hi, I am a 29 year old female and I currently am Seriously considering nursing as a 2nd full-time career. I keep searching the web, but its unclear what day to day duties nurses do specifically. I am considering nursing school, but wanted to know, what are the worst duties, so I know Exactly what I am getting into? Please help me, because I will really think about these answers as I consider nursing school.
Also, same question for nursing school (the hands-on training), what was the worst of it, and was it mandatory? I want to be a pediatrics nurse, and I'd rather avoid hands-on practice with adults if thats possible..though I have a feeling it is not possible.. Thank you.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
i understand that you are curious about nursing so it is good that you are asking these questions... but you sound like you would not actually like nursing. nursing is total patient care! aids are not responsible to do this though they can help. thus, why are you going into nursing???
if it is for job security and descent wage then you need to know that right now nursing has no job security (there is no shortage), new grads (that will be you when you graduate) are not being hired at this time around the country, and the pay has either become stagnant or dropped in many places. the economy has hit nursing hard just like any other industry. there are lots of people working as nurses or going back to school to become nurses... so there are not many jobs available any more (i know that the media states otherwise but it is not true).
Nursing certainly has a lot of negatives, but overall, for me anyways, it's a great field where you can really make a difference. It's true that you really have to be dedicated, that you see lots of poop and pee, adult diapers, angry families. HOWEVER....I work in pediatrics and I love it! The families are great, they just need lots of information so they're not so scared. Peds also usually results in smaller diapers. =) Recently we are seeing more 150 kg bedridden teens, so it's not always the case. =(
In clinicals you do it all. You'll do adult med surg and take care of pretty much every adult illness you can imagine. You'll go to hospitals, nursing homes, community clinics, psychiatric hospitals, pediatric hospitals, maternity, women's health, everything! But because there's so much to learn, you're not in any one place for too long. You also might be surprised. I always said I'd NEVER work in peds and somehow I ended up there, and like I said, I couldn't be happier.
If you decide to go for it I would just recommend to be ready to work hard every day, you need to be an amazing multi-tasker, be ready for lots of paperwork, and make sure you take care of your back. It's the only one you've got!
One final thought, if you want something easier there are always clinic jobs, the newborn nursery, school nursing, that sort if thing. Then there's much less of the 'nasty stuff'!!! Good luck! =)
nursing school - you have to complete your prerequisites before you apply to get into nursing school. Usually the programs are competitive and may take you a few years to get accepted.
Clinical rotations: Care plans-I've written 30+ pages of care plan for ONE patient, while in clinicals. You will "shadow" and/or perform duties like a nurse--depending on what your school's and hospital's policies are for nursing students.
After graduation: There are many new grads now that are having the most difficult time finding job placements. Read the posts in "first year in nursing" and check out the article "no country for new nurses". The best way to get a job would be to NETWORK-NETWORK-NETWORK.
In clinical rotations, depending on your school's and hospital's policies: you will shadow a nurse, give medications--usually you will clean the patient (you name it, you will clean it). You may document on the patient's chart as long as it's ok with your preceptor.
As an RN you will .... and deal with...(but not limited to)
wiping butts; collecting stool, urine, blood, sputum, etc; lifting, bending; do dressing changes, reposition your total care patient's every two hours; do all these while speaking to the doctor, to the patient, to the family, pharmacy, physical therapist, social worker etc. Are your IV lines patent, up to date, expired, painful, leaking? Don't forget your vital signs! One patient is in pain, while the other patient converted to a rapid heart rate and may 'go' anytime soon if care is not given right away. It may have been the CNA's mistake, but it is still YOUR PROBLEM. Also you have to give medications--make sure you give the right patient the right medications. You have to document, document, document--so nothing 7 years down the line will LEGALLY bite you in the tush.
I'm guessing you probably don't have too clear of an idea what nurses really do - and that's OK. I didn't either before I started down this road. I learned a lot from this website - check our the different forums (pre-nursing students, nursing students, general nursing, pediatric nursing, etc.). Do a search for "day in the life" threads - I've read a few. You can also call a few hospitals in your area and ask if they will allow you to shadow a nurse for a day, just to get a better idea of what the job actually entails.
Also, don't get freaked out by all the descriptions of blood, poop, sputum, etc. It sounds gross now, and most of us don't look forward to cleaning up after a GI bleed for 12 hours, but you get used to it so quickly you don't really think about it anymore. Now, if you have a very weak stomach, or a true phobia of blood or of needles, it could be a bit tougher for you to overcome. If you just don't get excited about wiping poop, don't worry about it - we don't either. It's part of the job, and nowhere near the worst part.
