What's it really like to be a nurse?

[OhNatasha]

I am 34, and recently quit my job as a corporate manager. It was a job I stumbled into, and there were things about it I loved - namely the people I worked with - but I found I missed simple human kindness; at the end of the day we were about making money, not about creating care and compassion and a nicer world.

I have thought about nursing since I was around 20 - it's the one profession I can think of that seems like it would best fit many parts of me. The thing I care about most in the world is human relationships; I love music and the out-of-doors and other things, too, but none of that has any meaning without the relationships we build with each other. Nursing just feels like it's calling me.

But I'm 34; to become a nurse I would need to move to the city (about 2.5 hours from where I live now), be in school for several years. It would be a huge commitment - financially, emotionally, physically. I would give up the security and calm I have now from being in a place that feels like home - a small, beautiful town where I've made good friends. Kind of a gamble.

Like I said, I have considered/felt called to nursing for many years. I feel I just wasn't ready until now; I feel like it takes tremendous strength to be a nurse, and confidence, and calm, and emotional resilience, and I don't think I had enough of those things until now. I would like to pursue this dream, but I can't tell if I'm crazy.

Have I really grown enough to have the qualities a good nurse has? And do I have unrealistic ideas about what nursing really is? Is the modern health system so difficult that there isn't much space for tenderness and real human connection? Am I strong enough to learn to hold patients' suffering without suffering myself? And how about the abuses I believe nurses sometimes suffer - at the hands of patients, of families, of the medical hierarchy; are those stresses so big I couldn't handle them, or could I learn how? So my question is this - what's it really like to be a nurse?

[DoeRN]

the only deterrent right now is the one local hospital system that has gone for-profit...and they've raised their ratio to 1:9....I won't work there (unless its in a specialized role such as ICU or NICU)....

1:9! Humm I wonder which for profit this is? That's a crazy number. Is this for med/surg? I've had that many but it was a specialized floor and all my patients were walkie/talkies. Don't get me wrong I still ran my bottom off but I can't imagine this on a regular med/surg floor.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[OhNatasha]

To Lila (who kindly sent me a message...to which this website wouldn't allow me to reply) -

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, and for expressing to me your positive experiences with nursing, and encouragement. I find myself, after all the information I've received, and the time I've recently spent in my local hospital, and lots of time to think, driven ever more to pursue a career as a nurse. In some ways it feels incredibly selfish - to pursue this thing which I want for no other reason than that I believe in it, and see it as a way to have the life I want. And yet that very selfishness doesn't seem wrong; what purpose is there to life other than to believe in it, and love it, and explore it? This is not to say I expect nothing but sunshine and roses, or some gilded path. To the contrary, I expect a difficult row to hoe. But there is lots of beauty even in difficulty, and I don't wish to shy from a challenge.

Thank you again for your kind, thoughtful, encouraging words. I most definitely will you posted!

Sincerely yours,

Natasha

[tlockettrn]

I was in my 40s before I finally realized my dream of becoming a nurse, however I had worked in radiology previously so I had an idea of what I was getting into. I agreethat the best thing is to shadow a nurse so you can see what the day to day is really like. Personally I do enjoy bedside nursing and encourage others to join the profession but you have to know if it is for you.

[julesjameson3333]

I wouldn't go back to acute care Med/Surg nursing for all the tea in China *because* it is not about direct patient care anymore.

It's true that as a new graduate you might have to spend a year in that setting to earn your stripes, so to speak. However, once you are a seasoned nurse, there are countless avenues of nursing that are NOT that acute care setting.

I work Infusion Center nursing. A vast majority of our patients are Oncology patients. I absolutely get the chance to sit and hold hands. I get face to face patient time, cushy daytime hours and LOW patient to nurse ratios. If I opt to stay in nursing (still trying to decide where I'm going for graduate studies) I will likely head towards pediatrics, palliative care, or hospice. That's my personality. I went into nursing for pretty much what you are talking about, the direct contact with the patients. I have gone down areas of nursing that give me exactly that.

I was shadowing on a Med/Surg unit this last week. I went back to my Dept and told my manager that the experience reminded me that I do NOT miss that world and that angle of nursing is NOT FOR ME.

If that were all that nursing was, I would have never come back to this profession. It's not. There are lots of avenues of nursing.

I can relate to your comment. I worked as a secretary on a med surg floor and the vast majority of nurses who worked there were very jaded. It was because of this that I was dissuaded to pursue nursing. Now here I am ten years later deciding to go back to school for nursing because I know now that nursing is very diverse and it is possible to change specialties to find your niche.

I'm under no disillusions that nursing will be easy. I expect to get frustrated occasionally, but I also know that healthcare is a passion of mine. I think your perception will have a big influence on how much you enjoy your job. Also, it would be my advice to stay far away from the negative nelly's as much as possible because negative people have a way to drag you down with them.

I also believe that nursing seems a profession where you have to pay your dues, so take everything in stride. Find what setting speaks to you and pursue a higher education and you will most likely create a very rewarding career.

OP I think if this is something you are interested in pursuing then absolutlely you should pursue it. Life is short and people often regret the things they didn't do, then trying something new and realizing it wasn't for them. I also think that shadowing and working as a CNA are great ideas.

I don't know you personally, but you seem kind and intelligent in your post and those are both great qualities to have as a nurse!

- I also hope that I didn't offend any med surg nurses. There were some on my floor that were awesome and while it may not be everyone's cup of tea I think you can learn a lot of great skills on that type of floor.