Is nursing really that bad of a career choice?

kungpoopanda · Oct 1, 2013

Nursing is a horrible "career" choice. I don't know why it is dignified with the title "career" because it is not. It is a hard, dirty dangerous job where the rewards are few and the perils are many

Nurses are held to high standards of personal and professional behaviour but are denied opportunities and autonomy. It quite simply is not a job for an intelligent adult.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2013

Hey everyone! So I'm 18, I'll be attending college next fall, and I was planning on majoring in nursing. I've always been interested in medicine, I'm very much a people-person, I want a meaningful career, and I also want something with a lot of excitement and change. Nursing seemed like a really good choice for me ... but then I discovered this site. It seems like a lot of nurses are on here are tired, miserable, trapped, and just don't like their jobs. It scares me because I don't want to end up like that! I mean, I know that every job has its bad days, and obviously nothing is going to be perfect. I just want to make the right decision.
So I guess my question is this: is being a nurse really that bad? Should I stay as far away from it as possible? And if you're a nurse, would you pick a different career if you could do it all over again? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :)

https://allnurses.com/nursing-job-search/i-feel-truly-879454.html

DoeRN · Oct 1, 2013

No, if I had to do it over again I would not have gone to nursing school. I don't like bedside nursing but there are other options in nursing besides being at the bedside. Nursing isn't a good fit for me period. There are other health professions besides being a nurse that takes the same amount of time as being a nurse.

But we on this site can not make that decision for you. It is yours to make not a bunch of strangers.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

RainMom · Oct 1, 2013

But we on this site can not make that decision for you. It is yours to make not a bunch of strangers.

Agree. We are all individuals with different experiences & what works for one may not work for the next person. Personally, I wish I had gone into nursing from the start, instead of as a 2nd career (although my 1st was also health-related & very satisfying).

Continue to research the field & market in your area, maybe job shadow if you can. Sounds like you are quite mature for 18 & doing your best to go into nursing with eyes wide open.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2013

There are a number of threads on AN with hundreds of people describing exactly why they love what they do and the flexibility that a good nursing education gives them. Nursing is soooooooo much more than the bedside and clinic jobs that most lay people envision when somebody says "nurse."

While you're tooling around in the other areas, check the "Specialties" link up above, too. You can spend all day, or many days, checking out all the different nursing specialties. Some of them may mystify you, others entrance you. But there's bound to be a lot more than you bargained for.

Go ahead! Don't let naysayers scare ya. Get a wider view. Good luck!

martymoose, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2013

No. Since you have an interest in medicine- go be a PA . make better money, better hours, more respect, less clean- up, some pt interation that youu sayy you want, but not being stuck with them for 8-12 hours a day.

Yep physician assistant.

pknurse · Oct 1, 2013

Nursing seemed like a really good choice for me ... but then I discovered this site. It seems like a lot of nurses are on here are tired, miserable, trapped, and just don't like their jobs.

I suggest you read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's a novel about self-actualization, not taking what people say at face value, and being your own person regardless of speculation, rumor, and conjecture.

I do not believe AllNurses is a good website. I think it has the most convoluted advice imaginable and it is incredibly narrow-minded. If you want a good gauge of nursing as a career, go find five well-established nurses [in real life] and ask for their opinions. Trusting everything you read on the internet to be true and objective is naive. And really ask yourself, "What is the demographic of AllNurses?" Really dig down and read the posts: You have old nurses berating nursing students for venting about their days; student nurses speaking grandiosely about the one patient on med/surg who they cared for - as if that single experience is a predictor of their career; you have new grads too afraid to call HR; and you have old nurses complaining about their preceptees.

Plus, how many freakin' times can you ask, "Does the PVT work?" because you just accept the fact it works?

AJPV · Oct 1, 2013

pknurse: dude, does the PVT really work? Just kidding :roflmao:

Jooliaghoulia · Oct 1, 2013

Lol on the pvt

elprup, BSN, RN · Oct 1, 2013

Pknurse great advice.

Gamecock73 · Oct 1, 2013

Nursing is not for everyone. Speaking for myself, hospital nursing has not been a great experience. But there are a lot of places to be a nurse. I got into nursing with the idea of helping others and making a difference to society. Sadly, 2+ years of nursing on the floor have blown that illusion away. If you are blessed with 5-6 patients a shift, consider yourself lucky. The patients you experience as a student are great, it seems. But once you graduate, if you work a night job, be prepared to deal with grandmas and grandpas who go all

"The Exorcist" on you. Nursing can be a long and bumpy road. Prepare yourself to have a thick skin. :)

strawberryfields · Oct 1, 2013

At the end of the day, I love what I do. It has meaning, I make a difference, and everyday is different. With that said, it is demanding, tiring, and challenging. If you LOVE challenges, you don't take things personal (whether it be from doctors, patients, family members, or even your fellow nurses), and you have a knack for multitasking... then nursing is for you! Best of luck to you in finding your career path.