The pros and cons of nursing

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I am trying to decide whether to go into nursing or not so i want to hear a few experiences of other people who are already in the field i want to know anything that would affect my decision also about how much do nurses make a year and how often do you get a raise

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab, Skilled Nursing, Management.

Alrighty....I'll try and compose a list.

Pro:

* Many different places to work as a nurse, i.e. clinic, long-term-care, hospital, operating room, home health, clinical trial studies, schools, cruise ships, prison, etc. If you really don't like one area of nursing, that's okay....you may just need to find a different type of work as a nurse. :D

* Ability to make positive difference in patient/family's lives :redpinkhe

* In demand job field (although the current economy has affected nursing as well, the need won't go away though, especially in the years to come)

* Ability to earn enough to live comfortably :up:

* Wearing scrubs! I feel like I get to wear pajamas to work. Can't beat that! :yeah:

Con:

* Many times you are expected to do more than is possible. For example taking care of too many patients and being expected to document a lot of stuff as well. :banghead:

* Physically, emotionally and mentally demanding work.

* Work around many infectious diseases.

* Not being able to leave work/take a break at a specific time. Your shift may end at 1900, but if you didn't get all your documentation done, or transcribing orders, or taking care of a patient that is actively vomiting, or you work in surgery and it went much longer than expected, or you got an admission in 15 minutes before shift is over, you won't get out on time. It's typical for me to stay 1/2 hour to an hour to finish up with all the required paperwork. My family know that I NEVER get out on time.

* Losing a patient.... Some try not to get close to those they care for, but that can be very difficult. I have cried more than once when a patient was lost. Like I said, emotionally demanding! :scrying:

* Long hours on your feet.

Many of these factors depend on the career you choose as a nurse and the education you choose as well. The pay also greatly varies depending on the area of the country and the employer. For example I live in the midwest and LPN's here make anywhere from $14.00-28.00/hr. RN's $16.00-42.00/hr. And if you have your MSN the pay can be much greater. Major metro areas generally pay better than the rural areas. Once you get into nursing you end up figuring out the range of pay in your area through other students and nurses you come in contact with.

Have you though about working as a CNA (nurse assistant) as you obtain the pre-reqs required for nursing? It can really help you decide and helps you learn much of the basics of nursing, i.e. bed baths, transferring, I&O, etc. :rolleyes:

Also, many schools have a wait list. Here is a website that lists schools that currently have no waiting list. :typing http://www.discovernursing.com/nursing-programs-without-waiting-lists

Hope this helps you some! :twocents:

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Another "con":

At least in certain regions... I can only speak for the San Francisco-Sacramento area... there's nothing like a shortage, especially when it comes to new grads. Quite the contrary, in fact. Expect to see 50-100 people, or more, applying for the same job that you are.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
another "con":

at least in certain regions... i can only speak for the san francisco-sacramento area... there's nothing like a shortage, especially when it comes to new grads. quite the contrary, in fact. expect to see 50-100 people, or more, applying for the same job that you are.

this is actually true of lot of places around the country since, in reality, there really was never a shortage of nurses.. just a shortage of experienced nurses willing to work years ago... now they are back and facilities are now able to be picky about who they hire and how much they will shell out to train them. new grads cost a lot of money to train.

op: go into nursing if you like nursing... don’t go into it if you think you will get rich (too many nurses equal stagnant wages) and have job security (it takes unique experience and training to do this just like any other field) and anything else you have heard. the real shortage are in areas (rural), specialties (medical surgical and geriatrics), and facilities (long term care and bad hospitals) you probably do not want to work! however, if you like nursing you can suck it up and find the positives and have a good long career…. gl!

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Thank you for your response honey. I been trying to fine a cna course that was free but all of them have been 500-600 dollars which i currently dont have my friend in north carolina has found a free one is working as a cna already for 13.00 an hour but im in georgia and i havent had any luck

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