For All Experienced Nurses...

hi,

i am looking to enter the nursing field and am curious to know from experienced nurses, what is the most difficult part of nursing and what is the most rewarding part of nursing for you. i have heard so much said about passion not being enough in the nursing field. what does it take to be a good nurse?

the most rewarding part of nursing is when a patient or family member asks me, "will you be my nurse tomorrow?"

the most difficult part, for me, is when my patient dies. i am also a casualty notification officer and i do not enjoy making that walk up to the front door to notify a person that their loved one (military service member/army) died. oftentimes we cry together.

The most difficult part of nursing for me is trying to keep my head up and keep going when we are very short-staffed and swamped with patients - especially very critical ones. It is very difficult to practice the type of nursing I was taught (and would like to practice) when I am constantly faced with the above situation.

The thing I find most rewarding about nursing is having a critical patient come into the ER and then witnessing them improve due to the care I provided. Also, having a patient or family member just say "thank you" is a huge reward to me.

Hi,

I am looking to enter the nursing field and am curious to know from experienced nurses, what is the most difficult part of nursing and what is the most rewarding part of nursing for you. I have heard so much said about passion not being enough in the nursing field. What does it take to be a good nurse?

Your responses are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Janet

Death difficult although alot of times it ends suffering....Rewards...seeing a patient walk again after a debilitating illness. A childs laughter specially after a near death experience....A pts family requesting that you be their nurse for a loved one of theirs again. Witnessing an infants first cry and watching the fear turn to love in the infants parents eyes. Having a pt tell you they are fine...after a full arrest...so many rewards I could not write them all in one day.

TuTonka

Most difficult is physical requirements. Lifting, bending, stooping, walking and constant physical movement. Emotional stress related to to many demands and not enough staff to make everyone happy ie: patient, family, NM, other staff memebers, doctors, hospital administrators and other pseudo bosses.

The best? When that patient says "thank you for taking care of me. You have made an absolute difference in my life." Heard it three times last week. Erased all of the pain and suffering. Walked on air afterwards.

most difficult: working short-staffed in any specialty

most rewarding: seeing your client's condition improve

hearing the "thank-you's" for all your hard work.

happy nurses' week! :loveya:

Most difficult: physical requirements. I am older now and some of the physical demands are hard because of my back. I also hate people who find something to B---- about all the time.

Most rewarding: helping people with what ever issue they have no matter who they are. To help them when we can accomplish a positive outcome (staff, family, patient, physicians etc).

Hearing: thank you, or any other compliment. But my satisfaction does not revolve around hearing that. I like it better when someone says "we are getting great care on your unit, the staff is so nice to us, etc. I like the compliments that come to us as a team.

Also I enjoy the humor in our job. Some really funny stuff happens in medicine. It is very entertaining.

it all depends on your perspective and how you deal with adversity. i know some nurse's who thrive on the stress and pressure situations, and others that go into the breakroom and have a 3 minute cry before returning to work. i work in the nicu, and the hardest thing for me is to prepare the memory box whenever an infant dies. it is always sad to see a newborn pass away, and i can't imagine what those parents are feeling at that moment or in the moments to come. the most rewarding part of my job is seeing a 23 week infant go home after spending 3-4 months in the nicu and the smiles on the parent's faces as they leave with their little one. as far as physical requirements, i can lift 99% of my patients with one hand but as i said, it all depends on your own feelings and convictions, as well as how you personally handle stress. you will have your good days and your bad one's too. the key is how you handle them. good luck!

Thanks to everyone who posted. Your responses have been very helpful to me.

Janet