? 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?

thanks tweety...

Ehm... is their anyway i can sign up somewhere to "shadow" registered nurses on weekends to see how it is in first person ... to get a better description..

And what did your nursing program require when yall tryed to sign up for the program(as in grades and such..)

because wow 500 people reply and only 70 people get accepted.. no wonder their are nurse shortages.. Its bs..

my grades in highschool are the following

Freshmen year GPA 83

Sophmore year GPA 60

Junior year GPA 84

Senior year GPA 82

^ Overall..........

and i have no clubs/sports that i am in...

Should i start looking for other careers because their may be a chance that i may not get accepted into any nursing program?

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Specializes in Cardiac, stroke, telemetry,Med-surgical.

"Yes, nursing is tough, there is no doubt. It is, however, what so many of us are called to do, and can't imagine doing anything else. It is not for everyone, and those who are in it soley for a job are looking in the wrong direction. Only someone who understands this can truly become a great nurse!"

I can compare nursing to raising a child. There are tough days when everything is out of control and you think, what a bad parent I am, and you eat yourself. And there are bright days when you see that your work brings great results and appreciation and ... there is no better feeling than that -- rewarding, satisfying, fulfilling-- you work hard for these very moments.

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Specializes in Med surg, Critical Care, LTC.
:bluecry1: :bluecry1: :scrying: :crying2: :no: :argue: :down: :eek: :banghead:
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...Ok, since you seem pretty serious, I think it would be a good idea for you to go to a college near you that has a nursing program and sit down with an academic advisor. They can give you detailed information about prerequsite classes you will have to take, as well as what to expect in the field of nursing.

There is a lot of science and math involved, but I think the most important skill to have is compassion. If you don't truly have a passion for caring and providing for people when they are at their very worst, you will not survive.

The nursing schools are difficult to get into for many reasons, but the lack of nursing instructors is a big one. Your grades in your prerequisite classes must be as high as possible, and there are a lot of sacrifices that need to be made on a personal level that a lot of people just out of high school are not prepared for.

Good luck.

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The stats that I stated were for the U of M, the "official" stats are as follows:

http://www.nursing.umn.edu/img/assets/11100/Undergraduate_Admissions_2003-2007_Table.pdf

The problem is that there are not enough nursing instructors to teach the "qualified students". So... there are many qualified candidates that get turned down because there is just not enough room. They also have a limited amount of students that can be allowed at any one clinical location, so they have to divide it up and make sure that they do not have more than the maximum allowed at each site. HTH's

I don't know about your grades...unless those are percentages?? So you look like a B student?? That is probably good for high school, but your pre-req grades would most likely need to be higher.

They do offer job shadowing at some hospitals, but it might be hard to find. You may be better off looking into volunteering your time at a hospital. You would gain a lot of experience and it would help you to learn if it is something you'd like to do.

Again, good luck!!

ETA: to apologize, there are more than 80 spots at the U... there are only 80 at the CC that I'm going to...

Looks like out of the 401 qualified, only 133 were able to become students.

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Hi there :). First off let me say I am glad to see someone taking such an interest in trying to figure out what they want to do after high school. My son graduated this past May and his most burning ambition is playing World of Warcraft. My suggestions:

Contact your local colleges and see what prerequisites are needed for nursing school. You will still have to take some courses like English, Biology, etc. You can register for college and take general course classes without being enrolled in the nursing program. If you decide nursing isn't before you-those same classes are required for many different fields.

Contact the nurse recruiters for a couple of your local hospitals and see if they have any sort of program to let you shadow a nurse-this may not be a possibility.

Check with your local Red Cross about being a hospital volunteer. Your local hospitals may also be able to provide some information about this as well. This would at least get you some exposure to the hospital world so to speak and may help you decide if it is a world you want to become more acquainted with lol.

Best of luck to you in whatever you decide to do!!! :up:

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

:banghead::hhmth::igtsyt::omy:

I really hate to call TROLL,..but wow,....check back with us after you've actually started nursing school and we'll talk!!!!

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

you know what,..Jelet I will apologize for my previous post,...nursing isn't any harder than becoming an attorney, an architect, a speech therapist, or any other career that requires a college degree and a great deal of passion to achieve. If you want to become a nurse,.you can. I would never in any way want to discourage you from following a dream,.if a nurse is what you want to be then go for it!

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Specializes in neuro, critical care, open heart..
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

Do we really eat our young?:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2: LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

Jelet, you might want to consider training to become a certified nursing assistant. It is a requirement for admission to some nursing programs. It takes only a few months to complete, will qualify you to take the certification exam and will help you get your foot in the door to work at a hospital. You will get paid to find out what you think of nursing first hand. I am sure you will appreciate some of the difficulties nurses face if you do this.:wink2:

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You could also try taking an EMT class. It's usually pretty short 8-15 wks long you can try that out to see if you even like working with people, blood, guts all that. Then if you still think about nursing, well you can work part time as an EMT through school.

If you are a troll, I could care less.....I'm at work and things are quiet right now, so you are keeping me entertained enough to stay awake through an overnight.

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Specializes in Hospice, LTC.

What makes you consider being a nurse Jelet?

Normally, people have a good general idea of what a career does before they start thinking about doing it. It does not seem that you know what nurses actually do, therefore I want to know your motivation for becoming a nurse. The pay is not worth the work that you do and the stress that you put up with to accomplish that work. Once you are a nurse, it is a 24/7 job. You are never not a nurse ever again. You are a nurse at your job to your pts, at home to your family, to all of your friends. They will call you for your "professional" opinion all the time. I was eating at a restaurant the other day and the waitress was trying to get my opinion of what to do for a rash she had on her neck. It follows you everywhere, there is really never a day off. Think long and hard. Do a lot of research. Talk to nurses in your community and if you still want to be a nurse after that go ahead. We do need all the nurses we can get.

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