably lost a lot of potential responses at that point. if you are sincerely seeking input, the best way to get that is to put the question out there and let people respond and then review them,selecting what is relevant to you and disregarding the rest. the flow of responses is disrupted if you respond defensively as posts come in.
it’s usually the nurses that are working in the trenches that are venting so i suppose many made the mistake of assuming you wanted input and thus put some time in responding to what was thought to be an honest request for additional insight.
at any rate, no response needed as it's just my take on what happened.
*when i do a search of someone's prior posts, i initially just look at the first two lines to get a feel for whether i want to read more, which is what many do. i apologize if these are misleading and the body of your posts were quite different. in 19 days of posts , examples from the first two lines include: ( apologize for the format)
and while i was initially offended
- if you post something against the norm or current prevailing wisdom, be prepared to get skewered.
- i've researched plenty. this isn't my first time at the rodeo.
- i’m not trying to be argumentative
- i wish people would see what i am asking and not try and ….
- you did not read my post carefully enough
- so i'm wondering...are you not getting the...
-
well...that's an interesting perspective for sure. although a very unfair one in my opinion. it's unfortunate that you believe that someone commenting that i should (and i'm paraphrasing) keep my mouth shut that i want to work but don't have to work is acceptable. it was only brought up in my post in the first place because many times here i have seen others comment to people that one should not go into nursing for the money. i was simply trying to diffuse that argument before it even got started.
honestly - i was just venting...looking for some guidance from those who had btdt and from the nursing community for whom i have a lot of respect. i apologize, wholeheartedly, if you feel the first line of my posts are defensive. the content of the entire posts, however, are not. i've had many wonderful conversations...some with debates even....that were not defensive, but learning experiences. the 59 kudos in 3 weeks should be enough to tell you that i'm not some crazy poster out to start fights with everyone. in fact, i have tried really hard to take in all of the advice that i am given. if you actually read my posts, you would have seen that. nor do all of my posts start out in a negative manner....you just picked the ones that do. which anyone could do with anyone's posts.
maybe i should just read the posts and not post myself. i do learn a lot here....but maybe my skin is just not thick enough for 'the truth' as some posters here on an see it.
i appreciate your perspective, and will most certainly keep it in mind in my future postings...if there are any.
well...that's an interesting perspective for sure. although a very unfair one in my opinion. it's unfortunate that you believe that someone commenting that i should (and i'm paraphrasing) keep my mouth shut that i want to work but don't have to work is acceptable. it was only brought up in my post in the first place because many times here i have seen others comment to people that one should not go into nursing for the money. i was simply trying to diffuse that argument before it even got started.
honestly - i was just venting...looking for some guidance from those who had btdt and from the nursing community for whom i have a lot of respect. i apologize, wholeheartedly, if you feel the first line of my posts are defensive. the content of the entire posts, however, are not. i've had many wonderful conversations...some with debates even....that were not defensive, but learning experiences. the 59 kudos in 3 weeks should be enough to tell you that i'm not some crazy poster out to start fights with everyone. in fact, i have tried really hard to take in all of the advice that i am given. if you actually read my posts, you would have seen that. nor do all of my posts start out in a negative manner....you just picked the ones that do. which anyone could do with anyone's posts.
maybe i should just read the posts and not post myself. i do learn a lot here....but maybe my skin is just not thick enough for 'the truth' as some posters here on an see it.
i appreciate your perspective, and will most certainly keep it in mind in my future postings...if there are any.
op,
1. its admirable that you are willing to step out and pursue nursing. it is a hard, long journey and no one can make the assumption that they are an amazing nurse without having set foot on the floor.
2. your posts are definitely defensive. i think you have not heard what you wanted to hear.
3. the nursing field is cutthroat. you are fighting your personal practice, co-workers, patients, managment, uap's, other healthcare practitioners. it is not all holding hands and soothing pain. when a poster said you need to grow tougher skin, they were right.
take my words with a grain of salt, they are not meant to belittle you.
