I'm considering being a nurse- some concerns..

papawjohn · Jul 1, 2006

Hey Enerjazed!!!

Your concerns are normal. It is hard to see how someone without a bit of a 'savior complex' would consider nursing. It's also hard to think that nursing would be the right job for someone with a BIG 'savior complex'.

First of all, it's a job. You do it for money; when the workday is over you have to leave it behind 'til tomorrow. You have a certain role (and get into BIG TROUBLE if you exceed it!!!). You cannot cancel out the effects of your Pts lifetime of bad choices. For example, you will care for people with desperate trouble breathing. They are frightened and desperate; if you have a heart at all, your heart goes out to them. A couple of days later you will be arriving for work and see them outside smoking a cigarette.

It still is one of the great ways for a person who wishes to both make a living and to do good, to do both.

You will make mistakes. Sometimes perhaps people will suffer. I still remember something I did in my first year; I misinterpreted the timeframe for weaning a Pt off of IV steroids. He had a terrible night. No harm, just a restless, anxious night. I still feel bad.

You get over it and go on. It's part of being a grownup.

Give it a try. Start off with a CNA or EMT certification, see it from that point of view.

Papaw John

MIA-RN1, RN · Jul 1, 2006

I say go for it. If you decide as you go thru the program that its not for you, then you will at least be able to make that decision with a clear mind.

I wanted to be 'a nurse in theory' for years and years. I was really not into actual patient care and so I held off school for so long....I wish I"d done it sooner. But I do empathize with everything you are saying because thats all stuff I have thought too.

But really, just do it. If you don't like it, you don't like it and there is no law saying you have to continue. But you will never truly know if you don't try.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 1, 2006

Hey Enerjazed!!!
Your concerns are normal. It is hard to see how someone without a bit of a 'savior complex' would consider nursing. It's also hard to think that nursing would be the right job for someone with a BIG 'savior complex'.
First of all, it's a job. You do it for money; when the workday is over you have to leave it behind 'til tomorrow. You have a certain role (and get into BIG TROUBLE if you exceed it!!!). You cannot cancel out the effects of your Pts lifetime of bad choices. For example, you will care for people with desperate trouble breathing. They are frightened and desperate; if you have a heart at all, your heart goes out to them. A couple of days later you will be arriving for work and see them outside smoking a cigarette.
It still is one of the great ways for a person who wishes to both make a living and to do good, to do both.
You will make mistakes. Sometimes perhaps people will suffer. I still remember something I did in my first year; I misinterpreted the timeframe for weaning a Pt off of IV steroids. He had a terrible night. No harm, just a restless, anxious night. I still feel bad.
You get over it and go on. It's part of being a grownup.
Give it a try. Start off with a CNA or EMT certification, see it from that point of view.
Papaw John

Great post!

Veronica82 · Jul 3, 2006

I am too considering becoming a nurse. I didn't want to start another thread. I have a couple semesters left and I'll be a college graduate. I didn't consider a career in nursing until recently. I plan to volunteer at a hospital soon to see if I like it before I consider getting a nursing degree. Yet I have a few concerns.

1. I read about the risk of exposure to diseases. What will be my percentage of catching something from a patient?

2. I'm concerned about accidental needle pricks. What will be the percentage I will get prick and get HIV/AIDS or Hep C?

3. Anyone work in rehabilitation or sports medicine? I'm thinking that's where I want to work.

papawjohn · Jul 3, 2006

Hey Veronica!!!

First of all--if you are considering becoming a Nurse, with all that you must have figured out about the profession from cruising around this forum--then you ought to give it a chance. And, unless you have some other background, the CNA or EMT certification (which takes at most a couple of months and lead to an entry level job that pays substantially more than minimum wage) is the realistic place to start.

Your questions: 1. You WILL be exposed to people sick with horrible diseases. That's it. If that freaks you out--don't be a Nurse. But there are ways to protect yourself--all kinds of uncomfortable plastic gowns and semi-porous masks and latex/vinyl gloves. (The important thing is really to protect your next Pt, but to do that you protect yourself.)

Continuing #1--you should know that nurses have a very high incidence of auto-immune diseases like MultipleSclerosis and Lupus. The reason is that our immune systems are so cranked up protecting us from various bacterial and viral diseases, that it can attack US!! So even if you never catch a disease from a Pt, you still have to think about the consequences of dealing with many pathological diseases.

#2 Needle pricks are essentially a thing of the past. There are many systems that prevent it, which are too complicated for me to go into now. But you may take my word for it, NO CAREFUL NURSE needs to risk a needle stick today.

And #3, WOW---If you are interested in Rehab type nursing, the whole world is waiting for you.

Papaw John

enerjazed · Jul 3, 2006

Thankyou so much for your honest advice and motivating words for my current situation! I'll definitely keep them in consideration when making my choice.

I also wanted to know, is it mandatory that new RN's work in hopsital/med surg unit after completing school?

I would like to eventually work in public health where can inform and teach others. Or in the back end- case management. Would these specializations require hospital floor experience?

papawjohn · Jul 3, 2006

Hey Again!!!

Gosh, there are more qualified people than I to answer you 2d set of questions. But since we're chatting....

It is sort of an un-written rule that between NursingSchool and any specialization one spends a year or so on a general-purpose Med-Surg floor.

It's probably a good rule--you have to be on the inside of the business to see how we are organized (or sometimes, UNorganized!). It also enables you get a 'big picture' that, for example, a case-worker-type who comes into that job with a SocialWorker background doesn't have.

So the answer is one of those aggravating 'Yes and No' replies. No, it's not mandatory but if you tried to jump instantly into a specialty without you would (#1) be lacking in background that most of your peers have and expect you to have and (#2) might be mystified that the jobs are hard to get.

If this seems like a negative thing, you can look at it this way: You'll be on the 'inside' for a year, meeting case-workers, Pt educators and such. You'll get their opinions about their jobs and make contacts that help get the job you want.

It would be fair to add, probably some people do without the year-or-so of Med-Surg and do perfectly well. Refer to the advise about CNA or EMT. It might be that doing that work while you are in NursingSchool would be all the 'extra-curricular' learning you need and it would be realistic to 'go straight to go, collect $200' right out of School.

Hope that helps.

Papaw John