Not sure if nursing is the right field for me...

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

Thanks for the replies! I think ill take this summer to do some shadowing and volunteer work...
...if you work in settings other then hositals such as a clinic, is the pay competitive with the hospitals? and is this setting less stressful (with better hours i.e. 9am-5pm)?

Sorry, but the less stressful 9-5 jobs do indeed pay less. They are also hard to get.

NicInNC, CNA · Apr 22, 2006

Hey
I am new here and have been reading various threads for the last couple of weeks without posting (soaking up your info).
I am graduating with a bachelors of science in health promotion and interested in going to a 2nd degree program (or atleast i was).
To tell you the truth I was extremely excited to find a BSN program, and become a nurse ASAP but after reading through this forum i am beginning to change my mind and second guess all of my future plans.
The negative things that I have been reading are:
(1) all the discrimination towards males in nursing,
(2) how burnout is very high!,
(3) how nurses have high levels of stress, depression, and anxiety,
and (4) all the threads about how people would not recommend becoming a nurse to others.
This has killed my dreams and is really making me feel bad. I hate not knowing what I want to do in life and I feel like I have no clue.
I do not know what to do with my current degree and I feel like it was a big waist!
...if you were in my shoes what would you all do?
Thanks!, gnight.

What about becoming a CNA first? I think that ALL nurses should have to be a CNA before getting into a nursing program. Thankfully, that's how it works at the school that I go to. I'm a CNA and while I don't want to do it forever, I love my job. Plus, if you get on at a hospital you really get a feel at what a nurses job is like.

I too am still undecided as whether or not nursing is exactly what I want to do. I'm currently taking a Phlebotomy course and am LOVING it. So, I'm not sure if I'll stop here or continue on for my nursing degree. There are many things you can do for the time being though that will allow you to work alongside a nurse.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

I decided to go to nursing school because of money and job security. I'm not much of a caretaker but I'm passionate about medicine. I just LOVE the medical field, medical information, and so on. I did worry about how I would do as a nurse but lately I feel like I'll do okay.

I've been in the medical field almost my whole career but in clerical roles. I worked in medical records and then as a medical transcriptionist until that field started circling the drain. To get myself ready for a career in nursing I took a job as a dialysis technician. It was my first patient care job and I wasn't sure how I would like it.

It turns out I love it and now I'm excited about becoming a nurse. I still don't consider myself a very nurturing person, but I feel very gratified that I can make people feel better, that I can educate them about their bodies and their condition, and that I can give them encouragement on days when they aren't feeling so great about being on dialysis.

What I learned is that since I don't have an innate desire to take care of people, I find I'm more realistic about what's going on with my patients. I can encourage them and educate them without giving them false hope. I can focus on what's going on with the patient without thinking about trying to fullfill my own need to be a caregiver. I don't get my heart broken when people say or do stupid or mean things. I shrug it off and figure people are people. I can't change them. All I can do is educate them, stay alert to any changes in their condition and act on it the best that I can, and hope for the best.

I'll try to wrap this up by saying if you're not sure nursing is for you because you don't have a drive to take care of people, you might be surprised. There might be something else in your personality that people might benefit from. My opinion is that if you are passionate about medicine and love learning new things, then you're on the right track.

MidLifeRN2012 · Apr 22, 2006

I am currently reading. Tending Lives: Nurses on the Medical Front... and it is a good one. It is a book of short stories told by nurses of memorable experiences in their careers. Many are funny and many are sad. I think you ll enjoy it.

PANurseRN1 · Apr 22, 2006

I would not go off the opinion's of others & experience it for myself.
I've been a nurse for a year & a half & I think it's a great profession so far. I read plenty on here prior to becoming a nurse & decided I would form my own opinions & not be influenced by those that probably should get out of nursing rather than continue to bash it.[/QUOTE]
Your post is very disheartening.
We come here to vent- "bashing" nursing is one of the coping mechanisms that helps many of us to be able continue on in this very tough profession.
As a nurse, you should recognize this and empathize.
I don't think anyone who has been a nurse for only a year and half has any business judging those of us who have been working our butts off and taking the pressure of nursing for decades.
Once you are a seasoned nurse and have been through the ringer like the rest of us, I do not think you will be so quick to judge.
Amen.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 22, 2006

I am currently reading. Tending Lives: Nurses on the Medical Front... and it is a good one. It is a book of short stories told by nurses of memorable experiences in their careers. Many are funny and many are sad. I think you ll enjoy it.

I have that book on my "to read" list. I'd heard about it from someone else. I plan to read it sometime this summer.

To veer slightly off topic for a minute I just read "Freakanomics" by Steven Levitt. Wonderful stuff.

MarySunshine · Apr 22, 2006

My two favorite Echo Heron books are "Condition Critical" and "Tending Lives on the Medical Front." The first is her own story of her career(part 2, but I think it's the most interesting part). The second book is, as stated above, a collection of stories from many different nurses.