NURSES: do you love your job? Would love to hear from you! Also nursing students!

I am seriously considering (and have been for about 2 or 3 years) going back to school to get my BSN (Currently in HR, ultimate life goal is to run a hospital. A few of the presidents of some of the hospitals in my state are Women, and RNs!). My mom is a nurse and while she loves her job, she always asks me, "Are you SURE this is what you wanna do?"

So i just wanna know what you love and what you may not love so much about being a nurse and about your experiences. I would also love to know about nursing school. I have looked up in the forums but cant find too much info.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

I am a LPN--I haven't worked for 7 years since I had my first child.  I really loved it in the beginning but it seems like lately (or 7 years ago!) it's a lot of paperwork stuff instead of the hands on.  I also worked at a clinic for most of my 10 years and there's a huge difference.  There were RN's, LPN's and Medical Assitants--who basically did the same thing.  The only difference was that if someone needed an IV then the RN or myself (I was trained to insert, just not adminster meds) would do it.  Otherwise it's a lot of patient teaching and paperwork!  I was considering going back in about 5-7 years when my youngest would be 9-11 years old, just part time but I think I will go back to the hospital.  I cannot work in a Nursing Home or an Assited Living facility because I get too attached to the residents!  I did some of my clinicals in a Nursing Home for school and it's just so sad!  Just my opinion.

  I went to a technical college for my education--they have LPN or Associate Degree RN programs with the option to transfer out to a 4-year college to get your BA.  Right now I'm using my nursing education to work at home doing medical transcription and I love it!  I have to basically work at night when the kids are in bed and hubby at work but I'll be able to do some during the day when my little one is in 4K next year.  Hope it helps! 

 Nursing, while in a hospital setting, to me is the best--hands on patient care, that's why I became a nurse and now it's hard to find that hands on care!  Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do!

I have only been a nurse for 3 years, and I love it. Im currently working in long term care just until my son is old enough for school bc I dont wanna work 12 hrs right now.

My dream is to work cardiac but that wont be for a little while. It definetly involves a TON of paper work but I guess thats just the way it is.

In my opinion not just anyone can be a nurse it takes alot of patience and also you need to be willing to be in school for pretty much ever. There is always some course you should take to better your self so unless your willing to "learn" until you retire its prolly not for you.

Good luck!

Thanks for the responses!

First of all, Chantale...that is the cutest little furbaby i have ever seen!

I am definately a life time student. I went right out of high school and started college in the summer (not even two weeks after graduating) and in 4 years got two degrees in business. then worked for about a year and a half and then decided to go back to get a degree in HR. Now it has been another year and a half and I am getting the schooling itch. I want to work in medicine. I want to help make the world a better place. I want to help people. Ultimately I want to run a hospital. I want to get my bachelors in nursing then work for a few years after that then go back to school to get my MBA and MHA (masters - health admin) and then one day run a hospital. that has been my goal for EVER and i understand it is a LOT of work but I am sooooo ready for it!  I love school and i LOVE learning (sick, i know) and i love being able to take on new exciting things!!! and I ESPECIALLY love working towards a goal!

hi, my name is teresa and i have been a nurse for almost two years, currently work in a traumatic brain injury unit. nursing is hard work there is no  defined job duties list. i do everything from pt. care to cpr to getting water or whatever else, fixing the heating and cooling, housekeeping, yes and paper work. I am a RN, and hate to say this lyssalou 76, but most hospitals don't let LPN's do much anymore (that's in michigan), you would be better off looking into long term care, where i have worked and i very much liked it, and did not find it sad at all. to me nursing is the most fulfilling job i have ever had. some days are bad, some days are fantastic, but mostly it is just what you said, at the end of the day you make a difference, it could just holding a hand at the right moment, or giving a little motivation when someone needs it. the nurse touches the lives of everyone she takes care of, and it does take a special person to do that right. and it helps to have a strong stomach, you see, smell and have to touch(with gloves on of course) some really gross stuff, and often some of it gets on you, not just talking about poop.  The paperwork is just a part of my job, it is not all of it. most of my day, and the same is true with the nurses i work with, is direct pt care. the pt is the center of my work always, paperwork just tells everyone else what is going on. don't get me wrong, charting, care plans and the such are all very important, it is just that i don't agree that is all my job is, it's just part of it.

nursing school was a good experience for me, my instructors were good and it was very interesting.  but i'm a nurse, so most of the material was of my interest.  the schedule was my biggest problem.  it changed from semester to semester so daycare and job schedules had to be rearranged.  sometimes clinical were during the week and sometimes on the weekends, i was constantly nervous about messing up when it my turn to start an IV, or cath someone. now i do those things with out even giving it a second thought.  education is continuous, not just the kind you get in the classroom, but from doctors,other nurses, and even the pt.s themselves.

i think you have the right path though, it is good to get a broad understanding of how things work before running the place, i wish i worked with a few managers that had done that.

