Is it worth it?

yes it is

I went to school 22 years ago as a second career nurse whose job was wiped out due to automation. I knew it was not going to be clean, easy or glamorous. I knew I'd be exposed to vomit, poop, pee, bodily fluids. I knew I'd be on my feet 12 hours at a clip. I knew I'd have to watch people die. I knew I'd be spending my time consoling family of the deceased.

What I didn't know is that I'd be assaulted by patients, thrown under the bus by co-workers, verbally abused by doctors, harassed by my boss

What I didn't know was that I'd be lied to in the hiring process

What I didn't know is that I'd be sent home after 2 hours on the job due to low census

What I didn't know was that I was enrolled in a medical plan, and cancelled the same day, so a card was mailed to me, to dupe me into thinking I had medical insurance

What I didn't know was that while I was out sick 4 days straight with a raging GI virus, my position was eliminated , and I was replaced by 2 part time LPNs

What I didn't know was that the sorority sisters who were supposed to be training me were partying behind my back, laughing at me, accusing me of wrong doing, and setting me up to fail

What I didn't know was that if you were still on the job at your 90 day mark, you were considered senior staff

What I didn't know was that the $10,000 sign on bonus was a hoax, because no one actually collects it. It is payable after 6 months . On month 5, day 29, I was fired without explanation

What I didn't know was that 99% of nurse job ads are fake

What I didn't know was that my RN job was set to morph into RN, LPN, CNA, Unit clerk, and if I did not like it, I could leave, because HR has 200 fresh resumes on their desks

What I didn't know was to make sure you get your offer of employment in writing, including your rate of pay (especially)

What I didn't know when I went to my interview, was that the job ad was for a job that may exist in the near future, but does not exist now

Should I go on? I could go on. My decision to go into nursing was the worst decision of my life. I wish I could hit the back button.

7 minutes ago, MJB2010 said:

Be the change you want to see in nursing.

Nursing doesn't exist anymore. We used to be nurses. We are now box checkers , who are called nurses. See my other article, "Why nurses are leaving the bedside in droves"

7 minutes ago, MJB2010 said:

I don’t disagree completely and jobs vary greatly. There are plenty of terrible places to work, I recently stumbled into one. But there are still decent jobs to be had. They are harder to find. And I really feel like who you work with and how you support each other can make all the difference. I unfortunately have bills to pay. So I’m going to be working. I am going to keep trying to make the best of it. I’m worked with some amazing nurses thus far. And it really does make or break a job for me.

Spot on. Co-workers make it or break it. I already know what my pool of available nurse jobs are. Those that require only an ADN. That is nursing homes or homecare, and that is basically my only 2 options. Homecare you are unemployed more than employed. Nursing homes give you a dangerous and impossible work load, of constant falsification in charting. When those environments are loaded with toxic co-workers , I hit the road. I can only accomplish the impossible, when the people I work with make the impossible, possible. When the people around me make the impossible more impossible, I am out the door. The last 5 years I have left toxic jobs within a month of hire, and a couple of jobs I left after my first day. Its to the point that I am toxic to management because I've decided to stop putting up with the ***, and workloads that set you up to lose your license. My resume would be 10 pages long if I included every job.

I absolutely love being a nurse - I love the work I do and am well supported at the bedside. I make good money. But... I will agree with the previous poster who said the team you work with/unit culture makes a HUGE difference. I know people who think about moving on to something different, but the culture keeps them where they are.

It's not all rainbows and sunshine -- there is a lot that could be improved (and should be), you should go in eyes-wide-open.

Also, you should be talking to people face-to-face about this. Ask what they like or don't like about their jobs and what their best advice is in getting into desirable work situations in your area.

The internet is probably the worst place to gauge job satisfaction - and there are a number of reasons for this.

Have you shadowed any nurses yet, OP?

Thanks for all the replies! I ran into another nurse my family knows & she told me to run for the hills when it comes to nursing. To me, happiness in a career is something I always put first with the money, perks, and everything else behind it. Rather than go through nursing, I’ve decided to just push through and be a PA as I would rather suffer through all those chem and bio classes than have to suffer through all those stressful situations as a nurse.

