I need an honest opinion on Nursing

annasol06 · Feb 11, 2005

Hello! my name is anna and i'd like to share some advise on whether you'll take up nursing ... It depends on what your strength is.. like.... do you really love to interact with people, take care of them including lifting, turning changing soiled linens and diapers esp if they are bedridden? Do you like to guide and encourage? if yes, by all means do go on because that is what nursing is all about. But if you are just motivated only by the pay and the so called benefits then i know in the long run you will just get bored and wished for something else. So just try to keep these in mind and go first to a hospital and observe the nurses while they go about their job it will be an eyeopener!!!.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2005

I did not get to see the documentary you mentioned, but I too believe there are bad apples in every profession. I also believe that the media makes mountains out of molehills. And, as if that were not enough cliches, I believe that the golden rule has been perverted to mean "the one with the gold rules". By that I mean that the health system in your country, or someone with an economic interest in nursing, is making a case for why they do not pay nurses well or treat them well. Maybe they are looking for public sympathy. Why give a bad person good wages??? Consider the source when you see things on TV. Nursing is a great profession, but not an easy one. I hope you find the answers you are looking for.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 11, 2005

I did not get to see the documentary you mentioned, /QUOTE]
I hope you didn't see the documentary as it was only filmed in the UK :rotfl: and I always thought you couldn't get our stuff.
Seriously it has put the spotlight on nursing care and was filmed over a couple of months at 2 hospitals. It did put nursing in a bad light but like you said there are always bad apples in whatever profession you look at. At the end of the day I go home knowing I have done the best I can for my patient but management must start doing something and increasing staffing levels which should erradicate atleast some of the problems highlighted in the programme

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2005

Hi,

There are good and bad areas in nursing just as there are good and bad people.

I still after 16yrs feel I make a difference to people and their lives.

The politics can get you down but you will learn to seperate the good from the bad.

Main problems tend to be around lack of money (not nurses pay) to ensure patients recieve the best care possible , resources. Low staffing levels, stress due to all the above.

There are lots of brilliant staff around.

Enjoy your chosen profession and good luck

sam.r · Feb 12, 2005

Hi there!
I am hoping to go into Nursing or Midwifery in Sept 2005 or in 2006.
The Nursing profession has been very criticised recently (the Channel 4 documentary didn't help at all!)and I am sure that most of it has been taken out of context, and was referred to a number of individuals who would probably do a bad job no matter what they did.
Can you give me your honest opinion about what Nursing is really like in today's NHS?
I haven't changed my mind about it, but I'd love to take some opinions (good or bad) on board. This would be a complete career change for me and I'm not a teenager anymore, so...
Thank you for all your help!
Lena

Hi, I just wanted to put my two penneth worth in, hope you don't mind. As a second year nursing student having now completed four placements in four very different envirouments, I can honestly say that there are more good nurses out there than bad (although I have been unfortunate enough to encounter a couple of the later). Most nurses do the job for the love of it and enjoy helping others to help themselves. Like yourself I am no spring chicken, infact I will be forty when I qualify, but I believe that the life experiences I have had make me more able to be non-judgemental ( a big plus in nursing) and also make me realise that there are people whose personalities just mean they dont work well as part of a team, and can therefore be seen as being bad at their jobs, I believe this really depends on the individual. Good luck with your training whenever you start, and stick at it, because at the end of the day it isn't about how anyone else see's or does the job it's about you. Sam

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Feb 13, 2005

I have to add that i started nursing in 1989 and I have never regretted a day.

Kay the other 1 :)

welly · Apr 13, 2005

Hello Lena

I felt I had to reply to your message, I am a second year student and have had quite a bit of differing placements on wards and in the community.

There are lots of different people in all walks of life so don't be guided by what you have been told by other people, try it and judge for yourself. I feel sure and as you are more mature than a teenager your life skills will be an advantage as they have been to me. I feel that the good side of nursing definately out weighs the bad side and there is no such thing as the perfect job.

When I qualify I will be 50. so you have nothing to loose

Good luck :balloons:

I am hoping to go into Nursing or Midwifery in Sept 2005 or in 2006.

The Nursing profession has been very criticised recently (the Channel 4 documentary didn't help at all!)and I am sure that most of it has been taken out of context, and was referred to a number of individuals who would probably do a bad job no matter what they did.

Can you give me your honest opinion about what Nursing is really like in today's NHS?

I haven't changed my mind about it, but I'd love to take some opinions (good or bad) on board. This would be a complete career change for me and I'm not a teenager anymore, so...

Thank you for all your help!

Lena

twinny · Apr 14, 2005

Hi there!
I am hoping to go into Nursing or Midwifery in Sept 2005 or in 2006.
The Nursing profession has been very criticised recently (the Channel 4 documentary didn't help at all!)and I am sure that most of it has been taken out of context, and was referred to a number of individuals who would probably do a bad job no matter what they did.
Can you give me your honest opinion about what Nursing is really like in today's NHS?
I haven't changed my mind about it, but I'd love to take some opinions (good or bad) on board. This would be a complete career change for me and I'm not a teenager anymore, so...
Thank you for all your help!
Lena

Hi Lena,

I am currently a 1st yr student doing a degree in mental health nursing and I love it.

The work is sometimes hard and the pay as a student is not great but if it is what you want to do then go for it.

The feeling you get from helping someone who really needs it is one of the greatest feelings in the world. You will feel PROUD to be part of the profession. x x x :nurse: GO FOR IT GIRL !!!!!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2005

hi,

Pay as a student nurse is not great but hey find me a PROFESSION where you get paid to learn. I dont know of any others.

fergus51 · Apr 15, 2005

You get paid as students?! Lucky!!! That doesn't happen in Canada or the US. We were free labor.

OT, but we do get BBC America over here. I love House Doctor and Changing Rooms!!!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2005

You get paid as students?! Lucky!!! That doesn't happen in Canada or the US. We were free labor.
OT, but we do get BBC America over here. I love House Doctor and Changing Rooms!!!

Fergus where have you bin missed you :)

Yes as a diploma student here in Uk all student nurses get paid a bursary which is around £400-£500 per month, ($800-$1000). One of my biggest bug bears is the way a lot of nursing students moan and complain about how poor the pay is to train as a RN, get a life go do another diploma/degree where you dont get paid, we dont need the moaners or complainers in nursing it is already full of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They dont pay to get into the university to do the qualification either.

The pay's not great when you qualify either so if you know this when you are training and cant cope DONT enter the profession, why do it only to complain later!

I must add that if you deciede to do the degree straight off you dont get paid a bursary and may have to pay fees to the university.