Let's hear how awesome nursing is!

I start my BSN program in 2 weeks.

I've been reading non-stop posts on here about how everyone is working at soul crushingly unsafe patient ratios, getting unfairly fired, and how nobody can find a job, particularly new grads. It has me rather apprehensive and down about this whole journey in front of me that I want to last for the rest of my life.

So please, let's hear positives stories about how awesome nursing is, how you used critical thinking and experience to figure out a patient's problem, about how you really helped someone, about how you worked your way up to a position you love, and about how you like to enjoy your days off since many should have 3-4 days off!
You get to help people when they are most vulnerable. I will be a satisfied person when I put head to pillow because I know that I did SOMETHING worthwhile that day. As cliched as it sounds, it gives me a sense of purpose. It is incredibly rewarding. I say it all the time, that nursing is one of the most rewarding and the most frustrating jobs out there. Only you know for yourself if the rewards outweigh the frustrations. Most days they do.Atleast that is how I feel as a caregiver. I want to go on to nursing school because I dislike not understanding why my clients are the way they are...not understanding any of the physiology about whats going on is frustrating.

Nursing is GREAT... I graduate this Friday and SO ready! I already have a position and they are training me for three months before I hit the floor alone. I might be wet behind the ears but I have this feeling that I will be able to make a difference!

It IS rewarding to know you've helped someone, made someone more comfortable, helped someone's life improve, helped resusitate a patient who wants to live. Nursing is about that. Unfotunately, there are many negatives, too. Many of us save our best face for the patients and use this site and other nurses' ears to release the frustrations that come with nursing. I cannot honestly say I would encourage someone to become a bedside nurse, but it does have its rewards. I work 12-hour shifts and usually am requested to work at least one additional day per week. Any "extra time" from the twelve-hour shifts is spent trying to recover from them; I still have family at home and average about 3 hours sleep on the days I work, a norm for the nurses on my floor. I have 17 years experience as a floor nurse; most of the nursing administrators in our facility have 2-3 years tops as floor nurses and don't understand what we do. I save "positive" for the patients and their families because that's as much positive as I can muster.

Quote from EllekatIt IS rewarding to know you've helped someone, made someone more comfortable, helped someone's life improve, helped resusitate a patient who wants to live. Nursing is about that. Unfotunately, there are many negatives, too. Many of us save our best face for the patients and use this site and other nurses' ears to release the frustrations that come with nursing. I cannot honestly say I would encourage someone to become a bedside nurse, but it does have its rewards. I work 12-hour shifts and usually am requested to work at least one additional day per week. Any "extra time" from the twelve-hour shifts is spent trying to recover from them; I still have family at home and average about 3 hours sleep on the days I work, a norm for the nurses on my floor. I have 17 years experience as a floor nurse; most of the nursing administrators in our facility have 2-3 years tops as floor nurses and don't understand what we do. I save "positive" for the patients and their families because that's as much positive as I can muster.

In South Africa we get a whole hour lunch break-by law! I think that's pretty positive, don't you?

I get 4 days off every week and have time for my own doctors appointments and to attend my kid's activities.I get to pick what days I work, as long as I work the requisite number of weekend days in each schedule.My hospital offers several educational opporunities that i can participate in, and I get overtime for doing so... I rarely have to take outside classes to get in my continuing education.My patient:nurse ratios are reasonable and safe.I have both aides and volunteers to help with the more menial tasks.For the most part, each nurse on my unit helps everyone else out.I get told "thank you" quite frequently by the "customer."The majority of the doctors I work with look for and value input from the nursing staff regarding their patients.I personally feel that management values my contribution to the unit.I have twice the amount of sick time and vacation that my husband gets in his job.I have decent medical insurance for my family... MUCH better than what my husband could get through his job.

Quote from Ellekatand (I) average about 3 hours sleep on the days I work, a norm for the nurses on my floor.

Is it the truth you want to hear or some feel good talk?Either way, nursing is awesome- the ability to help nurture another person can be satisfying at times.Have a focus in mind and never lose sight of it and nursing would be a breeze for you even during the touch times.

