Is it what you thought?

It's much more challenging than I thought it would be, but I love it more than I ever imagined! I love being there for pt's and families when they are in their most desperate situations. It is definitely stressful, but I haven't gotten burnt out. Taking care of yourself is VERY important!! You can't take care of your pt's if you have nothing in your tank.

I was disallusioned my first year as I did not realize how hard nursing really is. After many years I now believe this is the best career I ever could have

Currently in the new grad disillusioned stage, but it's getting better. The nursing career is more stressful than nursing school was IMO.

I didn't know what to expect until my very last semester when I did my internship. No clinical instructors around, just me and a preceptor.

I would do it again. Nursing is very interesting, once a nurse always a nurse! I love the opportunities it has given me. And the people I have met. It's changed me for the better.

Different now than when I was a student, in that students are only exposed to the types of nursing that they see in clinicals, and my job as it exists today did not exist when I was in college. Actually, every job I have ever had except two didn't exist when I was in college, and those two were in units that I never saw as a student. So no, I didn't have a good idea of what nursing was all about. ALL is a big word. :)

Keep your mind open and your attitudes ready to change, and you will discover a world of nifty alternatives and options in nursing. Enjoy the ride!

I also didn't realize just how hard nursing can be....and how many "gray areas" can exist. In nursing school they make it seem like you have all of the time in the world and everything is black or white. In reality, that isn't the case.

Nursing is what I envisioned; my motto is "Anything and EVERYTHING can happen." I live for objectivity.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't get frustrated, dumbfounded, or shocked, it just makes it easier to cope.

If you are a seasoned nurse, same questions. Is nursing what you had envisioned? Is it better or worse? What do you love about your job? Would you do it all over again?

Also, do you feel like you get burnt out with nursing?

Thanks!

I became a nurse in part because I foolishly married too young and had a husband to support -- no medical school for me! After I worked in a hospital for a very short time, I realized that the lifestyle of a physician wouldn't have been for me. I like working my 12 hours and then leaving. I had never worked in a hospital; the closest I ever got was working as a "candy striper" in a nursing home. I really had no idea what nurses did, but my mother (who was certain that she knew everything there was to know about anything at all) assured me that being an RN was an easy job. "All you do is sit at the nurses' station and drink coffee while the aides do all the work."

Does anyone still believe that one?

Being as how I actually BELIEVED my mother, nursing was not at all what I envisioned. But had I to do it all over again, I would have done it the same way -- without the first husband. I love the flexibility of my schedule, and for years DH and I worked weekends and holidays and had the camp grounds, the ski slopes and the movie theatres to ourselves during the week. We have a nice lifestyle with a comfortable home, reliable cars and some years a great vacation.

I've gone through many periods of burn-out, and at one point I actually got an MBA so I could leave nursing. In the end, I fell in love with my job all over again and never left. Usually, taking care of yourself prevents or delays burn-out. And I've found that a change in shift, in job, in specialty or in employer can cure it. Start with the smallest change and work up to the bigger ones. One episode of burn-out was so awful that I moved 3000 miles -- which solved it nicely. Of course then I had other problems like finding a new home, and living in a climate that I don't like. But no more burn-out!

We all get burnt out no matter what career. Even computer people and business executives.

This is a tough question to answer, because the work is so fluid.

I have had great years, and years where the word "nurse" was a dirty word to my ears.

Much of what it boils down to is politics, economy, environment, and management. All it takes is a power shift in management/executives, and what was one day the best career choice ever, becomes a nightmare on the next day.

Our attitude is at least 50% of the equation, but our livelihoods and career are at the mercy of the culture and environment set by those who make the rules. And since healthcare is an ever changing, fluctuating field, things can rapidly deteriorate (or vice versa).

I would choose differently had I the option to do it all over.