Is nursing REALLY that difficult?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

I'm in my final year of high school now, and I know that I really want to be a nurse when I finish school. It's the perfect job for me: I'm fascinated by the human body, I LOVE to be able to care and nurture for others, I love the adrenaline rush that comes with the job (I'd love to work in ER), and I love knowing that I'm making a meaningful contributing back to the world. The idea of working 3-12 hour shifts a week is also really appealing, getting 4 days off. But when I research to see what nurses think of their own profession, a lot of the articles are really whiney, and they just complain how stressful the job is, how long the shifts are, how they always go overtime, how they have sleep deprivation etc. It's rare for me to actually come across articles written by nurses who highlights the good aspects of the job and how much he or she loves being a nurse. I know that it will be difficult, I know that the shifts will be long - I'm expecting all of this. But is it REALLY that bad? Is it doable? Can I be a nurse and still live a balanced, happy life? Do nurses really hate their jobs that much?

Specializes in Trauma ICU, Neuro ICU, Surgical ICU, ED.

I work night shift in critical care, and yes, it is that hard. Three 12 hour shifts sounds like a breeze, until you realize the gravity of what occurs during those 12 hours. Also, even if your unit allows you to self-schedule, there is no guarantee that you will be able to work all three days in a row, so you may find yourself working Monday, off Tuesday, working Wednesday, off Thursday, and working Friday. This has happened to me many times, and I'm sure it will happen again in the future. In that case, especially working night shift, you feel like you are working all five days that week, because the only thing you can do is stay up all night, and sleep all day in hopes of keeping yourself on a night shift schedule.

Also, I work nights by preference, and have done so for nearly five years. I don't see myself going to day shift at any point in time, however, the human body is not designed to naturally stay up all night, and sleep all day. I often find myself exhausted on my days off, and sometimes all I want to do is lay on my couch. I am sure that I would feel "more human" on day shift, but 12 hour day shifts are still physically and mentally exhausting.

In your post, you mention a desire to work in the emergency department. Like you, I relished the idea of the excitement of the ED as a new graduate nurse, and I have worked in the ED as both a new and experienced nurse. The excitement and rush eventually wears off, and it did so for me fairly rapidly. You quickly realize that the majority of ED patients have no need to be in the department, and you rapidly tire of taking care of patients who could easily be treated at an urgent care, or in a doctor's office. In addition, the rush of high-stress situations will eventually also lose its appeal. I worked in a level one trauma and burn center, and I spent many nights in the ED seeing the worst of the worst. A good trauma team runs like a well-oiled machine, and this removes a lot of the rush from the situation. In addition, you will eventually notice that seeing the horrible things that can happen to the human body begin to take a mental, emotional, and spiritual toil on you. It was for this reason that I recently left the ED, and returned to the ICU.

Critical care is an entirely different beast, and it cannot really be compared with the emergency department. The stress is different, the work is different, and the thought processes are different. In critical care you will also be routinely exposed to the many horrors that can befall the human body, but you will face that every shift for many shifts, as opposed to the few hours you must deal with it in the ED. I currently work in trauma ICU, so my nights consist of caring for bodies mangled and battered from various injuries both accidental and intentional.

In my position, the biggest stressors are staffing and patient acuity. We are often short-staffed, and we find ourselves trying to do the best possible job for our patients with inadequate staff, supplies, and resources. My ICU does not employee techs (most ICUs don't in my experience), so nurses also find themselves bathing patients, changing sheets, cleaning up urine and feces, turning patients every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers, performing mouth care every four hours, helping patients who can walk do so, and performing numerous other tasks. This is done in addition to tasks that must be completed by an RN (administering medications, assessing patients, providing education to patients and families, inserting IVs, catheters, NG tubes, feeding tubes, performing wound care, titrating drips, managing invasive lines, and communicating with nurse practitioners, residents, and attending physicians). All of these responsibilities are more than enough to keep you busy for the entire shift, but they become even more stressful when coupled with inadequate staffing and resources.

In addition, I frequently find myself physically sore after work. The combination of standing on hard concrete for hours at a time without sitting, walking nearly constantly, and turning, lifting, and moving patients all shift is a recipe for disaster. I work with numerous nurses who have required knee replacements, rotator cuff repairs, back surgeries, and other procedures as a result of injuries from work, or as a result of the many years of wear and tear on their bodies. I am in my mid 20s, but I often find that my back, knees, and feet are sore for days after my last shift ends.

The job doesn't just entail physical stress on the body, it also involves a great deal of mental stress. In the ICU, I am constantly watching my patients for any sign that things are beginning to deteriorate. I am constantly focused, hyper-vigilant, and aware of even the smallest changes. In all areas of nursing, but in critical care especially, this is required. The small change that you miss may very well be the thing that goes on to kill your patient. This hyper-vigilance, coupled with frequent patient assessments, and nearly constant critical thinking is mentally exhausting.

