3 answers
Josue
Student
Columbus, Nebraska
1
Question
Asked
388 views
How is the nursing life?
i want to go into nursing but i also am at a clash with another career. i want to know how it is and how work/home life is nursing would be my top pick
Login to comment
3 answers
Gina Gill
Nurse
25
Answers
Vacaville
Updated
Gina’s Answer
It really depends on what you want to do, it's hard to imagine at your age what things will like after you graduate and you are 30 or 40 or even 50 years old. Are you married? Do you have kids? These types of things change throughout our lives and so do our priorities. I can tell you I had different priorites at 20 (single, no kids) that I have now at 39 (married, 2 kids). In general though there are several types of nursing. In the hospital you will be excepted to work rotating weekends and holidays (like Thanksgiving or Christmas) and you can pick between different shifts - AM, Swing, PM/Night, etc. If you work in a clinic or office setting it will pay less BUT you will have a very standard 8-5 schedule with limited weekends or holidays depending on the type of clinic. You can work in other departments such as infection control, quality assurance, case management, disease education, nurse education, direct patient care in a hospital, in the office setting. The best part of nursing you can move around so you maybe in one are for 5 years and then move to another one depending on your desire and experience.
Lorraine Romero
FNP-C
43
Answers
Modesto, California
Updated
Lorraine’s Answer
Josue,
Having been a nurse for 23 years, I love what I do. Depending on what area of nursing you work in, I believe the answer to your question will vary. Throughout my career, I have worked in a variety of settings and specialties. As an example, when I worked at the hospital in the medical surgical unit, I worked graveyard hours, overtime, and weekends. At times, I had a heavy patient load without the necessary staff support. In addition, I have worked in public health for many years. It was a Monday through Friday position without overtime. In addition, I had most of the holidays off as well. A typical day for me consisted of 4-5 home visits per day. Nurse advocacy and patient education played a big role in the project.
Despite its challenges and benefits, nursing is extremely rewarding, and nurses have the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of many patients.
Having been a nurse for 23 years, I love what I do. Depending on what area of nursing you work in, I believe the answer to your question will vary. Throughout my career, I have worked in a variety of settings and specialties. As an example, when I worked at the hospital in the medical surgical unit, I worked graveyard hours, overtime, and weekends. At times, I had a heavy patient load without the necessary staff support. In addition, I have worked in public health for many years. It was a Monday through Friday position without overtime. In addition, I had most of the holidays off as well. A typical day for me consisted of 4-5 home visits per day. Nurse advocacy and patient education played a big role in the project.
Despite its challenges and benefits, nursing is extremely rewarding, and nurses have the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of many patients.
Yaeji Kim
registered nurse
10
Answers
Cypress, California
Updated
Yaeji’s Answer
Hello Josue,
There are many questions to ask yourself before diving into a career, such as nursing. It is a difficult profession if you aren't doing it for the "right" reasons. Nursing has many pros, I'll start with them.
Pros:
- Opportunity to help others mentally, physically, and emotionally during some of the hardest times of their lives.
- Ability to advocate for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves.
- Job stability, there is always a need for nurses!
- There are many options for nurses. You aren't stuck to just one specialty. Many nurses switch around, while others stay within the same field. For example, you can work in the hospital in the emergency department, in medical-surgical, in cardiac, in various ICUs, or with the pediatric and neonatal population. You can work outpatient in a clinic or urgent care. You can also work in the medical devices industry or in IT. Basically, if you get bored with one specialty, there are many others to move on to!
- Scheduling is nice, since you typically work three 12 hour shifts and then can have up to 7 days off in between, depending on how your schedule plays out. Many nurses plan trips between these shifts.
- You make good friends, nurse friends have a special bond because of everything you go through together.
- Rewarding knowing you made a difference in someone's life.
Cons:
- Working in the hospital can and often is stressful. Patients are getting sicker, and caring for them requires more from you. Meanwhile, hospitals aren't always able (or willing) to keep up with retaining nurses/hiring enough staff. There seems to be no staff to even hire. There is a serious nursing shortage, and we are seeing the effects unfold. Lately, it seems like we are always short staffed. This leads to overworked, tired, and burnt-out nurses, sometimes with shorter orientation periods, who can't keep up with the demand.
