Was it everything...

Nurses New Nurse

Published

Specializes in none.

you hoped it would be when you decided to become a nurse?

I'm looking at all the school I will need, which doesn't phase me -- I love to learn. I'm trying to prepare myself for the realities of balancing a huge study load for all this school and my home life, which includes 4 children and a major set of bills that will EEEKKK by while I'm in school, and the thoughts of never seeing my husband again, and wondering, just from other new nurses perspectives? Do you love it like you thought you would? Do you wish you hadn't done this? Could you find a job to start paying back your bills?

I have wanted to be a nurse for 11 years, but expected to wait until my baby was in school (she's 2). That's not going to happen so I'm trying to figure out how to fufill my dream and would love your experiences, good and bad.

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High patient load, not enough pay for the stress involved, tired as heck; when I am home I am checked out from the family. No, this is not anything that I expected when I started this venture. I have 4 young kids too. School was a piece of cake compared to the actual job of nursing. I am working fulltime now but am wanting to drop to part time already. This is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I don't even work with high acuity pts!

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I didn't think i'd be waiting a year to start working in a hospital setting and getting my career started, but it took exactly one year. It was the worst year of my life but i prevailed. I didn't think i'd be spending six months of my job hunt working part time in a clinic making absolutely no money but gaining amazing experience and an equally amazing mentor. I didn't think I'd be working at a city hospital in a poor and dangerous neighborhood serving an underserved population. I didn't think I would be so humbled and humiliated after nursing school either. I learned a lot of lessons. I don't regret my career choice because I know there is so much out there for me to explore now that i've got my foot in the door. Follow your dreams, nursing school was the hardest thing I ever did in my life, but I did it. I had classmates who were mothers and wives and made it. It's a huge sacrifice, you'll cry a lot, laugh a lot, scream a lot, cuss a lot and wonder why the heck you put yourself through this torture, but it's worth it when you are chasing your dreams. Good luck to you.

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Specializes in OB, Peds, Med Surg and Geriatric Nsg.

It took me almost a year to be a USRN. A lot of my fellowmen would love to take my place as reaching this is absolute Filipino dream. I never resented myself going to nursing school because I knew that this is what I wanna do with my life. Nursing school is tough, nerve racking, stressful and means a lot of sleepless nights but if this is your passion then go for it. I maybe not a mother yet myself but I just wanna let you know that the road to become a nurse isn't easy. There are plenty of bumps and rocky roads you have to go through, frustrating days at work that makes you wanna quit and a lot of disgruntled nurses in your work setting. Believe me, it's gonna be a one hell of a ride, so buckle up and enjoy the ride towards your dreams. Good Luck!

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I wouldn't quit my job to go to school so fortunately I ended without any debt. I think I was pretty realistic with my expectations but yes it met them. For the most part I love my jobs!!

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Specializes in Case management, occupational health.

No, I freaking hate it! If I had it to do all over again I would have not gone into nursing, and I advise anyone thinking about it to not do it.

People say they go into nursing to help people but the truth is we get so little time with out patients that all we can do it throw pills at them, and hope they don't die on our shift.

We are dangerously short staffed every single day, we carry high patient loads, no lunch breaks, no bathroom breaks, staff fight amongst themselves, day shift hates night shift and vice versa, the doctors treat you like crap, the patients and their families are usually angry thatyou are not giving them constant attention, you are so mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted that you crash as soon as you get home and never have time for your family. I worked a full time job, and a part time job while going to nursing school full time and that all felt like a breez ceompared to what it is like once you are actually working as a nurse.

Nursing sucks, and it is so not worth the money, you give up your family, your time, your soul, it is sooooo not worth it

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Specializes in Adult Oncology.

I'm brand new, so I can only say that I'm very excited to be finished. I am apprehensive at times. I don't want to make any mistakes, but I know that I will and I can only hope it's not a life threatening one. I'll come back to this once I'm out of orientation. My first week was absolutely everything I hoped for though.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.
No, I freaking hate it! If I had it to do all over again I would have not gone into nursing, and I advise anyone thinking about it to not do it.

People say they go into nursing to help people but the truth is we get so little time with out patients that all we can do it throw pills at them, and hope they don't die on our shift.

We are dangerously short staffed every single day, we carry high patient loads, no lunch breaks, no bathroom breaks, staff fight amongst themselves, day shift hates night shift and vice versa, the doctors treat you like crap, the patients and their families are usually angry thatyou are not giving them constant attention, you are so mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted that you crash as soon as you get home and never have time for your family. I worked a full time job, and a part time job while going to nursing school full time and that all felt like a breez ceompared to what it is like once you are actually working as a nurse.

Nursing sucks, and it is so not worth the money, you give up your family, your time, your soul, it is sooooo not worth it

You absolutely captured the way I feel on the worst nights of my life in the hospital. The fear. No, terror of being overwhelmed. Someone's going to die because I don't have time to pay attention.

But, I'm human, so I recover, suck it up and continue. Even when I want to run for my life. I'm truly sorry you feel the way you do. It must be so painful.

What sustains me is that I liked being a nurse when I started. I'm hoping that someday it will change back to where we can again have time to be caregivers. You new grads are tossed out to handle the work load it's taken most of us years to be able to handle. I'm sorry for that. No wonder there is such bitterness in your post.

So, to answer the question. It used to be everything I thought it would be. That first year, the honeymoon period, I smiled when I went in the front door of where I worked. But it has turned into something else. Just a job.

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Specializes in PICU.

Whether or not nursing is right for other people isn't going to bear on if it is right for you. Some people love it, some hate it. I think it has a lot to do on where you work. There are some terrible hospitals out there and I feel for the nurses who have to work there. I think the most important part of the decision to become a nurse is to look at what the job requires and do some honest soul-searching to see if if it fits with you. You need to have good people skills and like working with adults or children, you MUST be able to multi-task and keep everything straight, you have to be detailed and exacting, you need to be able to leave your home life at home so you can completely focus on your work, you have to be able to deal with tragic, terrible deaths of people or babies who shouldn't have died, and you need to have an appreciation of the immense responsibility you have a nurse and the stress that comes with that.

I love nursing. It is a second career for me, and I knew what I was getting into. But I've also been very careful with all of my career decisions so I didn't end up somewhere I would hate.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Whether or not nursing is right for other people isn't going to bear on if it is right for you. Some people love it, some hate it. I think it has a lot to do on where you work. There are some terrible hospitals out there and I feel for the nurses who have to work there. I think the most important part of the decision to become a nurse is to look at what the job requires and do some honest soul-searching to see if if it fits with you. You need to have good people skills and like working with adults or children, you MUST be able to multi-task and keep everything straight, you have to be detailed and exacting, you need to be able to leave your home life at home so you can completely focus on your work, you have to be able to deal with tragic, terrible deaths of people or babies who shouldn't have died, and you need to have an appreciation of the immense responsibility you have a nurse and the stress that comes with that.

I love nursing. It is a second career for me, and I knew what I was getting into. But I've also been very careful with all of my career decisions so I didn't end up somewhere I would hate.

The thing is these days, you don't get to pick your dream job. In this economy, if you need to work, you take what you can get.

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