swedishchick

Thanks everyone for sharing some of your experiences. Some of the advice given was very good. I appreciate the encouragement because I really do feel that nursing is what I am meant to do. I am just going to go where my heart leads me and take it from there. :) It is really nice to hear from some nurses that like their job and find it fufilling. Ultimately isn't that what we all long for as humans? To make some difference in the world! So all of you nurses who are like the ones I have encountered in my sick days in the hospital who made me feel so at ease with caring eyes and gentle eyes keep up the good work! I hope to join your profession soon.

Hey guys I am new to this online community as well as the world of nursing. I am a college student who is studying to be a nursing student. Up until now I have never questioned my decision to study to be a nurse. I am getting ready to transfer from my current school to a very prestigious medical school that I have dreamed about for quite some time. The only problem lies in a book I read that voiced concern about the corruption of medical care in modern times. This book left me with some disconcerting feelings. Then I looked on this site and saw a lot of people that hated being a nurse and also a lot of accounts of the headaches and politics. *Sigh* I saw nurses that praised their job as well and I have talked to a lot of nurses in person who say they love their job. I guess all jobs have their pros in cons. It is just that I want to know if I the cons of nursing are something I am willing to accept. I have had a very Pollyanish ideal of being a nurse up until now. I want to be a nurse because I want to help people more than anything. I have always been told that I am good with people. I love talking to people and helping people. When I was very sick in the hospital their were these nurses who were so sweet to me and so compassionate. I asked them how they liked their job and they told me they loved it more than anything and I thought to myself that was what I truly wanted to do. However, now that I see more of the reality of it I don't know if it is something that would make me happy. Do nurses get really desensitized? I would imagine that it would be hard having to see things like a guy a who beat up his girlfriend holding her hand as she lay in the hospital bed. I have heard that in hospitals a lot of times at the hospital crack babies will be abandoned at the hospital and when they cry they scream the most horrible screams ever heard from most infants. I suppose these are cases that nurses usually do not see every day. I imagine that nursing is not for the faint of heart. I know I could deal with seeing horrible things, I am a strong person but I could not promise that I would not be depressed. My problem is that I usually want to do much more for hurt people than is in my power to do for them and I have a feeling it would break my heart. Maybe I am too empathetic, but isn't that what is needed? However, I do tend to be very capable and clear thinking when their is crisis around. Another concern is what I have heard about coworkers and patients being very rude to nurses. I am a person who is very intolerable to any type of rudeness I am the kind of person who always refuses to reply to any request that was not presented in a polite manner. I simply cannot stand an environment where people are rude and I feel underappreciated. I know this from experience. Blood and bodily fluids and things like that do not bother me however the thought of giving someone a shot makes me a little nervous for some reason. Science and the human body fascinate me as well as the prospect of improving people's health. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to go any further with my studies of nursing without understanding what I am getting myself into. Can anyone who is an RN tell me about their experiences and how they feel about their job. Also from a professional standpoint and from what I have described about myself do I seem to be a person who is suited to be an RN? Thanks for any input.