Sure, you are considered as one of the modern-day superheroes. You finally reached your lifelong goal. You save lives and help people recover every day. While there are a lot of benefits of being a nurse, let’s face it, there are also downsides. Nursing, as we all know is one tough profession, and for one to become a successful nurse, he/she must be able to withstand everything, easy or difficult, that accompanies the title “RN”. Below are some of the difficulties that you may encounter when you become a nurse:
Exposure to different sorts of germs and viruses
This profession ain’t for the squeamish and weak hearted. You deal with a lot of gross stuff in the clinical area, including blood, and other bodily fluids. You are also exposure to a variety of germs and bacteria. So, if you are the “Oh my gosh this is so gross, eew! *faints*” type of person, then maybe, just maybe nursing is not the profession for you.
A very stressful job
Working as a nurse is like riding a roller coaster. Some days you feel so elated that you feel like you’re on the top of the world, other days you feel like quitting. There are times that you get short-staffed that all you want to do is to rip your body in half just to get things done, there are also times that patient admissions are pouring and you just couldn’t wait till the shift is over. And oh, did I mention the people? Yes, you might encounter uncompliant patients, rude and demanding folks, grumpy doctors AND uncooperative co-workers. New nurses might even experience the “queen bee syndrome” during their first few days at work.
Exposure to sad situations
As a nurse, you get to encounter life and death moments. You get to see someone die; a wife crying in the hallways, mourning the loss of her husband who passed away from an accident; a son holding on to his dear life; a couple hoping and praying for their baby to survive, and many others. You have to have a strong heart if you want to be a nurse.
No holidays and weekends for you
So others are celebrating ‘cause it’s a holiday, others are out to party ‘cause it’s a Friday night. You on the other hand are just getting ready for work. Yup, no holidays for you, no TGIFs. Unlike others, ours is not a 9am-5pm job. We work on shifts, we are needed around the clock.
Back aches, sore feet, name it
Ask a nurse to define paradise and you will often find that most of the answers revolve around a bed, a nice sleep, a soothing bath, and a to-die-for massage. After a long shift lifting patients and doing other strenuous activities while on the job, it is no surprise that you go home with an aching back and sore feet. Yes, nursing can get quite physically stressful.
There may be a lot of discouraging and not-so-good experiences along the way, but then again, with a single “Thank You” and by seeing your patient recover fully, you just couldn’t help but smile and say “It’s all worth it.”
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Nursing