to be a nurse or not to be a nurse?

[RR910]

i could really use some advice.

so here is my story. i got my lna then got a job at a nursing home, worked there for a while then i started working at a hospital in an admitting position, thinking it would be a good way to get my foot in the door at a hospital, there was no lna positions open at the time. so after about a year an ed tech job opened up and i applied for it and got the job. i really thought i wanted to be an er nurse.i like constatnt change and i just find it very interesting. after working for 3 months, i don't think the ed is right for me, so i went back to admitting. this scares me because i really thought that was the route i wanted to take, am i not good enough? will i make a good nurse? am i smart enough? all these things now go though my head. in the ed i just felt overwhelmed, i don't know if it was my lack of experince, the nursing staff not being patient enough, or what it was. i can not see myself working on a med-surge floor i just don't see myself doing so, what other options do i have, if i couldn't work in the er and couldn't see myself on a med-surge floor? am i doomed and should just look at other careers?

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

ER and med-surg are not the only nursing specialties. These alone if they are your only exposure to nursing are too narrow to help you make a proper decision on whether to enter the profession. I think you need more exposure to other areas. There's pediatrics, oncology, psychiatric, nurse anesthesia, labor & delivery, geriatric, and that's to just name a few of them. Keep looking and shadowing before you make a final call.

[ICU_RN_BSN]

There are so many oppurtunities in nursing outside of the ER. There are so many different wings of hospitals, there is administration (especially for BSN grads), there is long-term care at nursing homes, visiting nurses(home health), traveling nurses....Im sure I missed a lot. But you need to decide is nursing is your passion. It takes a lot of determination and strive and patience to get to and through nursing school and to be a good nurse...and mostly you have to really want it. So do you? And GPA isn't everything..important but it isnt everything..you need to have people skills. And dont quit because you feel intimidated. You should look at some post called "Why do nurses eat their young?" It is common for them to seem mean and intimidating. If you really want this and work hard enough for it, you can do it!

[bhanson]

I'm pretty sure everyone in nursing feels overwhelmed at some point, it feels almost like a right of passage.

I work in a busy cardiac step-down unit and everyone on our staff gets stretched to capacity on some days.

ED is probably more stressful than most departments. When they need an IV start you're expected to get it done NOW. It's pretty much trial-by-fire for the newbies. You do need to be able to handle stress and there will be plenty, but ED is a polarized example and with so many options as far as where a nurse can work as long as you enjoy taking care of people I don't think you can go wrong.