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Discussion

What do nurses do?

I find myself applying to schools as a nursing major, but am doing a job shadow program through my high school. I found that most nurses spend most of their time taking vitals, passing out meds, and charting. Is there anything more exciting to the job that I'm missing or is that the job in a "nutshell"

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    You'll need to do a post grad course. For me I want to be a trauma nurse so I have to do a post grad in emergency nursing

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    • Experts

    No. There is much more to what you are seeing. It will also depend on the setting.Nurses do assessments, treatments,wound care, provide personal care, communicate with other members of the health care team,educate patients and families,monitor lab results,supervise aids... I am sure others can add more. Like I said, it greatly depends on what setting you work in. If you were in L&D or dialysis it would be a very different day.At lot of your day is problem solving and trouble shooting.

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    There is a whole world of "behind the scenes" work in nursing.

    Lots of our work is mental planning and problem solving which is invisible to outsiders. You see the tasks, but you don't see the prioritization, the trained eye seeing trouble ahead.

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    • Author

    If there is that much to do where is the setting that finds the most excitement in their days? Because I just feel like with this job I'd be bored from what I have seen and although I would love to help people I'm not sure if nursing is where I would like to be if there is no setting that is that exciting

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    Describe "exciting". Every day is not going to be "exciting" and fun, few jobs provides that unless you work in a bounce house with kids. Or maybe a sky diving instructor. If you are an adreneline junkie then the ER would probably provide the most boost for you.

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    • Experts

    I am a rehabilitation nurse. I wrote a detailed article about rehab nursing this summer. Click on the link below if you wish to know more about what a rehab nurse does:

    https://allnurses.com/rehabilitation-nursing/rehabilitation-nursing-specialty-745264.html

    I was a long-term care nurse on and off for six years. I also wrote a detailed article on LTC nursing several months ago. Click on the following link if you want to know what a LTC nurse does:

    https://allnurses.com/geriatric-nurses-ltc/long-term-care-746461.html

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    If there is that much to do where is the setting that finds the most excitement in their days? Because I just feel like with this job I'd be bored from what I have seen and although I would love to help people I'm not sure if nursing is where I would like to be if there is no setting that is that exciting

    Nah, a nurse who's bored is a rare sight.

    Even passing pills in LTC (which *appears* as dull as it gets) is the opposite of boring. It looks like were just dishing out the meds, but theres a million other things going through your head. You're worried about getting meds done on time, of course. But you're also thinking about that low grade temp on the resident in room 302.... is it nothing, or is their scheduled Tylenol masking a REAL fever and something more serious?.... is the agency aide going to half-ass all her HS care again?.... And why is your normally alert resident "all weird" as per the CNA? You're constantly thinking, planning.

    Sometimes I MISS jobs where I could check out mentally and go into autopilot. I used to mix concrete, move furniture, load trailer trucks, but I could always turn my mind off. Nursing is exhausting in a different way.

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    • Experts

    Have you been watching a lot of medical dramas on TV? Real life nursing is not that exciting. Even ER nurses don't deal with constant drama and excitement.

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    • Experts

    Also keep in mind that nurses are not paid for what we do. Rather, we're paid for what we know.

    We're not stock clerks or factory workers who are paid for output, level of production, and the number of tasks we complete. We're hired and paid for the thought we put into the tasks we complete.

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    Have you been watching a lot of medical dramas on TV? Real life nursing is not that exciting. Even ER nurses don't deal with constant drama and excitement.

    This!!!! I volunteer in an ED and have seen quite a few retrievals come through and there are only ever 2 nurses in the resus rooms.

    The only exciting thing that ever happened was when a entire bikie gang showed up looking for a mate that was DOA and when Vincent foccarelli got shot .....cops, secruity and hospital officials everywhere. Anywhere I went I had a cop 2ft in front and behind

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    Have you been watching a lot of medical dramas on TV? Real life nursing is not that exciting. Even ER nurses don't deal with constant drama and excitement.

    Even the things that DO seem exciting become routine after long enough. I have t found much room for boredom in my limited experience (probably due to a never ending to do list) but I wouldn't pursue the career for wild excitement and intrigue or any sort of prestige.

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