? 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?

Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.
i c.. also is it hard to get accepted into a nursing program--unviersity /community college? like im a senior in highschool and my gpa was about a 85 unweighted for my freshmen and junior year. but my sophmore year i messed up bad and my gpa was like a 60. i was going through a real hard time.(i had a 83ish the first 2 quarters but then the last 2 quarters i started skipin skool and such..)

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..

:banghead:

Perhaps you need to actually follow a nurse for a day/actually read some of the posts on this message board to see what we do. Like many, you are sorely undereducated about our profession.

I'd expect to get flamed for this comment, if you haven't already.

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Specializes in OR, PACU, GI, med-surg, OB, school nursing.

Google is your friend! I Googled "health care careers" and came up with lots of information. Here are two good site that explain a variety of jobs in health care. Good luck!

http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/car1a.html

http://www.explorehealthcareers.org/en/index.aspx

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
:banghead:

Perhaps you need to actually follow a nurse for a day/actually read some of the posts on this message board to see what we do. Like many, you are sorely undereducated about our profession.

I'd expect to get flamed for this comment, if you haven't already.

Why would you get flamed when you gave good advice?

He freely admits he's sorely un-educated and that's why he's asking questions. Some people seem to think that just because he knows nothing of our profession and is asking questions then he's a troll or needs to be put in his place, when he's merelly presenting what he knows (myths and false presumptions) and asking questions "what's so hard about nursing?" because all he hears is "nursing is soooooo hard" but no one is giving him specifics....what is about nursing that makes it so hard because on the surface we wear it well but then we turn around and complain. In a way it's a compliment to our profession that we make it look easy. LOL :)

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I think you should really consider looking into a CNA course. I read this in another poster and I couldn't agree more. It's a short course and many colleges are beginning to require it to get into their program. If you don't need benefits, you might be able to land a pretty good job. I worked in long term care and made a ridiculous wage for a cna ($16.92 hr/no bennies). If you can get into a hospital, you work with a nurse and will see if its for you.

I also read that you didn't think you could get 90%'s your first year out. If you don't think you can, maybe you can go part time and concentrate on just 1 or 2 classes per semester. That's what I'm doing and I'm in my last semester of nursing now.

There are alot of ways to make it work. EMT's are usually at technical colleges. Associate degree nurses are also at the technical college, while a BSN (bachelors degree in nursing) is typically a 4 yr degree. There is also the lpn (licensed practical nurse) which is a 1 yr program (if your prereqs are done, ie sciences, basic courses).

Becoming a nurse opens up alot of different paths you can venture down. I think its great that you are thinking about your future now. I wish I would have at your age. Good luck :D

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Specializes in Addictions, Corrections, QA/Education.

Believe me... nursing is not easy. You may have some laid back days but all in all... its tough, however rewarding. If I could sum it up in one word... hmmmmmm, stress I think would be a good one!

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Specializes in A myriad of specialties.

hi jelet! it's nice that you have an interest in nursing.

my first piece of advice is take some courses in grammar, english 101, 102, etc. accurate written communication is essential and you will be judged on that just as you will be by your appearance and other qualifications. while you're on the college campus taking english courses, look fully into the nursing curriculum as well as other careers. ask lots of questions.

my second piece of advice: read a variety of the nursing "threads" here on allnurses to glean a better view of the wide variety of specialties in nursing.

you are very young. it takes a few years to complete your prerequisite courses; take that time to really explore many career choices before settling on one. i wish you the best of luck!

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If you're a senior in high school you should be applying to colleges now. I think your primary concern should be applying and getting accepted into a university. Since you don't know much about many careers, I would advise that you enter college with an undeclared major and focus on your general education requirements. While you're doing that you can spend some time job-shadowing various careers and seeing what you like in college. This will help you determine your path.

Have you taken the ACTs or SATs? (I'm assuming you're in the US--if you're not I don't know which college entrance tests are used.) This is critical to college acceptance. Are there any junior colleges near you? Junior colleges offer the first two years of university courses, then you transfer to a larger university. They're generally easier to get into, which may be advisable due to your grades. You could then take remedial English courses and get yourself on level to attend a regular college. This would be a good start because it would allow you to explore what interests you and prove yourself academically so that you can transfer to a larger university and apply to the nursing major.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.
Why would you get flamed when you gave good advice?

