What's the most complicated thing about being a nurse?

woman_king · Apr 27, 2010

I'm a first-semester nursing student. I don't have much experience working in this profession yet, obviously, but so far the stress of nursing classes is my major complaint. I feel overworked with a ridiculous number of care plans I'm expected to write every week. So that's the bad, for me at least. YMMV (your mileage may vary).

It is a hard process, but I keep my eye on the prize (that diploma) and keep moving forward. It helps to have someone who's supportive of your decision and can give you pep talks when you feel overwhelmed.

Depending on your job and your personality, that stress may extend into your working years as well. Some nurses burn out or become completely frazzled. Some, like you've noticed, make it look like a piece of cake. :)

Silas · Apr 27, 2010

I am a junior in nursing school and I think being a nursing student is hard because you are scrambling to acclimate to a real floor where you have a real patient, with real problems, real medications, and real needs for treatment. You need to be competent enough to work with this sick person, understand their medical history (how it presents, what it does to the person, and what we do for it), understand their medications (indications, side effects, teaching), among other things. You are another member of the healthcare team making sure this patient is getting the best possible treatment. You are also liable if they are not.

It is also very emotionally draining because here these people are in the worst shape of their life-but you deal with it everyday. You will see the horror stories families have to go through. Strokes, heart attacks, deaths, abuse, etc. It won't really bother you as much because it is every day. A patient might be traumatized due to their history, but it is easy to get into the habit of just shrugging it off: "Oh this is my third patient this week who had a stroke. Not really big news. Nothing new." You can never forget that this person is an individual.

That all being said: being a nurse is a honor. To have the abiltiy to work with the public in such a way is something special and unique. The dedication, knowledge, and skill you deliver your patients is challenging-but the reward is definitely there. You don't forget your first patient, the first birth you see, or the first death. You remember special patients. Hope this helps.

nsstudent33 · May 5, 2010

I going into my final year in September and I still find the most challenging thing to be time managment! There is always so much to do a so little time so organization is key! It is something I didn't really have to deal with much in high school because I had a lot of free time but in the nursing prorgam you really don't have much free time so you need to be very organized in order to fit everything in your schedual!

As for your question about becoming a nurse being hard...I would definietly not say it is EASY, it does take a lot of hard work and commitment but once you get started and get comfortable in the new college environment things get easier..your classes and workload don't necessarily get easier but you learn how to manage better and that makes the process easier!

Good luck with everything and remember that in the end all your hard work will pay off:)

wifeandmomoftwo · May 5, 2010

There is nothing about being (from what I've seen) or becoming a nurse that is easy. I'm almost done with LPN school. Think about it. You must be able to define the medical terms that doctors use. You must be familiar with TONS of disease processes and medications, dosages, contraindications ect. People's lives depend on your decisions. I've been out of high school for a while but unless it's gotten a lot harder since I left we did nothing that was even close to this level of difficulty.

If you truly want to be a nurse that's great! I encourage you to move towards that goal. DO NOT expect it to be easy though.

Good luck!