How do you feel about nursing?

So how do you feel about the color blue? Really kind of the same question. It would be better for me to ask what you feel about nursing. Have you shadowed a nurse for a shift or too? Yes,there is bad about nursing but basing your opinion on a open forum will not give you a true picture of nursing.

By the end of the day my feet hurt sometimes, I am stressed and worn sometimes, but most of the time I feel happy and satisfied about helping people. You can't have one without the other. The charting is sometimes long and hard, but necessary part of my job. It isn't all bad, I get organized so that I can have more time with my patients.

Open forums are notorious for people venting their problems and frustrations of the day. There is nothing wrong with it. It can be a health release of emotions. This is the reason you cannot base your feelings and views on what you see here or on other open forums. Come spend a shift with me..... By the end of the day you will be tired and worn, but I think that you can find meaning in the work. If you can't, find out now so you don't waste your time.

Positive attitudes make the job. Negative attitudes just ruin your day.

I think there comes a point in any career field where you must realize its not all what you think. I work in Human Services and when I speak to social workers the number one thing they say people dont realize is how much paperwork there is. Same with being in Law Enforcement, there is a lot of paperwork. There is always going to be paperwork when people are involved. There needs to be a paper trail. And of course, everyone is allowed their opinion and there will be some nurses who regret their decision but dont want to waste their degree. But others cant show you how you will feel. :)

I agree with these guys. In ANY field, you'll find people who are unhappy, people who regret it, people who are burnt out. Few people come onto forums and create a post, "Another great day as a nurse! I love my job! The end." People vent on forums. It's what we do.

Every career field has its positive and negative aspects. Nursing is very competitive right now. It's exhausting for most. Some people think it's worth it, some don't.

It would be good to try to shadow a nurse, or work as a CNA to see how you really feel about it. Form your own opinion. Don't base it on everyone else's.

Agree with previous posters that it's a personal choice.

Be a CNA or PCT first. That will give you a good idea of what it's like to be a nurse because you'll do a lot of the simple skills but also see what nurses go through.

I have days where I think OMG this is awful and I have days where I go home satisfied with my work and couldn't imagine doing anything but nursing.

I think everyone will have good and bad days like any other job. And like the previous poster said, some will think it's worth it, others won't.

At the end of the day, it's still a job. I don't think anyone would do this for "fun" or if they didn't have bills to pay. But, I could be wrong.

Oh, to answer your question about what a day looks like, here's a taste of my life right now. I have been licensed for 3 months, and I have 3 jobs. One doing health fairs, one doing home infusions, and one at a SNF (still training). This week was very busy:

Wednesday:

0630-1500 at the SNF. 2 med passes for about 20 patients, an admit that we didn't know about until they arrived, wound dressing changes, readmission of 2 patients we'd sent to the hospital the day before for different reasons, patients ringing call bells for assistance to the bathroom, charting for all of this. I know the nurse I was with that day was staying overtime to finish charting. State also arrived that morning for their inspection, so everyone was on guard. The nurse I am training with said that normally she's able to leave on time, but the last couple of weeks, since the census has been up, she's been leaving later.

1600-1930 home infusion on a patient that had a clogged PICC line. Needed Cathflo instilled to unclog. She's pretty independent, and has had this done before. This med can be left in for 30-120 minutes, and she needed 120 minutes. The med wasn't there when I arrived, so we had to call the pharmacy, and the order wasn't on file. The pharmacy had to call the MD, obtain the order, then courier the med to the pt's home. We waited around and got acquainted (since this was my first time with this pt). Then we got the med on board, and basically relaxed for 2 hours while we let the med do its thing. I then withdrew the med, did my charting, and headed home.

Thursday:

0600-1000: Did health screenings on employees for a company. Lots of patient education and helping people learn how to improve their cholesterol, BP, glucose and weight.

Then went for coffee with some co-workers.

Then (after changing) went to the local hospital, where I have a job lead, to speak with the unit manager (who wasn't there).

Then (after changing back into my scrubs) went to a home infusion.

12:00-1830: Home infusion. Pt thrust a phone in my hand when I arrived (I'd never met this pt) to call the pharmacy because the pump needed to be reprogrammed. Got it taken care of, got the equipment and everything figured out (all new to me), did her initial assessment, got her port cath inserted, got the infusion going. Vitals started going haywire, she didn't respond well to the premed, stopped the infusion, called the MD, MD oked the infusion, so continued. Vitals every 15 minutes for awhile until she stabilized, then hourly. Organized the infusion equipment, because it was a huge box that had old and new stuff all together. Separated out the old stuff so all the new stuff was all that was there, and put together a bag with everything we'd need for the next infusion so I can just grab and go (which made Friday much faster and easier!). Read my ACLS book while the pt slept and I did the hourly vitals until the infusion was complete, took out the port cath, finished up my charting (kept it going while I was there), and headed out.

