Nursing a good job?

CoolhandHutch, MSN, RN · Sep 9, 2009

Is nursing a good job? I work in the ER and I can't imagine myself doing anything else. I've joked with my wife that if I won the lottery I'd still have to do this because, well, it's pretty dang fun. Patients can be rude, docs can be rude, residents can be clueless, but these are personality issues. They're everywhere and in every profession; we don't have the market cornered on asshats. There is stress. Imagine running a peds code. I've cried at work before. It can be tough sometimes. But like I said, I can't imagine doing anything else.

heathert_kc · Sep 9, 2009

I wouldn't call it a bad job or go as far as discouraging anyone from entering the field, I love it... but the truth is that it isn't for everyone. Those nurses who get into it for less than honorable reasons tend to NOT be the best nurses, i can't understand how anyone could spend 40+ hours a week doing something they don't love. It is not anywhere near as glamorous as I thought it was when I was your age, though it is a career you can be proud of. The stress thing really depends on what type of nursing that you get into, overall most jobs are very fast paced and physically demanding. And yes some of the stress can come from rude patients or pretentious physicians, but also the working conditions: long hours, frequent staffing shortages, and lots of paperwork(my least favorite part). I was able to experience what it was like by signing up for a health careers class in high school where I got my CNA and was able to job shadow different healthcare professionals, so if you have an opportunity like that, it's great. The pay varies greatly depending on region, specialty, and place of employment; but one secret it won't make you rich and this nursing shortage is not what they have cracked it up to be. there are lots of new grad nurses and even more seasoned ones that are having a hard time finding jobs in a lot of areas. The job discription again depends on what area you go into; it could be fairly simple like working in a doctors office (assisting the dr, triaging patient phone calls, answering health questions, reviewing lab results, vital signs and rooming patients), homehealth (caring for one patient at a time in their home, patient and family education, documenting nursing care and patient condition, doing wound care tube feeding or trach care, administering and helping set up patient medication, assisting patient with basic activities of daily living, etc.) or hospital (documenting on every aspect of patient care, doing a head to toe assessment of patient, transcribing and implimenting physician's orders, administering medication and maintaining IV's, etc.). Nurses also work in schools, public health clinics, and prisons. There are a lot of different possibilities out there...

wishinguponastarLPN · Sep 9, 2009

When I was your age I went and volunteered at my local hospital and I absolutely LOVED it! :heartbeat

That is how I knew that I wanted to be a nurse. Maybe you could do the same and try to get as much experience in the patient setting as possible. If you don't like what you see then you will know that Nursing is not for you, or if you love it like I did then you know that is your passion. It is a good thing to find out now!

timothymichaeljett · Sep 9, 2009

You could always do what I did. I got my CNA to work in the med feild for a while to see if (and which job in particular) was a good fit for me.

hcer4507 · Sep 9, 2009

I would forget the bachelor and get the associate degree instead. You'll be making around the same amount of money and you can always take an associate to bachelor program. Nursing is one of the best paying jobs you can get for just a 2 year degree.

shoedude · Sep 9, 2009

If you love helping people nursing is the way to go. From what I've seen you have to really love what you do. If you are not sure maybe you should do some volunteer work with nurses before jumping into it full swing. My mom has been a nurse for 22 years. I asked her one day if she liked her job. She gave me a giant smile and her face filled with sunshine as she said "I love it."