Would you do it all again?

[wooten3955]

I am just curious to know how many of you would still choose a career in nursing--knowing what you know now--if you had the chance to travel back in time and perhaps pick a different path.

[Farawyn]

Nursing.

[Libby1987]

Hands down, a resounding yes. Nursing, HH nursing specifially, has been a huge part of my life and I still thrive in it.

Beginning today going forward? I'd probably go for a different career in healthcare. But nursing fits me.

[mrsjonesRN]

I graduated nursing school at 21. I have been in this career for 5 years and I have learned so much. I have worked a few different jobs and enjoy the fact that if I don't like what I am doing, I can always change jobs to switch it up. I enjoy meeting new people every shift. I have also found out nurses are the best people around and all of my closest friends are nurses who have my back no matter what!

To answer your question, yes, I would choose nursing all over again. Nursing has helped me develop a backbone and many lifelong friendships.

But one thing I would change is working night shift. I would have started on day shift and not gotten used to having the night shift differential. Now I am sort of stuck on nights because of the huge cut in pay going to days would bring.

[Bo,RN]

I often say I would do radiology (MRI or US) if I were starting again, but nursing has been good to me. I think I would choose to do nursing all over 85% of the time.

[jpracct]

I would do it again.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Even after 26 years I would do it all again!

[NanaPoo]

Yes, after 16 years in nursing I'd definitely do it again.

The only thing I'd do differently is start earlier. When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do and got my BA in Spanish on my parent's dime. A few years later I figured out the nursing thing and got my nursing degree on my own dime and in my late 20's.

Looking back I'd have done the nursing thing when I was younger at a more respected university (although they were both great schools) and gotten started as a nurse on my own prior to getting married. I think it would have taken my life in a really different, independent direction.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

After 17, now almost 18, years I would do nursing again , but start earlier. But I got that Masters in computer science first. It was a waste of time, but not money (all school has been paid for by GI bill or scholarships). I've had a pretty good career, some ups, some downs...

[Everline]

I'm content with my current job. However, knowing what I know now about nursing and what I've learned about myself, I would choose differently.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I am 60 years old -- having graduated with my BSN back when I was 22. (Got MSN at 26 and PhD at 41 -- and have worked predominantly in hospital settings)

I would do some things differently, but I would still become a nurse. Mostly, I would have double-majored as an undergraduate so that I could combine my nursing knowledge with knowledge of another field (probably history, maybe sociology or cultural anthropology, or political science). That would have opened up opportunities to do multi-disciplinary work that would have enriched nursing and strengthened the nursing profession within society.

But when I was young, I was too focused on nursing. I came from a small town and the idea of doing something unusual (double-majors were practically unheard of for nursing students back then) was intimidating to me. The standard thing was to go to college and get your BSN in 4 years. To step off that standard path was a bit too intimidating for me. But I wish I had done it -- strayed from the standard path and gotten a second major at that level.

[NurseEmmy]

I would still chose nursing, but would have gone for my BSN, RN MUCH sooner. I am in a rut that I created and financially my family is not as stable as I would like due to the fact I let life get in the way. The only other "realistic" career would have been K-5 teaching, and they face many of the same issues we do, if not more.

[GiftfromGodRN]

Absolutely, I love my job and I take great pride in my profession. Being a nurse is never about the paycheck, the status or the title, if that's what you're in it for...... get out of the profession. I have always wanted a career in nursing, and though it is not easy, the rewards are unimaginable........ for every 50 negative comments, the one positve one outweighs it all...... I treat every patient as my own family, and hope all my fellow nurses do the same..... the human touch, the listening, empathy and compassion, I'm proud to say I'm a nurse, and at the end of the day, I can only hope in some small way I made a difference, whether it be a patien, a family member or a coworker.. I truly believe this is my calling , thus my user name "Gift from God RN.!