Nurses: Do you recommend this career?

[Snow White]

Hi, I need some support here! I have been accepted into nursing school for the fall but I'm still struggling with this decision! I can't decide if I really, really want to do this, or be a teacher instead. The pay for teachers in Oklahoma stinks, and the job security and pay for nursing totally overshadows the teacher job in that area, but I need some goooood feedback about the nursing profession to help me make my mind up! I've been reading tons on the website www.allnurses.com and have practically scared myself out the nursing option lol! Any feedback for me? Thanks!

 

[Antonia]

I've been a registered nurse 21 years and I felt called to be a nurse. I think it is a job you have to want to do. I have known some people who went into nursing only considering pay and job security and I feel due to the nature of nursing those are the wrong reasons. Nursing can be a thankless job with bad hours and lots of stress. It can also be a job that a person can really enjoy. I think it has to be a decision only you can make. Maybe you could volunteer at a hospital or work as a nursing assistant to get a feel for the job. If those are not an option, if you know a nurse maybe you can get permission to job shadow a nurse for a day or two to get a feel for what the job is all about. Good luck with your decision!!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am not a nurse or a teacher but I know several people in both professions. I think both are a "calling". Base it on what you want to do, not what will give you security, if you have that luxury. It does take a special kind of person to be a nurse. Go work at a nursing home as an aid if you are unsure.

 

[from Canada]

Hi
I have been a nurse for 14 years. I can't imagine being anything else. Except for maybe a teacher. Where I live the pay is about the same for both. But..the hours are WAY better for teachers.
Before I want into nursing, I honestly never thought about the fact that I would have to work Christmas. That really bums me out. On the other hand, my "wierd" nursing hours have let me juggle my shifts around my family, so that flexibility is nice. As you know, a hospital is open 24 hours, so there are 16 more hours in a day that you can work than a teacher (if you need that flexibility). The other thing I like about nursing is that it can take you in many directions...hospital, clinic, home care, private duty, teaching nursing. And, within the hospital, there are so many choices as well...Operating room , critical care , emerg, geriatric, pediatric, oncology etc. I do find that there are a lot of legalities to consider with my job. Everything we chart is basically to cover us in case of a law suit. Of course everyone makes mistakes,but it is stressful to think that your mistake may ultimately hurt (or kill) someone.
Obviously the ultimate decision has to come from your heart. Try not to worry that you will make a "bad" choice. Education never hurts, and if you want to change careers later, your degree can only help.
HTH
Karen

 

[Snow White]

Thanks for the answers so far!!! Here a teacher starts out at around 27,000, and a nurse starts at approx 37,000. I wish it was the same! I guess my problem is that I can see good things about both though! I'm 38, so I really want to pick one and stick with it since it will be a couple more years until I'm completely finished---geesh I hate decisions like this!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I've been a nurse for 15 years and truthfully if I knew back then what i know now I would have run the other way. I like my job now. I work for a home care agency 1 day a week. And this job is very flexible. I pick the day I want, the number of patients I want and i usually start around 8:30 and I'm done by 3. Nice hours too. But it took me years of crap to be able to get this type of job. The biggest downfall are the hours. If you have small children, just think how you'll feel having to go to work on Christmas morning and miss everything. Or work a weekend and miss a family picnic or party. I worked in the hospital prior to having children so I only worked Christmas then, and that was bad enough. But I've missed many a family function that was planned after the schedule was done and I couldn't trade with anyone. Also, yes the opportunities are endless, depending on how much time and devotion you want to contribute. I worked long hours B.C. (before children) now I want to do my time and go home. Some of the better paying and so called more prestigious jobs sometimes require longer hours and more committment. Remember the shift work too, think you can work a 7pm to 7am shift? Its difficult to stay awake at times. Also hate to say it, but some nurses are very catty. Alot of places I worked at, you're so called friends would stab you in the back in a heartbeat. Its very sad but alot of places are cliqueish.(sp?) And its difficult to break into the "crowd" The good part is, I work one day a week compared to my friend who works retail 4 days a week and I still make more than her. Its a difficult decision. Both professions you have chosen are difficult ones. Good Luck!

 

[RNMOM]

I have been a nurse for 29 years. That is a lot of missed events.

Yes, I feel I am doing what I was meant to do but I have a love/hate relationship with it. DH feels the same about his engineering job so maybe that is part of being an adult.

Let me tell you about the missed events/holidays. When you work in a good group of people, you often can help each other out to be able to have some or part of each important event in your life. Many things like Mothers' day and birthdays can be moved a day or two. Now my boys are teens it isn't really such a big deal. This is why I like nights and evenings so I can be there for the most important times, usually.

I have to say also that I have NEVER worked in Med/Surg. I went from a 3 year diploma school into a big city OR. I have always loved the perioperative area. I have also done IV therapy, loved it. Now I am an advice nurse. I work alone at night. It is so peaceful and quiet, well, not last night. I hustled my buns off and had some computer problems too.

I had the honor of talking with a woman 2 years younger than me about her ovarian cancer. She is having trouble sleeping and called about her meds. I was not busy that night and we spent a lot more time than I am supposed to talking about how she feels and some things I think she has not been able to tell anyone else. Being on the phone makes it easier for people some times.

I think the ways I am able to touch people's lives, all through my career, have made nursing very special for me.

That said, I think teaching has many similarities and we need good teachers too.

As far as the missing times with family I think of the other people who have to work too and I don't feel so bad. Police, fire, gas station attendents, restaurant workers, CM's at WDW and DL. There are a lot of people who give their time so others can have what they need. We all make some type of sacrifice in life.

 

[pw2pp]

Well, I have been doing it for almost 20 years now and I still haven't decided whether it is for me. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it. I have always thought in the back of my mind that if I don't like it, I will just walk away from it, but so far I haven't.
It is true about the Holidays and weekends, but you can usually find a job with more decent hours after you put your time in on a med-surg floor. I work in an outpatient area that is NOT open on Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, or Thanksgiving Day.
One good thing is that you can work as little as you want (2 days per week if you want). I think that with alot of Careers, that is not an option. I think that if I had worked Full Time (in Nursing) all of these years, I would have been out a long time ago from burn-out.

 

[Disney Doll]

Like everyone else, I have sort fo a love-hate relationship with my career. I agree with the poster who said ti is a calling more than just a job. Contrary to popular opinion, nurses do not make tons of money. They make a decent living wage, but unless you're willing to work 80 hours nights, you're not going to be pulling in the big bucks.

The downsides: physical and mental job, lousy hours, lots of missed family stuff due to working, current nursing shortage means you're expected to do more with less people, lack of appreciation in general for nurses, lack of respect for nurses(many people still think of us as te doctors' handmaidens)

The upside: schedule flexbillity good for those who need it, decent living wage compared to some other professions, experiencing humanity as you never have, having the honor of helping people through their best and worst times.

It's not a job for the fainthearted, it's not a job to do for the money.

 

[Denine]

I have been a nurse for 13 years. I have worked med-surg, a nursing home and now an assisted living for people with Alzheimer's disease. I have also hated and loved my job. Sometime the rewards are the little things you do on a day to day basis. I really like my current job. Unfortunately, my hours were just cut. I have enjoyed the flexibility my job allows. I am a full time SAHM and I have been working every other weekend since DD was born. I worked 4 hour shifts.
It can be a very stressful and thankless job. You get out of it what you put into it. There are so many oportunities for nurses though. But, you need to get your feet wet to find out what kind of nursing you enjoy.
Good luck on your decision.

I still can't see myself doing any other job.