Wow, what an amazing thread!  I am JUST going back to school to become an R.N.  After 8 years of being an Insurance Agent, I decided one day (after debating for a LONG time) that I was going to go back to school for Nursing.  It was going to be difficult, juggling work/school.  I wasn't quite sure just how I was going to manage it either.  But guess what happened next?  I got a permanent lay-off from my job (all of us in the U.S that held my position), and BAM!  There was my sign, plain as day as to the 'how' I would make this happen.  I too had lots of questions about Nursing School, and about its schedule (clinicals, etc).  Thank you so much for posting this thread!

I did it for over 5 years(CNA,LNA,LPN).I enjoyed helping people.However,the schedule was hectic and the job was extremely stressful.I applaud all the wonderful people who work in the nursing fieldIt just wasn't for me.

I am a nursing student and have 1 yr left...and soooooo much to learn. I'm going for my bachelors in nursing to become an RN. Nursing school is definitely a lot of work, but like me, if you enjoy school and are driven you can do it!! You sound very driven and you seem to go for what you want...I say go for it! It has it's ups and downs, just as anything else, but it is SO rewarding. I feel so wonderful that I've come this far and before long I'll be out their on my own helping people...I won't just be the "student nurse". What a great feeling...it definitely motivates me. You see so many crazzzy things...operations, illnesses, people flinging poo, etc etc etc. You will have so many memories :) Of course the best outcome=caring for others and educating them to care for themselves.

A few things...

Exams- hard. NCLEX based questions...can often be very tricky.

Clinicals- most are AMAZING, some dreadful...i think labor and delivery was my best experience yet...i LOVE babies and watching a mother give birth is unreal..wonderful...emotional. The whole family bonding just amazes me. Also, some RN's-your preceptors-tend to like to eat their young. Never take this personally! Smile, say thank you for your help, and move on.

Relationships- meeting so many people of different cultures is great (patients and students). You really learn a lot about yourself and others.

Workload- HUGE...continuous...never ending

Care plans- SUCK!!!!

Sleep- umm almost none.

Please don't think I'm putting down nursing school. Of course it's hard, but you can't let that stop you. Nursing is a beautiful thing! And..not anyone can be a nurse. We need all the nurses we an get! I guess one benefit (like everyone says) is "you will always have a job". AND if you're unhappy with your position, you can always float or transfer to another unit. You never have to settle...you're always needed somewhere! Also, the learning never ends. You are thrown with something new everyday. You're always given the opportunity to learn and improve. How can you possibly ever get bored? Nursing is an exciting profession!!!

Yay nursing!

Did any of you guys have problems with being squeamish, or experiencing sadness from seeing so many ill people.  

jess: to an extent, yes. seeing the PICU (pediatric icu) was quite difficult the first time around. it just felt cold and it was very dark...just not a good feeling. There was a stillborn in my OB rotation but I chose not to see the baby for obvious reasons. Geriatrics can be difficult for me occasionally because I often think of my grandparents, parents, pretty much anyone I love and care about. I just always think what if this were my loved one going through this, and that triggers my emotions. As time goes on you get used to it though.

during my first year of Rn clinical i actually fainted, when i was assisting a doctor doing a... well let's just say a procedure, and i blacked out for just a second. but i hadn't anything to eat yet, i didn't know what i was walking into so i had no time to like, mentally prepare.  I was so embarrassed, and doctor laughed a bit. Doing gross things is just part of the job and you very easily get used to it.  Never have lunch with a bunch of nurses we talk about things that would ruin anyones appetite.  Death, sickness, human suffering are an everyday thing.  I know what I am facing when I start the shift, most of the time it doesn't effect me because I don't let it, sometimes it does,  If I cry for one than I will have to cry for them all.  Like I said before I work traumatic brain injury, and i see the needless waste of perfectly healthy bodies. Drunk driving accidents, stupid falls, car accidents,  teenagers with parents at bedside hoping against hope that their son or daughter will open their eyes today, or squeeze their hand. Heartbreaking, sadness. Children that have been abused, seriously.   It sounds all very sad.  But I don't shed tears for the sadness, I save tears for joy.  Because sometimes they do open their eyes, they do squeeze their parents hand, then talk, then stand, and walk. And that is what is all about, And I had a very big part of that.