I hope this serves as motivation for nursing students and pre-nursing students. A little background about me. I'm a Paramedic. During Medic school I worked in a busy Chicago ED as a tech. I'm obtaining my BS in nursing. I will become a flight medic and flight RN in the future.
Nursing isn't any easy field. Long hours, fatigue, stress, rude patients and rude co-workers. If you're looking for constant praise from patients, this isn't the field for you. If you feel that you are more of a servant, this field isn't for you. If you are planning to make lots of money, this field isn't for you.
This field will challenge and test you everyday. If you think the learning process stops or gets easier once school is done, it doesn't. You will be always tested and challenged. Never stop learning. Embrace that. Knowledge will help your patients.
Laziness and complacency is the enemy. If you are trained to do it, DO IT. CNAs and Techs will help you when you need it. They are not there to help you when you are too lazy to do it. They work just as hard as you do and they get less pay. Don't complain or whine about petty things. Everyone has rough days and plenty of people push past it.
If your co-workers are rude and talk smack about you, don't put up with that. Call them out on it. Most of them will shut up after that. If you have a rude patient just remember that's just the way some people are. You still have to do your job and give 100%.
If you are nice and pleasant with patients, they will be nice and say thank you. However, don't be upset when they don't say thank you. Why do you need to be praised when THOUSANDS of RNs around the world do the same job? What makes you so special?
Cleaning a patient is part of the job. So is getting them something to eat. So is changing the bed. It's the little things that matter to the patient. Some people require more attention than others. So what? How hard is it to get a patient water or a blanket or adjust the pillow? Get the attitude of "They are demanding" out of your head. If you are always complaining about patients, you need to do an attitude check.
Talk to your patients. Find out what hobbies they have, what they do for a living. You will meet some of the most interesting people if you just talk to them.
I LOVE the feeling of being tired at the end of a shift and so should you. It means you worked hard and accomplished your goals. One way to combat fatigue is to exercise. Running before work helps. Train for endurance. I can't stress that enough. It will help you.
If you work for a hospital that treats its employees like crap, it's time to move on. Don't be afraid to move to a new hospital or another area of nursing. Sometimes it takes a long search to find a employer who you like.
I would suggest to current students and pre nursing students to become a tech to see what this field is like. If you don't like being a tech or a CNA, you probably won't like being an RN.
