What if you arent sure?

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Nov 19, 2006

One of the best ways to gain exposure to healthcare is by volunteering at a local hospital. You'll be able to see nursing up close and make a more informed choice. It's not an easy job and it can involve a lot of pressure, but to me the rewards are many. I'm glad that you realize that much of what you read here is just people venting about bad days.

romie · Nov 19, 2006

It is important to get a balanced perspective and be aware of the wide range of work environments and possible positions/ roles of nurses. It seems that most of the horror stories you hear are coming from nurses who work as floor nurses in hospitals and long term care. There are so many types of nursing jobs, you cannot even begin to imagine.

There are the nurses who work at the small rural family clinics who know every patients name and the names of their kids and grandkids and see 10 people a day.

There are nurses who all they do is sit at a computer all day and input data onto an MDS-- they are never on a nursing floor or see patients. There are other nurses that simply work the phones for health insurance companies.

The best thing to do is figure out what type of nurse you want to be. Check out hospitals, clinics and public health and social service agencies. Don't limit yourself to bedside nursing in a hospital if that frightens you.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 19, 2006

During the time frame you are waiting to be admitted, gain some work experience. I am familiar with what I want to do as a Registered Nurse because of my experience. I am not saying you will necessarily figure out what you want to do with your life, but it may help you stay motivated and focused.

My exposure to health care as an employee has kept me motivated and focused. It also keeps me up late at night (like this Saturday night) working on assignments and studying even though I have only had two hours of sleep over the last 24 hours.

Speaking of studying... I caught my second wind. Back to the books!

lisabeth · Nov 19, 2006

I second the volunteering. I spent my first Thursday evening volunteering at a hospital last Thursday night. I mainly restocked items in the rooms that the nurses needed, and got juice, snacks, ect. for the patients, but I also got to see just how busy the nurses were. They all seemed nice, and I think they appriciated what was done, but even though there were about 5-7 nurses in that station, there were also student nurses, and I think that even adds to their busy ness.

I really enjoyed doing what I did. I look forward to the next time I will be there. Give it a try. :)

catzy5 · Nov 19, 2006

I can not believe I am even in this spot. For a couple years I have been sure that I want to be a nurse. I talked to an advisor about classes, took assessment tests so I could start getting pre reqs out of the way and now... I dont know. I dont know if fear has me at this point or if something truly has changed for me.
One reason I think its just fear is reading about people's terrible days (and yes I know they have good days) working as a nurse. Another big one for me is the "what if I make a mistake and it costs a persons life" yeah... thats a big one for me. Another factor is the fact that even after getting my pre reqs done at my community college, I have two to three years at least, to wait to get into the nursing program, so we are talking nearly the same amount of time it would take me to get my masters (depending on the field of course). I do not want to take up space in classes that another could be using if my goal has changed.
How do you know when it is fear and when it is truly in your heart that you dont want to do this. Of course, this is probably the wrong place to ask because it seems everyone knows this is what they want.

I think we all do have those feelings I know I do atleast, I agree with those that said volunteer or gain some exposure. I used to work in the ICU or a busy hospital as the unit secretary, that was not enough for me I wanted the patient interaction, I used to help the nurses all the time because they were always short handed and rarely had a tech on their floor they had to everything, so even though it was not in my scope of practice I would help them all I could. I totally enjoyed that! On the other hand when I think of how hard they worked and how much they knew and how much they did and how thre was never a dr around they were totally responsible for everything I get nervous hehehehehe. I know they have the training and experience though and it makes a huge difference I just hope after I finish school I feel slightly qualified for what I am going to venture into lol. But I agree gain some exposure for sure!

Also just my own personal hint stay away from reading those first experiences they scare me too!!