So you want to be a nurse

When people hear I'm a nurse, they usually have one of a few reactions. First, they proceed to list all their health problems, in the hope that I have some sort of advice or sympathy. The second possible reaction comes from people who actually have some idea what it is that nurses do... "Wow. I don't know how you people do what you do!" And the third, and possibly most common response is: "Oh, I have a [sister, daughter, third-cousin-once-removed] who wants to be a nurse. Any advice?" This last question was posed to me tonight, so I thought I'd try formulating an answer.

Usually when I get that question, I have 2 possible answers... either "Good, we need more nurses!" or "Don't do it!". Which answer I choose pretty much depends on how my most recent shift went! :) Seriously, though, the world needs more nurses, and soon. Most people are completely unaware of the severity of the nursing shortage in the US... and it is only getting worse as baby boomers get older. Not only because that represents a huge number of people who are reaching an age where they need healthcare, but also because the nurses of that generation are retiring with no one to replace them.

When I went to nursing school, my grandmother used to say, "I don't understand why on earth anyone would want to empty bedpans for a living. Except maybe you could marry a doctor." I tried to convince her that that was an outdated view, that nursing was so much more. And don't get me wrong... it is. But there are days when I wonder why on earth I chose a job that involves so many bodily fluids!! Sometimes it really is just about emptying bedpans. But then you have a moment where you do something that completely impacts someone's life and it is totally worth it. The key is to have more of the latter and less of the former! :)

Other little bits of advice:
* I saw a t-shirt once that said "Nursing: The Hardest Job You'll Ever Love". I totally agree.
* Being a nurse takes a special kind of person... you gotta want to be a nurse. Not a job one can do just for the money, at least not for very long.
* Study hard in nursing school; it will come in handy. And realize that most of what you do on a daily basis, nobody ever mentioned in nursing school!
* You will be dealing with the public. If you have ever dealt with the general public, then you know what I am getting at. People can be, well... let's just say that nursing has not generally made me a fan of the human race. Maybe I am cynical. Sorry.
* Along the same lines, you will see all sorts of things. Not just gross medical things (which you will), but about humans. Racism. Hatred. Evil. Love. Hope. Everything you can imagine, and some things you can't even fathom. I once had 2 elderly WWII vets in the same room break out in a fight... one was Japanese, the other American. Didn't see that one coming!
* Death is inevitable. And you can't ever be prepared. Post-mortem care is one of my least favorite things. Neither is dealing with grieving family members. Or watching someone die. (Check out previous blog posts for my thoughts on this subject.)
* Nursing requires a lot of brain power. And sometimes muscles. :) And definitely a strong stomach!
* You can't choose your patients. If you take that oath, you are committed. Even if you don't want to, sometimes. That can be really hard if you are trying to help someone, and they are cursing at you or sometimes even trying to hurt you. Ever try to put a grown man in restraints while he spits at you and calls you names that would make a sailor blush? Yeah you don't hear about that in nursing school.

I don't mean to sound pessimistic or scare people away. If I knew what I was getting into, I probably never would have become a nurse. But I did it because I knew that was what God wanted me to do, even if I didn't understand why. And lately I have had some amazing experiences that made me think, "Now this is why I became a nurse." If you've read previous posts, you know about the 19 year old patient who recently died and the time I spent with him in the week or two beforehand, just sitting and listening to him talk about death. I haven't written about the latest patient that's been on my mind. She really got to me, and it's been just too much to think about. But let me just say that working with her was the reason I became a nurse... to have that kind of of impact. Of course, I got too attached, got too close, and even though that meant she got the best care I could possibly give, it meant that I went home and couldn't stop thinking about her.

Being a nurse has made me grow up. It's how I became an adult... which is probably a good thing. I was thinking the other day about how somehow I became a grown-up, with a pension and everything. How'd that happen? I wondered how it was that over the last year or two I had matured so much. I realized that it was when I became a nurse.

Bottom line? If you want a job where you can literally change lives, nursing might be for you. And it will be the hardest thing you have ever done in your life. But it can be awesome.