? Why are people saying that nursing is tough? i dont understand whats so hard about

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What is so tough about being a nurse?

i am thinking about being a registered nurse and it seems like a great career. but alot of people complain that its hard and such.. whats hard bout it?

I graduated in May 2007 and consider my job as a nurse to be a roller coaster so far! I find it to be challenging, demanding, stressful, rewarding, fun, social... but really never "not hard." It's tough/hard/difficult to different people for different reason. And at a certain point it becomes something else - something some people seem to want to get out of according to these boards, and that may be what you are refering too. Here are some of the things I think are hard.

1- School is tough. Clinicals can be overwhelming. You feel like you don't know what you're doing and you'll never finish. Much is expected of you to get the whole "clinical picture" and that is very hard.

2- The culture of nursing is competitive. Even when we're nice to each other... it seems like we want to "out-nurse" each other!

3- Lives are in your hands. That's a lot of pressure, ya know?

4- What else is hard? The questions you don't always know the answers to, the steep learning curve, the doctors on your back/not knowing what they are doing, knowing what every mediation does/dosages/side effects/etc. the families of your patients watching your every move, wishing you made more money for the important job you do...

5- Depending on the floor or unit you could have a crazy high patient to nurse ratio and feel like you are running around like a maniac. There may not be enough time in your day to feel that you adequately provide care.

I personally don't think I will ever not think my job is tough. But I think I am up for that - for now at least. It doesn't scare me, it just adds a bit to the stress. The real trick is to keep the reasons you wanted to become a nurse at the forefront. Don't let the "tough" job affect the way you outwardly show your care and compassion. That's what I try to do!

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:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
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and i didnt think rn's can be responsible for peoples lives. i thought they just treat little injuries. like broken fingers/burns/take ur pulse and such..

I think that before you begin the process of applying to nursing school you should research the career some more. There are plenty of professional nursing organizations - just do a google search - and you can find more details. Please do this before you make a huge mistake in thinking you will just be taking people's pulses! We are at the forefront of healthcare in every dimension. And sometimes I feel like we pretty much do everything. :up:

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I think you need to take the time to do some research about nursing before you decide that it is something you want to pursue. There is way more involved than treating "little injuries". There are peoples lives at stake.

If you want to find out the requirements for nursing school, you should check with the admissions office at your local community college or other colleges in your area. Yes, it is extremely difficult to get into nursing school at the present time. There are usually 500+ applicants, 400+ of those qualified, and only 80 spots vacant. So you could say it's tough.

Good luck to you. You may want to be careful with your English. That is a big consideration when applying for school. Take care.

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..... i tried doing research but i am not really finding anything. i just get a brief paragraph of what rn's do. the best thing of my research taht i did was finding this site..... so can you guys plz help me so i dont make a big mistake.

what do you yall do daily as an RN.

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Here is what the government has to say about Registered Nursing:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm

American Nurses Association page titled "Considering Nursing?"

http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/StudentNurses.aspx

And since you found this website and want to utilize it, why don't you search the posts for all kinds of crazy info about our daily lives, assessment skills, stories of life and death, etc. I think you'll find it very enlightening. And everyone will appreciate your posts a great deal more if you could please use proper grammar and spelling.

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This is the closest I could come to a troll smiley.

:sasq:

hehe

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Read the various threads throughout Allnurses and read about our issues.

It's hard to explain to someone who really isn't a nurse the stress we're under and most of us aren't even going to try. But please don't judge a book by it's cover.

For me the hardest part is meeting the unrealistic expectations of administration and the general public while being safe under impossible odds such as high ratios, the increasing burden of paperwork and Joint Commission requirements, and the focus on "customer service", while keeping up with the latest treatments and technological advances.

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Here is what the government has to say about Registered Nursing:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm

American Nurses Association page titled "Considering Nursing?"

http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/StudentNurses.aspx

And since you found this website and want to utilize it, why don't you search the posts for all kinds of crazy info about our daily lives, assessment skills, stories of life and death, etc. I think you'll find it very enlightening. And everyone will appreciate your posts a great deal more if you could please use proper grammar and spelling.

Thank you. I am reading the nature of work for rn's right now. Appreciate it. And sorry about my grammar. ill try to make my post readable.

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Specializes in Pediatric ED.
and i didnt think rn's can be responsible for peoples lives. i thought they just treat little injuries. like broken fingers/burns/take ur pulse and such..

:uhoh3: Wow I'm wasting my time getting a degree in something I could do when I was in grade school...

If you don't think nurses are responsible for people's lives do a google search for med errors and see how many lives have been ended by a nurse who missed an error or lives that were saved by a nurse who caught an error.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
This is the closest I could come to a troll smiley.

:sasq:

hehe

I've conversed with him before. He's 17, considering nursing and gathering information. Not a troll.

Let's try to give him the benefit of the doubt and be respectful.

Let's not eat our young. LOL

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I've conversed with him before. He's 17, considering nursing and gathering information. Not a troll.

Let's try to give him the benefit of the doubt and be respectful.

Let's not eat our young. LOL

Sorry, comments like this: Originally Posted by Jelet

and i didnt think rn's can be responsible for peoples lives. i thought they just treat little injuries. like broken fingers/burns/take ur pulse and such..

...made me think otherwise...

I'm always polite and respectful on here, but people were getting riled up about a post I thought it was unnecessary for.

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