Would you recommend nursing to your daughter?

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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 HIV care, med/surge agency.

yes being a nurse is sometimes hard but it has great rewards. Very flexable. Lots of jobs and scedules to chose from. You always know you are doing usefull work. You will never get rich but you will always have a job.

New graduates are very different from the generation that is now getting close to retirement. The new nurses have higher expectations, more alternatives, better education and are generally more independent. This is a great time to go into nursing.

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I have 2 daughters. The oldest is almost 16; the youngest 12. My oldest is interrested in Nursing and I encourage her. She has done very well in Biology this year. She is quite a tough cookie. I don't feel she will be eaten alive. Her problem will be :angryfire !!! LOL

My 12 y/o would be one to be eathen alive. She is the caring individual that would make a great nurse. However, her very soft heart makes her a target to get dumped on. She has a very hard time saying no. Nursing not for her unless she changes in the next few years. She is squeemish at the site of blood

Personally, if I had it to do over, I would do it all again. I find my job very rewarding. Not to say I have not had my burnout times. I have been in nursing for over 15 years. I now work a job that is low stress, good pay and good hours with weekends and holidays off. (pediatric homehealth-private duty). Eventually, I may go back to something more challenging, but for now this works for me. For once, I am able to do one-on-one pt care and it is very rewarding.

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Specializes in ICU, nutrition.
Maybe a summer job. I really don't want her to stop and take any time off from school, I am afraid she will like the independence and a pay check (no matter how small) and not go back to school. I would rather that she stuck with school while she is motivated.

You know, the best motivator I ever had was the year I took off from college because I was burned out. After 6 months of working in the admissions office full-time, I was ready to go back to school and get a degree so I could make a decent amount of money. Made better grades too.

Just my 0.02.

And if I thought my kid was suited for it, I'd encourage him or her to be a nurse. But right now they're too young to make that call (although Gracie seems to be well-suited to be a dictator...)

K

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I don't have a daughter, but if I did, I don't think I would want her to be a nurse. I went back as an adult student after 10 yrs as a NA, thinking that RN would give me more autonomy, flexibility, and the ability to use my brain. I have been very disappointed, mostly because of the culture of nursing and the way that new grads are treated by the seasoned nurses. Have had both good and bad experiences but the bad have been really bad. There are too many martyrs, cliques and corrupt managers in nursing. I feel like a warm body to fill a shift, no one cares about my mental or physical health, and I'm not supposed to have a family life or outside interests. I am dissappointed in the lack of respect from managers, nurses, lpns and aides, families etc. I haven't had a lot of issues with doctors, but I work in settings where we don't have frequent direct contact.

If I had it to do over again, I think I would go into computers, accounting, or some other medical specialty such as MRI tech or physio. Better hours, same pay, more life. My son, whose 10, wants to be a vet, and that would have been a choice if I had gone to school straight out of high school, I hope he does it.

Right now, my light at the end of the tunnel is taking over a family business with my husband, and then I can nurse prn only in one place and enjoy life again.

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Specializes in Medical Assisting.

Yes, I would and have. I too have a daughter, 17YO, graduating in May this year. She has struggled with the decision for her future. I have been a CMA for 10 years and have been "burned out". Although I have had negative feelings, I have also had many positive experiences that have come out of the profession. It takes a special person to fill the shoes of a nurse. If she understands the pros and cons, she will be able to make an informed decision. Just be honest about your feelings and let her decide. Maybe she could job shadow for a day or so and see if she wants to consider a career in nursing. However, keep in mind that a nurse has many opportunities, not just limited to "nursing". My daughter has decided to pursue a degree as a PA. Hope this helps.

