I am considering being a nurse. How do you know if it is right for you?

I am at that time in my life where I am trying to choose a career and it is the most difficult thing ever. I have gone back and forth thinking of being a nurse. I do like to help people but I just do not know if I am cut out for it. I would hate to get past schoolng and realize that I cant do it. I hope I am making myself clear not to sure on what I am asking. So basically what does nursing consist of fully like the good the bad all the little details

Volunteer at a hospital, or try to get work as a nurse's aide. The only way you can know if it's right for you is by getting into the action.

I love nursing but there is just some poo out there that makes me want to run for the hills.

Choosing a career is very difficult, but as long as you try your best at whatever you do, you will be happy. If you're not good at what you choose to do, then you shouldn't give up. A job can be simple without being easy at the same time, ya know.

Being a nurse is a very difficult job. There aren't enough nurses around nowadays and so hospitals are understaffed, which means you have to work really hard to make up for it. Also, the pay isn't too great. The hours are terrible, and you would most likely be on call on the weekends.

GOOD is the pay. BAD - the hours, the demands of the patients, the totally arrogant Doctors and other nurses you have to work with, the back stabbing, being on your feet 8 - 12 hours a day, being indoors in stuffy hot air ALL day, having to deal with horrible smells, gory sights, bodily fluids, TONS of paperwork, and disrespectful visitors.

The best thing you can do is contact your local hopital or clinic and express your interest and ask about shadowing. Most hopitals/clinic welcome it.

If I were you I would look into doing some volunteer work at a local hospital for a while and then make your decision. Work in the ER and on the different floors so you can get a real feel of what it takes to be involved in nursing. Good Luck.

Have you considered volunteering in a hospital? Or Job shadowing? Many teaching hospitals offer these opportunities to see first hand what's entailed in working with the sick and the dying...or the beginning of life in the delivery rooms....we need nurses! I hope this turns out to be what you are seeking.

First, let me say that this country has a real need for nurses. You will never be jobless because of no jobs.
Secondly, there are many different kinds of jobs for nurses. It is impossible to know all the different kinds of jobs. Hospital nursing, (which usually pays the best), in a Drs. office, school nurse, factory nurse, research nurse, Red Cross nurse, insurance company nurse, home health nurse, OR nurse, etc.
Nursing is not for the weak, you must be strong and commited. As a beginning nurse, you usually do not have ideal working hours but with more experience you can usually work the hours that best fit you. I think the hardest part of nursing is making sure that you document everything that you do for the patient. Everything is regulated by the government and if the company that you work for doesn't follow those regulations, they could lose their government funding, i.e. Medicare and Medicaid. These days most hospitals have switched to business type plan, where the bottom line is money. Sometimes it's difficult to see the patient as the primary focus. I love taking care of my patients. And, most days, I feel pressure to get out of their rooms, so that I can chart, so I don't have overtime, so that I won't get the call from my boss about the overtime. It's becoming more difficult to be patient focused. But, nursing has been good to me and my family. I was able to work my schedule around my family's needs. I have been a nurse for almost 29 years and I truly do not know what else I would have done. I remember patients that I cared for when I was first in nursing, and patients that I cared for 10 years ago and last week. Some of them make a difference in your life. It's a good life's work.

At one time I had thought of being an RN. I was in nursing for 3 years to see if I liked the field. I started out as a nursing assistant then became certifed as a med tech.
Here are the pros and cons of being a nurse:

PROS- Hours are flexible, job security, can go anywhere in the world, be a travel nurse, money is good, your job is both non-physical and physical, and its rewarding because you're helping people.

CONS- Having to deal with horrible smells, gory sights, bodily fluids, TONS of paperwork, b*tchy nurses, depressing environment, and disrespectful visitors.

Nursing definitely has its mixture of pros, cons and rewards. Personally, I couldnt take the depressing environment anymore so I got out.

try volunteering in a hospital to get some hands on experience-

there are many choices for nursing-

from private nursing to school nursing to ER to OR to a nurse in a doctors office--you can work in mental health or physiocal health

you can also be a practical nurse (LPN) that provides more daily care such as medications, catheters as opposed to a RN that provides more intense care