Pros and Cons of nursing

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I'm trying to decide between nursing and another career. Nursing was a recent decision of mine (I'm about a quarter-way through my pre-reqs; was supposed to start A&P next quarter but have all the gen-eds done) - I gave it far less thought then I should have and stuck with it for about five months now. However...a bunch of insecurities I have had about this career surfaced a few days ago and I'm giving it serious thought to switching back to something else. I'm kind of making a list of "pros" and "cons" about the CAREER - not the education, not how tough it will be - the end result. I've never shadowed a nurse (had a few experiences with them in the hospital), and hope to see if I can sometime in the next two weeks.

I've came up with some pros and cons of my own - feel free to correct me about them, or whatever. :heartbeat:

Pros - you get to help people, you do lots of science, you make a difference.

Cons - bad staffing, bad management, arrogant doctors, "nurses eat their own" attitude.

I don't have much beyond that. Can anyone help, or give helpful links? :heartbeat: I have to decide by November 24th.

Specializes in ER, IICU, PCU, PACU, EMS.

nohika,

I would recommend shadowing some nurses in several differenct departments if you can and be certain to include med/surg. Talk to the nurses there, ask questions....

It's not all peaches and cream, yet it's not h$ll everyday either. Make your OWN pros and cons. These will be YOUR reasons you will rely on when you begin to wonder why you ever began this in the first place. You need to know why you want to do it, not why we wanted to do this. Most important....do your research before investing the time, money, and sacrifice!!

Whatever you decide, good luck to you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatry.
Government does. :heartbeat I go to school solely on financial aid.

Government=taxpayers

taxpayer=me

if you have an opportunity to work, why don't you???

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm definitely going to try to shadow as much as I can...I'm busy this whole weekend, so going around and asking /right now/ is out. I hope to get around to it next week, since I only have one exam instead of the three this week.

@Diane - for personal reasons, it's just easier for my family (my mom + sibs) for me to not work beyond what I make from babysitting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Do NOT do it. Go become a Physician Assistant okay? Believe me when I say this, I am graduating with my ADN this December and I have already had numerous panic attacks, my life is completely upside down, I have discovered my first 3 white hair about 3 months ago (I am 27), I hate every minute of it, I wish I had stopped before I entered. Now it is too late for me. I have invested a lot of effort and money into this. You will hate it and it will burn you out even before you actually START working.

Stop it now. :specs:

Hey there. Your response was very striking to me. May I ask you what kind of experiences you had that have made you feel so disenchanted with the field?

-Maria Kristina

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Dear nohika,

Many of the pros have already been mentioned. Another potential pro is that as an RN, you'll be out in the workforce making a living sooner than if you go directly through a PA/NP/another advanced practitioner ed program. Then, once you are working as an RN, you can gain experience while making the $ and/or taking advantage of workplace ed benefits to go back to school for a more advanced degree in a healthcare field...or an entirely different area.

A big con of nursing, to me, is the risk of physical injury. You would most likely start out as a staff nurse, a role that requires pulling and repositioning pts., many of whom don't have the strength to help you move them. Quite a few of these very sick pts. will be very heavy. There are so many nurses, nursing assistants etc. out there who have injured their backs, arms, etc. As an advanced practitioner, you would be spared much of the risk of physical injury along these lines. This is the main reason I don't see myself as a full-time floor nurse for much longer.

Be sure to shadow at least a couple of different nurses in different hospitals. Make the effort to make these experiences happen. Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment