i was just on another nursing message board, my first time there and the first post i read is this really negative view of nursing ( i attatched it at the bottom in red). warning us students to reconsider. i don't know about all of you student nurses but it really gets my goat because here i am getting excited about going into this profession and i feel a lot of people try to burst your bubble and to tell you the truth all of these negatives about nursing is really bothering me. some people can make you feel as if you're actually stepping into the pits of hell. :angryfire i understand some people are just bitter, maybe the job wasn't for them. whatever the reason, it does scare me....a lot. i have worked as a na in a nursing home. i know that this is some hard sh*it! but dang, is it really that bad? by the way, i really did not like that job because no one would help me, plus i didn't like to cry on a daily basis because i was uneducated and left on my own. i am a much too happy person for that kind of misery. i have been in many unfullfilling careers and one of the reasons i wanted to be a nurse was the teamwork and the professionalism of it. i'm starting to find out there isn't a lot of professionalism involved and a lot of bitter people. is this true? anyone else agitated and scared like me? maybe i'll feel better tomorrow. sigh.
p.s. i've been informed copying and pasting a post is "socially incorrect", so to speak. sorry for that, so here is the link incase needed. :)
Those of you who blasted that ex nurses' heartfelt words say more about yourselves than you realize. I've been doing this a long time and can relate to everything she said actually. Knowledge of the truth does not necessarily make one awful to work with, actually. I prefer a savvy coworker vs a naive sucker.
What bothered me most about the poster wasn't that what they said wasn't true, but they had left nursing and was on a student nurse's board. Why would an ex-nurse even be surfing on a student board and offering such unsolicited advice? They've left nursing. Time to find some peace and move on, unless they feel some sort of mission, IMO.
I appreciate the realities of nursing, and people definately need to know what they are getting into. I would much rather hear about the realities of nursing from one like yourself, who has made some semblence of peace with their career choice, in a thread where the question "what are the realities of nursing". But you can't generalize. One persons perceptions of what nursing is isn't the end all of the reality.
Guess I'm being nitpicky though. But as I indicated before I definately could relate to the poster. :)
I want all of you who are students to take this to heart...
When I was hugely pregnant, random people would tell me about horrible deliveries, stillborn children, horrible tantrums, teenagers on drugs -- you name it, if it was awful, I heard about it. (I have one of those faces that make people think they can tell me things they might not tell someone else). Random people usually did not stop me to tell me how wonderful childbirth is...and frankly, the joy of it is what stays with me to this day (no, I didn't have epidurals with either child).
Sometimes people are so overwhelmed by their own situation that they can no longer see the positives. Or they are regretful of their own choices and can't see that anyone would like what they don't.
Nursing does have problems. SO DOES EVERY OTHER FIELD (just ask a teacher. Or an IT person). Get a bunch of supermodels together and I betcha they b*tch and moan and whine about their jobs too.
I don't have a problem with the content of her remarks, just her presentation of them. I don't think I am being naive by not wanting to hear bitter remarks from someone who has left the profession. I have seen and heard plenty from my relatives and friends in the field, but have not heard such bitterness about it from them. Why is the ex-nurse's word so much more valid or poignant than those who have remained and have positive things to say as well? As students, I think it is wise to hear the downside of your chosen profession, but choose wisely who you listen to. I want to listen to those who have succeeded and who have chosen to stay in the chosen field. If we listen to her, we might as well give up now. Is that really what we want to transmit to students and new nurses? JMO.
When someone responds to the negative things that many nurses have to say about nursing with a remark like "Every other field thinks they have it rough, too."
It really bothers me.
It doesn't help our situation to dismiss nurses' legitimate opinions that way.
If there's one thing we don't need, it's more people invalidating our experiences and opinions.
I'm sure other occupations do have their problems, but frankly, I don't care.
NURSING and the problems and issues of NURSES are what I'm concerned about.
I used to have a student nurses' web site where I tutored nursing students and offered them encouragment.
After graduating, more than one of my members was upset with me for NOT telling them enough about the bad in nursing. I was afraid of "bursting their bubble", so although I did bring up some of the negative aspects of nursing, I did not stress the negatives.
Any nurse who is willing to give you her honest opinion on both the good and bad in nursing is doing you a service.
Any nurse who is willing to give you her honest opinion on both the good and bad in nursing is doing you a service.
Unfortunately, this person didn't mention one good/positive aspect of nursing.
Just the bad/negative.
There are those people who rant of doom and gloom and it's all they see. There are those people who only see the good in things and turn bad things into blessings. Interestingly, if you think about it, this person got quite the opposite reaction it sounds like she was after (on this board, anyway). It sounded like she wanted to chase people away from a nursing career, yet here, the people brought up wonderful insights in nursing because of her staements. It's good that her comments opened peoples eyes to reality of the negative issues. Fortunately, the nurses who are in it for the caring, compassion, and rewards of a job well done reminded ME anyway, why we are becoming nurses, or at least why we should be!
i agree with hellllllo nurse, and have one other thing to add. saying that nurses who have negative things to say about the profession are "bitter".
i've been a nurse for over 25 years, have found a niche in nursing where i am quite content, am very grateful for opportunities given to me because i am a nurse (the wonderful opportunity to live overseas for 7 years) which would never have happened if i hadn't been a nurse, and the knowledge that, as a nurse, i have been able to help others.
having said that, i also know, first hand, the negative realities of the nursing profession. it is wonderful to be an idealistic student - and more power to you for not letting the negatives change your mind. but please don't think it is just a bunch of tired, old, worn out, bitter nurses being negative. these are realities and the better you know them, the better prepared you are for the real world.
if you become nurses, and love the profession no one will be happier than me. good luck :)
I'm sure other occupations do have their problems, but frankly, I don't care.
NURSING and the problems and issues of NURSES are what I'm concerned about.
Very true. It helps to address what our problems are specifically.
There are a lot of posts, however, that present themselves that nursing has unique problems of job dissatisfaction, backstabbing, management problems, etc. It helps to know that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. This helps me to remember to stay in nursing and find my peace with the profression, as well as not to jump from hospital to hospital.
i agree with hellllllo nurse, and have one other thing to add. saying that nurses who have negative things to say about the profession are "bitter".
i did say the exrn was bitter, so i reread what she had to say. i still say her anger and bitterness is palpable. but also give her/him credit that it's probably deserved. i still say that person shouldn't be hanging around student nurses, and just leave the profression behind.
but for us in the profression to "vent our concerns" and express the realities of nursing to be called bitter is not accurate at all.
hey, tweety - i know you didn't mean it like that. :) i totally agree that the exrn was being bitter, and had no right to give her diatribe to a bunch of students. i just wanted to clear the air about negative statements = bitter nurses.
hey, tweety - i know you didn't mean it like that. :) i totally agree that the exrn was being bitter, and had no right to give her diatribe to a bunch of students. i just wanted to clear the air about negative statements = bitter nurses.
understood. to me sometimes negative statements = reality.
When someone responds to the negative things that many nurses have to say about nursing with a remark like "Every other field thinks they have it rough, too."
It really bothers me.
It doesn't help our situation to dismiss nurses' legitimate opinions that way.
If there's one thing we don't need, it's more people invalidating our experiences and opinions.
I'm sure other occupations do have their problems, but frankly, I don't care.
NURSING and the problems and issues of NURSES are what I'm concerned about.
Well, you may not care about other professions. But the thread we're discussing is telling us to get out. The question is: Get out where? What are the real alternatives in other professions?
Maybe you think other professions are irrelevant but, actually, it isn't if we're supposed to take this advice and find careers elsewhere. It's not that easy. If it was, presumably you guys would have gotten out of nursing by now.
A lot of us have been out there in other professions. And a lot of us have been laid off. At a certain point, any job is better than no job at all. Maybe nursing does suck, but at least it's likely that you don't have to worry about layoffs and paying the bills.
While you're trying to get us to understand your perspective, we're also trying to get you to understand ours. When we talk about other jobs, we're not saying that nurses' experiences don't count. We're only pointing out that there's no job utopia out there ... that is ... if you're lucky enough to have a job at all.
It's a tough situation all the way around for both sides.
my student web site still exists, but it is no longer interactive. i closed the message forums. it is now an informational site.
i have addressed the issue experienced nurses giving a realistic view of nursing vs. the idealistic student filled with excitment about their future as a nurse.
here is a copy and paste from my student site:
dear nurses and potential nurses ,
if you are a cna going on to become a nurse, or an lpn/lvn going to to become an rn, you may have some knowledge of the realities of nursing, and the many issues facing nurses today.
if you have never worked in nursing or nursing related field, the realities of nursing are something you must be fully aware of before you make a huge investment of your time, money, and efforts to become a nurse.
many people with no experience in nursing or a medical field view it as an exciting rewarding career. they visualize themselves in scrubs, with a stethoscope around their neck, walking hospital corridors. they see themselves doing important and respected work, helping others...and making a good living at it.
from what the media has shown us of nursing, it looks like the possibilities are wide open- want ads full of high-paying nursing jobs, nursing agencies on the internet aggressively recruiting nurses, job security seems to be ensured, due to the "nursing shortage."
even the johnson & johnson comapny is currently running a television campaign, encouraging viewers to "dare to care...be a nurse."
in 1980, i became a hospital volunteer. i became a cna in 1990, an lpn in 1992, and have been an rn since may of 2000..
many cnas and other para-professionals are disatisfied and unhappy with their working conditions, work-loads, and pay. they long for the "greener grass" of being a nurse, not having to work as hard as they do now, and are looking forward to being in charge.
often, cnas do not believe me when i tell them that being a nurse is more difficult than being a cna. but, it is.
many people who have never worked in nursing feel that the hardest things about being a nurse are probably the blood, vomit, feces, urine, infected wounds, etc. that nurses come into contact with, or that it must be the suffering and sad situations that nurses see and are involved in. in my opinion and the opinions of many other nurses, those are the easy parts of nursing. other non-nurses feel that it must be all the clinical, technical, pathophysiological, pharmacological and legal knowledge that nurses must obtain, and the continuous learning process of being a nurse.
those things are difficult, but are obtainable for an intelligent, motivated individual.
in the opinion of many thousands of nurses, myself included, the hardest aspects of being a nurse are the working conditions, lack of respect, patient/work loads, and pay that is not commesurate with the level of responsibility of being a nurse, with pts lives in your hands.
i do not wish to discourage anyone from becoming a nurse or advancing their career in nursing. on the contrary, i want you to go into nursing fully aware of what it is all about, with your eyes wide open.
in order to avoid disappointment and disillusionment in your chosen career, you must have a good knowledge of the issues facing nurses and nursing today.
the "nursing shortage" is not about supply and demand.
the shortage and the factors that created it go much deeper than that.
in having been a nurse for twelve years, and cna for almost 3 years prior to that, and having worked in many clinical settings and positions, i have first-hand knowledge of nursing and the state of the profession. in addition, i have been the web-master of two nursing web sites, and have been actively involved in many nursing web-forums, and have done extensive research into the current state of nursing.
therefore, i am going to post on this page articles and documents which i seriously urge you to read before you make your life and career plans in nursing.
it is my sincere hope that this page is helpful to you.
with love and respect to my fellow nursing colleages, and future nursing colleages,
Tweety, BSN, RN
36,319 Posts
What bothered me most about the poster wasn't that what they said wasn't true, but they had left nursing and was on a student nurse's board. Why would an ex-nurse even be surfing on a student board and offering such unsolicited advice? They've left nursing. Time to find some peace and move on, unless they feel some sort of mission, IMO.
I appreciate the realities of nursing, and people definately need to know what they are getting into. I would much rather hear about the realities of nursing from one like yourself, who has made some semblence of peace with their career choice, in a thread where the question "what are the realities of nursing". But you can't generalize. One persons perceptions of what nursing is isn't the end all of the reality.
Guess I'm being nitpicky though. But as I indicated before I definately could relate to the poster. :)