**Is it really THAT bad!!??**

No, it's not that bad. I like what I do.

But the first year or so is pretty much hell. At first, pretty much every shift I went into work and wanted to quit and wondered why I ever became a nurse. But if you push on and get through that, it gets a lot better.

As far as the question about children being easier to deal with than adults ...... just remember that the children themselves might be easier, but they have parents that can be quite the challenge at times.

Nursing is hard and there's a lot you have to deal with. But you have to ask yourself why you WANT to be a nurse. For me, the rewards greatly outweigh the downsides. And that's why I keep doing it.

Good luck to you!

A lot of the negativity that you see here stems from one sad truth: Nursing isn't about the patients anymore. Too often, it's about the bottom line. Nurses are frustrated because they can't care for the patients the way they intended too. We try, but many times leave work feeling guilty because we couldn't spend that extra five minutes with our anxious patient to comfort them, or we had to leave Mr. Jones lying in feces for too long before we could clean him, the doctor yelled because of something beyond our control...you get the idea. Like you, I went to school all over again to do this. I haven't regreted it for one second. A lot of us went into this because we thought we could make a difference. The problem is trying to fight all the obstacles in order to make that difference. As far as salary: In order to make 50-70K, you usually have to work nights, long hours, weekends, and do it in acute care/specialty areas in order to get all the shift differentials. You won't make that kind of money unless you do the time. As far as people getting fed up and quitting: Either they can't for whatever personal reasons or they already have--hence the huge nursing shortage. The above post makes an excellent point about dealing with family members of patients. It's usually not the patient that's difficult to deal with, it's the family. Not in all cases, but very common. You ask valid questions and I hope this post helps you. I hope you will continue to pursue a career in nursing. Despite all the challenges, it is an extremely noble job. Good Luck!:prdnrs:

Something else I would like to mention is on here it gives everyone the chance to vent, put down words, ask for advice and know they are going to get support, words of wisdom and ways to get round issues or problems. We do get threads that vent or moan but we also get threads that praise and give good things out

The board is skewed towards the negative because as was mentioned above it's a place we come to vent to people that understand.

Sometimes the we just need to get things out, or to vent in order to find a solution and no we don't need to hear "just get another job if you're that unhappy". It is indeed a nice middle income. But the range isn't as high as you mention for new grads in all areas of the USA.

There are a lot of stresses related to nursing, so it's best to know this going in. But don't let posts on a bulletin board make you think all nurses have horrible jobs that they hate and hate nursing.

If it's what you want to do..go for it. When I graduated I found this site..and thought the same thing. BUT- since then...I've discovered I'm like the rest on here! I need a place to vent after a rough day.

Yes...nurses are paid well for the amount of school. BUT---that does NOT mean it's in proportion with the amount of stress and responsibility --as well as everything we put up with. I think I am well paid but wouldn't think so if I were in some areas (as I've seen on here the pay). It's not enough pay in my opinion to go into it for the money.

Yeah there's a lot of venting threads/posts in here, but like it's been said, this is a place we can post our frustrations to others that understand where we're coming from.

There are many threads about positive experiences too. Check out these threads:

What I Love About Nursing Is....

Does anyone love their job?

What's your story? Why did you become a nurse?

Tell me there is something good about nursing and that you do enjoy your job

You all make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

I know a lot of medical students (and MD's) would rather leave the field of medicine ( I guess everyone has their complaints) but they've invested years and years of school and are in waaaayyyy too much debt due to student loans; nursing school is different (it's only 2 yrs) so why don't you just quit?

This was the only part of the post that made me a bit mad. For me (and many others) its not just 2 years. Its about 2 years of prerequisites, before you can even be considered for a nursing program. Then, another 2 years for ADN or 3 for BSN (non-accelerated). So, my schooling was 5 years and very rigorous. There would have to be something seriously screwed up and wrong with nursing as a whole for me to throw all that away!!! (Oh and did I mention the very fun to obtain state license? LOL).

But its already been said before, these forums only sound negative because this is a safe place to come after a bad day at work to put it all out there. Most of the nurses here love their jobs and are willing to put up with the negative aspects of nursing because its worth it in the end. Most of the frustrations stem from problems that we don't have a whole lot of control over, but I do agree with whoever said we need to take ownership of the profession and become active in promoting change.

I've been reading about all of the negativity for quite some time and i have to admit I *WAS* scared to death. I finally contacted a local hospital (i'm in Atlanta right now) and asked if I could shadow a nurse. I did and it was much better than expected. The nurse had 5 patients in acute care. she worked nonstop for 4 hrs straight while i followed her, and she was handling herself just fine. Some good patients, some were a pain in the butt, some family members annoying, pharmacy tech forgot to drop off the meds on time, but nothing that threw her for a spin. I mean, if stuff like that will get you all worked up then you have no business being a nurse. I got a good feel for what nurses do day in & day out, plus i got to ask alot of questions. I'm so glad that i had the opportunity to do so and I would recommend that anybody else considering nursing to give it a try.

And on that note, i wish i had a dollar for every post that i've read saying how their nursing school is the worse one or the most disorganized. Read all the posts. Check out different states. Same old tune, and yet, most go on to become successful nurses. People tend to be overly dramatic when it comes to the negative stuff.