Is nursing really that bad?

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I am a pre-nursing student. When I started college I was told that nursing is a fantastic career. The diversity of work, the challenges, the satisfaction of doing something meaningful. Plus the pay & benefits sounded like nice perks. But after reading through posts, articles, blogs... it doesn't sound all that terrific. I've heard that new grads have spent months, even years searching for work. I've read countless negative posts about RN jobs: the pay is horrible, the abuse is unbearable, the stress is physically & mentally draining, how all your work consists of is "bedpans and charting." I can't even count the number of "venting threads" I've skimmed through. When I do finally discover a positive post, its treated like an amazing story, full of comments like "OMG so glad to hear a happy ending for once!" .... seriously? Are people just over exaggerating the downsides of this profession? Or is it really that awful?

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Specializes in PACU.

The beatings don't even stop when morale improves!

My manager told me that if I make even the slightest error I'll be executed and my organs and tissues will be used for surgeries.

My coworkers make fun of my singing and dancing.

We're prohibited from drinking whiskey while at work.

Seriously, nursing is what you make of it. I absolutely LOVE my job and have enjoyed all of the ones I've had so far. A lot of people vent here, and quite a few work in places that suck. Find a good job in a good place and you can be quite happy as a nurse. That's not to say it's easy or all rainbows and unicorns.

You're not going to find any profession where everyone's happy. Go to SDN and see all of the docs vent if it makes you feel better. There's probably some forum for mechanics out there where they gripe. I know I've seen IT people vent. Working for a living isn't all fun & games.

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Specializes in Home Care.

You're going to see far more "venting" posts on these forums than "feel good" posts.

When I was in nursing school I heard all kinds of stories. I didn't take heed of them, I wanted to form my own opinion.

I've been a nurse for 3 years and I can honestly say that nursing is the best job I ever had.

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You'll never be bored and you'll always be challenged.

I have days where I go home on top of the world because I enjoy my job...

Then there are days like yesterday where... well... let's just forget about yesterday...

What people are venting about is real... usually... but it's not the whole picture and you can't judge off of that alone.

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I know I've seen IT people vent.

I was married to one... they sure do vent!

But you know, my ex always always said, "The problem usually is somewhere between the chair and the keyboard".

Everybody has to vent. It just seems like nursing is so horrid because this is a forum for nurses... we're not hearing IT, housekeeping, baby-sitters, hairdressers, accountants, firemen, cops, teachers, cashiers or zookeepers venting here. If we did, we might think they are all pretty dysfunctional too.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
The beatings don't even stop when morale improves!

My manager told me that if I make even the slightest error I'll be executed and my organs and tissues will be used for surgeries.

My coworkers make fun of my singing and dancing.

We're prohibited from drinking whiskey while at work.

Yeah- that's pretty much how it is. With the exception of Nurses who happen to be Male- they get turned into enuchs.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I believe everything is what you make it. Personally, I feel as though I have tried to make bedside nursing work for me to no avail. I am beginning a BSN to DNP program this summer. I am going to become a FNP. I do not enjoy working at the bedside at all. I do not recommend nursing to my children either. In my opinion I believe that the bedside nurse is the catch all for any issue in the hospital. We are expendable because there are 10 more waiting to be hired:twocents:

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Specializes in l&d, postpartum, nursery, gyn-medsurg.

Yes, for me it has been a 22 year long nightmare that just keeps getting worse. I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have chosen different career path

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Yeah- that's pretty much how it is. With the exception of Nurses who happen to be Male- they get turned into enuchs.

I dare to disagree. Military nursing (Army specifically) is a decent job for men too.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

rustynail:

So you're saying, that in the Military, they don't turn Nurses who are Males into enuchs, but they do do these other things:

The beatings don't even stop when morale improves!

My manager told me that if I make even the slightest error I'll be executed and my organs and tissues will be used for surgeries.

My coworkers make fun of my singing and dancing.

We're prohibited from drinking whiskey while at work.

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Here is the second part...

Seriously, nursing is what you make of it. I absolutely LOVE my job and have enjoyed all of the ones I've had so far. A lot of people vent here, and quite a few work in places that suck. Find a good job in a good place and you can be quite happy as a nurse. That's not to say it's easy or all rainbows and unicorns.

You're not going to find any profession where everyone's happy. Go to SDN and see all of the docs vent if it makes you feel better. There's probably some forum for mechanics out there where they gripe. I know I've seen IT people vent. Working for a living isn't all fun & games.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

seriously? 90% of people who post on any forum are unhappy about something. happy people don't bother to post.

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