I have been a nurse for 4 years. I work on a busy med/surg unit.
The question is specifically because of a friend of mine. He's 28 years old, still in college, not really sure what he wants to do. He got a bachelor's in biology with the intention to go to medical school, but he's been floating around. I think every week he wants to do something different. Sometimes it's medical (pharmacy school, PT/OT, PA, etc) and sometimes it's completely random (going back for accounting or English or engineering??).
You may be able to tell that I don't take him too seriously to begin with.
Lately he's been talking about nursing. Usually I'm pretty cool with talking about my job. But something about these conversations just irks me. He always wants to know 1. How much money do you make? and 2. bad stuff. Not good bad stuff either, like "whoa! Tell me about that crazy infected wound!". More like "you don't really have to help with bedpans and stuff, right?"
I tell him that if you go into nursing for money, you will be seriously disappointed because there are less stressful ways to make a buck and you're not going to be very patient and understanding with annoying people if you're there for money. And secondly, yes, I do have to deal with crap. Literal and figurative. Lots of it sometimes. I go home at the end of my shift and I feel like my scrubs are covered in C-diff and MRSA and my muscles ache from the physical work. I'm not going to pretend like it doesn't bother me or anything like that, but it's just part of the job. You get over it.
He's still talking about it, and usually now it's something about how he could go directly to grad school, or work in another field, clinic, etc. Where he wouldn't be expected to do the dirty stuff like me. Maybe he could be a good nurse, work somewhere he'd have less dirty stuff, but I still don't know what to think.
I feel kind of offended by his questions and attitude about nursing, but I can't pinpoint why.
My questions are: how do you respond to people like this? Are you slightly offended like I am, and why? I seriously don't know why it irritates me so much.
Have you ever known someone like this? Do you still encourage them to follow today's dream? How do you describe your job accurately, and do you ever feel like the people asking just wouldn't make a good nurse? (probably mean of me to say). Maybe he'll be good, maybe he'll be shocked in school and either change his attitude or find a different field.
Considering the picture you just painted, I'd have no problem telling Freddie to start looking for a JOB, and forget a CAREER. He just isn't committed enough to ANYTHING to get anywhere.....in anything. He's just as likely to choose aerospace technology next.
The Perpetual and Permanent Student, unfortunately NOT a dying breed.....
Your time would be better spent reflecting upon yourself and why you have chosen nursing. That challenge will occupy your time for many years to come. In nursing, knowing where you begin and end is the ultimate challenge.
RNsRWe, ASN, RN
3 Articles; 10,428 Posts
Considering the picture you just painted, I'd have no problem telling Freddie to start looking for a JOB, and forget a CAREER. He just isn't committed enough to ANYTHING to get anywhere.....in anything. He's just as likely to choose aerospace technology next.
The Perpetual and Permanent Student, unfortunately NOT a dying breed.....