I am 37 years old and working on my nursing prereq's. I am hoping to actually start the BSN program in the fall. This is a complete career change for me (I currently only have an AAS degree). I picked nursing for several reasons; helping people, having a field that has a lot of possibilities, job security, interesting/learning something new, using my mind, having a skill, marketable, feeling of bettering someone life, etc... After being on this site, now I am doubting some of those reasons. So my question is if you had to do it all over again would you still pick nursing? Why, why not? What would you pick if answer was no...
Nope, if I had it all to do again, I would have studied Zoology and gone to vet school. I think nursing is thankless. You get abuse from people who think you wipe poop the wrong way and harrassment from doctors who think you should put their needs at the top of the list. I am in the job, but wish I could quit, retire, retrain, etc... I would like to attend to my own needs and wants.
I'm tired of twisting into a pretzel to please others who immediately don't want pretzels, but want potato chips!
Would I do it all over again? Absolutely! Just wish I would have done it sooner. I would love to go back and slap my 18 year old self silly! I do have to say I had a much better appreciation for my education this time around.
Nope, if I had it all to do again, I would have studied Zoology and gone to vet school. I think nursing is thankless. You get abuse from people who think you wipe poop the wrong way and harrassment from doctors who think you should put their needs at the top of the list. I am in the job, but wish I could quit, retire, retrain, etc... I would like to attend to my own needs and wants.
I'm tired of twisting into a pretzel to please others who immediately don't want pretzels, but want potato chips!
I'm not sure if there's a more thankless job on the planet? Only every once in a blue moon does someone truly thank us and show their appreciation to us. The administration absolutely doesn't appreciate us, not even in the least. We are a means to an end for them and nothing more and that's exactly how they make us feel. I had no idea when I was going to nursing school that we would be treated and regarded the way we are by hospital administration and doctors (I don't work at a teachng hospital so our doctors have that old fashioned "God Complex" thing going on). I would not have become a nurse, had I known we would be treated the way we are. It was drilled into us all through nursing school that we were going to be professionals! Professionals my orifice! We aren't treated even remotely like professionals. I think I would rather be a nanny. I bet a nanny gets treated wtih more respect and probably gets thanks and bonuses (which we NEVER get!)?
I posted on this thread earlier and it was negative.
Went back to work today as a prn nurse in a hospital after 3 months and it was awful!!!
An attending "ordered" me to change a patients admitting diagnosis. Totally out of the scope of nursing, but he was steadfast.
Now, of course, I didn't and couldn't, but my point is where will this end?
You want to be a nurse? Fine, just know you will be healthcare's b*tch until you can figure a way out. Yes, the sky's the limit for options but initially you have to suck it up hard. And I have been a nurse for 15 years.
My advice - get away from the bedside ASAP. Let the flames fly!! Don't care. If I can save one person from this soul sucking life, I have done my job. Get in then GET OUT!
Good luck and always be looking forward.
Exactly! We are treated like "HealthCare's B__tch!!! Right at the bedside is the worst job. I'm going to have to figure out something else to do as well because I don't think I'll last at the bedside to age 60 or beyond. I mean we are treated like complete slaves for the patients, the families, doctors and the hospitals. Because of the Press Ganey/Medicare reimbursement issue today, more and more is being demanded of us and there seems to be no end to what they come up with next for us to do. There's no demand that is considered too much for us. I don't know where they got the idea that we're all SuperWoman or SuperMan????
I would do it over again but only because my main goal is to become a CRNA. If I just wanted an RN I would choose a different path. Nurses are over worked, under paid, and under appreciated. Everyday you work it is stressful, from your patients yelling at you, to the doctors yelling at you, to your boss on your back all the time. Not every day is like that, but there are enough that it doesn't make up for the good ones. Your license is on the line all the time and the stress of knowing that and dreading a mistake is enough to bring you to your knees somedays. You can not make a mistake because that just might kill someone, which would ruin your life. You have to work nights and days and 12 hr shifts. It will kill your health over time. Somedays when you get to make a difference in someones life it all seems worth it, but other days when you have to take care of a selfish patient who is only there for drugs and is completely intolerable it just doesn't seem worth it. Some people are just made to be nurses. If you feel that is your path, take it. As for me, I would much rather deal with unconscious patients and have a job that will pay me for the risks I'm taking when caring for a sue happy world.
After talking with my dad about me looking for a new job, he said "every where that you go will have its own brand of suck". While I would say no I would not do it again and would ahve stayed with my original plan (FF/Medic) Im sure there would be issues too. Its all about grass is greener on the other side. This is all I know so I cant really say.
How come all you guys that are do dissatisfied with nursing and regret it just jump ship and go to advanced practice? Seeing this thread just further reinforces my desire to put my 2-4 years at the bedside than jump into advanced practice ASAP.
I think if were not for this website and the honest responses regarding nursing as a career, I think I would have gone mad long ago. What I mean is that it is here and only here where I have realized that my experience of nursing as a second career is rather common. I seriously regret going into nursing. I have had 2 jobs at the bedside and can attest to the truth of previous posts. I think of bedside nursing as a pink collar sweatshop where one gets to occupy a relentless,sloggy, hell for 12 hours plus.On top of the inevitable and endless demands of nursing, hospital administrators do NOTHING to back up the nurse when it counts. Hospital administrators are not the nurse's friend. I recently lost my job due to a serious case of a nurse bully/saboteur on my floor. Manager, HR, Higher-ups refused to deal with it. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I discovered 2X over that there was no one to advocate for me as a nurse other than me. One needs more than that in a job. Bedside nursing is completely ridiculous. I have been very unhappy in this career.
Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I discovered 2X over that there was no one to advocate for me as a nurse other than me.
I do not discount the negative experiences of any posters in this thread. The thread has reinforced my appreciation for how blessed I have been. I also came into nursing as a second career.
I am curious though, about the recurring theme in the thread that I have quoted from the above post. IMO, no one "advocates" for another adult professional -- problem solving and career development are largely the responsibility of the individual. This includes seeking guidance where appropriate and working within a team framework, but as my grandma used to say, "no one will toot your horn for you."
And I believe this to be true across all career fields and work environments.
Before nursing I was in IT and have a bachelors in Network Administration. Nursing is a great idea on paper, but in reality it is very flawed and broken.
aznurse1
24 Posts
Nope, if I had it all to do again, I would have studied Zoology and gone to vet school. I think nursing is thankless. You get abuse from people who think you wipe poop the wrong way and harrassment from doctors who think you should put their needs at the top of the list. I am in the job, but wish I could quit, retire, retrain, etc... I would like to attend to my own needs and wants.
I'm tired of twisting into a pretzel to please others who immediately don't want pretzels, but want potato chips!