runnernurse

I definitely love nursing and my job. I think a lot of it has to do with the floor you start on. I was lucky to start on a great floor where my coworkers are so supportive and willing to teach, and we are always looking out for each other and helping one another out. I have been working as a nurse for almost 10 months now, it's hard to believe how fast the time went by. I still feel like I just started but then I realize that I actually know things, new nurses ask me questions and I actually know some of the answers! Nursing is stressful, some times I come home and just feel so frustrated, but then you have the good nights where you feel like you really made a difference... it's what makes it all worth it. There is nothing more fascinating then getting a postop kidney transplant, and seeing the excitement on his face when he sees that he is making urine after years of being on dialysis. So no, it isn't that bad, I promise! It definitely can be rough, working weekends, holidays, nights, while the rest of the world isn't. It is mentally and physically draining. But I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I apologize if i didn't make sense, I just worked all night Best of luck to you with your last year of school RN2BE!

1. Why did you enter the nursing profession? I started college as a business major and was very unhappy with the classes, and really was clueless about what I wanted to do. I always had an interest in a career that would help people and talked to my aunt, who is a nurse, and she talked me into giving it a try. So I switched my major and luckily I really liked it. 2. What do you like about being a nurse? I really like the teaching aspect especially with the transplant patients, Receiving an organ is beginning a new life. I also love going into work and never knowing what I am getting myself into. Also, my night shift coworkers are wonderful, I don't think I could get through the crazy nights without their support. 3. What do you not like about being a nurse? I don't like it when I feel unsafe, that my patient load is too much for me to handle. 4. Do you think you get paid what you deserve? Right now I am happy with my salary, ask me that five years down the road maybe I will change my mind! 5. Do you think that nurses are respected by the doctors you work with? Yes, the attendings trust us more than the residents/interns! Whenever they have questions about the patients they ask us. Also the residents are constantly asking us what they should order or do. 6. What do you wish you would have learned in school to help you in the real world? I don't think school could have ever prepared me for the chaotic real world. I had no clue how much responsibility nurses really had until I started working as a RN. I was both a nursing assistant and a nurse extern throughout nursing school and I still never realized how much nurses really did 7. What is the worst situation you have ever been in? Seeing one of my favorite patients go downhill after his transplant and die soon after from an infection. 8. What is the most rewarding thing about being a nurse? Pre-oping a transplant patient, Seeing patients recover and do really well after their transplants, Leaving work and knowing that I made a difference, Being mentioned in patients' thank you letters! 9. Do you think new-grads should start in the ER? I personally wouldn't have been able to. But I think there are certain people who definitely can do it and I don't see a problem with it. 10. Are you thinking about leaving nursing? No, I plan on starting grad school (either nursing administration or NP-still undecided) in the near future because I know I would not be able to handle the stresses of floor nursing for the next 25-30 years. Right now i love my job and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Please also include your sex, age, what department you work in, and your type of degree (ASN or BSN)? I am a female, age 23. I work on a transplant surgery unit (get them pre and postop) at a teaching hospital, I've been working for 9 months now. I have my BSN.