Frightened to Become a Nurse

[Chlometov]

I'm about to begin my 3rd year of nursing school to recieve my BSN. I've browsed through the forums here every so often and it's making me extremely anxious about going into nursing as a career. I initially wanted to become a nurse because I was interested in working in the health field and as of now I like the job security. However, it seems like a lot of the users on these forums are very unhappy with being nurses, and now I'm worried that I will be miserable as a nurse as well. Why all the negativity? Is the nursing field really that terrible? I'm hoping that maybe the unhappy nurses are just more outspoken than the happy ones.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

There isn't a job out there in which you will find only happy people busy being happy 100% of the time.There comes a time with any major life decision when you get out of the infatuation phase and into the phase that represents commitment and hard work. It doesn't mean there are never sunshine and rainbows anymore - just that you can't expect nursing to embody only that for the rest of your life, amen. It is hard work. And hard work means sometimes you are more weary than others. And for some, the hard is heavier than the good and they want out.

What you are experiencing can be likened to having cold feet just prior to walking down the aisle. The weight of what you are committing to is sinking in. And that is probably a good thing. Only you can decide if you really want to go through with it. You are seeing all the things you fear it could be and are adjusting your expectations from the infatuation stage where it was all love and roses and can't-get-enough and recession-proof and spend-my-life-helping-others and change-the-world-wearing-cute-scrubs hearts and flowers and rainbows. And like most major commitments, you come to realize that is only one very pretty part of the picture and that other parts aren't so pretty. Your view is maturing into something more accurate. Just realize there IS a balance. It is not all bad. Nor is it all hearts and flowers.

[Student411]

I also are only just about to begin studying nursing, though working in aged care for 3 years I've done the "nitty gritty". It may not be good management or you may not have the best co-workers, which all may make your job a little harder. You need to sit and think why you wanted to become a nurse in the first place. For me, it's the moment when somebody says thankyou or when you realise that to this person you are looking after you're not just their carer, you're a friend, to some people you are the only person who truly cares. When you know you have made a difference to somebodys life, is when you truly get the satisfaction that nursing can bring. That's what makes me want to do nursing. Shift work, hard days, in-tolerable co-workers and management are only a problem if you let them be. If you're there for your patients and you're truly "helping" them, why should the system matter??

[Guest717236]

If you have heard that there's job security in nursing, please do not believe it. Just ask the masses of unemployed nurses if there's any job security in nursing.

For me, this this the new heartbreak for nurses. Our area has always been a depressed area for

jobs in general. Nursing and the healthcare jobs were mostly secure positions and jobs were available.

Now, whether a new nurse or an experience nurse, jobs are difficult to come by, let alone

a secure position.

Very sad to see things go this way in our area.