Why are you REALLY going into nursing? Honest answers please.

Nursing Students General Students

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Ok, I'm a bit frustrated with all of these posts telling us that we shouldn't go into nursing because we need a job and steady income. Sure, I do like to help people, but I need a steady job even more. So, I decided to post a poll to see if we can get some honest answers.

:p

Specializes in None...YET!.

I'm going into nursing because...

It offers job stability.

I LOVE helping others.

It's a rewarding career.

The pay is great. (well it is in my area)

And opportunity to climb the ladder in the medical field!

i need a stable, flexable, good paying career to take care of me and my son. plus i just love the medical profession.

I've been a SAHM for 14 years. (I'll be starting 2nd semester of an ADN program in Aug.) My youngest is going into 3rd grade this coming fall. My husband is self-employed and works at home, so childcare is a non-issue for us.

I'm tired of depending on my husband's income for everything. He makes a good income, but he doesn't like to travel. I love to travel, but he's definately not keen on paying for me to do it. This is where the spending "my money" argument comes in. I'd also like to do things like redecorate the house, something Mr. Functional-Yet-Practical sees no use in. (He has no use for aesthetics.) Yet he has no trouble dropping $1500 for a new riding lawn mower for our tiny yard or $30,000 for a brand new pick-up truck that never leaves the garage!

I want to make my own money, so to speak. I want to be able to book a cruise with the kids without his "permission". I want to be able to take the family out to dinner without worrying about where's the "cheapest". I want to be able to get my hair colored at the salon without guilt that I could have/should have done it myself at home. This is why I decided to seek employment, extra spending money.....but also to have a career to fall back on should I ever need it.

I chose nursing school for a number of reasons.

1) It was the easiest of the healthcare professions for me to get into (I have always been attracted to medical fields) and the most convenient location of schools. This makes it feasible to pursue.

2) It's only 2 years of pain and suffering for me and the family. (I did pre-req's online.)

3) While some/many will say the pay is not enough, it looks pretty good to me. I feel strongly about not working for peanuts. My time is worth alot to me and my family.

4) Flexability! I love the idea that I can work part-time if I want to. I also love the idea of working 3 days a week and being full time if I want. Or being PRN, or agency, or travel.....

5) I love that there are soooooo many options for work environments. If I don't like one area, try something else.

6) There will always be a job for me wherever I go.

1.)i want to be able to go anywhere in the country and be guaranteed a job doing something that i love.

2.)i want financial stability for myself and my future family if i decide to have one.

3.)i've always been obsessed with the medical profession. my mother is a medical transcriptionist and i have been learning the lingo since i was in the womb.

4.)when i was deciding what to be when i grew up, it was an actress (not hot or skinny enough), or a doctor (too many years in school, too many years in residency, internship, etc.). then i found the crna profession and was actually under the care of one. that solidified my decision and gave me a purpose for my life that i hadn't had before. i may not make it all the way to crna or i may decide that i want to be an o.r. or e.r. nurse, but either way, i know i'm going to love what i do.

5.)ultimately, i have to do this. i cannot stay in these crappy endless, menial jobs for my entire life and keep my sanity. if i have a different patient and different care plan to make up every 20 minutes, my add will stay satisfied, lol. monotony and repetition are my enemies, multitasking is my friend!! ;) :lol2: :monkeydance: :cool: :heartbeat :yelclap:

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becca

"a person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. jolted by every bump in the road."

henry ward beecher

"support bacteria!! it's the only culture some people have!!!"

If I could get paid (add some medical benefits) to sit at home and play video games, that would be my ideal job. But since that's never gonna happen, nursing is a good second choice. ;)

My husband is a nurse and I am currently in nursing school. Nursing is a good choice for those who want a decent income with job security. It just so happens that I also get a sense of satisfaction from helping others when they are ill. So that is a bonus.

I definitely don't feel as though I have been "called into nursing", but I have always felt that living a good life, one that you can be proud of on your death bed, includes being a supportive instrument to others in this life.

I've never cared much about fancy clothes, cars, spa treatments, but I do like having enough money to pay all the bills, have a comfortable home, health insurance and be able to enjoy a vacation every now and again. My husband and I have been so poor at times that we literally rolled coins to pay rent.

Would I be a nurse even if the money wasn't there? No. I have an obligation to help support my family. Altruism is a great ideal, but it doesn't work out very well in practice if you aren't eating or are worrying about having a roof over your head. You aren't altruistic at that point, you are a marytr.

I can see certain situations where I would absolutely work for free though. We went through Hurricane Katrina last year and it was pretty rough. Had I been a nurse, I would have volunteered for extra shifts to ensure the safety of patients, but once the crisis had subsided, I would not go in on my days off to work for free. I'd rather be spending that time with my husband since that is my number one priority.

