Nursing is not what I thought it would be!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 28, 2012

i wouldn't have called this comment sympathetic, but it certainly isn't undermining or destructive, i.e. bullying. i thought this poster was just speaking to the realities of a first nursing job and suggesting being patient and persevering, which seems like good advice to me.
in regard to some people seeing bullying in this poster's comment, i am beginning to think that some people on this thread, and on this forum, either have very little life experience, and/or have been extremely cosseted and protected and feel entitled to kid glove treatment. in the workplace you will encounter plenty of people who are not sympathetic towards you; that does not mean they are undermining or bullying you.

my major problem with this post is that i can only "like" it once.

sauconyrunner · Jul 28, 2012

I keep telling new people, that 7 months is not a long time. You will get more and more skilled at managing these tasks, and as the tasks become more familiar and automatic to you, you will be more comfortable chatting with patients and family as you do some things. When I first learned to start IV's I had to really concentrate. These days I get set up and am asking the family, "How are things going?" etc all at the same time. I can pretty much do a ton of assessment on a patient, all while talking about something unrelated (how is the pt going to get drug X on DC? How did they feel about their jello only meal?) But I've had 12 years to develop these skills. My first 2-3 years in nursing were full of struggle, and a huge learning curve (and yes I had been an aide). Someone said you might like critical care better because of less patients. While there are less patients, you will have sicker patients, and often have less to time to "care" for patients. I really think the answer here is not to bounce around, but to give yourself enough TIME to get comfortable with what you are doing. When you are really confident, then you can make a smart decision, rather than making one based on discomfort. SO many times, we try so hard to avoid discomfort that we rush to the next thing and the next thing, when the first thing would have been alright if we had just allowed more time!!!

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jul 29, 2012

I agree with dudette. MN-nurse, have you paid your dues yet? 'cause, if your still a nurse you didn't get anything for all that paying! LOL. I think the commonly referenced one year or two years and then you will feel better about things means often that, you:1. know you are leaving nursing and thus feel the weight lift2. are now medicated and thus feel the weight lift3. are truly broken (like a bronco) and thus feel the weight lift

I think some nurses are just plain too dramatic about being a nurse. Yes it can be stressful. It's a job. Jobs are stressful, especially while you're still learning. If people are gonna get all worked up about it that's their business, it's a free country. But I get annoyed when said nurses imply that they are overwhelmed every shift because they are the good nurses who care too much or something. And if you're not crying on your way home every other night, well, you must be one of the "bad", heartless nurses. Maybe the job really IS doable. Maybe I'm NOT some meanie who doesn't care and cheats. Maybe I'm just better at controlling my emotions and at staying on task.

AshleyO77 · Jul 29, 2012

I feel your pain. I am on summer break in lowly nursing school, and decided to get a job as a CNA. Lolololol......wow what a mistake. I could have had a few more months of naivety dreaming about my misconceptions of a Nurse. Now I am absolutely horrified.

This is what I mean. Not that I want you to be horrified, but I was a nursing assistant with people with people who were in nursing school, and some of them changed their major after that experience because they saw what nurses go through and it was too much to take. And their is nothing wrong with that because nursing isn't for everyone. I've met nurses who actually assumed that all they would be doing was giving meds. Sone who didn't know how to put a bedpan on a patient. Some who didn't know how to change a bed with the patient still in it. And most of them had their BSNs(not that it matters to my point, but I thought I would mention that). You don't learn how to be a nurse from being a CNA, but you do see what nurses do and how much they have to do in a short amount if time. You start to mold your own idea of how you want to be when your a nurse (at least I did). I saw good practices and bad ones, saw how some nurses treated CNAs, learned how to deal with difficult patients and difficult family members, saw how they handled rude doctors and saw many nurses save lives. No I didn't learn how to be a nurse, but it sure gave me a realistic view of nursing and prepared me for some of the battles I was gonna have ahead if me.

markkuss · Jul 30, 2012

They used to. In diploma programs.

As opposed to in degrees programs?

What do u mean?

PMFB-RN, RN · Jul 30, 2012

been there done that i'm totally serious when i ask this-do you consider mn-rns reply to be a case of nurses eating their young and/or an example of bullying?

*** first since mn-rn is himself a new graduate nurse it can hardly be consider nurses eating their young regaurdless of the comments. nothing bullying about either. some people are hyper sensitive.

"really? what kind of nursing do you do? pay your dues? to whom? for what? i am guessing it has been a long time since you were a new nurse and perhaps your memory is a bit cloudy. some of us still remember what it was like."

*** as mentioned previously mn-rn is a new grad himself.

Kassandra Anderson · Aug 25, 2020

I feel the exact same way! I wonder each and every day if I’ve made a mistake, still not sure I haven’t. I hope you have more luck than me! You’ve stuck it out on the floor longer than I made it!

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Aug 25, 2020

On 7/28/2012 at 3:43 PM, nurseprnRN said:
"I think every nursing student should be a nursing assistant at some point. you get to see how nursing works, not the idealized view they show you in school and movies. "
oh, like a CNA really has an appreciation for the nursing process...as opposed to the process of performing tasks. nope.
I was a na (this was before anyone was certified) for several years before and during nursing school, and I didn't have a clue about what nursing was all about besides the tasks and skills I yearned to be able to say I could do.

No, but you had a clue as to how things worked in healthcare world...too many see the cute tv shows with nurses and Drs or are directed by $$$ and are totally shocked when they get the dose of reality.

7 hours ago, Kassandra Anderson said:
I feel the exact same way! I wonder each and every day if I’ve made a mistake, still not sure I haven’t. I hope you have more luck than me! You’ve stuck it out on the floor longer than I made it!

If this is your real name, I suggest you change it. For practical reasons

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Aug 25, 2020

On 7/30/2012 at 12:45 AM, markkuss said:
As opposed to in degrees programs?
What do u mean?

My mom graduated from a diploma program back in the 1960s, retired with her MSN in 2014. I graduated from an ASN program and when I look at what she learned-they had the total patient care package under their belts, I was envious. Students now should be demanding a better clinical experience, just my .02