The positive side of nursing...PLEASE!!!

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi everybody. This is my first day on this site and I've read a lot of interesting threads. I'm sad to say that I am SO discouraged right now! I've worked in a healthcare setting for 11 years and I know a lot of nurses. I know that nursing is a grueling job and that there are a lot of negative things about it, especially with the healthcare industry being affected so negatively by the economy. I've always wanted to be a nurse. Two children, one divorce and one remarriage later...I've been accepted into an ADN program, due to start this Fall. It took me over TEN years to get all of my prerequisite and supportive classes done and I'm finally in with a 3.6 GPA. I'm old enough to not have that wide-eyed, naive outlook on nursing, but would LOVE to hear some of the positive aspects of nursing from some of the RN's on this side. I implore you to share some of the "up" sides of your jobs...please! :lol2:

Specializes in NICU.

They scare me too, but I walk to a lot of people in real life who are nurses, and that help. Yeah, nursing isn't all rainbows and unicorns pooping out butterflies (love that imagery), but there are good things to it and many people do find their niche. You just won't necessarily read about it, because AllNurses is often people's safe place to vent after a long hard day/week/year.

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Specializes in PICU/NICU/ER.

Glad I'm not the only one a bit freaked out! I'm still going for it, staying optimistic and staying realistic. I understand this is also a venue to vent, and people deserve to do that for sure...in any job!

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Yeah, nursing isn't all rainbows and unicorns pooping out butterflies (love that imagery).

I like to picture nursing as a taco sometimes crapping out ice cream (South Park reference) and the other times crapping out, well crap.

Here's one more positive: You essentially get to wear jammies to work. That's what scrubs are.

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If you don't like your job, there are LOTS of other choices. Nursing is so varied, med-surg, L&D, LTC, clinics, home health, schools, military, teaching, administration, legal or insurance companies, flight nursing, research. Surely there is some kind of nursing for every personality.

Nurses complain about their pay, but I make more per hour than at least 80% of my friends and relatives.

There are good and bad things about every job. Just focus on the good things.

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Specializes in CVICU, Obs/Gyn, Derm, NICU.

-Travel is the best .... not many jobs offer the opportunity of working in other countries. Nursing does this. Just needs a little planning ahead to sort out licenses. However if you use an agent they do a lot of the stuff for you

-Flexibility and 12 hr shifts....I work 3 shifts a week and travel off-peak. This is much better than doing the daily grind; in the traffic, 5 days a week. No parking fee on night shift.

- Good people.... despite all the talk about bullies there are a lot of very good people in healthcare. Good decent people.

- Scrubs and shoes. Can be comfortable at work. And it doesn't cost a lot for work clothes.

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Specializes in PICU/NICU/ER.

You guys rock! Thanks for re-inspiring me to remember to focus on the positive. Nursing school is going to be hard enough to get bogged down on the "what-ifs". I've already resigned from a good, high-paying job to go to school and be the best that I can be and learn as much as possible. I also did this so that I would have time to intern and volunterr and learn, learn, learn!! I'm still very excited! :D

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Here's one more positive: You essentially get to wear jammies to work. That's what scrubs are.

:yeah: Well, that's a HUGE positive, in my mind!!!!:)

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OP, you remind me of myself (except no ex-husband LOL)! Yes, I left a very high paying career for nursing. I remember surfing these boards and seeing nothing but negative thread after another. I remember the fear I had of leaving my stable job I had been at over 14 years to take a leap into the unknown (nursing school).

But I'm so glad I did!

And on MOST days, I do love my job. I went into nursing for the flexible shifts and hours (I only work Sat and Sun nights, get paid for 3, with full bennies). I went into nursing to be fulfilled and knowing I'm making a difference in somoene's life. And oh yeah, the pay!

Well, I started off working in the ICU straight out of nursing school, then transferred to the ER one week before my orientation was up in ICU. I had this patient in the ICU that was there for ETOH abuse, respitatory failure, liver diesase, GI bleed, and the list goes on. She was so out of control, after being sedated with Fent and Versed drips, she was very combative. Not only was she on the vent with sedation, she was in 4 point restraints. At one point, she almost pulled out her ET tube while being in restraints while my back was turned. Good thing I turned around just in time.

Well, she was bleeding out somewhere, glowing like a lightening bug, and her organs were starting to fail. The docs called a family meeting and the husband decided to make her a DNR/DNI. That patient spent her 50 birthday in the ICU totally out of it and her family brought up cake and icecream and ballons for the staff.

Well, I was off the next 3 days. When I came back, they said the patient made a good turnaround. I finally left the ICU and was working in the ER. Months later, I was helping a patient in the ER and here comes my patient from the ICU and her husband walking into the room next to my pt's room. The pt looked at me and said "you look like the nurse I had in the ICU". I said her name and she said "yes it's me". And all I did was run up to her and gave her a big hug. She looked so good! She had tears in her eyes and told me "thank you for saving my life". I had tears in my eyes. Alot of my co-workers witnessed this in the ER. They were amazed. I felt really good that day.

It's days like this that makes it all worth it.

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Specializes in cardiac.

Sounds like you are in need of taking a vacation. Take at least a week.......it helps alot.

While I am currently a little burnt out from my own doing since I work full time (32 hour/week) at a hospital and then have part time jobs in the cath lab and doing research, I wouldn't stop nursing. At what other job will someone tell you that the time that you spent taking care of them has helped them at the worst time of their life? And we really do see people at the worst times in the lives, so some really don't cope well. You can't take it personally. Much better is to remember to laugh.

Recently, I took care of a pt. with dementia that came from a nursing home with a uti and frequent falls. I was precepting a 2nd year nursing student and had him get vitals while I used old records to do the admission history in the room. The student was attempting to figure out if the pt. was alert and oriented and asked "Do you know where you're at?" The pt. responded "Of course, I'm above the fruit!" And he was right, he wasn't a vegetable. lol

Chin up, next week a pt. will either make you laugh or tell you that you made their hospitalization better. Of course, the week after that will be hell.

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Specializes in ER and family advanced nursing practice.

Like many things your question can depend a lot on perspective. It’s great that so many here have positive insight about nursing. The things I find positive about nursing are not quite as grand as some have written about (although the more altruistic reasons are still excellent).

I literally had a job once where I reported every morning to work and was handed a shovel. I would dig for 8 hours. This is in hot 95 plus degree Alabama heat and humidity. If I stopped then my foreman would tell me in no uncertain terms that I needed to start digging again. Trust me when I tell you he did not use nursing/therapeutic communication. While comparing the positive aspects of nursing to the positive aspects of digging ditches might seem absurd I assure you it is not. There are thousands if not millions of people in this country who would love to work under even the most deplorable of nursing conditions. There are just as many who would love to make even the worst nursing salaries.

Bottom line for me: Nursing is honorable work, and it allows me to live an acceptable lifestyle. Along the way I get to occasionally ease some pain/suffering or make a difference. However, there are some days I tell myself, "Well, at least I am not still digging ditches!"

Ivan

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Specializes in Med Surg.

I live and work in a rural area so it is impossible not to run into former patients from time to time. When I am in Wally World and I hear someone call out "hey, that's my nurse!" and they come running up to me and grab my hand it kind of pushes the bad stuff to the back burner for a while. The fact that they have good memories of me, even though I may not recognize them, is a big boost.

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You have a honorable, respected career, the pay is not half bad too (most of the time). The good feeling you get when people express their gratitude.

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