Is nursing the BEST?

[chloeluvsutoo, BSN]

Is nursing really one of the best medical professions? I read over and over how it is ranked so high for jobs. People want to be nurses, no doubt about that. This is probably due to the many "days off" and "high" pay. With that being said would you guys actually consider this (nursing) to be one of the best out there? If you could do it again would you? If not, what other medical or non-medical professions do you feel "beat out" nursing?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

It's a matter of personal opinion. You could ask 20 nurses this question and get 20 different answers. Would I do it again? Yes, as long as I started working where I am now where I've got awesome teammates and enjoy my job most days. However, when I was working main OR instead of hearts, my answer would have been no. The environment had a lot of very strong personalities who were allowed to get away with anything, and they intimidated the heck out of new staff, experienced and new grad.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Nursing wages are not terribly high when compared to others in healthcare. For instance, some physicians earn in one month what I earn in one year.

Furthermore, nursing jobs have not been freely available in many metro areas for the past five years.

[RegularNurse]

Nursing is what you make it; also, its all about expectations. I love being a staff nurse right now. I work tons of OT and pay for grad school out of pocket, get employer tuition reimbursement on top of that, enjoy helping patients, and love traveling a couple times a year. Having said that, the negative sentiments you will read on all nurses are the products of career staff nurses who are simply stuck in dead-end nursing jobs, probably located in low paying areas.

Collectively, nursing is a field with tons of options. However, those options are mostly limited to nurses with graduate degrees and at least a few years of clinical experience. I feel that many young people enter nursing to get a cushy educator, NP, manager job, but forget that you actually have to go to grad school and work first. Once they work as a s taff nurse they hate it and don't appreciate the opportunities nursing affords people in both time off and income.

Full disclosure, I am an unmarried guy in my mid twenties so I can basically do whatever I want career wise. Many people have special circumstances that make them have a less optimistic view than me, it is important to understand that and not judge. I think nursing is great and in major cities, when adjusted for level of education and work requirement, it is arguably one of the best paying jobs in America.

Within healthcare, physicians have the best "deal" because they ahve the most leverage over a company, aka they bill and make the company money. If someone wants that leverage and earning potential, they are free to become a physican and put in the time and monetary

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Having said that, the negative sentiments you will read on all nurses are the products of career staff nurses who are simply stuck in dead-end nursing jobs, probably located in low paying areas.

I somewhat disagree that the negative sentiments are being voiced by career staff nurses who work dead-end positions in lower-paying areas.

For instance, quite a few of my posts have negative undertones regarding the nursing profession even though I'm in a middle managerial position and earn an annual salary in the high five-figures. I am also a single person without the constraints that family life sometimes brings.

Some of the internet's most beauteous features are anonymity and the ability to release steam outside the patients' earshots. :)