I'm not getting much encouragement!

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in LDRP.

I just started as a unit sec. on an ICU unit and so far everyone I have met in the unit has told me NOT to go into nursing! :( One of the physicians told me that if I do go into nursing, not to stop with my ADN because in order for me to enjoy my future job I will have to have a masters and be working outside a hospital setting.

First of all, I didnt ask for the advice, and secondly, they are undermining my determination. Why are nurses so miserable and why do they disuade students from joining the force? Are things THAT bad? I haven't started to rethink nursing school YET, but all this negativity is wearing me down...(oh, and it's not just the unit I work in that has this attitude, all the nurses I meet-including my own mother who is an RN-are VERY negative about the field!)

grumpy bumpy,

amy

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Amy~

I can relate to people being testy about going into nursing. Seems thats all I ever heard....

but....

I kept on pushing and getting toward my goal, one day at a time, and eventually people stopped harrassing me about my decision and began supporting me in it.

Don't let anything or anyone dissuade you from realizing your dream and your aspirations.

You go for it!

Julie:)

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amy,

we've said this before on these boards; you have to have an inner "something" that makes you care about people and improve their condition. it isn't the money, or the work environment.

you can be as successful as you want to be-it just depends upon how hard you want to work. a master's is not necessary to become a nurse. there are multiple threads here related to the benefits of lpn, adn, bsn, msn, crna, np, etc. just pick one, and read.

there are also threads relative to why some folks take it upon themselves to try to dissuade enthusiastic folks from getting into nursing. our profession needs folks like you, and don't let the naysayers get to you. they tried to dissuade most of the notable people in history from their desired course, too! it is either because they are envious of you, or so burned-out and cynical that they forget that there was once a time they were enthusiastic about becoming a nurse, too!

what these folks are doing is cutting their own throats!

:eek: if they continue to discourage new folks from entering the profession, the numbers will continue to dwindle as we age. if you look at it that way, there will be fewer floor nurses to take care of us nurses, as we age! :(

keep the faith, amy, and best of luck!

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Nurses have come up to me and said don't go into nursing... I was in the hospital for gall bladder removal. My response was: so tell me why you are still working as a nurse then? And I would always get the brush off... Hmmm make me wonder why stay in a profession you don't like? On top of it no one was trying to get their masters to get the "so called" good jobs. So lately I don't ask opinions and I don't want to hear it specially if it's negative. Let me see for myself when I get there then I'll make a decision.

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Hi there. I couldn't help but post. I heard the same negativity when I was a pre-nursing student. It was disheartening! I am a stubbon mule, and got my BSN anyhow! :p

Well, 4 years post grad, I do love "being an RN" and it does have a great deal of flexibilty (hours/specialties, etc), and great pay (for me anyhow). But I must be honest...I am burning out! ( Not that you will, we are all different). The thing is, there is a real problem right now in nursing with safe staffing. I work in the hospital setting. We are nearly always understaffed, and my work load is usually that of 2 people. I frequently miss breaks, and work overtime. I have people's lives I am responsible for! I am a caring, bright , responsible person, and I worry about doing a good job in a limited amount of time with insufficent resources. It was no big deal working the high stress shifts, the first few years, but after a few years, you start to feel taken advantage of & a little grumpy about it (lol). I want a darned lunch break! Is that too much to ask? Unfortunately,you won't fully realize the VAST RESPONSIBILITY of being an RN until you are one. But please don't let people get you down. I never regret being an RN. I KNOW I have great skills, and a steady job, with decent pay.My work is meaningful. I have flexibilty as to part time or full time. If nursing is what you want to do, go for it. Yes, there are some high levels of burnout. But there are opportunities, too. Go into it with an open mind & big heart. Good luck to you!!! ;)

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

Don't let anyone rain on your parade. I think a BSN offers the most job flexibility, but do it any way YOU want to!! (I have a diploma, but I'm old! ;))

We'll support you, don't worry. You have doubts, you just come here; most of us have had the same doubts before, and we'll help you thru, ok?

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Amy, some folks just like to play the martyr.

Thanks to the RN's that posted words of encouragement. I think (or hope) that most students know what they are getting into, but things will never change without more new nurses coming into the profession. Not that we are more capable of changing things, but without new nurses ( the #'s) I can only see things getting worse.

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Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU,.

sometimes a negative is the strength one needs to succeed! keep the faith!

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Hi all things bright,

I just had to post because I have received a lot of criticism and negativity about going into Nursing. I used to be the kind of person that would have really been upset by people being negative towards me in that way, but not anymore. Guess I'm developing that Nursing "thick skin".

