If you could start all over, would you choose nursing again?

1. No

2. Too many to go in to

3. DD - 15 years

1) Would you choose nursing as a career if you could choose again?

In a heartbeat

2) Why or why not?

Nursing provides an income for my family, I like what I do even after the days I'm really annoyed with patient's or doctors. There is room for advancement, and someday when I'm finished with bedside nursing, there is another job available that I can do.

3) In which area of nursing do you work? How long have you been in that position?

I work in PCU neurosurgery, but I've been offered (and accepted) a job in the neurosurgery ICU. I have been here three years, and the difference between me as a new nurse and me now is night and day. I noticed a change in my attitude around the 2 year mark, and I became jaded, but still focused on the best outcomes for my patient.

1) Would you choose nursing as a career if you could choose again?

Yes

2) Why or why not?

I do enjoy nursing. My 2nd career. I did an accelerated 2nd degree program. My first career was research (biology). Before that mostly restaurants. I'd do it again, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it when I was younger.

There is a lot of room to grow and learn. Lots of skills to learn. Job opportunities (especially after you have some experience). I changed careers when my husband was looking for new jobs - we were in similar fields before but he has a PhD. We figured we should not be in the same field just in case the opportunities dried up. There are nursing opportunities almost everywhere.

3) In which area of nursing do you work? How long have you been in that position?

Medical-surgical, 6 years

Probably not. Of course what does a teenager know? I had no clue what nursing entailed. It has been a very interesting career, and rewarding, but I think I might have been happier in another career. I used to work nights, weekends, holidays. I had kids and it killed me to have to work on Christmas. I think I could have been a very good teacher. I have been nursing for 47 years, various fields.

1) maybe... the longer I'm on it, the more I enjoy it. If you asked this the first few years of my career, I would have said heck no.

2) stress and pay, basically. Nursing doesnt pay well if anything for experience so what I'm making now is it. The stress was worse in the beginning, now better with experience.

3) med surg and clinic, 7 and 5 years respectively. I'm finishing up graduate school so my direct patient care days may be numbered (full disclosure).

1) Would you choose nursing as a career if you could choose again?

Probably.

2) Why or why not?

I don't like the way hospitals manage nurses, and I have worked for multiple for profit and non-profit systems. In my opinion nurses are viewed by the majority of systems as a number on a cost flow sheet more than a person to who provides care for patients. I think the hospitals treat all clinicians this way including doctors, pharmacists, therapists, et cetera.

I like providing acute care to sick patients. I don't think that the future of medicine will see any increase or maintain the current level of physician pay, and all of the debt and time involved with medical school make it not worth it to me. I sometimes miss being in fire, but EMS doesn't have the same level of clinical education or scope and unless you get on a large department the pay is awful. I like that there are so many different environments I can work in as a nurse, if I get board or disabled there is a good chance I can always find a job that will be feasible.

I think pharmacy could have been interesting, but I like being hands on with patients too much. I also like the idea of mechanical or biomedical engineering but I think I would personally lack a feeling of fulfillment.

3) In which area of nursing do you work? How long have you been in that position?

Adult and Pediatric ED, I have worked in Fire/EMS or EDs for over a decade (though not always as a nurse).

NO!

Lateral bullying, horrible Co-workers, lack of team mentality, workplace cliques and subsequent immature behavior, understaffing and too many sick calls. I could go on.

Intermediate care/transplant/cardio/ thoracic/PV surg for 12 long years

NO!

Lateral bullying, horrible Co-workers, lack of team mentality, workplace cliques and subsequent immature behavior, understaffing and too many sick calls. I could go on.

Intermediate care/transplant/cardio/ thoracic/PV surg for 12 long years

^^^ and add toxic coworkers, passive-aggressive co-workers, and surly, sarcastic and nasty physicians-I've encountered many!! Without hesitation, an emphatic NO for me-CVOR and General Surgery 23 years (give or take), RN 25 &1/2 years.

1) Would you choose nursing as a career if you could choose again?

2) Why or why not?

3) In which area of nursing do you work? How long have you been in that position?

1) Probably not.

2) I do really love what I do now, but over the past 7 years I have realized I am not a passion nurse, which kinda bums me out.

3) I work in an elementary school presently, but have worked with kids exclusively for the past 5 years, in a lot of different settings. I've been a nurse for 7.

1) Would you choose nursing as a career if you could choose again?

Yes, 100%.

2) Why or why not?

It offers an immediate job with an excellent starting salary right out of school. There will always be jobs to be had and a stable income, the job security is really valuable. It's a profession that I am proud to say I am a part of when people ask what I do. I ultimately love what I do even if most days are filled with frustrations, I literally can not imagine a job where I go sit in an office and the days drag. I also can't imagine a job that doesn't involve seeing insanely interesting medical cases and miracles. The rewards of doing what I do are so profound and the work is challenging in the best way. At this point in time, bedside nursing in the area I practice lights my fire.

Beyond those things, the flexibility and scheduling is something I would never trade. I realize that other people feel very differently but I seriously can not imagine having to work 9-5 M-F and every single time I want to go into my daughter's school, or schedule a Dr appt, or have any sort of day time responsibility needing to take time off of work. I sit down with my personal schedule and fill in work shifts where they are convenient to me. What other job really offers that? I have so much free time to do what I want when I want, including travel (i.e. scheduling Sun/Mon/Tues and then having 8 days off and scheduling the following week Thurs/Fri/Sat). In no other profession can you have 8 days off and take a full week-long vacation without taking a single hour of PTO. Working full time night shift, I am home with my children every single day after school to help them with their homework, get them off the bus, etc. I leave 3 nights a week and am gone mostly just while they sleep, and then I sleep during the day while they are at school. Holidays can be tough, but I only work half and the other half we just work around my schedule. I schedule myself for weekends when we have nothing going on. I don't think I'll ever truly get why people hate the nursing schedule! I absolutely love not being tied down to a strict 40 hr schedule and it is one of the big reasons I went into nursing.

3) In which area of nursing do you work? How long have you been in that position?

I have been a NICU nurse for two years.