I really want to be a nurse, but......?

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Hey Ya'll!!!

I really have the drive and love of the nursing field and really want to become a nurse, but I have been getting worried. I know I am still a senior in high school and have plenty of time to figure out a career, but nursing is all I ever come back to as a career choice. I think what worries me is reading and hearing about all the nurses/student nurses who end up hating nursing and come home crying and wondering if they made the right decision. I don't want to be that person and someone who hates their career. I want to be someone who loves it and is passionate at what they do. I believe I should at least try because I will never know what I am capable off. I am just not sure?

Have any of ya'll ever felt this way and found a way to turn your doubt and dislike about the field around?

I really want to be able to make it in this field and love it. :)

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

Believe me, there are a lot of people who go home from the office each night in tears and dread work the next day.

Nursing is no different to any other profession. You will have good days and very bad days. There is a lot of responsibility that can sometimes be overwhelming when you are new. However, the rewards are enormous.

I suggest that you spend time job shadowing nurses or techs, whoever they will let you. Also, take the opportunity to talk to other professionals in other fields. Do your homework and I am sure you will come to the right decision in the end.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

Sure, there will be nurses that get overwhelmed, feel like they can't go on, and don't know what to do. Just because other nurses have felt that way is no proof that you will feel that way. While I've been a nurse for a month, I was a tech for two years before that. While pt care can definitely be stressful at times, I have never regretted my career choice. That's not to say I haven't come home crying or even cried at work. I have cried, but I've cried over the loss of pts I had formed close bonds with.

Good luck on your career decision!

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That goes with any career. When I was an accountant, I dreaded work the next day, and went home crying almost every day. It depends on the person, your environment, your coworkers, and a lot of other factors. If you really want to be a nurse, then go for it.

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Like the others have stated any career path you choose will have its up and its downs, but I'm not sure if many professions can provide you with the feeling of actually making a difference in someones life.

The thing that gets me up in the morning is knowing that for the most part I will not be thanked 99% of the time for the things I do for people, this is for an infinite amount of reasons that you will not be thanked. But there will be a few moments that will make up for everything and then some.

My experience was in my 6th month on med/surg. We had an elderly man who was scared out of his mind(fear of doctors), long story short putting his fears at ease, giving him the best care I could. Him and his wife sent me cards for two years after that. Point being those warm fuzzy(corny I know) moments is what keeps me going and lets me know everyday that i chose the right career.

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

I think that in some ways nursing is like raising kids. Most days you love it, but some days make you go "What was I thinking?" Some days you're able to balance school, clubs, dinner, homework, etc. effortlessly...some days you go to the grocery store at 2 am b/c the obnoxious little gits finally passed out and realize that you didn't even have the organizational skills to brush your teeth that day. But after all is said and done, you still love it.

I've been in the field for ten years now, and just had a family member make me so angry that I was in the med room crying and shaking, sure that if she said one more thing to me I was going to pick up a chair and bash her head in, then choke the life out of her. I have never been so verbally assaulted in my life. I could even imaging the call going over the intercom..."Trauma team to room 123. Code blue room 123. All security personel to room 123." Crappy days happen.

But wonderful, fulfilling days happen too. We are the ones who help ease pain and suffering, and offer reassurance and hugs. We have people but their trust and their lives in our hands without ever having met us before. Knowing that you have done your best to honor that is incredibly rewarding. Sometimes when you're having a bad day, it's hard to focus on and remember that, but it's why we all stay.

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Ditto to what everyone said.

I have had previous jobs before nursing. And I am quite sure that in NONE of them was I free from the desire to run screaming from the place at some point or another. Every job I ever had, I think, had me in tears at some point, in frustration or anger or whatever. That's life, that's jobs in general I think.

Choose something you think you will be good at, something you are interested in, and something you have a desire to learn about--and spend many years learning! If you do that, you didn't make a mistake. How happy you will be with your choice is just a matter of living, and time passing.

Best of luck to you!

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I am not a nurse yet, but I have hadn many different types of jobs. I've worked retail (inlcuding Wal-Mart), I've been a photographer, a waitress, a customer service clerk, a hotel desk clerk, a receptionist, a babysitter, and a paralegal. I can assure you that no matter what kind of job you have, you are going to have days that make you want to walk out the door.

Anytime you are in a profession that deals with a lot of people, you are subject to rude people that will ruini your day. I don't think I've ever held a job that didn't leave me in tears at soem point or another.

Just rest assured that if you are doing what you love, it will get you through those rough days.

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You should go for it! You're so young, and I give you credit for being young and already knowing what you want to do with your life, because a lot of high school students aren't mature enough to think about or care about their future. Wish I would have decided on nursing when I was that young!

Don't let the nursing horror stories stop you, because no matter what profession you get into, there will always be bad and good days; that's not just in nursing. And if you get to a difficult spot in school down the road, DON'T GIVE UP, because no matter what you decide to go to school for, it is not always going to be easy, but it will always pay off in the end.

Good luck to you!

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Specializes in just about everything.

I always wanted to be a nurse. That is the only thing. I have been one for 33 years. There are times I didn't like certain jobs I had. There is such a variety in nursing if you get burned out (which happens) you try something else in nursing. I have worked in just about every area of nursing from the OR, Pacu, teaching, hospitals, home health, neonatal icu. Just about everything. Some I loved more and some I didn't like. With a career in nursing you can do anything. Before my husband retired from the Navy, we moved to Hawaii, Virginia, Texas, Ca, and I was always able to get a job. In fact I always had choices. If you want to be a nurse go for it and enjoy. There will be times you will cry and you dislike some things, then maybe it's time to try another aspect of nursing. I am 53 yrs old now and I am a school nurse. I appsolutely love it. But I wouldn't have traded all the other things I have done as a nurse. Jusr hang in there, you will love it.

God Bless You.

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Specializes in Certified Diabetes Educator.

Go be a CNA/PCT at a hospital for 6 months. If you still love it, go for it. We need all the nurses we can get.

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