What character traits are important/ideal for becoming a nurse? What's the best and worst of nursing?

I'm a freshman in college, and I'm trying to figure out if I really want to go forward with majoring in nursing and becoming an RN... I'm not sure what quite to expect, though I have gathered that I will be dealing with alot of mess and cleanup (as an understatement) in the field. I want to try for a new approach, now... what kind of personalities work best for the career? Can someone be too soft hearted to be a nurse, or is that good?? I want to know what to work on and some of what to expect, so I'm not so shocked... any answers are very much appreciated! ^^ Thankyou!

I read your question to my husband who is a ER-RN at a local hospital in my city. Here are his answers:

Traits:
*compassion
*patience (lots of it)
*you will see people are their worst
*quick thinker
*intelligence

Best of Nursing:
*seeing a family member's face light up knowing their loved one in the hospital will live
*a simple thank you from a patient

Worst:
*again, you will see a patient at its worst so they may not be so respectful or kind to you
*body odor
*a patient who died when it could have been avoided

In Australia you go to Uni, get your nursing degree and apply to a position in a Hospital or privet Nursing.

The changing of bed pans is now done mostly by what we call blue's nurses aids.

The down side would be shift work, long hours on your feet.
up side is you can get work anywhere in the World, and you could study further and become a theater nurse.
The very best thing is you will never be out of work.

As an RN you need to balance compassion and caring with objectivity. As for cleaning up a mess, most of the time the aids do that.