Thinking About Nursing: Advice Needed

I suggest you start by reading some of the many posts on this site regarding the pros and cons of nursing.

You will find more cons, but all are heartfelt comments on the field.

A CNA position would give you the hands on insight you are looking for , but nursing responsibilities include much more applied technology.

Please put the J & J commercials aside. THAT is not nursing. Defibrillating a patient and "saving" their life before breakfast is hardly the realities of nursing.

Cleaning up bloody stool and starting a blood transfusion while you miss lunch is more like it.

Now git to readin' and get back with us.

Thanks for the perspective. This site is a little hard to Navigate thought and I was having trouble finding some of the threads. But I will dig a little more.

"General Nursing Discussion" forum under "General Nurses" is the most popular thread on AN and while the topics posted vary greatly, there are many good perspectives on professional issues, pro/con discussions, complaints, and unrelated posts. It just takes some time browsing. You might also benefit from "General Nursing Student" forum under the "Nursing Students" category and "First Year After License" forum under the "Nursing Career" category.

The best thing you can do now is look carefully into your own interests, goals, values, and abilities. I'm not sure what your idea of a nurse is, but I'll give you my perspective. I will also focus on the negatives because I believe true discretion comes from a balance of positives and negatives -- and most people considering career changes like to ignore the negatives to help rationalize their escape from a career they hate. That's only human.

Being a nurse often (not always) means working 12-13 hours a day (not excluding nightshift, weekends and holidays), mostly on your feet, at times understaffed, and with the same scrutiny from management as other professions. Your body is going to be sore after work and the day after (I'm a 23 year old half marathoner btw). A nurse generally has to possess skills in (or learn damn quickly) time management, communication, extreme patience, critical thinking, and toughness to advocate for the health of somebody who may not want to (see the noncompliant/undereducated) or may not know they want to (see the change in mental status/demented elderly patients) be healthy. You won't always be thanked and admired. You won't always be viewed as educated or intelligent by patients, families and doctors. You won't always have time to hold your patients hand and have a meaningful conversation about their struggle with cancer and how they found God. You will be kicked at, spit at, bit at, peed on, manipulated and insulted -- but honestly these aren't every day occurrences for me.

Still with me? The first job is tough to get in today's market and more often than not in a field you're not truly interested in. Remember this when you think you want to be an ICU nurse once you graduate. I would estimate that 95% of all nurses start out working in a direct-contact bedside nursing position in a hospital or nursing home. You will hear mention of the nationwide nursing shortage -- this truly exists on average although not so much in urban centers. Be warned though, healthcare in the United States is very business-driven. The thing about business hierarchies is that the **** flows downhill and nursing is at the bottom. I could go on about this but this post is long enough already.

Still there? Well, okay... As far as post-graduate education, there are many options that's true. But know that cushy non-bedside jobs require experience. Years of it. Many of these programs also require it, but many don't. Watch out for the ones that don't. In reality, your experience (not so much your education) is what makes you an effective clinician. Imagine the perspective of the patient. What you think your goals are now will likely change over the course of your schooling/first job.

There are definitely days when I like being a nurse, but I mostly wish I did something else. I've never loved being a nurse. I do love helping people, contributing positive energy to their recovery process, and being a team player on my floor. You learn a lot about the human condition; diseases and their treatments; people's lives and experiences; and about communication in general. Personally I have a more analytical mind and would probably be happier in a provider role. That's just me though. Good luck to you!