I have always wanted to be a nurse. Well, maybe not always, but since I was a young adult. I didn't have the grades and was really quite stupid, anyways. I went another direction.
So here I am, a middle aged mother, who has gone back to school to fulfill my dream.... and I keep reading about how hard it is, it's not for the faint of heart, and that some people leave just as soon as they find a job because it sucks.
So please tell me, how bad is it? How hard is it, really? I don't think I am going in to this with blinders on. I think I understand that nursing is hard, but it can also be rewarding. Is it really that bad?
I would describe it as a comparison to giving birth and raising a child. No matter how many people explain the pain of birth (learning the job)...you will never fully understand it until you actually go through it yourself. Ultimately, if the desire to be a mother (nurse...and sorry men, not excluding you) is truly in you, the pains of birth and trials of parenthood will be well worth the pain and effort required to learn what you need to know. If it is not what you truly desire, it will show eventually. As with most careers, if you don't enjoy it and you continue to stick with it, the misery will seep into other areas of your life.
I just graduated in May and was fortunate enough to get hired on the unit that I was a NA on. School has not done much to prepare me for what actual nursing is. I'm learning more on orientation in regards to prioritization, time management, coordinating care, bedside manner and on and on....than we could ever pick up in school because there is not enough clinical time to do it. To each his/her own, but I do love it so far.
Just like being a parent...you have good days and you have bad ones...you have days where you feel like you can't keep up or they're not enough hours in a day. But when you see the end product of your blood, sweat, and tears and you know you had a part (even if it's a small part) in increasing the quality of another person's life, you know that you are doing what makes you happy. That is most important.
That was pretty long to say...it's hard...very hard. Some patients will appreciate you, some won't. Rarely ever do they truly know the work you do for them because they can't see it. Drs may or may not appreciate you, they may fuss, be disrespectful, irritated..who knows. I'm not saying take it, I'm just saying it happens. You have to deal with family members who sometimes are worse than the patients in regards to demands and behavior.
The job is so all encompassing, I would be forever trying to type it out. All I can say is, if you want to do it...go for it!
I have to second everything this poster has written....he/she nails the realities of becoming a nurse.
If you work in an area of nursing that you enjoy, then it's not that hard. I like working critical care and I love my job. When I worked the floor I hated it.
I went another direction. 
eyeball
119 Posts
I have to second everything this poster has written....he/she nails the realities of becoming a nurse.