- Depending on where you work, the pay is not always great.
- You may work three shifts, and it seems like you have a lot of time off, but often times the days are exhausting and you can spend your days off recovering. I wake up at 5:30 AM and do not come home until 8PM. Some hospitals only give you a thirty minute break between the 12 hours. If you need another, maybe you can ask a coworker if they aren't too busy themselves. But often times you are getting through your charting to get off on time.
- Hospitals are open 24/7. This means nurses work weekends, nights, and holidays (or you're on call depending on your specialty). Unless you work outpatient, those hours are typically M-F normal business hours.
- "Nurses eat their young." Meaning senior nurses may or may not be the most welcoming. Many are wonderful! But this is a known culture in the nursing world.
- I work in the pediatric cardiac ICU. We see sick babies who sometimes do not make it. It can be very sad, and when I started as a nurse here, I had a hard time not bringing home what I experienced at work. It was hard to not get attached to the patients, so that would make the losses that much harder. Sometimes, you only have your coworkers' support, since they are the only ones who truly understand.
This may sound worse than it is. I'm trying to be as honest with you from my perspective. With all that said, I love being a nurse. Sure, there are tough days. But the good days, at least for me, outweigh the bad. I've been a nurse for 9 years, and I wouldn't have had it any other way!
I recommend volunteering in a hospital or shadowing a nurse if you know of any. This can help you get a better understanding!
There are many questions to ask yourself before diving into a career, such as nursing. It is a difficult profession if you aren't doing it for the "right" reasons. Nursing has many pros, I'll start with them.
Pros:
- Opportunity to help others mentally, physically, and emotionally during some of the hardest times of their lives.
- Ability to advocate for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves.
- Job stability, there is always a need for nurses!
- There are many options for nurses. You aren't stuck to just one specialty. Many nurses switch around, while others stay within the same field. For example, you can work in the hospital in the emergency department, in medical-surgical, in cardiac, in various ICUs, or with the pediatric and neonatal population. You can work outpatient in a clinic or urgent care. You can also work in the medical devices industry or in IT. Basically, if you get bored with one specialty, there are many others to move on to!
- Scheduling is nice, since you typically work three 12 hour shifts and then can have up to 7 days off in between, depending on how your schedule plays out. Many nurses plan trips between these shifts.
- You make good friends, nurse friends have a special bond because of everything you go through together.
- Rewarding knowing you made a difference in someone's life.
Cons:
- Working in the hospital can and often is stressful. Patients are getting sicker, and caring for them requires more from you. Meanwhile, hospitals aren't always able (or willing) to keep up with retaining nurses/hiring enough staff. There seems to be no staff to even hire. There is a serious nursing shortage, and we are seeing the effects unfold. Lately, it seems like we are always short staffed. This leads to overworked, tired, and burnt-out nurses, sometimes with shorter orientation periods, who can't keep up with the demand.
- Depending on where you work, the pay is not always great.
- You may work three shifts, and it seems like you have a lot of time off, but often times the days are exhausting and you can spend your days off recovering. I wake up at 5:30 AM and do not come home until 8PM. Some hospitals only give you a thirty minute break between the 12 hours. If you need another, maybe you can ask a coworker if they aren't too busy themselves. But often times you are getting through your charting to get off on time.
- Hospitals are open 24/7. This means nurses work weekends, nights, and holidays (or you're on call depending on your specialty). Unless you work outpatient, those hours are typically M-F normal business hours.
- "Nurses eat their young." Meaning senior nurses may or may not be the most welcoming. Many are wonderful! But this is a known culture in the nursing world.
- I work in the pediatric cardiac ICU. We see sick babies who sometimes do not make it. It can be very sad, and when I started as a nurse here, I had a hard time not bringing home what I experienced at work. It was hard to not get attached to the patients, so that would make the losses that much harder. Sometimes, you only have your coworkers' support, since they are the only ones who truly understand.
This may sound worse than it is. I'm trying to be as honest with you from my perspective. With all that said, I love being a nurse. Sure, there are tough days. But the good days, at least for me, outweigh the bad. I've been a nurse for 9 years, and I wouldn't have had it any other way!
Yaeji recommends the following next steps: