Would you recommend nursing to your daughter?

Nurses General Nursing

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My daughter is 17 and graduating this spring and plans on going to college this fall. She has expressed a desire to go into nursing but I really have a problem encouraging her to do this. I don't know if it is just the mother in me that wants her to go on to something else or if I just don't want to see her emptying bedpans and taking the crap we have to. She is so young and shy I am afraid she will be eaten alive. AM I being to overprotective or should I be more supportive and encourage her even if I think it is a mistake?

Specializes in Tele, ICU, ER.

AFter the night I had last night - NO WAY. That said, I have one (daughter #2) who wants to go to nsg school and I support her in her goal. I don't sugar coat it that's for sure, but she's heard about enough of my really rough nights to know the downside.

Good God, did last night bite.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
My mum was an RN and both my parents discouraged me when i was considering nursing. However, i made my own choice and am now in my final year. Still not totally convinced i want to be a nurse but sometimes i wish my parents could support me even if they disagree with my decision.

Its hard coming home after a bad day and having my parents tell me 'they told me so' and that they 'dont want to hear me complaining'.

My brother and sister also complain about their professions but my parents approved of their choice so sympathise with them.

Basically my point is, if your daughter does decide to do nursing please please support her even if you disagree with her decision. I feel i would be ALOT happier and even enjoy nursing more if my parents supported me.

Good advice.

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I'm sorry to see so many burnt out nurses. My mom has been a nurse for 20 years and is very happy with her work. She is working in an area she enjoys, and she has also been specially trained to help families who have experienced a loss or are about to. In high school I used to shadow my mom on shifts and it was really facinating to me. I know it's not all glamor and that sometimes you do have grunge work and you feel you have too many patients under your care at a time. Not everyone is cut out for it.

I am doing my nursing pre-req's right now. I chose nursing because my daughter has some health issues (including feeding tube) and I feel I'm good at caring for her and can see myself caring for others in the same way. I was a birth doula in training for awhile before her birth and did a lot of clean-up work for homebirths and such. I really didn't mind. It's all part of life.

The hours are flexible and the pay is supposed to be pretty good, too. I won't have to worry about finding a job even if our family moves to another city. My husband is much more limited with his job options as an IT person. He does not like his job, is stuck in a cubicle all day seeing the same people year after year.

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Specializes in ER/OR.

I would encourage my daughter if thats what she wanted. I'd like to see her being a trained, nicely compensated professional than to work for a liberal arts/management degree and be a t-shirt manager at the Gap or manager at Walmart.

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yes nursing is so broad

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For those of you who say no, what job would you want your child to do?

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No, I would not - not with the direction it's going!

One son became an RN and worked in critical care for several years - he got out of it and is working toward being a tool & die maker. I completely understand why, too.

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Hell no. Unless she aspired to advanced practice, teaching, research, or Admin. And only reluctantly then.

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For those of you who say no, what job would you want your child to do?

Princess

Lottery Winner

Owner of her own business

Lawyer

Physician

CPA

Physical Therapist (better pay than RN, more autonomous)

Sales (furniture, major appliances, high end cars, insurance, investments - something with a good commission structure)

Real Estate Developer

Dispatcher for a taxi cab or trucking firm, or an EMS/police agency.

:idea: novel thought, a homemaker/stay-at-home mom; after raising her family, she can go to work

Writer

trader on the various markets - futures, currency, stocks and bonds

TV or radio personality

something that accommodates the needs of a parent with small children and teenagers and that pays decently (work while the kids are in school only - like maybe 0830 - 1430, off weekends, holidays, summers)

Educator

Travel Industry

Real Estate - but not in a dangerous role (agents are subject to craziness from loony buyers who want to rape and mangle them while out showing property)

There is so much to choose from.

One need not do dirty, thankless, low-paid, dangerous, stressful work, working weekends, holidays, evenings, and nights. I know every line of work has its problems but there are some really dangerous features to Nursing and there are so many options other than Nursing.

Heck, she could be a museum curator or sociologist or Zoo directress.

Seamstress

Model

Playboy bunny? :uhoh3: :nono: I know, I know. Not good for the image of modern women.

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Encourage her to look into other health care professions that the bedside experience won't be so intensive/brutal...ie; physical therapist, occupational therapist, radiological technologist ie doing MRI's, sonography, cat scans etc. I know many PT's, OT's that have opened their own businesses and even have contracts as State Providers for the Developmental Disability population. I have rarely met a therapist or sonographer that doesn't love their job...I know many, many nurses that are disappointed, burned out and trapped in their jobs due to salary/benefits etc. I love being an RN, however after seeing the possibilities in these other professions, if I had looked into them from the beginning, knowing all the facts, I probably would have chosen the therapist route. Good luck to you and your daughter. Encouragement and positive guidance is always the high road to take.

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i have just changed my degree (again) to nursing. my parents were not very supportive of my decision either. i really looked into everything before i made my final decision. i really believe that nursing is for me. my parents have just started to support my decision and i ask you all to keep an open mind, and ask that your children do the same.

below you will find the reasons why i did not choose a different career. keep in mind that i am a single mother living with my parents. i previously served in the air force.

princess

wasn't born one, william is taken, harry is going to war. i guess i am out of luck there. :lol2:

lottery winner

i buy the tickets but odds haven't been in my favor yet.

owner of her own business

i took two years of business school, and i hated it. not to mention in accounting we learned that 9 out of 10 new businesses fail a year, and as a single mother that is not a risk i am willing to take. i'm not a big risk taker. :idea:

lawyer

i thought about law school for a while, and i even contacted a few. it is an additional 3 years of school after you finish your bachelors. the time in school is very intense with memorizing laws and reading case after case. then you have to be ready for the socratic method of questioning. not to mention it is very competitive. if you want to make a six figure salary then you have to be at the top of the class. if not you will be another nickle and dime divorce lawyer on the street corner.

physician

i also thought about becoming a dr for a while. i was all ready to take all the chemistry, math, english, and physics courses required for med school. then i found out medical school is 4 years long, you get in 100k debt, after you finish medical school you have to go through residency which is anywhere from 3 years to 7. in that time you are making about 50k, you are on call a lot and have to stay the night in the hospital. then when you are finally finished, you still can't make your own hours. unless you are derm, er, or opto you will have to work a lot of hours. oh and these "family friendly" specialties are the most competitive so if you want derm you better be in the top of your medical class in one of the best schools.

cpa

like i said earlier i took accounting classes. this career is very family friendly if you get into a good firm. the problem is, would you be happy crunching numbers all the time. i really enjoyed accounting at first, but now, i would rather barf then talk about depreciation, credit and debits, or look at another balance sheet. :barf01:

physical therapist (better pay than rn, more autonomous)

this is one career i can say that i never looked into, because i never had an interest. i have seen them in action and in their working environment, and i just have no desire to do that.

sales (furniture, major appliances, high end cars, insurance, investments - something with a good commission structure)

yuck! not me. i would not be happy being a salesperson. i worked as a salesperson (not commission based) before and i really disliked it. i hate pushing people to buy things that i wouldn't buy.

real estate developer

i think real estate would be fun, but it is another risky career. i think to really benefit from a career like this you would need enough money. you could join a corporation or partnership but then the return would not be as lucrative.

dispatcher for a taxi cab or trucking firm, or an ems/police agency.

this just wouldn't be fun to me i don't know about the pay or anything associated with it because i am not interested.

:idea: novel thought, a homemaker/stay-at-home mom; after raising her family, she can go to work

i stayed at home with my parents for a year after i had my daughter and i went insane. my brain felt like mush. i needed some kind of outside stimuli. i applaud all stay at home moms. i couldn't do it.

writer

some of us are born good writers, and some aren't. i unfortunately wasn't. my mom, however, is. while working on a novel you have to be able to have some sort of income. most people freelance (write articles for magazines without being employed) but they are picky and you have to be really familiar with their magazine. (they don't want a story that they wrote about 3 years ago) :trout: you have to be really good with your money too, because sometimes the money will flow in, and sometimes it won't.

trader on the various markets - futures, currency, stocks and bonds

in the business world that is the most competitive area to work. they recruit from the top business schools like harvard, kellog, stanford, and wharton. these are really hard to get into and are not funded. the work hours are crap and you have to be able to support yourself in a city with a hedgefund or ib like new york. the average ib works an 80 hour work week (the same as some doctors).

tv or radio personality

that would be awesome but the pay for tv or radio personality is around 20-30k. but if you are a star that will shoot up in no time. if you aren't then i hope you have another source of income.

educator

if you like to teach this is a great path. you need to have a phd (a min. of 4 years undergrad, 1 year for masters, and however long it takes you to get that dissertation) unless you want to teach high school or elementry school. most schools will hire you though before you finished your dissertation. i need a job sooner than that. also acadamia careers are very competitive and you have to be willing to move. you must also research and write. the saying goes... publish or perish.

travel industry

that could be a fun job. i never really looked into it. i imagine it has its high and low seasons though. you might want to work somewhere like vegas too. that is where our vacation lady works.

real estate - but not in a dangerous role (agents are subject to craziness from loony buyers who want to rape and mangle them while out showing property)

oh my! i have never heard of such stories. but again i don't like to push sales. the real estate market is going down now too.

heck, she could be a museum curator or sociologist or zoo directress.

i was an art history major and museum curator is the most competitive job, and the pay really sucks (30k). if you get it then at least it's 9-5 job but you still work holidays.

i hated sociology so i never really looked into it. but from what i gather you need to learn at least one other language (unless you are studying american sociology) and you have to be willing to travel to your area of interest.

zoo directress? i don't know about this one, but i want to stay far away from those poo flinging monkeys. :monkeydance:

seamstress

i can't sew. :o

model

the modeling industry is brutal. has anyone seen the agency on vh1. i am too short anyways.

playboy bunny? :uhoh3: :nono: i know, i know. not good for the image of modern women

i sent my picture in but hef said no. haha! just kidding ;)

one other thing. when the economy sucks so do more than half of the jobs you listed. a lot of lay offs happen. my uncle just got laid off from a prestigious bank in new york, now he is a manager for terminex. :angryfire

sorry this post was so long! i am not dissing any of these professions. i have respect for everyone no matter the job, because every job has its highs and lows. if there was a high salary, 9-5, holidays off, higher-educated not needed, job, i think... well i think it would be made up. :lol2:

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I would never encourage it. If she wanted to be a nurse, I would support her. But thank God she is a very talented writer, and hates the sight of blood.

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