How did you know nursing was right for you?

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Hello all, First time poster, I hope I put this in the right area of the forum!

First of all let me state that Im a Tool and Die maker, looking for a change.

Recently my father in law was admitted to the hospital and spend a great deal of his week there in ICU.

Not one to want a desk job, and even tho it was hard to see him with tubes everywhere, it kind of hit me that maybe Nursing would be the right career path for me. It would allow me the ability to help people who are the most in need, and their familys at the worst hour. My question to all of you is how did you know nursing was right for you? What is the stress level of being a nurse like, let alone being a male nurse :), and do you ever get over the squeemishness of watching surgical proceedures. Ive been told that clinicals are the hardest part of attending nursing school, what should one expect out of clinicals? Also, are there programs available that allow you to shadow nurses to see if this career would be right for you before you start attending nursing school?

Ive been out of high school for almost 7 years now, have a mortgage and a stable life, but the down turn in the economy has left me wondering how stable my job in the auto sector will be in the coming months and years. Maybe this is the next career choise for me, but I want to be sure before I apply.

Any information you guys can provide me would be awesome, and Id be very appreciative.

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Specializes in floor to ICU.

my question to all of you is how did you know nursing was right for you?

i really didn't. used to be a hairdresser but liked being around people.

what is the stress level of being a nurse like, let alone being a male nurse :), and do you ever get over the squeemishness of watching surgical proceedures. i am female. you get used to seeing blood and body fluids. once you spend so much time book learning, you look at body parts and systems in a different way. you sorta have a paradigm shift in the way you view things.

ive been told that clinicals are the hardest part of attending nursing school, what should one expect out of clinicals? clinicals are what you make of them. if you spend your time hiding from your instructors you will learn less. jump in and learn all you can!!

also, are there programs available that allow you to shadow nurses to see if this career would be right for you before you start attending nursing school? i'm not sure. i would contact some of the hospitals in your area and inquire.

ive been out of high school for almost 7 years now, have a mortgage and a stable life, but the down turn in the economy has left me wondering how stable my job in the auto sector will be in the coming months and years. maybe this is the next career choise for me, but i want to be sure before i apply. it depends on your area. i am in texas. from what i get from this website, we are doing better than most states. some areas have too many nursing schools and have tons of new grads saturating the areas.

i think men in nursing contribute tons to the field. i work with many male nurses and totally enjoy my shifts when they are working.

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how did you know nursing was right for you?

if you feel somekind of satisfaction helping people who are sick/have injuries. nursing maybe right for you. you must have an innate need for helping people.

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Specializes in PP, Pediatrics, Home Health.

Always knew I wanted to be a nurse when I was a little girl, I loved to help people was very attuned to the suffering of others.

Male nurses rock!I love working with male nurses, they are such a huge help and are fun to work with!

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Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.

I like working with male nurses too, the extra testosterone balances out some of the unnecessary theatrics that comes with working in a predominately female environment.

And contrary to popular opinion, not all male nurses are gay.

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Male nurses are awesome!

You will get used to bodily fluids relatively quick. I used to faint at the site of blood and now I'm all up and around it. There will be certain odors that may be hard to ignore but it's not as bad as the initial stages.

Like someone said above, make good use of clinical hours and ask your professors questions, be eager-beaver, and enjoy yourself.

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Specializes in Neuro, Cardiology, ICU, Med/Surg.

Hi and welcome AcesHigh! I have a sick toddler on my hands, so no time to reply thoughtfully. I've posted a fair number of replies to these types of queries if you have the patience to search for them,.. Otherwise you can pm me if you wish. I was a software engineer for 20+ years and only know how to be a male nurse (as opposed to being a female nurse). :) I even have some tool and die experience going way back. there is a Men in Nursing forum here you can browse as well.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in floor to ICU.
Hi and welcome AcesHigh! I have a sick toddler on my hands, so no time to reply thoughtfully. I've posted a fair number of replies to these types of queries if you have the patience to search for them,.. Otherwise you can pm me if you wish. I was a software engineer for 20+ years and only know how to be a male nurse (as opposed to being a female nurse). :) I even have some tool and die experience going way back. there is a Men in Nursing forum here you can browse as well.

Best of luck!

BTW, I love your screen name!

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Thanks too all who replied. I do enjoy being a people person, and helping out others, and I have a great deal of respect for the nurses and doctors I know and have seen. You people truely do great things. That being said I have a few more questions for you.

