Is nursing right for me?

Apples&Oranges · Oct 13, 2017

1. Depends on your area of the country/city. Probably yea. In my large metro area, we hire ADNs every day.

2. Seriously? Almost every single area of nursing includes dealing with "gross" stuff, like vomit, stool, mucus, saliva, urine, etc. Even tiny baby poop. You'll either get over it, or you won't. Honestly, it's not a big deal. I don't even register the "gross" stuff anymore, except for mucus...everyone has their one thing...

3. See #1.

4. That's a completely different field, and unrelated to nursing in every way.

5. Most everyone here is very open to answering questions. Post them on an open (like this) thread so that others can benefit from the answers.

Terran22 · Oct 13, 2017

Thanks for the response. What is an ADN? And I'd be fine with anything having to do with a baby. I've been babysitting my niece since the day she was born (she is now a year and a half) and so none of that phases me anymore.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Oct 13, 2017

Thanks for the response. What is an ADN? And I'd be fine with anything having to do with a baby. I've been babysitting my niece since the day she was born (she is now a year and a half) and so none of that phases me anymore.

ADN = Associate's Degree in Nursing (2 year degree)

BSN = Bachelor's Degree in Nursing (4 year degree)

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · Oct 20, 2017

I am a 16 year old male, and I am a junior in high school but I am doing PSEO, meaning I go to college instead of regular high school. My original plan for college was web design, but I am also taking some health-related classes (A+P 1, and biology) and I find them more interesting than the web design classes. So I started thinking about going into nursing. I have some questions though.
1.)My dream job would be to work in the nursery of a hospital, so is it likely I'd get hired there with a two-year degree in nursing, rather than a bachelor's degree? It really depends on the institution. Some hospitals require a bachelor's degree; others are Ok with an associate's degree. When you say, "nursery," what do you mean? There is the "Special Care Nursery" and "Neonatal ICU" but there is also the postpartum nursery that is part of L&D and peripartum. At my hospital, the latter nursery is staffed by the same nurses who staff L&D and peripartum. You can read up on this site about the different views of males in a traditionally female specialty - and the experience that many men face in the L&D world.

Regardless of which nursery you're speaking of, the likelihood is lower than many other specialties simply because of the staffing numbers and the low turnover rates.
2.)If I worked in a different area of a hospital, is it true that you have to do gross things daily? I'm ok with blood, but I don't know if I'd like doing catheters or cleaning up puke or other bodily fluids. Is it something I would get used to? News flash, little brother: I don't "like doing catheters or cleaning up puke or other bodily fluids." I don't do those tasks because I like them, I do them because they need to be done and are an essential part of basic patient care. I did not choose to be an ED nurse because I particularly like working with drunks or demanding people who consider their wants and needs to be the highest priority irrespective of what else is going on but I tolerate them because they, too, are my patients.

"Is it something I would get used to?" - Absolutely... and rather quickly. I used to be the most squeamish dude you ever met... I even gagged the first couple times that I changed my own tiny baby's diaper and even sometimes when I cleaned up dog poop. Now? Nothing phases me.
3.)I would go to be an RN with a two-year degree, not a bachelor's degree. I know that the nursing field is transitioning more to the BSN so is it even worth it at this point for me to get a two-year degree? If that's your only option then absolutely. Many of the bigger academic medical centers (the best places to work from my perspective) require a BS rather than an AS but many hospitals do not and typically there is little to no pay difference.
4.) If I decided to do web design is it likely I could get a job as a web designer at a hospital? I was looking at an article that shows different jobs in a hospital and it said a hospital needs web designers. "Is it likely?" It depends how good you are and what kind of portfolio you amass. If you're really thinking about probability, consider this: The medical center at which I work has about 2,000 nurses working in various roles, both clinical (at the bedside) and nonclinical (managers as well as quality assurance folks and informatics and many dozens of other roles). At best I'd guess our IT department has 30 or 40 folks of whom maybe 10 or fewer are involved in web technology and even fewer doing web design.
5.) I'm sure I'll have more questions is there anyone experienced that I can message if I have more? It's really best to post questions publicly so that (a) you can get a broader perspective, and (b) others can benefit from the discussion. And that is, after all, what this site is all about

My answers in bold.