My wife is reconsidering pursuing nursing because she is under the impression she’ll be spending most of her time cleaning up patients. Is this an accurate picture of nursing?
Tuesday November 3, 2009
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My wife is 32 and in serious need of a career change. She has enrolled in a nursing program at the local community college and wants to be an RN. Medicine always has been fascinating to her, and she was very knowledgeable prior to entering school. But she is having second thoughts about nursing because she is under the impression that all she'll do for the first few years of her nursing career is wipe bottoms, change diapers, and clean up vomit. She's not squeamish around blood, organs, or anything like that, but the thought of being a patient custodian is difficult for her. Is this what she can expect on the job? What percentage of her daily duties will involve cleaning up patients?
Troy
Nursing school can be very challenging and overwhelming. So when a student is feeling down, it's sometimes easy to focus on the worst of the worst. The truth is that most physical care is provided by aides and techs these days, while nurses plan, coordinate, and manage care; interact with an interdisciplinary team; use critical thinking; initiate life-saving measures; and so much more. In fact, some nurses complain their other duties keep them from providing the hands-on care many of them enjoy doing. But learning good physical care is vital to nursing education.
Suggest that your wife browse www.discovernursing.com to see what other nurses are doing. She also should check out Nurse.com’s nursing student community at www.nurse.com/students/.
Have your wife join the National Student Nurses Association (www.nsna.org). She'll become part of the bigger nursing community, get related publications, and gain additional insights and support into her future career.
There also are some great books out there with inspirational stories about the difference nurses make and the real work they do, such as “Tenderly Lift Me,” “Chicken Soup for the Nurses Soul,” and “Daybook for Beginning Nurses.”
After 35 years in the profession, I know nursing is the most diverse profession on the planet, and I know I am making a real difference in the world. If your wife can hang in there through school, she will be able to create an amazing career for herself and change the world.
My best wishes to you both,
Donna
Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of “Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional” and “The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career.” Information about the books is available at www.Nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.Nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.Nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call 800-866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.
