Would you ever discourage someone from becoming a nurse?

by Sean Dent • August 2, 2012 , , , , , , ,

Image: Thinkstock | Stockbyte

I love the profession of nursing. I genuinely believe that nursing is one of THE greatest professions out there. Period.

We have such a diverse number of career path choices, and have few limitations when considering a lateral career change. We can move to different aspects of our profession without great burden.

But as much as I want to express my unwavering fervor for everything nursing, there are aspects of this profession that give me pause.

Would I ever discourage someone from being a nurse?

I think the answer would be a resounding “no,” but I would follow or even preface my answer with some warnings about certain aspects of our profession.

These aspects are not unique or entirely different from those of most other careers out there. The red tape you have to walk along and the bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through are just as exhausting. We spend a great deal of time defining and defending our jobs, instead of actually doing our jobs.

If I had to issue a list of warnings, these would be the things to think about before you take the head-first plunge into nursing:

  • You better grow thick skin, because the browbeating is endless, from all walks of life.
  • Our profession IS mostly women (it’s a fact, not an opinion). Like it or not, there IS a cattiness to the atmosphere. Not all nurses can be trusted. There is always drama.
  • The hospital environment is like a soap opera. “These are the days of our lives” is a surreal joke. Some people never actually leave high school.
  • Your job does become your life. Figure out a way to keep them separate.
  • You impact lives. Real human beings and their well-being is at stake. Calling off, not caring and shortcutting affects lives. If you can’t accept that heavy responsibility, do not become a nurse.
  • Whatever you do, don’t dare think Hollywood’s definition of a nurse is accurate in any way, shape or form.
  • Don’t do this for the money. You’ll waste everyone’s time, and you’ll end up putting someone at risk for injury.
  • Contrary to what you may think, not everyone can actually DO this job. It’s not all pills, poop and plungers.

It’s a short list, but an important one. Would you every discourage someone from becoming a nurse? I’d love to hear why.

For more Career Advice for Nurses pick up the latest issue of Scrubs magazine, available at a retail store near you!

Sean Dent

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Sean Dent is a second-degree nurse who has worked in telemetry, orthopedics, surgical services, oncology and at times as a travel nurse. He is a CCRN certified critical care nurse where he's worked in cardiac, surgical as well as trauma intensive care nursing. After five years as an RN Sean recently attained his BSN and is now a full-time Nurse Practitioner student. He has been in healthcare for the past 15 years. He originally received a bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science where he worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC). More

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5 Responses to Would you ever discourage someone from becoming a nurse?

  1. nwrn

    I agree nursing is not for the faint of heart. Thick skin, assertiveness, and a passion for helping people is necessary. So is an abundance of perseverance to deal with all the browbeating, perpetual change, and stereotyping. I have been a nurse for 10 years, and frankly, I am ready to be done. If someone asked me about choosing the nursing profession, I would strongly encourage them to map out their options should they find themselves unhappy with direct patient care. Nursing can be taken in so many directions to satisfy almost every personality. However, as we adopt nurses through immigration, I would share an extra word of caution and that is be prepared to stay in the same job description for more than 10 years, at the rate immigration is processing visas.
    I would also caution future nurses that the profession as a whole needs very strong leaders, nurses willing to ascend to executive level ranks. Nurses need to have a greater presence in the boardroom. Because of Nursing’s lack of representation in large numbers at this level, nurses have not had a clear voice in the same way physicians do.

    • THyattRN

      • RN

        Registered Nurse

      “-You impact lives. Real human beings and their well-being is at stake. Calling off, not caring and shortcutting affects lives. If you can’t accept that heavy responsibility, do not become a nurse.
      -Don’t do this for the money. You’ll waste everyone’s time, and you’ll end up putting someone at risk for injury.
      -Contrary to what you may think, not everyone can actually DO this job. It’s not all pills, poop and plungers.”

      These are the same feelings I have, especially the one about not doing it for the money and how it WILL put someone at risk for injury. There are a lot of people who should never become a nurse and a lot of nurses who should never have become one. Sad, but true.

  2. THyattRN

    • RN

      Registered Nurse

    Did not mean to post my comment as a reply to the above comment. :) Sorry!

  3. charly831

    • RN

      Registered Nurse

    when the new student asks ” you mean we have to work weekends?” , Then yes, maybe they should reconsider…lol

  4. TWEETYIS42

    ok would i discourage no and i can’t say more than sean has already dido