Teebtong

If being a nurse is ruining your life then don't be a nurse. However, it sounds to me like the reasons you gave were more telling of why YOU don't like nursing, not why nursing as a profession is flawed. First off, a lot of the things you're mentioning would be true of any profession. It's not like nurses are the only people who need to remember a lot of stuff and have coworkers that talk to them in a condescending manner; I worked at a software company and felt the same way. First off, if a physician speaks to you in a manner that you don't appreciate, lodge a complaint. "Physician" and "Nurse Manager" are not the same position and you know that. Don't put up with it and it won't continue to happen. Just settle it in a manner appropriate for the situation, i.e. don't start chewing him/her out in a hallway. Go through HR if it gets bad enough. If that seems like too much, then you can always use the same tactic the rest of the working world does: ignore them. Second, about not catching everything: How many people can learn a foreign language fluently w/o ever practicing speaking. The answer is none. You'll make some mistakes, someone will correct you and you'll learn from them. It's as simple as that. Don't preoccupy yourself with being perfect without ever having put in the work to become perfect; being good at your job is something you learn how to do, not something that just happens. Furthermore, how many jobs can you just walk into without any experience and never make a mistake? Again, the answer is none. My point is that your complaints about your job are complaints everyone makes about their jobs when they first start regardless of what profession it is. But if you honestly think that you could be an accountant or something and never have a coworker/manager that talks to you in a way that annoys you or that you're never going to forget to write something down or include it, then by all means, do it. But I have a feeling that until you get your emotion issues taken care of that your unhappiness is going to follow you, nurse or otherwise. As other posters have mentioned, I think that you should consult a mental health provider about your ADHD. I dealt with depression and I know that emotional issues will follow you without treating them. Oh, and guess what, for every physician that's an as* to nurses there is another that's just as big of an as* to other physicians. Everyone has someone that thinks they're better than they are.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what's EAP?

Ok thanks! I was just unsure as to how one went about getting their first job in nursing. On a different note, I'm glad this forum is here; I'm much less worried about starting out in nursing knowing this is here. Thanks again!

Hello all, My name's Steve and this is my first post (nice to be here!) I'm thinking about switching careers to nursing, but before I do, I have done A LOT of research (what degrees, specialities, etc). I don't want to make the same mistake again (jumping right into something only to realize that there are about 5 jobs in the country for that). One thing that I haven't heard much about is how do you go about getting that first job right after you finish your degree. Could anyone help me out with that? I want to make sure I'm not just wasting money on getting a nursing degree and then not be able to find a job. So, for sake of example, say I'm going to graduate at the end of the next semester. What should I do? Who should I talk to/where should I submit resumes? Healthcare staffing agencies? Directly to hospitals? If someone could give me a step-by-step account of what they did so that I might know what to expect I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks everyone and I look forward to hearing back soon!