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I am seeing SO many repeat threads here, so I thought I'd throw in a few words of wisdom.

Question: Is nursing for me?

Answer: No one can answer that but you. As with every job out there, nursing has its pros and cons. To answer concisely, if poop, puke, pee, catheters, blood, ostomy spillage, gaping oozing wounds down to the bone, or pus make you squeamish then the answer is no, nursing is probably not for you. Anything else you're just going have to work out in your head, heart, and your own state laws. We don't know you or your history, and i think I can safely say no one here can read souls to find out your true destiny.

Question: Should I move on from XYZ job?

Answer: No one can answer that but you. If you've given it enough thought to post about it on a nursing forum, you're probably ready to move on. If you're burnt out, exhausted, overworked, underpaid, underbenefitted, your nurse/patient ratio sucks, your managers suck, your coworkers suck, your commute sucks, or any combination of the above, then yes, you're probably ready for a new job. Be forewarned though, you sometimes go from the frying pan to the fire. No matter what field or hospital you move to, you're probably going to find at least one of the above things suck. If they all suck, run, don't walk.

Question: I have XYZ medical problem, advice please?

Answer: The answer is we have no advice. NO MEDICAL ADVICE CAN BE GIVEN HERE. EVER. NO MATTER HOW NICELY YOU ASK OR HOW STRANGE YOUR PROBLEM IS!

Question: What is a day in the life of a nurse like?

Answer: Shadow one in a position you're interested in. Every nursing job is vastly different, even from facility to facility. The only truly good way to experience a day in the life of a nurse is to witness it firsthand. Don't forget your rollerskates.

Question: Can you help me with XYZ nursing assignment?

Answer: Only if it's something you can't look up yourself, like an interview. Being on this forum is usually a way to decompress for nurses, and the last thing we want to do after an 8-12-16-20:uhoh3: hour shift is relive the glory days of nursing school by doing homework.

Question: What should I wear for an interview?

Answer: If we really need to answer this then you may need to go back to either Nursing101 or your professional role transition course. Also, just because it's usually the next question to follow, yes, send the damn thank you card.

Question: Why is XYZ nursing job superior to XYZ nursing job?

Answer: No job is superior to any other job. Nursing is comprised of many different fields, all with its own unique set of challenges, whether it's high nurse/patient ratios or vast amounts of paperwork. Anyone who think their field is harder than someone else's is usually playing the "mine is bigger than yours' game.

Question: What is the difference between an LPN/LVN/RN/NP/PA/MD/DO/PHD/BLAH BLAH BLAH? Followed by, which one should I become?

Answer: Do a search and stop asking this question. Only you can decide what profession is right for you, and you're on a nursing forum so take a wild guess what the majority of the answers are going to be?

Question: Is XYZ out of my scope of practice:

Answer: Check your facility and state policies. Every place is different. What one facility encourages may be completely prohibited by another.

Question: Is it okay that I never get a lunch, don't get paid for my overtime, work short-staffed to a dangerous capacity every shift, my manager treats me like crap, or that I get written up for arbitrary things because my hospital is in the process of converting to a hotel?

Answer: No. See question/answer #2.

Question: Does a new grad belong in the ED/ICU/PACU/OTHER CRITICAL CARE AREA, or is it better to start out in med-surg first?

Answer: You might as well ask if the chicken or the egg came first. It's six to one, half a dozen to the other. You're never going to get a uniform answer on this so just make the choice you feel is best for you and your career.

Question: What's your IQ?

Answer: Really?!

Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
That post was so over the wall I had to read it several times....not even because of the marijuana..but mainly b/c the poster is saying he is 16 and in nursing school, yeah right, and already knows he is going to be a CRNA...and wants to know the quickest way.....

well how about first you actually graduate from high school, then you take some pre req's for nursing school and hope you get in somewhere. Then you actually make it through nursing school. Then you must hope you pass the NCLEX...and actually become licensed in a state (with the MJ conviction-doubtful-but I digress)..then you must work in a hospital at a critical care level for at least 2 years..then begin applying to CRNA schools and hope and pray you get in...again with that pesky MJ conviction....I dunno...but by all means...you're 16..you know it all!

Oh wait. I thought someone was just making that up...you mean it was an actual POST?!?!? Seriously?

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"My doctor told me to go to the ER or I might die but I don't want to go. Why can't YOU give me medical advice? I promise not to sue."

Too soon?

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A little off topic here, but I've been curious for a long time. How does one do a dig stim with the long acrylic nails? Or a lady partsl exam?

The nails can actually act as a speculum! Less waste! *crosses legs*

Problem with the search function is, someone searches, finds the post and posts in it. The post is bumped up and then everyone complains that old posts are being bumped.

Yeah, I do agree- the search function is meh meh meh. Maybe this is an area of future improvement?

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.
Here is that thread on the 40ddd topic and other :grn:stuff

40 DDD and she didn't realize she NEEDED a bra? Good grief!

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Oh wait. I thought someone was just making that up...you mean it was an actual POST?!?!? Seriously?

OMG he still posts I think....

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40 DDD and she didn't realize she NEEDED a bra? Good grief!

Maybe Coopers Droop had not set in yet?!:D

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Specializes in ER.
Here is that thread on the 40ddd topic and other :grn:stuff

That thread has had almost 32,000 views!! That's a lot of views for those boobies! :)

(I like when she says... "I couldn't pass the pencil test (even if there were a dozen pencils...)" HAHA. :yeah:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Oh wait. I thought someone was just making that up...you mean it was an actual POST?!?!? Seriously?

I thought it was a fictional person, too!!

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.
Oh wait. I thought someone was just making that up...you mean it was an actual

POST?!?!? Seriously?

Do you really think I could make that up?????:eek:

No, that's for real, I'm afraid...actually be afraid, be very afraid.....

Hint, it's in among the "I have had 17 DUI's in the last 6 months, can I still be a nurse?" section...somewhere.:uhoh3:

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.
"My doctor told me to go to the ER or I might die but I don't want to go. Why can't YOU give me medical advice? I promise not to sue."

Too soon?

oooooohhhhhh, Hiddencat...you're a bad puddy tat...(but not too soon for me):rolleyes:

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.
Here's one that is not usually a question but is brought up in SO many posts:

"actually, the word is not ORIENTATING, it's ORIENTING"

C'mon, 521,000 nurses on this site and you think you are the first/only person who thinks they are grammatically correct?

I believe, like you, the word of choice is "orienting" but if you check "dictionary.com" "orientating" is valid- I just think it sounds wrong.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

Great Thread. I don't always mind the same threads over and over. I have re-read LOTR twice yearly for 30 years. It makes my wife bonkers, but re-reading a favorite old book, or posting on a favorite old thread topic- sometimes it's nice just to visit an old friend without having to do a lot of new thinking.

It does make me think that I need to try harder to have the "Serenity to accept the things I cannot change" and the "wisdom to know the difference" and less "the courage to change the things I can". When I see the same topic crop up that was posted a year ago, and two years, and 5 years.... I may not get any new insights, but I have to think that this may be a problem I need to learn to accept as one of those things I am not going to change.

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