I have been a nurse for 17 years with the last year being a RN. In those years I have gotten close to some of the nicest people as they are regular pts. that are in the hopsital often. These pts. were and some still are very appreciative of the care they receive. They always seem to be the ones with something positive to say about everything. No matter how many bad pts. I have had I will continue to have the fact that I helped make a difference in their lives and their families lives. This is one of the reasons l love nurising because of the truly special people that you get to meet and take care of. Nursing is hard work but it can just as rewarding as it is hard if you became a nurse for the right reasons.

I took care of a patient a couple weeks ago that was admitted after a MCA. She was in a lot of pain due to her injuries, and anxious. Her hair was a tangled mess of knots from riding on the bike, since she was admitted from the scene. I somehow found an extra 20-30 minutes and helped her with a shampoo cap, combed out ALL the snarls, and then blow dried her hair. She felt SO good after that, and I was happy to be able to do that small thing to help relax her, and make her feel more like "herself." Yes, as nurses, we do MANY technical things, but sometimes, it's the small things like this that make the biggest difference to the patients under our care. She didn't ask for it, but was grateful that I offered and then carried through with it. She didn't want me to have a day off after that weekend.

I'm a new BSN grad.. 41 y/o .. no prior experience in health care.. I've had 3 interviews and 3 offers for employment.. I accepted my first job in my first choice of specialty (mental health) at my first choice of hospital last Thursday. I start Aug 30th. There isn't anywhere else in the state I'd rather work. It's an awesome, supportive hospital that values their employees tremendously. Magnet status, ranked in the top 100 hospitals in the country, and recently voted "#1 Best Place to Work by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal" I'm on cloud 9!!! Becoming a nurse was the BEST CHOICE I EVER MADE IN MY LIFE!! So excited to start my new career!! __________________________________________________ ___________Here's some more perks that I love!! You can go anywhere you want in practically the entire world and obtain a good job. Big cities, small towns, foreign countries, EVERYWHERE needs nurses! The opportunities are endless. Can't outsource nursing jobs!You get to spend your entire life learning!Best of all, you get to help people and have a positive effect on humanity! __________________________________________________ ____________Congrats on starting your BSN program, you made a wise choice. Nursing is awesome!!!!!!

I changed careers to nursing at the age of 49, and for me it's the best career decision I ever made. I have been working as a nurse for not quite 2 years now: 1.5 years as a bedside nurse in a major pediatric hospital, and now 3 months as a public health nurse working on health access and health education for kids in the foster care system (and their caregivers). Here are the positives about nursing for me:-- I am doing work that is meaningful and important to me. I feel that I am making a valuable contribution to society.-- I get to help people, and the people I get to help are children! (I have always wanted to work in peds).-- the pay and benefits have been excellent in both of my nursing jobs so far-- my co-workers have been amazingly dedicated, wonderful, supportive people who believe in what they're doing as much as I do (with one or two exceptions at my hospital job -- no exceptions so far at my PHN job). -- I love to learn, and have learned an amazing amount of really interesting stuff in both of my jobs so far -- I especially enjoy pathophysiology and like learning about my clients health conditions-- I enjoy teaching patients/clients and their caregivers, and have had opportunities to do so at both jobs.-- a plus of my hospital job was having a few week days off here and there, to do things like grocery shopping, medical appointments, etc. (but the downside was working every other weekend plus holidays)-- in my current job, I don't have to work holidays or weekends (but the downside is no weekdays off -- however, I do get to use my sick leave to take time off for personal medical appointments during the week). -- because I live in California, which has patient ratio laws, my patient load in my hospital job was almost always manageable -- and the other nurses on the unit were great about helping each other when someone was swamped (again, with one or two exceptions -- I learned how to work around the exceptions).-- I am incredibly proud of being a nurse, and enjoy being able to tell others that this is what I do for a living (I did not feel that way about my previous job)-- I LOVED nursing school -- again, I love learning, and you learn such an amazing amount of stuff from both classes and clinicals.Good luck in nursing school -- I hope you love it as much as I did, and hope you love nursing as much as I do!