Starting to doubt nursing....

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Here is a short summary of my situation.

Currently I'm a third year student at Orange Coast College. In my first two years I wanted to become pharmacist then on the third year(this year) I decided that the career is not for me. I picked Computer Science at first and actually took one class and I do not like it at all. Afterward I've been looking into Nursing career ever since(6 months already). I don't want to let me parents down and I feel like the longer i stay in this school the more they disappointed in me.

Just today, I typed in "I hate nursing" in google just to check out the cons for this career and to my surprise there are so many that actually starting to worry me. I've already do many research and here are some of the cons I've found:

1. Underpaid + Overwork.

2. Really really really stressful career.

3. People don't give you respect (coworker + patients)

4. Screw up schedules (ruined your social life)

5. There are many more but it seems like my thread is getting long...

I have a few questions for Nurses.

1. DO you like/hate your job? why?

2. DO you recommend nursing career for students? why?

3. DO you regret going into nursing career??

4. Is it true that there are variety of nursing jobs in one hospital?? for example if you hate your area/floor you can pick a different one in the same hospital and have totally different experience??

Please please answer these questions from the bottom of your heart. I'm so depressed right now. Right now I just want to rip my B*lls out with my bare hands cuz I don't feel like I'm a man anymore. I don't know since when have I become this indecisive and so low in confidence.

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Easy answer:

No job is perfect. If you genuinely care for other people, then nursing is for you. Otherwise, choose something else.

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You need to think about your personality type. What is your inner drive or motive? Is not only about caring. If you get joy by helping others, you can respect others and have patience, have inner power to care…. Nursing school is not easy as well. You need to like those subjects in order to study them.

I do not work yet, I just got my license. I enjoyed the clinical experience while in the school. Some people go for nursing because they think of good money (in reality nurse work for every penny that she/he earned). They had hard time. I mean they hate to study, they hate clinical and even patients make them sick. But, I am sure it is not that they will be bad nurses. It’s just about to find right place to work.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

I have a few questions for Nurses.

1. DO you like/hate your job? why?

*** I like my job very much. I find it challenging and rewarding. I work in a large hospital ICU where I get to take care of the sickest of the sick. I get tons of respect from the physicians and patients I work with. I get to use my initiave and judgement. Last year I made over $83K working an average of 44 hours a week with an associates degree. I am male, late 30's and like so many men in nursing, as second career person.

2. DO you recommend nursing career for students? why?

*** Yes. The pay is good relitive to the amount iof education required. The field is vast and there is a huge variety of types of jobs available from being a flight nurse and scraping trauma patients off the street and doing everything short of major surgery to save them by yourself to case managment where you never have to toutch a patient. That's just for associates degree RNs. Those with BSNs can go one to several types of advanced roles and or managment.

3. DO you regret going into nursing career??

***Nope. Relitive to the other two careers I had (infantryman and dairy farmer) it's easy and fairly low stress.

4. Is it true that there are variety of nursing jobs in one hospital?? for example if you hate your area/floor you can pick a different one in the same hospital and have totally different experience??

*** Well yes and no. Prove yourself a good nurse and a team player and yes, certainly. Even though I am an SICU RN I often work in PICU, ER, oncology and MICU. I was offered a job on the flight crew just two weeks ago but turned it down (hate helicopters after my military experince). Any of the managers in those other units would be happy to offer me a job. They have told me so.

Please please answer these questions from the bottom of your heart. I'm so depressed right now. Right now I just want to rip my B*lls out with my bare hands cuz I don't feel like I'm a man anymore. I don't know since when have I become this indecisive and so low in confidence

*** Well only you know what is best for you. If you chose nursing take my advice, get into one of the specialties like ER, ICU (half of the RNs in the ICU where I work are men), PACU ect. Be willing to go where ever you have to get a job in one of those fields. Once you get a job be outstanding and the world will open up to you. Always strive for exelence in everything you do related to your job. Come to work looking sharp (I recomend Avaitor scrubs) learn everything you can as fast as you can. You should be studying all the time. Obtain certification (CCRN, CEN ect) as soon as you can. Have a good attitude and be willing to take the tough assingments, don't complain about your patient assingments or your schedual, not at first anyway. Be a team player alwasy ready to help your co-workers. If you can get a job at a hospital that offers a new grad residency program so you get trained properly from the start. Avoid long term care and skilled nursing jobs until after you have well established hospital skills.

