what does nursing entail?

MikeyJ, RN · Jun 19, 2008

This question is for those of you who are well into school or have already graduated. I was looking at the catalog for my university, and it seemed like the bulk of the classes were about management, phsycological issues, things like that. is this the majority of what the job entails, emotional support for patients? (sorry, im still kinda unfamiliar with nursing!) I am really interested in biology and how and why the human body works. is this the wrong career choice for me?

I will be honest and admit that I didn't have a clear understanding of what nurses did before I entered nursing school.

Nurses do total care the patient which includes administering medications, assessing (a lot of assessing!), implementing the physicians orders, collaborating with the doc about the patient and communicating what needs the patient has and communicating your assessments, emotional support, supporting the family... and perhaps most important, being the patients advocate.

As a nurse you still need to know the pathophysiology and biology of a disease, you still need to understand laboratory results and how to interpret them, what medications the patient is on and how they are treating the disease, etc.

Back to what I mentioned initially -- I didn't have a clear understanding of what nurses did. I thought nursing school would teach us a lot more about diseases and medical management, but it focuses a great deal on nursing interventions. Like you, I too am very interested in the biology of the human body and the pathophysiology of a disease -- thus my plan is to probably continue onto medical school in a few years. But I think nursing is a great starting point and if I choose not to pursue medicine, I think nursing is the next best thing for me!

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Jun 19, 2008

Were the courses you looked at pre-req's? Baccalaureate programs do emphasize some more management and business topics than associate degree programs (broad statement - schools do differ). However, NURSING school will focus on diseases and conditions, including mental conditions, and how to assist and advocate for the patient. The main purpose of the non-nursing course, IMHO, is to help you create critical thinking skills and to have an idea of the big picture. Nursing is not all tasks. Thinking is required.

Cindy-san · Jun 19, 2008

Nursing entails a lot of things.

Biology, pathophysiology, knowledge about meds and all of that is very important.

We are the ones with the most direct pt contact, and it's not all poop cleaning and charting, although it does feel like it sometimes. :chuckle We do most of the teaching. Usually, we're the first person to see something going wrong in a pt, and we have to know that something is going wrong. We also need to know what to do for them. The docs, PAs and NPs don't always give the right orders for a pt. We can't just blindly accept and do whatever they say.

I had to advocate this morning to get some orders to deal with a pt's ridiculously high blood pressure.

It's a busy job, but rewarding too.

Best advice I can give you, volunteer in a hospital and see for yourself if you like it. I did. I had no idea what nursing was really all about before that.

Good luck to you!

CABG patch kid, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2008

Like you, I was (and still am) very interested in biology and the way the human body works. A big part of a nurse's job is interpreting information about the patient, whether that be vital signs or another piece of information from assessing the patient. Say the patient is feeling dizzy and has a low blood pressure. It is important to know basic patho to interpret little details like this. Plug in the patient's diagnosis and what meds he's taking to figure out if this is normal for the patient or if it warrants a call to the MD. We make judgement calls based on our findings so I think that the physical findings of assessment are extremely important in my job but then again it also depends on what you specialize in too. Obviously a mental health nurse will be focusing more on emotional interventions than a med/surg nurse would.

It is hard to define exactly what it is nurses do because we have many roles and the focus will shift depending on what area you work in and what the patient needs on that particular day. The most common things I do are assess the patient (physically and mentally), carry out various doctors orders (after evaluating the reason for the order and if its safe), monitor the patient for any changes from the norm, evaluate the treatments I give (medications or others), document various things (assessment, medications and treatments usually) and collaborate with other members of the healthcare team. A nurse's job is to be the last line of defense between the patient and anything that may cause harm. We are the people who monitor what's going on when the doctors aren't around to see. We are their eyes and ears.

I really hope you look into nursing and consider it. You have the same reasons to be interested in it as I did and I don't regret my choice of career for a second! Good luck to you!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2008

some reading for you to do:

http://www.learnandbecome.com/nursing_career_quiz/1/ - a quiz to take to find out if nursing is the right career for you
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/majors_careers/45263.html - "ten questions to ask yourself" about any career and if it might be right for you
http://nursing.about.com/od/becomeanurse/a/notforeveryone.htm - "nursing is not for everyone". this is a very down to earth and honest article that broadly discusses what a nurse does and what you can expect on the job as a nurse.
http://www.discovernursing.com/