I haven’t shadowed any nurses yet, but I have been given several opportunities to do so

For crying out loud have you ever used the internet before? You could start a thread about puppies and 9/10 people would tell you how awful they are because of a bad experience they had. People who hate their jobs are online telling everyone who will listen how awful their job is - the rest are out enjoying their jobs and their lives. I know a lot of nurses - literally none of them has ever said they hate what they do. The internet is not the place to do this research. Go to school, do some clinicals... don’t let other people tell you how to feel for crying out loud or you will always be miserable because miserable people like the ADN above are much more vocal about their feelings than those who are enjoying their work. #SMH

Find a career that doesn’t have the chance to cripple you for life.

17 hours ago, Rionoir said:

For crying out loud have you ever used the internet before? You could start a thread about puppies and 9/10 people would tell you how awful they are because of a bad experience they had. People who hate their jobs are online telling everyone who will listen how awful their job is - the rest are out enjoying their jobs and their lives. I know a lot of nurses - literally none of them has ever said they hate what they do. The internet is not the place to do this research. Go to school, do some clinicals... don’t let other people tell you how to feel for crying out loud or you will always be miserable because miserable people like the ADN above are much more vocal about their feelings than those who are enjoying their work. #SMH

Agreed!

I enjoy my job. I don't enjoy every moment of every day, but overall I have no major complaints. In my 7 years of nursing, I've worked 3 different areas of nursing (primary care, post surgical/oncology, and now ICU) and I've decided that the ICU is definitely the place for me. I initially went into nursing wanting to be an NP like everyone else, but after I fell into the ICU (long story) I really fell in love with it. I want to stay at the bedside. And I see nurses that are finishing out 30+ year careers at the bedside, that are knowledgeable, compassionate and engaged in their work. I want to do that. I want to keep learning and growing in my role, and be the best that I can be.

I like the responsibility that I hold. I like working with very sick people, and guiding their loved ones through what's happening. It's not anything like what I envisioned for my career because I was scared ****less at the idea of critical care when I was in nursing school, but now....here I am!

Nursing is not for everyone and that's okay. Of those who would enjoy being a nurse, not everyone area of nursing is going to fit. It's hard to know until you're really there, but shadowing and fulling investing yourself into your clinical experiences is as close as you can really get. Nothing is like when it really falls on your shoulders.

I see a lot of posts on here from people that have been a nurse for maybe a year or two, in the same job or similar types of jobs the entire time, and they decide that nursing is not for the them. Maybe that's true.....or maybe that particular job is the actual problem. They'll never know if they're not willing to take a risk and try somewhere else.

And that being said, your unit culture definitely makes a difference too. I wouldn't enjoy my job as much if it didn't have a positive culture, where anyone can say "I need some help" and they'll suddenly have more hands than they could ever need. There are so many variables, just like with other career paths.

On 5/25/2019 at 6:53 PM, hayleyb44 said:

Thanks for all the replies! I ran into another nurse my family knows & she told me to run for the hills when it comes to nursing. To me, happiness in a career is something I always put first with the money, perks, and everything else behind it. Rather than go through nursing, I’ve decided to just push through and be a PA as I would rather suffer through all those chem and bio classes than have to suffer through all those stressful situations as a nurse.

I haven’t shadowed any nurses yet, but I have been given several opportunities to do so

I would advise you to go into any other field rather than nursing. It is not what it used to be in any shape, form, or fashion.

When my daughters were your age and considering careers, I told them, pick any career you would like. However, I would not support them going into nursing. I suggested they look into medical school and they said , OK.

Today, they are board certified, fellowship trained physicians. They also graduated with no debt.

Getting into PA school is very difficult. I believe it would be worth it . I would not recommend trying to become an NP. This is all MY personal opinion from 40 years of personal and professional experience.

If you enjoy science, becoming an epidemiologist might be a consideration for you. You get a Master of Public Health. I wish I had known of that route when I was your age.

Best of luck to you!