Fellow Nurses, I need help! Tips PLEASE!

KaringOne · Nov 18, 2010

First of all, Miss Lindsey, I think you have to sit back and ask yourself why you would want to be a nurse. Because your mom is one? That's not a valid reason. You need to think about it without your mom or anyone else being in the equation. I mean, what attributes do you have that you would like to bring to the nursing field? How could you make a difference? How good are you under pressure? Can you multitask? Are you a caring individual? Do you even like nursing? If yes, what do you like about it? Can you handle stress, working hard, the sometimes crazy hours? How are you with handling blood, sputum, urine, bowel movement? There are days when you are recognized for your hard work and more than often days when you are not. Nursing is a good profession, I'm not trying to discourage you at all, I'm just trying to be real with you. I don't know about everything that comes with being a dental hygienist, but if you think you could be okay with everything I stated above, you will do just fine. Now, you are at a young age being just 18 and all, and some people that age change their major about 5 times before they get it right. Just take your time and weigh out your options, because this is Lindsey's life a no one else's. You have to live with it. Good luck!

GRUNGE · Nov 18, 2010

be a dental hygenist. better hours, less crap. literaly

rouxlucitt · Nov 18, 2010

I did not know what to do after school & became a Dental Hygienist! My dream was to travel the world & thought of becoming an airline hostess like one of my older friends was at the time. However, I knew this was not something you could forever & I decided to go to school first to have something to "fall back on". I started in Nursing & fell in love with it! No, I can't stand puke & I hate the smell of poo, who doesn't!!?? That does not define if you will be a good nurse. I fell in love with it 'cause I saw what a difference I could make in people's lives... simply holding their hands & listening....Before I started the program I worked in an ICU as an assistant... they knew that I wanted to be an RN and allowed me to help with patient care... My first "patient" was a little girl who was a near-drown... she was in pretty bad shape... ventilated. I watched her even move like a hawk... I was 17 at the time... it is very confusing to have to decide on your future... if you have a gutt feeling that Nursing is for you, go for it! You can be anything you want in nursing!! There are so many different fields that you will definately find something that you love!! Set your goal at the "highest" level in Nursing.. Critical Care. If you have 2 years Critical Care experience, you can go ANYWHERE in Nursing. There are many nurses out there that would discourage you, don't listen to them. Feel free to write me any time if you need guidance.. [email protected]

HmarieD · Nov 18, 2010

be a dental hygenist. better hours, less crap. literaly

And much better pay, from what I've heard.

mentalhealthRN · Nov 18, 2010

I know someone who worked as a dental assistant to a dental surgeon and she --granted after 12 years at the practice--was making $30/hr and worked straight days, no eves,no nights,no weekends, no holidays......and she was even trained to place IVs--yes the doc was the one to put the meds through it as I don't think she was able to not being a nurse but she placed the lines. So not a bad deal. Yes you have to consider the hours because even if you love the actual job/work if the hours don't work with your life you will not be happy.

johnnyDoGood · Nov 18, 2010

Hey! My name is Lindsey, and I'm 18. Ever since I was about 12, I DREAMED of becoming a Dental Hygienist. I graduated from High School May 2010, and am now attending a local community college to get my general classes out of the way.
My mom is a BSN, and recently, I don't really want to be a dental hygienist anymore, I'd rather be a Nurse. What do you guys think!? I'm REALLY considering this, please tell me how rewarding your job is: what you LOVE, what you don't love and why should I become a nurse?
Thanks so much in advance!!!!
Lindsey :)

the best thing to do is this; stay in community college and get all of your general courses out of the way. keep your grades up, try to avoid dropping classes at any cost (they come back to haunt you later). give yourself some time to think about what you want to do, even if that means taking a year or two off from school to contemplate what you want to do. i wish i had done that. you can get advice on here from nurses telling you this or that, but everyone's exp. is different. just because one nurse on here loves nursing does not mean that you will love nursing because we are all different. if you really love people, love waiting on them and making them happy, if you love to live at the job and do goo gobs of o.t. if you love standing on your feet all day and working your buns off then you will love nursing. if you like more autonomy and freedom, more time off and less hard work then consider something else. you don't have to be a nurse to tell that it is alot of hard work and dedication because i've known nurses before. but it's best to do nursing while you are young. once you start working and starting a family it becomes really hard to get thru.

OttawaRPN · Nov 18, 2010

the best thing to do is this; stay in community college and get all of your general courses out of the way. keep your grades up, try to avoid dropping classes at any cost (they come back to haunt you later). give yourself some time to think about what you want to do, even if that means taking a year or two off from school to contemplate what you want to do. i wish i had done that. you can get advice on here from nurses telling you this or that, but everyone's exp. is different. just because one nurse on here loves nursing does not mean that you will love nursing because we are all different. if you really love people, love waiting on them and making them happy, if you love to live at the job and do goo gobs of o.t. if you love standing on your feet all day and working your buns off then you will love nursing. if you like more autonomy and freedom, more time off and less hard work then consider something else. you don't have to be a nurse to tell that it is alot of hard work and dedication because i've known nurses before. but it's best to do nursing while you are young. once you start working and starting a family it becomes really hard to get thru.

Really? You are perpetuating the notion that nurses are nothing more than glorified waitresses, which is exactly the sort of nonsense that gets you in trouble around here. You appear to recognize your faults but are unmotivated to do anything about it.

It seems to me the OP was calling on "fellow nurses" for advice so I'm unclear why you felt the need to respond.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2010

I myself wanted to be a nurse from when I was 4 years old, but I never dreamed of becoming a dental hygienest! (I don't even really know what that is).

Find out about the reality of nursing as much as you can. Sit & have some real talks with ur Mum about what u will have to face. Nursing can be hot, heavy, extremely tiring, irritating work, but there is an upside as well as downs. Time management is everything especially in large, busy teaching hospitals. U will have many, many days where u get no breaks (not even 4 a cuppa), & I am always being interrupted during my dinner break, or have to cut it short when I am charge nurse. Shiftwork will probably wear u down to the bone (I don't do diff shifts now, or only occasionally) as I'm too old now. U will clash with other nurses, Drs, families and patients. U may feel uplifted one shift, then have a c**p one the next, and hate ur job. This happens in every profession.

My biggest piece of advice is to go & volunteer as a nurses aide somewhere (NOT where Mum works) & really try to shadow the RN to see what she does all day. Try to do as many tasks as possible, not leave it to the other nurse.

If I had children, I would not encourage them personally to go into nursing myself. But I have done so many different hospital jobs over 25 years, that I don't have to stay in nursing if I choose not to. The pay, leave entitlements etc can be great, depending on where u work and what area u work in, but much of my pay goes in tax & study fees. And how r u going to pay for ur study? Will u work and study too? Will ur parents pay 4 it.

U have a lot to think about!