As someone already pointed out, your posts sound defensive. I would also add that you accuse allnurses of causing you to second guess yourself. Not so. You are an adult, no one is forcing you to click on the negative posts. There are plenty others to choose from. You say you know that you want to be a nurse, you don't need the approval of all the nurses on here. You will never get that in any profession. Set your goals and keep your head forward, you can succeed and love being a nurse. Just remember that you decide on your success and happiness.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my frustration. I appreciate everyone's responses and I will chalk this up to a learning experience. I am sorry if my posts sounded defensive....and towards the end, they definitely did - as I completely felt the need to defend myself from the very real misunderstandings people had about what/why I posted. I agree I need thicker skin to post on here. Consider me educated. I have no idea if I'll be a good nurse or not, but I will certainly try.
I completely regret even starting this thread, and I will most certainly think twice...or three, four or ten times before I post again.
As I said, I will chalk this up as a learning experience and I will be mindful of ALL of the comments on here as I continue to pursue nursing.
Why do I want to be a nurse? Well, I've always loved medicine and am fascinated by the human body. That's probably a standard response, right? Still, it's true. I love the portability of the profession...meaning if ICU is not your thing, you can move to peds, and if that's not your thing, you can be a school nurse, etc... (And YES, I KNOW this is assuming one can find a job).
But I would say that probably the single thing that made me want to finally pursue nursing was when my husband was seriously, seriously ill. He had a perforated bowel and had to have emergency surgery that resulted in a temporary (3 month) colostomy. He was hospitalized for a very long time, and I learned the hospital 'beat' from the inside as a family member. After he came home, we had a home health nurse that was my savior. But, the funny thing is, I had to learn myself how to do the wound care because she wasn't always there. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to do it. But, I DID. And...I was better at it than the NURSE was. She would come, hand me the supplies, and stand there while I cleaned the ostomy, prepped and put the new bag on.
I was happy to do it for my husband - but also was up close and personal with the nurses for several months of in and out hospital stays. I was amazed at some of these people. And, I was disgruntled with some of them too. And I thought, "If I could be a nurse, I'd be like such and such nurse, and NOT like so and so nurse." I don't know...the idea (to be a nurse) that I had always pushed away as 'ridiculous' took root in my heart and that's where it stayed.
Additionally, I have a son whom we adopted from China who was born with a cleft lip/palate. He's had multiple surgeries and I've had to deal with many nurses in the education department of the cleft clinic and they also, were my lifeline when I returned home from China with a malnourished little guy who couldn't eat. I would love to be that kind of lifeline for someone else.
So maybe not everyone respects nurses the way they should...and that's ok because as a stay at home mom for the last 10+ years, I can tell you that I am used to no respect and everyone wanting to give you crap! I'm sure it will bug me sometimes...I'm sure it will even infuriate me sometimes. And some days I'll want to quit...I'm sure. But, I won't...because I respect nurses...so I will feel honored to BE a nurse...whether someone else respects that choice of profession or not.
So...that's why I want to be a nurse....
You asked
Good morning!
If nursing is something you've always wanted to do, you should do it. I've been a nurse for a little over a year now... some of my previous classmates love their jobs, some hate it and have already left the profession. You won't know where you'll fall until you try.
For me, most of the time, I love being a nurse... it's the politics, etc that get in the way of giving the best care that I can. I'll be starting my third job as a nurse in a couple weeks... I am hoping that my new job will be a more professional environment where I am able to care for my patients and BE a nurse.
I haven't given up on nursing as a career yet. I've learned a lot over the past year and am optimistic to find my niche.
I wasn't going to post a second time but I feel compelled to do so, if only to tell you not to regret your thread. If anything, you should take it as a very useful piece of pre-nursing world experience. Take it from an experienced RN, what you have read on here is real and useful, even if you have felt offended by some of it. You may or may not need a thicker skin to discuss issues on a nursing board, but you WILL most definitely require a thicker skin to be a nurse, because it's tough - even brutal at times - out there. I wish you all the best.
xtxrn, ASN, RN
4,267 Posts
If anybody goes into nursing to be respected and admired, or paid well, or 'even-worked', then by all means don't do it. :)