Tell me there is something good about nursing and that you do enjoy your job

Nurses General Nursing

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To all of the experienced and new nurses:

I am currently waiting to find out whether or not I am accepted into a BSN program. I have always wanted to go into the medical field and I have been busting my tail the last 2 years working full-time and getting my pre-reqs for nursing school (I have another undergrad degree).

I know that just like in any career, there will always be people who love and hate their jobs. However, I constantly hear and read so much about how doctors mistreat nurses, how other people treat you like dirt sometimes, how hospital administration and management won't go to bat for the nurses, long hours with a lunch break if you are lucky, working holidays/nights/weekeds, etc, etc. All I hear about is the bad aspects of nursing. I desperately want to be a nurse and I am so excited about beginnning my journey to become a nurse, but before I invest the next 2 years of my life and a ton of money into putting myself through nursing school, tell me it is worth it. Please tell me if you do enjoy your nursing career, if you would do it all over again, and if people really treat you that bad and if the circumstances are as bad as people make it out to be. If you've read the book, "Nursing Against the Odds," by Susan Gordon, is this really how it is? Are there any nurses who love the jobs? Can you work at a hospital and actually like it?

I am really looking forward to a career in nursing, but I don't want to unknowingly be investing my time and energy in a career where it is expected for people to constantly treat me like crap. Please tell me how it really is.

Thanks so much for all of your help and information. I just need some positive reinforcement that there are some nurses who actually like what they do.

Sincerely,

Hopefulnurse123

Specializes in Trauma ICU,ER,ACLS/BLS instructor.

Have you been reading my mail? My thoughts entirely ;-)

lol,,,ya think?

Specializes in Brain injury,vent,peds ,geriatrics,home.

OMG! I absolutely LOVE my job!!! I work on a campuslike setting with children with behavoiral issues.I Love the flexibility,autonomy.I have done my med passes in the garden,at the pool,gym,why just the other day.I went to zoo with the kids and passed my medications there!Basically I am responsible for all the Med passes,minor illnesses and injuries.And administer first aid to them as needed.My supervisor is an RN BSN.She pretty much has the same duties plus the administration part.Yes there are people who love thier job!!!!That is why I went into nursing.Good luck!

Specializes in medicine floor.. surg-step-.moving to ED.

Love it/ hate it= both.

There are some days that the work is way too much for one person. Weekends suck because you miss out on family things, same with the holidays. The expectation of the RN at the bedside in a hospital setting is very high. Too much paperwork, doctors think about their patient and only their patient, they do not want to hear that you are busy and you have five other patients. At my facility they are trying to force everyone into 12 hour shifts. These shifts can be very hard as you get older and even if you have kids. At times I am forced to work three in a row and my back and knees ache for two days after.

But ....there are moments in time that make it all worthwhile. My advice is to work as an aid but pay attention to what the nurses are doing.

Specializes in ER, Psych.

I am a new nurse but the first unit I went to work on wasn't for me and I was miserable. Now I work at a place that is just my speed and I LOVE IT!!! Nursing can be stressful but rewarding you just have to find your place.

Specializes in medicine floor.. surg-step-.moving to ED.

Hey Funny Girl,

What do you do and how is the new job better?

Is it a different hospital?

Specializes in Psych, Informatics, Biostatistics.

I like it and have been at it off and on since 1984. I like the 3 12s, but also love my staff and patients. I work psych; the other night at 5 am I opened my break door to find 2 of my patients waving at me. Needless to say, I closed the door. At present we have a trans gender unit; it can be a scene from right outa the Bird Cage.

I don't plan on staying in this forever. Planning on becoming a librarian next year. But, for now I also like the fact there is a shortage so there is job security.

Specializes in ER, Psych.

Billsnurse,

I started out right after graduation in an ER for 7 months. At first like (2months) it was exciting and new but then I was just miserable. I then transfered to Psych (same hospital system but different building). I am sooo much happier now. I wondered for awhile what I had gotten my self into with nursing because I couldn't think of any area that I liked. Eventually I found Psych nursing and I feel like I am good at it, and I feel content. I love my job now. I hope that answers your question!

Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

I LOVED "Nursing Against the Odds" (see username ;)), it was a great foundation for how I view nursing and the challenges of nursing. It helped me greatly to understand the system which is at work which creates my everyday challenges, and helps me to focus on that rather than directing that energy at my co-workers (which is often what is done). I have to say though, it dawned on me a couple months into my nursing career that while Suzanne Gordon is an amazing, intelligent, wonderfully articulate voice for our profession - she's still not a nurse, and some of what I have (re)read in NAO makes it clear that while she is a great advocate, it seems there's a lot she just can't understand.

Aaaaanyway. That's what you get for mentioning Suzanne Gordon. ;)

HEY, I like my job - sorta. I'm good at it, and I find it very satisfying, and I LOVE being constantly engaged in a learning process like this one. Awesome. That said (and for all my swearing prior to starting my job that I wouldn't abandon med-surg like everybody else does after they lose their training wheels) - I am completely planning on finding a new position after I lose my training wheels (aka after a year or a little more). I wish it weren't the case, but it is.

That said, I still like my job. However, I am much more likely to discuss the negatives than the positives - it's a coping mechanism. Positive experiences I cherish, and look back on with great pride. The negative stuff, though - often you really just need to get it out of your system. You will hear a lot of negative being thrown around, but you don't have to take it to heart.

Furthermore, the more experience I get the more I learn - it's all about perspective. I work with a stunning baby nurse like myself, except she can be staying 2.5 hours over her shift with no end in sight, and she's still bopping around the floor just as happy as can be. I really admire her spirit and her stamina, and I choose people like her to be my role models.

If caring about people and healing and helping is not enough, then let me tell you about nursing. You can go anywhere and do anything!!!!! Want to have fun? Then be a travel nurse, see the world. Want to help the world, then go for the gold, help the poor and forgotten. What to be a power person? Then go for the max, you too can change the world by being an important part of medical dicisions taking place now. As a nurse you can do as little as feed someone needy or as powerful as to make new laws for healthcare. Now that is what a Nurse can do.

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