He freely admits he's sorely un-educated and that's why he's asking questions. Some people seem to think that just because he knows nothing of our profession and is asking questions then he's a troll or needs to be put in his place, when he's merelly presenting what he knows (myths and false presumptions) and asking questions "what's so hard about nursing?" because all he hears is "nursing is soooooo hard" but no one is giving him specifics....what is about nursing that makes it so hard because on the surface we wear it well but then we turn around and complain. In a way it's a compliment to our profession that we make it look easy. LOL :)

I'm not flaming the OP, however I was just warning them that others might be offended by someone saying that they thought we just treated "minor" things. I do agree that when you are ignorant on a subject, you should ask questions about it, but I was simply presenting both sides of the coin.

I don't think the OP needs to be put in their place, they just need to be educated, which a simple search here on allnurses can do. If anything, I was a little shocked that someone who was so interested in nursing as to consider nursing school didn't know a little more about what nurses do before asking questions or presenting myths they have heard, because it just makes me wonder what sparked the intial interest in the field.

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Why does it surprise any nurse here that Jelet, regardless of his age, really doesn't know what nursing is about. New grads coming into the profession are shell-shocked once they are on their own. I'll be the first to say that when I started as a new nurse, there was a huge difference between being taught how IT SHOULD BE and HOW IT ACTUALLY IS. I was working in a hospital as a housekeeper when I decided to go back to school, and thought that because I'd "seen" what nurses do that I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I realized that I had barely a faint idea of what I was getting into, and I realized that once I was working as a nurse not when I was a student.

Some here have suggested volunteering or becoming a CNA, which isn't a bad idea, however, having worked with former nursing assistants that became nurses most have made comments that they really had no idea what nurses were really responsible for nor how hard it was being the RN when they were the CNAs. Most have also said that if they knew what being the RN was as a CNA they would have had a different attitude towards both their job as a CNA and towards the nurses. I will say this though, if one cannot handle being a CNA, than it's doubtful they could handle being a nurse. I'm not saying that there is not benefit to being a CNA before becoming a nurse. Whether one is a CNA, MA, EMT, or even a housekeeper before becoming a nurse, there is always things from experience in those roles that will benefit you as a nurse. Nursing is like a lot of other professions in that until you are actually working as one, regardless of what exposure you've had, you won't fully understand it until you're doing it.

Now Jelet, if you don't think you can accomplish 90's, you won't. When I made the decision to return to school I had decided I was going to graduate with a a GPA of 4.0 before I even sat in my first class. That's exactly what I did, graduated with a GPA of 4.0. I worked my butt off for that. I will say this, if I had started a nursing program right after high school, I wouldn't have had that attitude and probably wouldn't have completed the program. I didn't have the right mind set at that point. I'm not saying that this is true of you or anyone else. In my case, it was more beneficial to me as a student training to become a nurse to do so at 24 than it would have been right after high school. Many of us have taken different paths along the way before taking the path towards a career in nursing. It's really up to you what path you take and what you are willing to put into a career investment.

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Specializes in ED/trauma.
i c.. also is it hard to get accepted into a nursing program--unviersity /community college? like im a senior in highschool and my gpa was about a 85 unweighted for my freshmen and junior year. but my sophmore year i messed up bad and my gpa was like a 60. i was going through a real hard time.(i had a 83ish the first 2 quarters but then the last 2 quarters i started skipin skool and such..)

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 did too when I was in HS, and that's why I USED TO want to be a doctor. I didn't want to take orders and do peon work!

Fast forward several years... I did some volunteering and saw that nurses did a LOT -- in addition to that whole being in charge of people's lives things. Changed my WHOLE perspective.

This thread could be appended to the threads where someone asks what nurses REALLY do. We do A LOT!

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Well, I'm in bed rolling my feet around on a frozen water bottle because if the PF isn't killing me the Morton's Neuroma is.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical.

Yes, it is hard to get into Nursing school, and hard to stay in, as well, but try really hard in college for youe pre-req's and that should help. Now, do RN's only treat little injuries like burns.....who wants to take that one?

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