What is it really like to be a registered nurse?

What are the pro's and con's that you wouldn't normally find out by reading the occupational outlook handbook? I'm talking about the non-technical aspects of the job, like your emotional well-being, specific stressful situations that you often find yourself in, etc. I keep hearing that people get burned out on nursing, but never really give a reason why.

it's true...after you see the pain and anguish of people, over and over....most ]ly the things that can be avoided...or abused small children...it can make you sad....my daughter is a RN in charge of a major large city hosp....12 hr. shifts 3-4 days a week...and a lot of pain...burns you out after @ 10 years...BUT WITH THAT EXPERENCE BEHIND YOU....YOU OPEN UP A LOT OF GOOD PAYING JOBS, AND DOORS.....others can only dream about....and it's very rewarding when you can help someone ...truely...

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book of life
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Being a nurse, like any job in the health care field, is extremely emotionally draining. You have to watch people die every day. People suffering. Plus, dealing with the crazies...and that doesn't just mean the patients.

Management in nursing just plain sucks. For the most part, they are all a bunch of under-qualified shmucks on power trips. It's amazing the amount of people in nursing management who have no nursing experience whatsoever...which from the outside, it may seem such experience to be unnecessary, but it doesn't make for a very pleasant working situation when the people running the place have absolutely no idea what is needed to run a facility.

Management aside, taking care of people's medical well being in typically poor care situations is stressful enough...dealing with the patients themselves is a whole other story, with a whole pile more reasons why the job is so draining.

Depending on what type of nursing you go into, the job can also be very rewarding...but don't be fooled by the pretty picture on the University application...it's a hard job, it's a lot of work, and at the end of the day when you aren't doing a double shift (did I mention that every care facility is understaffed?), you just want to put your feet up and forget the world exists for awhile.
I worked in the health care fields for years, started volunteering in the field when I was five...my Mum is a nurse and a lot of my friends are nurses.
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