HELP ME pleeeease!!! Is nursing good or bad!!??

mustangsheba · Jun 14, 2001

Well, of course, this is certainly the time to get into nursing if it's what you decide you want. First of all, you might want to get some personal, hands on experience such as volunteering at a hospital or nursing home. TV is pretty sterile compared to the real thing where you actually feel, hear, and smell and have to deal with body fluids. I don't say this to be discouraging, just that some people can't get past that part. So, get your little self to a some facility and volunteer. Or you might want to take a CNA course and work for awhile. In Oregon, the CNA course is about 6 weeks, and I can safely say, you would not want for a job when you finish! Lots of nurses do this as a first step. Bottom line sounds like whatever you love, it has to do with kids. If that's so, keep that part as the primary focus of your vision. Good luck!

darby · Jun 23, 2001

hi,take my advice or else you will regret ob-gyn is long,overworked,understaffed in most of the metro areas in the usa,my 30 years have made me stay away,the only area is post-partum the staff is easier to work with and the mothers and newborns are looking forward to going home,i would rather you choose this,or consider consulting work for home nursing.darby

fergus51 · Jun 23, 2001

I absolutely love OB/GYN. Our post partum, gyne patients are on one ward and it's one of the few floors in the hospital that doesn't have any real bitchy nurses working. If you are interested try to get experience like mustangesheba suggested. You have to be in it because you love it or you'll quit in a week.

thriftymom30 · Jun 24, 2001

I think that first you should decide if you want to do nursing, then decide a specialty. To compare it to teaching is difficult. Both professions are full of frustrations. Nursing does offer a lot of flexibility. There are different specialties and you can choose different shifts. I too considered teaching, but after being involved in PTA and having siblings that became teachers, I am glad I chose nursing. I have many more options than a teacher. Good luck!!

suzanne_58 · Jun 25, 2001

It's hard work, you feel as though you are underpaid, you feel sad sometimes that you may not have done all that you can do. But, when you see the smile on someones face when you return to thier bedside for the second day and they say they are glad to see that you are thier nurse for the day, all that other crap goes out the window. Nursing can be rewarding, and it can be a disappointment. I would not change a thing. Knowing you are out there helping someone do something as simple as going to the bathroom, or handing a drink of water to someone with arthritis that they can't hold a cup to drink is worth the heartaches you sometimes feel.

I have a website with a poem on it that says it all. Please feel free to go to it and read it. http://www.homestead.com/suzannespage/4nurses.html

Nursing is teaching also. Don't be discouraged what others say. If you have it in your heart to see someone get better because of what you do for them, then nursing is for you.

Take care and good luck:)

Mijourney · Jun 26, 2001

Hi karabunny. I would not categorize nursing as good or bad because it still is a respectable/noble field as recent polls show that it ranks near or at the top in terms of satisfaction by the public. Yes, there are many problems inherent in nursing and that comes with the territory when you're working with the best and worst of human condition. Also, the fact that nursing is very nurture oriented has been giving way for external forces to exert their will upon this profession for a long, long time. Because of this, only half of all nurses recommend nursing. And it's true that nursing is not for everybody. However, the fact remains that as long as there is human life, suffering, and death, there will always be a need for nurses. Nursing is so all encompassing that the training you learn from being a nurse can be transferred into other areas outside of the profession. So, if you chose it and decided it wasn't for you, you wouldn't be at a complete loss as in other fields. In other words, nursing is an applied field.

I agree with mustangsheba that you want to consider becoming a volunteer and/or a CNA to start your nursing career. As suzanne pointed out, you can become an educator in nursing. As long as babies are being born, women predominate the largest gender in this world and make up an increasing number of workers in the labor force, there will always be a need for highly trained and knowledgeable nurses to instruct and train women in their reproductive needs.

I suggest that you also consider seeking some sort of career counseling from a trained career counselor or a nursing instructor to see what you need to do to prepare for a career in nursing. Young people that are truly ready to commit to nursing is what our profession needs. Best wishes on your decision.