MMA12345

I do have an interest in helping and treating patients with psychiatric disorders. I really enjoyed my psych rotation and speaking to the patients at an inpatient facility. I feel like I could have an impact on patients with psychiatric issues contrary to med-surg units where patients are there due to years of poor lifestyle habits and don't seem interested in changing their lives. My goal is to work as an RN for several years at a psychiatric unit and go back to school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Getting assaulted is something I do understand will probably happen so that's an issue I can look past. I will probably work for a while in psych and find out for myself if this is something I want to do for a career. Thanks everyone for your responses.

Hello I am a new graduate nurse who will be taking NCLEX soon. I entered nursing school because the career allowed me to help people, seemed to pay well, and looked as if I would be able to find a job eaisier than other careers. Now that I have been a CNA and have completed my clinical rotations I unfortunately have a pretty negative outlook on nursing. Poor staffing, poor treatment from families, patients, and other staff, and just the nature of the work on med/surg and telemetry floors just isn't my fit and I plan to never work on one. I have read through the thousands of posts of nurses in all branches of nursing and there is a common trend that RN's do not seem to be happy. This was evident in the staff from the units I worked and had clinicals on. There just seemed a level of unhappiness in many of the nurses. The only field of nursing that seems like it might fit me is psych. I don't like tubes, drains, and body fluids (I can deal with some but not constantly). My question is to psych nurses how does the stress level compare to medical floors? I understand there will be stress in all fields of nursing but I would like to have a some time to eat and take a bathroom break and not have to deal with being slapped, pooped, and peed on. What is the job satisfaction like for you as a psych nurse and do you like it better than working on med/surg? Any input from psych nurses will be appreciated. I don't mean to sound cynical but I am just frustrated that I might have to start over if I don't like nursing. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the additional advice everyone. I have decided after considering all the avenues I could take after graduating that I would like to do mental health. The clinical for mental health was interesting and enjoyed sitting with the patients and talking with them about their life situation and mental conditions. I am just not really enjoying med-surg and I don't think I will work on that type of floor when I graduate. I was looking into working for several years in mental health while getting my BSN and either going the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner route or getting into Informatics (thanks Balto for exposing me to that field). I have read that the Informatics field is hard to get into even with a degree but I will continue to research it. Thanks for all the advice everyone, I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will finish up school and continue to weigh my future options. Biomedical engineering was actually the field I was looking to get into. With so many unhappy nurses it seems and such a high turnover on the floors I have been on I am thinking that nursing is not for me. Nursing school was a great experience but the stress involved with the profession and the lack of respect nurses get from patients, families, physicians, and other nurses is really what makes me not want to practice. By just typing in google "how nurses feel about their jobs" you get thousands of posts from nurses from new-grads to veterans with 30 years experience saying how they hate their job and everything about it. I just don't see the same level of dissatisfaction with other careers when I research it. I know there are nurses that like their jobs but the proportion of those that don't is too high for me to ignore. Much respect though to all nurses it is a tough job that requires a big heart.

Hello, I am a 25 year old male who is in my last semester of nursing school to get my ADN. Nursing seemed like a great career to undertake when I got out of the military when I was 23 and had my sights set on doing something that helped others and my community. After doing clinical for the last year and a half and working as a Unit Tech on a surgical floor I have unfortunately come to the realization that nursing is something I don't have a passion for. I have done great and have received A's and B's in all my classes and have always had good remarks from my clinical instructors. At work I have patients tell me how thankful and caring I am but over the past several months of reading other posts on this site and the internet I am thinking of either dropping out or just grind out this last semester and going into engineering or computer science. I am a caring person but feel that nursing will burn me out quick. Anyone else in this same situation or has been? Should I just drop now and start an engineering degree or finish the ADN to use the degree for something else when i go back to school? I feel nursing is something is you have to want to do especially since peoples lives are at stake and its something I don't think I want anymore. Thanks for any input anyone has.