Why do you want to/did you become a Nurse?

[BunnyBunnyBSNRN]

Hi all!

Maybe this topic has been covered before, but I'm new here.

The reason I'm asking is two fold;

1. To get to know some of ya'll (yes, I'm from Texas)
2. Because I think I've got an odd reason (shrug).

Anyway, the reason I want to become a Nurse is b/c I had horrible care/treatment many years ago - on two different occasions - and witnessed horrible care to a patient while working in a hospital on at least one occasion. I want to make sure that my patients receive better. Is that strange?

Hope to hear from ya soon!

[casi, ASN, RN]

I'm very shy too, but as a CNA I snap out of my shell with my residents. It took me a few times to do, but now I'm comfortable with it. It's apart of the learning process. In CNA mode I can be very outgoing, in any other mode I like to hide in corners.

Look around the site and you'll see a lot of the bad sides of nursing. A lot of the posts you have to take at a arms length as this is a place where a lot of people come to vent, but it allows you to see what you up against.

Some of the bad things I've seen as a CNA is understaffing, some of the icky stuff (really, how many people go to school so they can deal with vomit on a personal level?), bad attitudes of co-workers, seeing people at their worst and in their most vunlerable state.

[goldenbobcat]

Allow me to add my "two sense" worth to your question. Having been a nurse for a very long time, I have seen people enter nursing for all the right reason as well as for the entirely wrong ones. Nursing is a challenging and very rewarding profession. It does require an unyielding dedication to the preservation of life while maintaining each patient's unique personality. I had the advantage of working my way through the associates degree framework all the way to the masters level. It was a long way to go and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for everyone; but I learned many valued lessons. The point that I wish to make is this. Time often helps one to galvanize his/her decision. Whether you choose an associates degree program or bachelors framework, get a job in an acute care hospital. I suggest that you find a nurse or group of nurses who enjoy what they are doing. Watch what they do and ask many questions. Nursing is not everyone. The hours are long and the money is not all that fantastic. If positive reinforvement is a vital need....remember that often our reward shall come in heaven. Good luck.

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Galore said:

For all of you who recommend volunteering, how have you gotten into it? I'm close with someone who works in HR at a large hospital here, and she told me volunteers are not allowed on the floor at all, they can only work in the gift shop or hand out cookies in the ER waiting room, simple things that won't give you any knowledge or experience about actual nursing. Are other hospitals more flexible?

I volunteer in a program at Duke, right on the peds floor. We help keep little ones amused, we're allowed to hold babies and comfort them, and we "sit" with peds bone marrow patients so the people staying with them get a break (they must have someone with them twenty-four hours a day; the hospital room looks like a hotel room, complete with full bath, a Murphy-style bed, and a VCR and Playstation). We're not allowed to perform patient care, but I get to see a lot of nursing care first hand, and now that the nurses know I'm applying to school, they explain a lot of what they're doing as well.

Call the volunteer coordinator at the hospital you're interested in. They may know more than HR does.

[hTx87]

Thanks...helps alot!

How would u rate nursing school with pre-reqs..1-10?