Published
I'm a pre-health student and I will be able to apply for nursing school at the end of the summer. I started out pre-med and have since then heavily considered all my options.. please note I'm a freshman!
I have spent a lot of time on this website and another rather well known 'medicine' forum.. I don't want to call any names out.
Cliche.. but I am attracted to helping people. I understand med and nursing are two different beasts, but I am still a freshman trying to grasp as much knowledge as I can!
Here goes it:
Those of you that know the 'forum' I speak off.. the premeds seem to be so concerned with their premed status, gpa, mcat, and .. er money.. that it really bothers me!
Here we talk about our experiences, our 'vocational callings' to the nursing profession.
On allnurses, I see more 'happy' people than on 'that' forum.
It just kind of further validates the fact that I think nursing is more where I belong. I am just kind of bothered by the lack of "why I want to be doctor" "i cant wait to treat my patients".. like we have here for nursing.
Am I just being silly? I think there is a correlation between today's premeds/med students and their dissatisfaction and a correlation between the nursing students/prenurses and our happiness.
Just tell me if you know what I mean..
[i spend my "study breaks" being an internet goof]
I'm in the profession of nursing because I was called into it as a child. I currently don't make any money as a nurse yet I love nursing still and do what I can to enrich nursing in the country I now live in. As a former nursing educator -yes, one of those banes to the existence of nursing students :)- I cringed when I had students say they were going into the profession for the money. Money, after a while, loses its luster (I know of what I speak), and when it's all said & done didn't add any true value. I don't want a nurse caring for me whose only motivation is the $$. I want a nurse caring for me who is motivated by a calling, a concern, a compassion, and a passion to help those who are least able at that moment in time to help themselves. I want someone to care for my dying husband who is there because she/he cares about the life of that man and his family, not someone who just sees the time spent with him as money in her/his pocket. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox for now.
Anyway, back on topic, I do read for humor the other forum for premeds. Yes, it is very different there. The maturity level is way lower, and if you expose any sensitivity or emotion, you get mocked and insulted. It is a different culture. You had better not express self-doubt there.
That is too bad. Because they should show support for one another. But trust me, their arrogance is short lived. I work at a teaching hospital and I find the med students very respectful. They still have that "eyes caught in the headlight" look and really don't know much. The other night, a resident asked his med student what the pt's CVP was and he replied "325" (which was displayed on the monitor). LOL. The cockstop was off d/t the maintenance running through it.
Some of us WERE aware of the $$ situation but entered the field anyway. Can't put a $ sign on a heartfelt thank you or a hug from a patient/resident. Think that is a big difference between the docs and us...we're in the trenches with our people and those thank yous keep most of us coming back. And the paycheck I DO get pays my bills. That's all that matters.
I've worked w/nurse/docs who are in it for the money. I have noticed the difference between them & those who are in it because of a calling or a desire to truly help. No, it does not make them inferior. However, I would rather have someone care for me who truly cares instead of seeing $$ when they see me. As to being happy after spending 12 years in school only to be able just make ends meet , I can tell you from personal experience that yes, it is highly possible.
lagniappe means a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase, such as a 13th beignet when buying a dozen
lagniappe & beignets?!
greetings from new orleans!
I used to live in NOLA. I thought everyone knew what lagniappe meant.
I guess you learn something new everyday, meaning myself.
Hello to all you New Orleans nurses out there.
Ok, sorry to but in just had to say it. In regards to the OP's question. I think the mentality is different for docs vs nurses. I find docs analytical and distant and nurses are hands on/personable. All this shows while in school too. Both have their need in medicine so I find it is about personality when choosing between the two. Granted this is generalizing but overall that is what I see. It is hard for me to put into words but I think the previous posts seem to explain it best.
I think the mentality is different for docs vs nurses. I find docs analytical and distant and nurses are hands on/personable. All this shows while in school too. Both have their need in medicine so I find it is about personality when choosing between the two. Granted this is generalizing but overall that is what I see.
I was at the nurse's station not too long ago and one of the nurses cracked a joke. The neurologist nearby was deadpan. She asked the doctor if he had a sense of humor. He replied that he had an excellent sense of humor and loved to joke, but he doesn't show it at work. "I have to be serious here and I try not to laugh, joke or smile."
Perhaps it's not personality, rather how a nurse/doctor is expected to act?
elkpark
14,633 Posts
I wasn't being "huffy," I was being sardonic ...
I've been in and out of nursing education for a number of years, and, in recent years especially, there are plenty of people I've seen that I wish v. much weren't pursuing nursing ... People for whom the main (apparently, only) attraction of nursing is that it will provide the highest income for the least amount of formal education.