Finally, there are the many frustrations that come with the job. The understaffing, the lack of resources, the doctors that refuse to listen to you about patients, the family issues, the abusive patients (both verbally and physically), the demanding patients and families who cannot be appeased, the routine process failures which make your job unnecessarily difficult, and the list goes on and on. These things, coupled with the physical, mental, and emotional stress of nursing are what make the job so difficult.

I would encourage you to look up the PTSD rates for nurses. There are many nurses who are permanently scarred from the horrible things that we see and do on a daily basis. I can tell you that after spending time in burn ICU, trauma ICU, and the emergency department, there are things I will never forget. Screams of agony, mangled bodies, inconceivable amounts of blood, the smells of burnt flesh and hair, the look of parents who have just lost a child, and the feeling of utter failure when a patient dies despite all of our efforts. This job isn't simply a nicely paying way to work three days, and get four days off every week.

You also mention wanting to make a meaningful contribution to the world, and I think this is great. But I must also caution you. There are plenty of mornings where I come home feeling as though I have tortured a patient all night, as though I am helping to simply prolong their life, knowing that they will never have a decent quality of life ever again. There are also mornings where I come home, and feel that I have miserably failed a patient. Maybe they suddenly coded, and we could not resuscitate them, or maybe they suddenly deteriorated, and we desperately worked to stabilize them. In those situations, I come home wondering what, if anything I missed. I beat myself over what else I could have done, if I did enough, and if I could have caught an issue earlier, and possibly prevented the things that happened.

I do not hate my job, and I really don't see myself ever doing anything else. I have always wanted to be a nurse, and I am happy with my decision, but I am a different person now. Nursing has changed the way I see the world, the way I think, and, quite possibly, my entire personality. I would encourage you to shadow a nurse in the emergency department, or the ICU. Both of these areas will give you the experience of high-acuity, life or death situations, and will allow you to see the true reality of nursing. This could help give you a better idea of if you really want to be a nurse.

Yes nursing really IS that hard. But I wouldn't choose to do anything else. I work in a very physically/emotionally draining job with a population that is still very affected by historical trauma. Because the area I work in is so underserved, I worked several years ago while recovering from influenza except for 1 day off. It's rough. It's rough on the body and the soul. It's very easy to idealize nursing before you're actually a nurse. The reality is harsher than what you expect. But again, for me-completely worth it. I am glad I work in a place that genuinely needs me. That keeps me going.

Specializes in CICU, Telemetry.

I'd like to add that if these comments/responses really make you think that you shouldn't be a nurse...GREAT

I'm really happy we helped you to realize it now while you're still in high school and haven't put time and effort and money into getting halfway through nursing school or even graduating before you realize it isn't for you.

Because if you're being serious and these comments alone are enough to dissuade you...You truly aren't cut out for nursing. And that's fine, that's why we have thousands of different professions...So that there's something for everyone. I wish you luck in finding out what the right choice is for you. It's a tough choice for any of us, and it will have repercussions for years to come, so it behooves you to choose well.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
All these responses are just telling me how hard and stressful the profession is. Maybe I shouldn't become a nurse after all...

I would not make a decision on something this important, using an internet forum as your only resource, especially using it to decipher the meaning of a topic that has no concrete yes or no answer.

I was fortunate to have a job shadowing opportunity in high school, but even without that it's absolutely possible to talk to some real nurses one on one to get a balanced view, or at least enough to spur you to an area of further research.

I would not let internet form your opinion about anything really. Especially something a big as your career.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I'm a new nurse and I don't hate my job. Actually, I love my job but it's not for everyone.

You have to realize that there is a lot more to it than just e 12's a week. I have to be able to think on my feet, to react and not panic and to multi task. I have 20-30 patients at a time and they all have needs I need to meet.

If I don't meet those needs there are serious consequences for them and for me.

I am on my feet all the time, my body aches from helping to lift and turn and transfer, but I still have to be alert and focused while I assess and care for my patients.

I also have to work holidays and weekends. I don't get a set schedule and I don't know what days I will have off from week to week. That makes it hard to plan things.

I can't leave work in the middle of a shift just because there is an emergency in my life, someone has to take my patients from me before I can do that. Doesn't really matter what the emergency is, I can't leave until I have relief.

If the next shift gets in an accident (God forbid) on the way to work, or calls in sick last minute, I have to stay.

I love my job despite all of the above. I really don't think I could do anything else, to be honest.

You just have to decide if you could also love a career that has so many "down sides".

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
All these responses are just telling me how hard and stressful the profession is. Maybe I shouldn't become a nurse after all...

There are fantastic moments. It is a great privilege to be present for people in a skilled and well trained way during the most significant events of their lives - birth, illness, injury, death - and those people become part of who you are. It gives me enormous satisfaction and a sense that my life matters. That is the good side. We connect with people in a way that just isn't possible outside of the vulnerability that comes with those times.

Balance that with how hard the job is. I don't think anyone here is trying to discourage you as much as give you a realistic look at what you are contemplating. Look around this website. There is post upon post upon post from brand new nurses struggling with the reality of nursing, and those are the people who have paid their dues, gotten through school and are busting their hind ends to be what they hoped to be in a system that is, like all human creations, flawed beyond belief.

