Attention All Nurses....

What do you, personally, contribute to nursing?!!

I am contemplating a career change from corporate america to nursing and one of the main reasons is, I feel this need and desire to make a difference even if in the life of just one person. I feel my current career is all about simply helping the corner office executives make a buck, and that my career - and thus a large part of my life has no meaning. So I am asking you help me by answering - what is it as a nurse, that you contribute?!

Thanks in advance
I'm pretty much doing the same thing you are- just in a hospital setting.

Quote from combsj25What do you, personally, contribute to nursing?!!I am contemplating a career change from corporate america to nursing and one of the main reasons is, I feel this need and desire to make a difference even if in the life of just one person. I feel my current career is all about simply helping the corner office executives make a buck, and that my career - and thus a large part of my life has no meaning. So I am asking you help me by answering - what is it as a nurse, that you contribute?!Thanks in advance

Do a search op on allnurses. I have a feeling you may not hear what you want today .

I wipe butts, i fetch ice chips, clean up sputum and get treated like crud and put up with it all.that is what i contribute.

Keep your day job, save the tuition $, and find a way to significantly contribute to the world. Be a Big Sister/Brother. Tutor in an adult literacy program. It's really hard to practice nursing these days and be able to feel that you're contributing to anyone's betterment.

You need to decide for yourself what gives you purpose. Meaning in life is not just derived from one's job you can impact the world on so many levels. Best of luck.

Quote from Orange TreeI'm pretty much doing the same thing you are- just in a hospital setting.

Sometimes I do help the patient make the transition from a critically injured patient to an alive, talking person ready for a transfer to the floor. This brings real satisfaction.I have to honest. Hospitals ARE corporate America. I have been in nursing long enough to see the "corporate" attitude harden and become deeply entrenched over time.

I do damage control. and put out fires.

Eh................................................ .................................................. ............I sit around and diagnose myself. I save my employer & insurance company money.

I train and educate adults who care for children in foster care and developmentally disabled persons. There are over 100 persons in the company. I am the only nurse. The others have degrees in IT, business, social work, and finance. Obviouslly, I am merely a cog in the wheel of the engine that runs the whole show. I love what i do, but so does everyone I work with. We're *all* working to benefit our clients. OP, you don't have to go to nursing school to make an impact on those around you. Look around you and see what you can do RIGHT NOW. Can you help a child with homework? Teach an immigrant to read English? Photograph pound pooches for a rescue group? Drive a vet to his doctor appointments? I would strongly urge you to search your heart to discover what it is you really want to do. I won't try to discourage you from nursing, but you need to know that it's a lot harder, a lot stinkier, and a lot more aggravating than you might think.

I just did a full day of new hire orientation and we had a 2 hour lecture on customer service and AIDET. How much of that talk focused on providing excellent patient care? None. It was all about managing customer satisfaction, handling customer complaints like they are your highest priority (sorry, but if someone is ****** about the wait because we're swamped with critical and sick patients, service recovery of the person who is annoyed that they got "cut" in line is NOT my priority). I get that with new reimbursement models we can't just take good care of patients, but it would be nice to pretend that that is still a little bit of a priority.I love my job. But that is in spite of the corporate forces and scripted communication we're expected to use, in spite of sometimes ungrateful, entitled, and downright nasty patients and families. For me it balances out towards ultimately being happy I went in to nursing. That's not true for everyone and you're the only person who can decide if it would be worth it for you. I recommend finding a way to volunteer in a healthcare setting or at least shadow for a few days.