What is the greatest part about your job?

What is the worst part about being a nurse?

Is being a nurse a very stressfull job?

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Thanks too all who replied. I do enjoy being a people person, and helping out others, and I have a great deal of respect for the nurses and doctors I know and have seen. You people truely do great things. That being said I have a few more questions for you.

What is the greatest part about your job?

What is the worst part about being a nurse?

Is being a nurse a very stressfull job?

best part of the job? Director of nurses says "good job" once in a while

worst part? Combative patients

stressful? me personally mentally stressful but not physically stressful.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

Scenario: My mother, who was a cancer researcher for Duke, was dying from renal small cell cancer. She was at home, and had been in a coma for three days. The entire family was circling her bed, all of us holding hands as the priest was reading her last rites. The hospice nurse was holding my hand, and she was sobbing almost as much as the rest of us were. When Mom passed, she gently took her hand and said a silent prayer. She then ever so gently pushed us out of the room while she cleaned Mom up. She stayed with us for hours to talk things out with us. She had plans that weekend, but stayed with us because she sensed that we needed her guidance. I will never forget her, and will never forget the impact that she made on all of us. I enrolled in nursing school as soon as I got back home, and I have been a nurse for 12 years now.

I have never regretted that decision, even though it is terribly stressful and at times thankless. I know that I am making a direct impact on patients and families that need guidance, and I consider myself blessed to be able to provide that to the community I work in. It is an honor to work in this profession, and I remind myself of Ellen, the hospice nurse that worked with Mom, when I feel under appreciated and frustrated.

There are lots of pitfalls and hurdles that you must clear when choosing nursing as a career. If you keep your sights set on the big picture-improving the lives of others-you will be inspired to continue and to overcome these challenges. It is not an easy profession, but I can tell you one thing: it is never boring!

This post may seem very "polly-anna" to some, and that is fine with me. I love nursing, and can't imagine doing anything else. I love the fact that I can come home, tired as heck and feeling like I was dropped from a building, but have the memory of that scared patient who trusted in my ability to take care of them, and the smile that came to their face when they understood that they were in the capable hands of the staff. It is rewarding MOST of the time, and that makes the bad days bearable for me.

Good luck to you! I hope that you enroll in school. We need a few more Y chromosomes in nursing!

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Scenario: My mother, who was a cancer researcher for Duke, was dying from renal small cell cancer. She was at home, and had been in a coma for three days. The entire family was circling her bed, all of us holding hands as the priest was reading her last rites. The hospice nurse was holding my hand, and she was sobbing almost as much as the rest of us were. When Mom passed, she gently took her hand and said a silent prayer. She then ever so gently pushed us out of the room while she cleaned Mom up. She stayed with us for hours to talk things out with us. She had plans that weekend, but stayed with us because she sensed that we needed her guidance. I will never forget her, and will never forget the impact that she made on all of us. I enrolled in nursing school as soon as I got back home, and I have been a nurse for 12 years now.

I have never regretted that decision, even though it is terribly stressful and at times thankless. I know that I am making a direct impact on patients and families that need guidance, and I consider myself blessed to be able to provide that to the community I work in. It is an honor to work in this profession, and I remind myself of Ellen, the hospice nurse that worked with Mom, when I feel under appreciated and frustrated.

There are lots of pitfalls and hurdles that you must clear when choosing nursing as a career. If you keep your sights set on the big picture-improving the lives of others-you will be inspired to continue and to overcome these challenges. It is not an easy profession, but I can tell you one thing: it is never boring!

This post may seem very "polly-anna" to some, and that is fine with me. I love nursing, and can't imagine doing anything else. I love the fact that I can come home, tired as heck and feeling like I was dropped from a building, but have the memory of that scared patient who trusted in my ability to take care of them, and the smile that came to their face when they understood that they were in the capable hands of the staff. It is rewarding MOST of the time, and that makes the bad days bearable for me.

Good luck to you! I hope that you enroll in school. We need a few more Y chromosomes in nursing!

Wow, thank you for that post.

It is great that you were able to take something so negative, and turn it into something very very positive.

Id also like to thank you and everyone for the support and well wishes. I think now I just need to sit down and think about it. I come from a fairly stressfull work environment and im not sure If I can handle stress well enough to take on this new line of work.

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