Published
i am graduating in may after waiting years to become a nurse. i have always, since the tender age of about 9, wanted to be a nurse.
i simply cannot express how much it :angryfire burns my hide :angryfire that everyone and their mother wants to be a nurse now. what's with the sudden enthusiasm and interest in nursing??? particularly in ca, in seems that everyone is telling me that they are doing pre-req's for nursing. ***?? my friend (also graduating with me in may) pointed out that it seems more and more men are coming into nursing. now, maybe she and i will get raked over the coals for this one, but before the $$ spike for nursing pay, men would be laughed at (a la ben stiller in meet the parents) for being a nurse.
i just find it so frustrating that everyone wants to be a nurse now, especially since nursing has become quite the lucrative career. what happened to wanting to be a nurse because you (*gasp*) care about people and like (*gasp #2*) helping others???????
this is all boiling over with me because i see quite a few of my classmates that clearly are in this for the money. i, personally, would rather die than be their patients - that's how greedy, selfish, money-hungry some of my lovely classmates are.
sorry - i just have to vent.
**please note: i absolutely do not mean that men should not be in nursing - i think it's great. i am generally frustrated at seemingly everyone (both men and women) being interested in nursing, now that it pays so well (esp. in ca). please do not accuse me of being sexist**.
Obviously you misinterpreted some of the peoples posts in which they stated that their not going for money....what we meant was that MONEY wasnt the main reasoh why we choose nursing,is this such a bad thing that you find it so offensive?
No, personally the offensive part was the implication that if I don't have a specific emotional response to the work then that makes me somehow "unworthy".
What I feel about what I do is different than whether I do that job well.
I have cared for some pts who were a blot on the face of the universe and did it well. The fact that I didn't think they deserved much compassion had no bearing on whether I did my job. It's the difference between an amateur and a pro.
I'm happy for those who feel a calling to do this work ... I just worry about what will happen when a pt does not respond with appropriate gratitude and compliance ... or doesn't happen to be willing to accept such "caring" ... in short when the unexamined expectations are violated.
There are many good and honorable reasons to want to do nursing for a living. The implication that one reason is morally superior than another is what offends many of us.
I have cared for some pts who were a blot on the face of the universe and did it well. The fact that I didn't think they deserved much compassion had no bearing on whether I did my job. It's the difference between an amateur and a pro.I'm happy for those who feel a calling to do this work ... I just worry about what will happen when a pt does not respond with appropriate gratitude and compliance ... or doesn't happen to be willing to accept such "caring" ... in short when the unexamined expectations are violated.
There are some very unlovable patients that do their best to demean, demand and demoralize nurses...and with NO appreciation of your hard work and compassion and calling and all that other stuff. Personally, I think being able to give those patients competent professional care says a LOT about the character of their nurse, regardless of "why" she/he went into nursing. I actually think those nurses that don't claim to be "called" are better able to handle the unlovable because they're not emotionally vested.
Okay - everyone! Let's please debate the topic, not the posters. I too want this thread to remain open but lets face it - after 12 pages either you are for or against nursing being a "calling."Let's get some new opinions - think outside the box.
My ideas arent fresh and outside the box?
Two parts ego, three parts lost/frustrated heavy metal band drummer, one part displaced lifer entry level labor worker spiced with a dash of childishness and a pinch of paranoid schitzophrenic.
How far out the box can I get?
Jeez.
In fact, I think my responses are better, cause I'm not here just for money see. I've had a calling to be a message board.........uh.......superstar. So, anyone who is here just for the money, you wont make it as long as I have cause it will show, people will see through you.
<_>
>_> oh wait, we dont get paid for this.
Nevermind.
My ideas arent fresh and outside the box?
Two parts ego, three parts lost/frustrated heavy metal band drummer, one part displaced lifer entry level labor worker spiced with a dash of childishness and a pinch of paranoid schitzophrenic.
How far out the box can I get?
Jeez.
In fact, I think my responses are better, cause I'm not here just for money see. I've had a calling to be a message board.........uh.......superstar. So, anyone who is here just for the money, you wont make it as long as I have cause it will show, people will see through you.
<_>
>_> oh wait, we dont get paid for this.
Nevermind.
:lol:
Yeah, we don't get paid for this....we PAY for this. Now *that's* outside the box.
queenjean
951 Posts
@ anxiouslywaiting: It seems, from subsequent posts, that you realized you could have posted your opinion in a more tactful manner. Lesson learned. While I completely disagreed with you, I think it is admirable that you admitted that your wording could have been different, and that you didn't initially really convey what you intended. These discussion forums can be a bunch of people talking *at* each other, or a bunch of people talking *with* each other, and I think that, even though you got a little excited, you still kept it in the talking *with* others, and that's cool.
@nursing student 19: Wow. Just, wow. No one was malicious and nasty, except maybe you. Let's recap, shall we? OP makes broad generalization. Several people call her on it. OP recants a bit, states it's a couple of nasty little nursing students. Several people make note that:
1) you *can* be in it for the money and still be a great nurse
2) No one just wakes up, easily takes classes, and becomes a nurse--there are lots of prereqs, there's the actual getting through nursing school thing, there's that little thing called the NCLEX, and then there's actually being successful at the job. and
3) People who are mean and spiteful do not make it long (if at all) in this profession.
At this point you come in, guns blazing, spiting fire left and right, at what? Not sure. It's a discussion forum. Wake up. Grow up. Figure out how to express yourself without having a stroke and be okay with disagreeing. Learn how to remain respectful in your discourse. And for crying out loud, if you want to be respected on an adult, professional discussion board, for the love of god do not start seriously repeating elementary school playground chants in your posts.
Stick around; you'll learn and grow alot, and once you take a couple of deep breaths, I'm sure you'll continue to have plenty to contribute. Just stay calm, please.