:idea:

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I have a daughter who is a few months shy of 16 and I am making her get her prereqs for nursing school this summer and next, so after high school she will only have the down and dirty nursing courses. I am going for RN from LPN myself . The work is terrible but as a good sized man I have always been treated great where ever I went---I work FT+ and also work agency. Her mom (my ex) is an RN and hates it. I am telling her she can go to school for 2 years and work just weekends --2 16 hour shifts and make more than most people working a week and she can still have 5 days off to pursue her life's interests.....and she will have a job where she goes with decent pay. I see all these kids where I work going to school for 4 years and getting a degree and they cannot find a decent paying job. Am I selfish for just wanting to make sure she can make a decent living.

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Specializes in Multiple.

I am going through the same situation, and I also am trying to discourage my daughter from following in my foot steps,, I've told her to do any other carreer RT,OT,PT, pharmacist, Radiology tech anything but nursing why? because as a nurse although our job is very rewarding at times it is also a very great responsibilty with very little recognition and sometimes I feel like I am viewed as nothing but a glorified waitress, abused by families, doctors, other ancillary personell and administration. It all comes back to the nurse. So, if she does ignore my advice and become an RN after all I have advised her to at least take a position in a large teaching hospital where I experienced much more autonomy and respect than I do now in my smaller community hospital staffed by private practice physicians. In a larger teaching facility the physicians are employees as are the nurses, and you have interns and residents to help to carry the pt load or at least as I said this has been my experience.

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Specializes in medical/surgical.

I would recommend nursing to my daughter. I've been in nursing since 1984. Yes, I did have a rough start, during my first weeks off orientation I would go home at 530p.m. and this is a 7-3p.m. shift. After my two years, I was burned out so I went to work for an insurance company but after weeks of sitting down and going through policy- I was bored stiff so I went back to working at the bedside on my weekends off. I found out that I missed having that patient contact. So after ten months at the insurance company, I went back to bedside nursing. After 5 years of bedside nursing, I was promoted to management which I enjoy. Nursing has so many specialty areas that one can go to--- med/surg nursing, ICCU, LDRP, parish nursing, psych nursing.etc.....

It's sad to hear some have had bad experience. We as "nurses" need to change how other people treat us. I'm sorry to hear that nurseinlimbo had a bad experience with managers. I've been a manager about 19 years and I've always have good relationship with my staff. i guess I learned as a staff. I know not what to do with my staff. Most of the time in my position, I feel that I'm the one that is not appreciated and abuse by staff. I help out a lot in my unit and I think staff forgets that there are things that I need to get done. The staff would ask me to do things for them. I am able to help them but the staff are not able to do the things that managers have to do especially paper works.

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No, I would not. There are better things to do for a bright articulate female, than struggle in submissive occupation, called to please everyone. I can't believe some things that I have to listen to, like comments from families - "I hope you know what you are doing" - to me, changing IV bag of fluids; or "Please feed my mom while I talk on my cell phone". People have no idea I went to college for YEARS to do stuff I am doing. Why put up with this, in 21 century?

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Specializes in med/surg oncolgy.

I discouraged all my children from nursing. Sad but true.....:o

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No, I would never recommend that anyone go into nursing. I am very unhappy with nursing. I work all pm shifts and many weekends. I started a new position hoping that a change would renew my interest in nursing, but I am being poorly orientated. I dread worrk every day! I try to be optimistic, but when I'm at work I have very little time to care for patients. Instead I have to chart and run around like a mad person trying to get pills passed, patients cleaned, assessments done, and orders taken care of...I would be satisfied if I had time to actually put the big picture together regarding my patients' medical needs. Sometimes I have no clue what is going on with them until the end of the shift if I have time to read their chart for a minute. Nursing is a dysfunctional profesion without a clear demarkation for the nurse's role. We have to do everything, and it is too overwhelming. Other disciplines have clear roles. Trying to be the doctor's eyes, the social worker, the pharmacy dispenser, the CNA, the psychologist, etc is too much. I plan on leaving the nursing profession and returning to school for something else.

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I would NOT recommend my child male or female go into nursing. However my son has talked about it. I did tell him what a hard profession it is.

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