I don't think it is dishonest for a person to state that they would be a nurse without the trappings (money, benefits, etc). We are a diverse population and you will always be able to find portions of it that include people who have priorities other than your own.

Specializes in OB, Cardiac.

The main reason I chose nursing is b/c I really do want to make a difference in ppl's lives. I could not live w/ myself day in & day out doing something that didn't make me feel like I was making a difference. I'd feel like a complete waste. Also, I want to volunteer abroad as much as I can through the years & what better way is there to volunteer in poverty-striken countries than to be a volunteer nurse? So many places need as much help as they can get as far as healthcare goes.

I also love the fact that nursing has soooooo many different types of fields, level of educational programs & is a very flexible job. So, if I ever feel like one nursing job is getting redundant I can always opt to go to grad school or switch to another type of nursing.

That being said, I probably would not have chosen nursing if it did not pay decent. I have to make a living of course & pay off student loans. Plus, I'm married & my husband & I we want to start a family as soon as I graduate. It ain't gonna happen w/o some cashola. I just consider myself lucky that I found a career that fits what I want & pays decent as well.

Specializes in Telemetry.

1. Financial stability for my family.

2. Medical benefits for my family.

3. Intellectually stimulating field.

4. Job stability, security.

Wow... I am married with two boys (8 yrs and 2 yrs). I am going back to school to become a nurse for TWO reasons:

1) So I can go to work part time and be around ADULTS.

2) To have money to pay for kids college when that time rolls around. I am going to a SMALL community college and am paying over 2000 a semester. That SCARES me to think what it will cost when my kids are old enough. I want them to beable to go to ANY college that they want to go to and not be worried about the financial burden that would be opposed upon my husband and me.

After reading all these great and heart felt posts, I feel pretty crappy. ADN is a GREAT degree and is the ONLY two year degree that I know of that can get you the money and ability to work virtually anywhere!

I was just recently married and working at a machine shop, a job I hated, and I was sitting at the kitchen table with my dad. I mentioned that I wanted to go back to school, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. My dad said "Why don't you become a nurse. Your mom did and it really worked out well for her when we were raising our kids." I said "Sounds good." I went home, filled out an application for the nearest school and the rest is history. Since then I have discovered that I really love caring for people. I work as an aide now and I love everything about working in the hospital, minus the necessary, but annoying paperwork. It's not about the money for me. I could have made that much in the machine shop. It's mainly the flexibility and the satisfaction.

Specializes in HIV care, med/surge agency.

I needed a job. I did it for the money. Same reason most people go to work. If they didn't pay me I wouldn't show up.

I like uniforms and flat healed shoes. I always know what I am doing is usefull work, unlike advertsing executives, politicians, most lawyers.

Most people respect nurses and know if they are ever sick we will help them and stand up for them. That's more than you can say for Bill Gates, George Bush or Hilary Clinton.

I like working with nurses. Most of us are honest, ethical, kind, competent and compashionate. A lot of us have a sense of humor. I like putting obnoxious abusive doctors in their place and do it every chance I get.

I learned more about life from nursing than I did in college. I have seen babies born and people die and helped every one involved with both processes. It is a rough job but it is worth doing. Nurses every cent of our pay and then some.

Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
After reading all these great and heart felt posts, I feel pretty crappy. ADN is a GREAT degree and is the ONLY two year degree that I know of that can get you the money and ability to work virtually anywhere!

I wouldn't feel so crappy....some of your reasons are also intertwined with a lot of our reasons....the money and job security are 2 very good reasons I've heard many people say they went in to nursing....the fact that it's a career that involves some of the great and heart felt reasons you've also seen here is an added bonus that we will sometimes get to have at the end of a long, hard day when we'd rather have been home curled up in front of the fireplace with a good book or playing with our kids. Don't fool yourself!! I don't think we're all 100% altruistic!!

And I LOVE Glenwood's very HONEST answer!!

Honestly, since I was a child I wanted to be a nurse. My mother is an RN, all of her friends are RNs, my aunt's are nurses. It was just all around me. Growing up I was afraid that I couldn't do it, that I wouldn't be good at it. So, after high school I went into psychology and studied that for two years and decided to avoid the reality that I should become a nurse. Then fall of last year I went through a serious health scare that required surgery and after when I was in the recovery room my nurse was one of the greatest people I have ever met, I will never forget her kindness and her love for her job. She talked with me a lot about it and at that moment I was inspired.

The job security and money are absolutely appealing but I couldn't put myself through school and the emotional toll of it all just for that. No way.

However, I don't judge anybody for doing so. If that is the reason they become a nurse and they end up being a fantastic nurse and are happy, I say good for them.

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