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Maybe you can shadow a nurse to find out if nursing is what you really want to do. My friend just found out during her clinicals that she didnt want to be a nurse and withdrew from the program. So hopefully you can find out before then. Good luck.

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

. DO you like/hate your job? why?

I enjoy my job. I enjoy taking care of people and making them better, solving issues, caring for them at the end of life, post surgery, and educating them about why we are doing the things we do. I work ortho/neuro/detox/medical, so I see a wide varity of cases. It's very rewarding to sit down with people and help them work through a crisis.

2. DO you recommend nursing career for students? why?

I believe that the education is a very well rounded one. you have to have science, math, psychology, and nursing education to deal and work with patients. the pay is ok, compared to some other jobs out there. Minimum wage here in IL is 8/hr, and being a CNA I made 11/hr which was still tough to pay the bills. it's not the most glamourous field but it's a living.

3. DO you regret going into nursing career??

I do not, although somedays really try your patience and skills. When you have a really tough assignment, you cannot just give up. some nights are loooonnnggg. but everything gets done eventually.

4. Is it true that there are variety of nursing jobs in one hospital?? for example if you hate your area/floor you can pick a different one in the same hospital and have totally different experience??

depends. some people do well with the rush of ER, some like clinic nursing, some prefer not horribly acute patients, some love ICU. you can pay attention during nursing school and figure out what you like/don't like. but as a male, scratch ob off your list. very few places will hire men for that area.

Use the boards, search for pros of nursing. every job has some stress, but the rewards outweigh the stress.

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1. DO you like/hate your job? why?

Yes, I really enjoy taking care of people and helping people.

2. DO you recommend nursing career for students? why?

i recommend people do what they love whatever that is.

3. DO you regret going into nursing career??

Just the opposite, I am so glad I found nursing.

4. Is it true that there are variety of nursing jobs in one hospital?? for example if you hate your area/floor you can pick a different one in the same hospital and have totally different experience??

Yes, but sometimes the it's the entire hospital that sucks.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

have a few questions for Nurses.

1. DO you like/hate your job? why?

Yes. I enjoy patient care, teaching, helping to heal.

2. DO you recommend nursing career for students? why?

Yes and no. I recommend nursing to students who can handle stress well, who know what they are getting into, and like people when they are at their worst. In the coming years, it's going to stay an in-demand field, with a nice middle income pay. However, if someone is only looking for a job to pay the bills, I'd recommend accounting or another field. One has to have some semblence of compassion for others to be a good nurse and to stick with it.

3. DO you regret going into nursing career??

No.

4. Is it true that there are variety of nursing jobs in one hospital?? for example if you hate your area/floor you can pick a different one in the same hospital and have totally different experience??

I've worked 18 years in the same hospital and enjoy the benefits of a maxed out salary, plenty of vacation and other perks of seniority. I work in a large enough facility where I've worked med-surg, trauma, neuro, telemetry and am current in admit-transfer center. I don't like my current desk job and am going back to patient care in January to work orthopedics. I like the wide variety of opportunities available.

Make no mistake about it, nursing is a tough demanding field and nursing school is quite tough as well. There are lots of aggravations and frustrations...just read this forum and you'll see.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Private duty homecare.

I think the before-mentioned suggestion that you shadow a nurse is an excellent one, not sure who would allow that though. However, it may be the best way for you to get a feel if this career is right for you. I recently did a clinical rotation as part of a refresher and what made me so sad is that the nurse assisstants that were working there had taken that job because they were planning on going into nursing, and every one of them had changed their mind. To them, it just seemed like 12 hours of non-stop high octane stress with overwhelming responsibility. Their observation of what med-surg nursing was really like made them not want to be an RN. You really need to love providing care for those in need; you need to be smart, very organized with an excellent memory, full of energy and have a positive attitude as it pertains to really giving of yourself to others; otherwise, it may not be right for you. By the way, I love my job; but I work as a private duty nurse, not in a hospital. I do recommend nursing with no regrets about my career choice. I do believe that there are a variety of jobs in the hospital, but you never know where you are going to end up and what those job availabilities will be to you; I would only go into nursing if I would be happy to work on any floor, not count on one or two areas. Also, try not to make any decisions based on whether or not you feel you are letting your parents down; this is your career and your life and to important of a decision; they will (should) love you unconditionally. Do some soul searching and good luck to you..........

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