In my opinion, the worst part of nursing is all of the paperwork and the hoops that we have to jump through. In addition to caring for our patients, and to documenting that care in one place, we have SEVERAL other forms that we have to fill out during our shifts. Each one doesn't take long individually, but the whole stack takes up a significant part of my shift. Add that to the required pre-recorded report we have to leave, following a certain format, and at least an hour of my shift is spent doing things that don't affect patient care (I'm not including documenting on the patients' flow sheets in this hour). Throw in a particularly demanding family, and you may get to spend less than half of your shift in your patients' rooms. Many nights we feel like we're there to document and to correctly label our tubing, and to get Aunt Fannie 17 cokes from the PATIENT kitchen; all the while ignoring the dying patient in the next room who has no family nearby and desperately needs someone to get him through the last few days of his life. That's what's most difficult about nursing in my book.
The mental part can be exhausting and is not visible to outsiders.
Constantly prioritizing your care and reshuffling that list when new issues crop up. Dealing tactfully with problem people and choosing words carefully.
Living with uncertainty all shift. A patient can go bad in a heartbeat. Being fully responsible and accountable for the care of people who are critically ill. There is no room for "coasting" through a bad day no matter how awful you feel.
Charting. It's so over-rated . No really, charting has it's purpose in covering your butt, but it's always the last thing to do on my list of priorities because it's boring. The whole changing adult briefs, digging dentures out of vomit, and wondering how exactly this person is living when they just won't stop bleeding doesn't get to me.
Oh, and just because you have your BSN doesn't mean you get to bypass all the patient care. I have my BSn and wipe a butt with the best of them. I even caught my nursing care manager assisting someone to the commode the other day. If you are truly a nurse, you put off that nursing note you need to write about the 10 orders and 3 doctors you just spoke with, and get the little old lady on the bedpan because she has to pee.
For anyone who is considering nursing and isn't too sure if it's right for them I suggest taking a class to become a nursing assistant and getting out there and working as one.
For me it was once I got working as a nursing assistant doing the nitty gritty work that I fell in love with nursing.
There really is no way to answer what a nurse does on a daily basis in one post. Nurses tend to be the jack of all trades. Wander around this message board for awhile and read all you can. There is a lot of negative here, but sometimes that is just a nurse venting after a bad shift.
if you want something easier there are always clinic jobs, the newborn nursery, school nursing, that sort if thing. Then there's much less of the 'nasty stuff'!!! Good luck! =)
My nights when I am in the newborn nursery and admitting up to 16 babies (that's my personal record) in 12 hours plus dealing with a withdrawing baby plus someone else on a bilibed....far from easy! :)
I will also say this, unequivocally. I have been peed on, pooped on, barfed on, and bled on FAR MORE in the newborn nursery than I have ever been caring for adults (which I still do as well). Those babies are pretty indiscriminate, and equal opportunity barfers.
Specializes in criticalcare, nursing administration.
Hi Nurse hopeful.
I have to agree with the lateral violence comments.It is an issues receiving a lot of attention lately. I also agree that there are many physically distasteful parts to the job. I came home after many shifts to exhausted to move, and missed more family holidays than I can count. Is nursing physically, and mentally hard? yes
That said, I wouldn't have changed my career choice for the world. Although you see the worst in people, you are also PRIVILEDGED to see the best in people; the heroic, the selfless, the poignant. The experiences you have can be life-changing....Please look at both sides in making your decision.
so "lateral violence" is a very dramatic way of saying verbal abuse and/or work place politics, basically getting one's feelings hurt and/or the shaft, hilarious. i learn something new everyday, but that doesn't mean it's worth the brain cells it takes up.
i can't wait to start using these terms (lateral and horizontal violence) at work, especially when i ask someone who is being an orifice if they like horizontal violence (that just sounds rated X to me).
. No really, charting has it's purpose in covering your butt, but it's always the last thing to do on my list of priorities because it's boring. The whole changing adult briefs, digging dentures out of vomit, and wondering how exactly this person is living when they just won't stop bleeding doesn't get to me. 
SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN
3,376 Posts
i understand that you are curious about nursing so it is good that you are asking these questions... but you sound like you would not actually like nursing. nursing is total patient care! aids are not responsible to do this though they can help. thus, why are you going into nursing???
if it is for job security and descent wage then you need to know that right now nursing has no job security (there is no shortage), new grads (that will be you when you graduate) are not being hired at this time around the country, and the pay has either become stagnant or dropped in many places. the economy has hit nursing hard just like any other industry. there are lots of people working as nurses or going back to school to become nurses... so there are not many jobs available any more (i know that the media states otherwise but it is not true).