If you are one of us, we want you here. If you aren't, better you know that before you spend time and money on it. I agree totally with shadowing a nurse. You will know if this is the job for you. You just....will.

I wish you all the luck in the world as you contemplate your future. Most important of anything you think of, remember that you can always do something else if what you choose isn't right for you. I became a nurse at age 41.

Specializes in Crit Care; EOL; Pain/Symptom; Gero.

Here's my two cents on "nurture", although perhaps without an adrenaline rush.

A couple years ago I had a freak trip-and-fall at home, and suffered a long laceration on a 3/4 circumference of my lower leg, requiring 20 sutures. The laceration wasn't healing well on its own because of the location between mid-calf and ankle. I ended up becoming a patient of the local university wound clinic.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that 3 of 20 RN staff members were my former BSN students whom I had taught only 2-3 years earlier.

Each of these nurses told me that they had spent a few years working 12-hour shifts as bedside RNs in the university medical center, in Burn-Trauma, Pediatric ED, and CT Stepdown. When the opportunity presented itself, each wrenched themselves away from inpatient care for the structure of a 40 hour/week 0800-1630 clinic job.

Their reasons included desire for a less fatigued life, better hours related to child care, and a desire to hang with friends and family who also worked regularly scheduled hours.

These nurses are very bright and have become highly skilled in their wound and skin specialty. They are valued members of an interdisciplinary team consisting of physicians, NPs, a clinic-specific social worker, and available OT and PT consultants. They attend continuing ed offerings, have the same university benefits package as nurses at the hospital bedside, and although their hourly rate is ~ 12% less than what they earned at the bedside, each of these former students said they are happy and fulfilled in their nursing role.

Seeing them carry out their expert nursing functions made my heart sing, from intake and preliminary assessment, to carrying out complex treatments, to providing patient education and telephone follow-up, as well as implementing and tracking performance improvement initiatives.

For a prospective or experienced nurse who is seeking a position where there still is room for "nurture" without undue time-related pressure and craziness, it appeared to me that this type of clinic nursing would be a great job.

Because the clinics are part of the university medical center, minimum RN requirement is a BSN.

Interestingly, over time, I have run into other former students who work in sleep clinic, derm clinic, ortho clinic, and HF clinic, among others. Busy, fulfilling work on a more regular schedule, for those who are fortunate to live near an academic medical center.

As an aside, I worked 12-hour nights in the ICU while I was a grad student in my late 30s. Hated 12-hour shifts with a purple passion; loved 3-11 shifts (the party shift) back in the olden days. We were able to get things done in 8-hour shifts; it takes pacing oneself. The older and more achy we become, the less desirable are 12-hour shifts.

Just saying.

I've just completed my first semester as a nursing student, aka fundamentals. Let me tell you. It's by far the worst thing I've ever done in my entire life that I've loved so much. Before nursing school, I was a 4.0 student. I wanted to go to medical school. Decided for my future that wasn't in the cards. Went into nursing school. They will test you in every capacity possible. They will tear you down, so you arise stronger than before. They will find ever weakness you possess and throw in your face. It's long hours. 24-30 hours a week in school. I also work full time job as well. With studying and working it's about 70-80 hours a week. It's grueling. It's painful. It will cause you to have mental breakdowns. But seeing a patient recover from a traumatic injury based on the implementations you as the nurse actually did! It's incredible. Don't give up. You can do it!

Specializes in Med-surg, telemetry, oncology, rehab, LTC, ALF.

Yes, it can really be that bad, depending on where a nurse is in their experience level, place of employment, area of the country, etc. There are many factors that play a part, but nursing is generally exhausting mentally, physically and emotionally. I don't think there are many nurses who go into the profession thinking that it will be easy, but if they do, their first year of nursing usually does a fine job at showing them just how gritty real world nursing is.

Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
I've just completed my first semester as a nursing student, aka fundamentals. Let me tell you. It's by far the worst thing I've ever done in my entire life that I've loved so much. Before nursing school, I was a 4.0 student. I wanted to go to medical school. Decided for my future that wasn't in the cards. Went into nursing school. They will test you in every capacity possible. They will tear you down, so you arise stronger than before. They will find ever weakness you possess and throw in your face. It's long hours. 24-30 hours a week in school. I also work full time job as well. With studying and working it's about 70-80 hours a week. It's grueling. It's painful. It will cause you to have mental breakdowns. But seeing a patient recover from a traumatic injury based on the implementations you as the nurse actually did! It's incredible. Don't give up. You can do it!

As someone who is finishing up my first semester in nursing school, my experience has been the complete opposite. Are you on the quarter system?

Specializes in Emergency.

I worked the first part of my life in the construction industry and have done everything from carpentry to roofing. Roofing is by far the hardest construction job around. The second part of my life I am a nurse. Nursing and roofing are about the same effort level. Roofing is physically exhausting and beats up your body. Nursing is emotionally exhausting and beats up your body. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I made the move in 2005! I love my job and I also love the 4 days a week I am not here.

+ Add a Comment