Friday was about like Thursday, except the pt responded better after an adjustment with the premed.

Great responses guys! I do have my CNA license but haven't been able to use it because I'm not 18 yet. I did have clinicals in a nursing home during my training and I really enjoyed it! What I disliked was how some of my peers weren't taking the job as seriously. I mean c'mon, these are somebody's loved ones! However, I would much prefer to work in a much more lively setting like a hospital rather than a nursing home. I have always dreamed of being in the medical field since I was child. My goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner.

Nursing will be what you want it to be. Experience it firsthand. Do not worry about the perspectives of others.

By the way, NP is a good choice.

Good Luck!

Nursing will be what you want it to be. Experience it firsthand. Do not worry about the perspectives of others.

By the way, NP is a good choice.

Good Lick!

Thank you! (:

I have worked in many different fields and for many different companies in my time. There are negative and positive people in the world. Some people no matter what job they have, will never be happy at any of them. Some people have picked the wrong field, and some people just really don't care either way. When I was completely burned out in retail, I was negative. I hated it, I hated going to work, and it just made me miserable. I am a pretty positive person but I was worn out on it. It happens to people.

You need to do what will make you happy. You are young. You have many, many years to try different things and see what you like. Take advantage of it. I am 38 and I am in nursing school. I have always had an interest in the medical field and know this is what I want. But previously I worked in retail, insurance, pharmacy tech, and the mortgage industry. None of those were the right fit for me. You only get one life. Live it for you and no one else.

I agree with the advice that the previous posters have given. The one thing that I would definitely suggest is since you do have your CNA certification is that once you are 18, and if still in high school and have finished is to use that and to get a job as a CNA. You might have to start in a skilled Nursing facility to start off with, since most hospitals want people who have a certain amount of experience in a long term care setting, typically about 6 months to a year, depends on the hospital. Working as a CNA you will get an first hand look of what a nurse has to do, day in and day out. It will give you an opportunity also to decide if a career in nursing is actually what you want to pursue. Another nice benefit of working as a CNA before you enter nursing school is that you have an opportunity to practice some of the skills that you will need to know when you are doing your fundamentals along with already having a comfort level of talking and working with a patient. As I have been finishing up my last few prereq's before I apply for my schools nursing program next spring, I have been able to draw on my past 7 years as a CNA in understanding different things that I have learned in my anatomy class and what I have been learning in my physiology class. Being able to take concepts that may be a little abstract and applying them to a patient that you have taken care of I have found can help.

Another thing you may consider until you are old enough to actually work as a CNA is to check with your local hospital/s to see what type of volunteer programs they have available, most have programs that are available to students. This may also give you a chance to see what a nurse does, along with opening up the chances of making some connections in the hospital that could help you later on in getting a job there.

I agree with the advice that the previous posters have given. The one thing that I would definitely suggest is since you do have your CNA certification is that once you are 18, and if still in high school and have finished is to use that and to get a job as a CNA. You might have to start in a skilled Nursing facility to start off with, since most hospitals want people who have a certain amount of experience in a long term care setting, typically about 6 months to a year, depends on the hospital. Working as a CNA you will get an first hand look of what a nurse has to do, day in and day out. It will give you an opportunity also to decide if a career in nursing is actually what you want to pursue. Another nice benefit of working as a CNA before you enter nursing school is that you have an opportunity to practice some of the skills that you will need to know when you are doing your fundamentals along with already having a comfort level of talking and working with a patient. As I have been finishing up my last few prereq's before I apply for my schools nursing program next spring, I have been able to draw on my past 7 years as a CNA in understanding different things that I have learned in my anatomy class and what I have been learning in my physiology class. Being able to take concepts that may be a little abstract and applying them to a patient that you have taken care of I have found can help.

Another thing you may consider until you are old enough to actually work as a CNA is to check with your local hospital/s to see what type of volunteer programs they have available, most have programs that are available to students. This may also give you a chance to see what a nurse does, along with opening up the chances of making some connections in the hospital that could help you later on in getting a job there.

I already graduated high school and am currently in my second semester of college. I have called the hospital before and asked about volunteering but you have to be 25 years old! At least where I live. Which really sucks, but I am relentless. I am calling everywhere.