Is it really worth it to become a nurse?

[Bookworm22]

:yeah:Hi,

I have a big question and I figured here would be the best place to ask. So, I graduated from a 4 year nursing program and recieved my BSN. I was always a big dork about studying in school..lol. I just found alot of pride in doing well and thought if I didn't try to get good grades in nursing and just tried to get by it would hurt me in the long run. Along the way, I recieved lots of awards and honors for doing well in school, which I am proud of. Along with studying, I thought that I was missing out on my social life a little so I joined a sorority. However, I still found myself missing things in order to stay in to study. I kept telling myself this will pay offf!!

During my last semster, my last class was giving me alot of trouble. Now along the way, my school has many professors I found that really don't care about you. They spend 3 hours or whatever time "teaching" you (aka reading powerpoints outload:yawn: for hours) and expect you to apply and critically think subjects. They are rarely available for outside help and if your doing poorly will tell you you're not studying enough. Its always you you you. Well, I ended up failing by 3 tenths of a point a class of a teacher like this on a huge power trip. There were accusations a student stole the final exam and she "revamped" it and ended up having to take out 1/3 of the exam questions b/c the class did so poorly. This was a big blow for a student who worked so hard all the time and would literally email this teacher constantly to get no help. I literally sobbed for 3 days straight.

Knowing I would have to retake the class again I searched for weeks to find a GN job, with no luck. It was very upsetting. I feel like my great 3.53 cum, Deans List for 4 years etc etc was for nothing. I tried to not let it upset me. I ended up taking the class and eventually I finished, but decided I would not go to graduation. It would just be too upsetting. A decision that hurt alot of people, including myself I think. I had always pictured doing that. I passed my boards in 75 questions after 6 weeks of intense studying, 300 questions 5 days a week. I just threw myself into it. I kept hearing "you can't answer questions", "you won't get through NCLEX", "just because you get good grades doesn't mean you'll pass NCLEX"...thats all i heard for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!!! But I did do it!!!!:loveya:

This is the question...I started looking for jobs again. Once again, same problem as when I tried applying for GN position. No one calls you back. I feel like everything I did, all those weekends I spent inside studying were worthless. I think my resume is great I have tons of clinical experiences, honors, awards, volunteer jobs, and NOW a LICENSE. Y do i want to be in a profession with other nurses, like my teachers, that just didnt care? I worked so hard and even with a license it doesnt seem like it matters. It bothers me even more b/c other ppl in college I knew just drink and never did much except try to get by and they all have jobs and didnt go through half the stresses and hardaches I did. I know you shouldnt care what others are doing..but it just doesnt seem worth it anymore. I know everyone says you get paid so great and its great you only work 3 days a week..but honestly I'm beginning to regret this decision of nursing.

[GilaRRT]

You have yet to really experience nursing. Rather hard to throw in the towel when you have not even experienced the profession. You will get a job, trust me. It may not be your dream job, but you can enter nursing as a new grad.

The first year or so will be quite difficult. After it is all said and done, you may find nursing is not for you. Many people enter nursing, only to leave less than five years into their career. Make no mistake, you have chosen a very difficult path. While many rewards exist, nursing is not for everybody.

Good luck.

[rn2bn07, BSN, RN]

I know you must be frustrated, but trust, you will find a job in nursing, and that's when you will truly be able to say OKAY NOW I AM FRUSTRATED! I don't think it matters how many honors and awards you received in nursing school to be considered a good applicant for the job as an RN. As long as you have a license you will get a job. It may not be the right one, it may be the best. That's when you will see the REAL side of nursing. Once you start to deal with the politics and management side of your career, plus trying to be the best nurse advocate for your patient and providing the best care you can and still feel that you are not getting any respect, it all will start to make sense and you'll soon wonder if this is the right career for you. (Some facilities make you wonder, do you really need me?)

P>S> It will get better and nursing is a very rewarding career

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Actually, awards and GPA matter for a new grad.

Get a job. If you hate nursing quit.

Really, this isn't a rocket science decision. You don't have to stay a nurse if you hate it, and you can if you do.

[the bull]

I can understand how you feel , but there is something in you that has called you to this profession. we are special people and what we go thru make us who we are. Nursing school is to prepare you for what you will be, and that is a nurse. Some one who is responsible for the people that you take care of: thru the time when you dont get a break, thru the times when your on your feet hours and hours of the shift, just when your giveing report and the nurse that your reporting to asks you some dumb ass question like why didnt you empyty the urinal when the pt isnt even a chf / renal pt, because you have put other priorities ahead like ex:02 or concentrating on ABC'S, DONT FEEL LIKE THIS ISNT YOUR PROFESSION TO BE IN .MAYBE THEY HAVE CHOSEN THE WRONG PROFESIION FOR THE MONEY!. I have learned it isnt your business to worry what others think of YOU. As long as you do your job and treat your patients like you would your own family members,you can't go wrong. Nursing school is just to prepare you for the real world. I have been a nurse since 1994 from an LVN to an RN.:heartbeat

[jjjoy, LPN]

I can kinda relate to where you are right now as I felt for all the work of nursing school that I didn't feel like I actually learned much and when I graduated there was a glut of new grads in my area like many other are experiencing now.

You had an added stress of being in a sorority, where you had up close exposure to the kind of student life you couldn't fully participate in as a nursing student. In addition to that, nursing school sometimes seems set up to have everyone always on the brink of failure no matter how hard you work at it. If the fews points between passing and failing and getting an A or a B seem arbritrary and unfair, then all of that extra hard work can feel wasted.

But those are neither here nor there when it comes to deciding what kind of work to pursue now that you've graduated. Now the question is "It is worth it to you to get a job as a nurse?"

Most would say yes, since many consider the first year working as the REAL final year of one's nursing education.

Unless you've decided that you absolutely hate nursing or that there's some other line of work that you definitely want to pursue, it would seem worth it to continue looking for a nursing job. Sometimes it DOES take several months to land that first job. It can feel like forever! But really, in the big picture, a few months between graduating and starting one's first job doesn't mean much. And I'll bet there are more than a few liberal arts graduates who don't land jobs right out of school, either.

And after being told about the great demand for nurses, it can be a rather rude shock to find upon graduation that you have to hassle hospital recruiters, ask friends of friends for favors, personally call nurse managers, etc to scrape up a few actual job interviews. It's no fun and doesn't feel fair, but all you need is ONE good job offer and you're off and running.

Since you've gotten this far, you might as well give this nursing thing a try. You can always quit and compete with all those liberal arts majors for jobs!! ---- And I'm not putting that down, either!!!! It is worth it to some people to get out of nursing!!!! It may ultimately be worth it to you to go another direction.

Good luck with whatever you do!!!

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Is it worth it? The only answer that counts is the one that comes from you after you've experienced working as a nurse. You will get a job. Make sure you're not just filling out online resumes. They don't get the same response a real live voice gets. You've got to pick up the phone and let your fingers do some walking. Ask to speak to the nurse recruiter.