When people tell you negative things about your career choice either come back with a snappy answer (which I have never been good at) or just smile politely and shut your brain off while they go on and on about why not to become a nurse. Kind of like Homer Simpson. Then when they are done turn your brain back on and just continue with whatever you were doing.

I have an aunt that is a nurse and at first she thought I was crazy about going into nursing but I think the more she thought about it the more she realized the benefits of going into the field and as a career doing what makes you happy and feel valued.

I have one grandmother who for the life of her can't understand why I am going back to school for something else when I allready have a degree and another grandmother who thinks its awesome and noble to go into nursing.

I also had one guy at work tell me that "you may have the personality for it (nursing) now, but I'd like to see you in five years." Whatever that means. Maybe we should start a thread about stupid things people have told you about why you shouldn't go into nursing.

There are lots of people who can give you a thousand different reasons not to do it but there are lots of other people who can give you a thousand other reasons that you should do it. I like to think that most of the people that tell you you should go into nursing are your future patients.

Ignore the nay sayers and surround yourself with the positive people.

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Allthingsbright, Yes I feel nursing can be very stressful, but there are many benefits as well. Most of my satisfaction comes from pts. and famly members who say kind things about your care of a pt. It gives you a nice feeling. Don't let others change your mind about your dreams. Nursing is such a vast area, and the possibilities are numerous. Go with what your heart tells you, and you will be fine.

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Specializes in Community Health Nurse.

hi amy! :)

please do not allow others to keep you from pursuing what you are passionate about doing with your life.....that is...if you are passionate about becoming a nurse. without passion for what one desires in life, what's the point in pursuing something? :confused:

some people are well meaning in what they say to others...they think they are doing you a favor...trying to spare you the heartache and disappointment that often times comes with any job you may undertake. the key is in the passion within you to want something bad enough that you will let nothing short of death prevent that goal from being realized.

i have no regrets for becoming a nurse. i have enjoyed nursing completely since my student nursing days way back in the early 1980's. have there been times when i have wanted to scream at the top of my lungs "why on earth did i become a nurse in the first place if this is what it's all about"? you bet!!! :) i've thought that about many avenues of my life. name me a job where everyone is happy and excited about what they do? there aren't any, amy. none! zip! so, when those "burned out nurses" say to you "don't become a nurse...blah...blah...blah, say to them any...or all...of the following:

(1) "it worked for you didn't it? hasn't nursing been good to you and your family?"

(2) "thank you for sharing your frustrations and personal opinions with me regarding how you are feeling about your occupation of nursing. i'm sure it must be tough for you sometime. would you like to vent...i have the time?"

(3) "i can respect where you may be at in nursing right now. i'm sure in every job there comes a time when one questions why they keep doing what they do, but much of life is like that. perhaps you need to take a break from nursing for awhile...to regroup and destress..rethink your choice of being a nurse? perhaps there is some other yearning within you that you have always wanted to pursue, but you've just not made the time to invest in that other interest or passion in your life. when i become nurse, i am not going to continue nursing if i ever reach a point where i can not give it my all. that's when i will take a sabbatical from it while pursuing the many other talents that i have."

just blow their socks off with those statements. most people who whine a lot about the miseries of their life simply need a "listening ear", "a shoulder to lean on from time to time", a little individual tlc from time to time since they are always giving until it hurts, but not receiving a caring spirit from someone else as much as they would like to. practice being a nurse right now by offering individuals like this your listening ear, your shoulder of compassion, your ability to shed postivity on an otherwise gloomy time in those well-seasoned nurses lives, and see if they aren't calmed by the fact that you care enough to listen...where as no one else seems to be doing much or any of the above.

i wish you well in nursing school, amy....and if by chance you decide to do something other than nursing...make that decision based on what you know is true about yourself...not on what someone else is trying to discourage you from doing based on their own misery with their current situations in their job, lives, or what nots. :kiss :nurse: :balloons:

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Originally posted by StudentSandra

Amy, some folks just like to play the martyr.

EXACTLY. RIGHT ON!!! I hate that crap when nurses whine and moan and tell aspiring nurses to 'stay away from nursing.' If they hate their job so much, THEY NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT AND STOP B*TCHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nursing is hard. It can be physically and mentally exhausting. But I love it. I honest to God don't know what I'd do if I wasn't a nurse. Some days I wanna throw in the towel and go work at Wal-Mart, but most days I'm pretty happy. ;)

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