Is nursing what you thought it would be?

Nurses General Nursing

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Before you started school, what did you expect the nursing career to be like? Did your idea change once you were in nursing school? When you became an RN, were your expectations met? Were you surprised? Disappointed? Is it harder than you thought? More rewarding that you thought? Less rewarding? Or was it exactly how you imagined it would be?

I was just accepted into nursing school. I've job shadowed nurses before, talked to nurses, and i think its for me. but i am curious on how it worked out for others.

It was a lot different than what I thought it would be. I work in Long-Term Care & I feel like I'm there for 2 main reasons: to pass pills & treat wounds. I run all night passing pills. Then there are the residents that stand by the med cart complaining. It seems some of the staff in the place are just looking for reasons to write you up. :nono: It's always, "don't do this or that in front of this person! She will write you up for anything!" You do your best, work when called in, only to get back-stabbed. Charting on about 15 people a night is ridiculous, too!

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Just keep on applying. Try the nursing homes, too. The pay is lower & the work sucks but it's EXPERIENCE.

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Until 5 years ago, I was a floral designer with a concentration on bridal work with my own business. Although I loved what I was doing, I kept receiving a "calling" into nursing and decided to pursue that calling after many months of prayer and contemplation. I an now 43 yrs old and have been a nurse for 1 year.

I am both disappointed and thrilled to be a nurse. On one hand, I love administering care and assisting in the healing of my patients. On the other hand, I despise the paper work and legal implications. I feel as though I am walking on eggshells everyday just rying to do the "right thing" as far as paper work is concerned.

I feel as if there is a much better way to deal with these issues...

Unfortunately, most of the time I feel inadequate and that my responsibilities are just too overwhelming for just one person to take care of! I have 22 patients under my care in one shift and some of my collegues have 43 depending on their shift and the night shift, pretty scarey!

Here's the sad thing, I've only been an RN for 1 year...........

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I went straight to nursing school from high school, and I didn't know too much about the specific roles and responsibilities about nurses, but I knew that they cared and showed compassion. Throughout school, I learned about all of the duties of a nurse, but the original idea I had of nurses never changed. We ARE here to care! I am so happy that this is the path I chose, I could not imagine anything else for myself.

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I can only answer the first question only because I am in the same boat as you. I start RN school this Fall.

I will say, I expect: To plan for the worse and hope for the best. I don't expect myself to like everything I do 24/7. To see things half-full. To keep my sense of humor. To not be too hard on myself. To make a difference towards my patients and co-workers. To give the best care I can provide and be of service to those who need me. To remember why I'm doing this and not become jaded. To be an advocate, caregiver, critical thinker, teacher, communicator, manager, rehabilitator, researcher. To be accountable and responsible for my actions. To work autonomously and as a team player. To uphold ethical principles. To abide by state laws and nurse practice acts. To function within the scope of practice as a future registered nurse.

To expect long hours, a tired body, sore feet, cranky patients, challenging co-workers, demanding bosses, unsatisfied patient families, mind boggling politics, headaches, stress, anxiety, mistakes, non-stop learning, death, life, uncertainty, hope, failure, and success. Plus, whatever hand I'm dealt with I will face it head-on. I know there is more to it.

Even in school, I expect to see this. I know its coming. I can see it coming. And, I still want this.

Good luck in nursing school. We're in it together. :)

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Yes, being a nurse is what I've thought it would be. I've saved lives. I've helped the sick get better. I've been there when some have died. Many of my nurse coworkers have been fantastic and have become dear friends. I've tolerated bad doctors and collaborated with good ones.

The only thing that surprises me is how comfortable I feel in the role. Being a nurse is so much better than being a nursing student.

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Specializes in ER.

No. I really thought nursing was a fairly autonomous activity that was done by a fairly intelligent competent group of people. I have discovered that its fairly akin to waitressing once you understand a handful of drugs and their interactions and that...let's just say that skills vary widely in our profession. Some are quite clever but the baseline seems to be disappointingly unintelligent and is probably the reason that nurses find their practices so restricted and overseen by admin types.

In short, can't wait to move on to provider level.

I agree with other posters that I am shocked at the stereotypic "nursing is caring" nonsense out there and that "caring" means being a sucker for whiney nonsense that people put out there. Caring can also mean getting you up off that stretcher and ambulating you and caring is not restricted to nursing and is not actually in the job description.

Also, the pay completely sucks. Can't believe the responsibility and work load for this profession compared to being a paralegal like I was.

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yeah, we know. go back to the law office if it was so great! :D

nursing students (and i include myself in that, though it was a long time ago) think nursing is going to be a lot of tasks and procedures and stuff to do, and in a way, they're right, but that is soooo not the work. that's the job part. the work part requires a lot more independent judgment, discernment, autonomy, and personal ego strength than we thought. not that we thought it would be all fluffing pillows and "following doctor's orders," but, well, like downhill skiing or childbirth, i think you'll never really know it until you do it.

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Specializes in ER.
yeah, we know. go back to the law office if it was so great! :D

nursing students (and i include myself in that, though it was a long time ago) think nursing is going to be a lot of tasks and procedures and stuff to do, and in a way, they're right, but that is soooo not the work. that's the job part. the work part requires a lot more independent judgment, discernment, autonomy, and personal ego strength than we thought. not that we thought it would be all fluffing pillows and "following doctor's orders," but, well, like downhill skiing or childbirth, i think you'll never really know it until you do it.

no. i won't be going back to the law office. i'll stick it out in healthcare thanks just in a different role.

as for the independent judgment and autonomy, we will just have to respectfully disagree as we clearly define these activities differently.

think you make a good point about ego strength. this job can eat you alive.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

It is what I expected because I was a ER tech before I became a nurse, but until you are actually THE nurse taking care of these poor patients you truly don't understand how hard this profession is. I thought the money was good until I saw the tremendous amount of responsibilty that nurses have. I would never try to discourage anyone from becoming a nurse but it is definitely worth investigating. The long hours, the short staffing, weekends and holidays don't make it any better. After 10 years in this I finally have a "regular" job and I don't want to look back to the hospital ever again if I can help it.

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Specializes in CVICU, TSBICU, PACU.

Not really at all what I thought

I think back everyday about how I wish I had shadowed a nurse in junior high/high school before going to school for it.

I am very love/hate with nursing... some days are just phenomenal, others, I seriously think about submitting my notice.

But it's okay...coming here shows me that most people have love/hate relationships with nursing.

The most disappointing aspect was that the nursing recruitment propaganda basically made it seem like nursing was this amazing "you can do anything you want!" kind of profession.

Lemme tell you, my dream died a bit. Holistic, naturopathic nursing/advanced practice a la Florence Nightingale has basically ZERO jobs.

I'm about as far away as you can get from that working in CVICU... Half of the time I feel like I'm more mechanic than health care provider.

Maybe I should go into hospice? Or better yet, make my own niche?

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Specializes in CVICU, TSBICU, PACU.

Yes! I would tell my 18 year old self.... "It's okay.. you are actually very, very good at biochemistry, (even though inorganic chem is intolerable) and you love it. It is the high point of your college experience. Be a biochemist instead and work on validating natural cures... you will be happier, healthier and far less stressed."

Then I would give my shaky 18 year old self a hug and tell her things will straighten themselves out in a few years before jumping back into my wormhole.

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