As a nurse, I have often been asked "so, what do you do all day?" and to be quite honest, that question irks me.
What don't I do?
As a nurse, I am a psychologist, waiter, cheerleader, confidant, and advocate to name a few.
I feel like some people have an opinion of nurses that are way off base. SO I'm here to clear up the air a tiny bit.
Nursing is not sexy.
We do not take care of patients while wearing mini dresses with our cleavage all in the patient's face. Our hair is not in pigtails as we saunter to pass meds in our stilettos.
Nursing is not a way to meet doctors.
I just recently started working day shift, but previously I worked night shift. I hardly even knew what the attending looked like, let alone if it was a man or a woman. Yes, some people meet their future spouses on this job. That is the exception, not the rule.
Nursing school is not easy.
Nursing school is HARD, ask anyone who went through it. "I have to study" takes on a whole new life of its own when you're going into the medical field.
Nursing is not "have it your way" service.
Do I want you to be comfortable and cared for and well attended to? Yes. Do I also want all of my patients to make it through my shift and into the next one? Yes. That being said, if I have to prioritize fluffing your pillow and grabbing juice OR taking my newly confused patient down to get head scans, I will be choosing the latter. Sorry, not sorry.
Night shift is not easy and boring.
I'll say this one time and ONE TIME ONLY - night shift (on many units) do a lot. We have to be quick on our toes because there's no one else looking at that patient but us, the nurse tech and the family (if they're not sleeping). Oftentimes, the gag is that patients sleep all night so what do nurses have to do? Well, a few months ago I worked a shift where I clocked in at 7pm, and at 8pm we had a code met (meaning the patient was unstable and possibly needed to be transferred to the ICU). At 11pm that same night, we had 2 different patients who needed to go to the ICU because one of them was projectile vomiting and the other had an elevated sodium of 160. At the same time, we were informed we would be receiving a patient who was confused, combative and had an elevated sodium of 155. Needless to say, that night was insanely busy. Nurses, both day and night, have a lot of responsibility and each shift has it's busy and stressful moments.
Nursing is a career, and a calling, of passion. Depending on the unit in which you work, it takes a lot out of you physically, mentally and emotionally. It's not for everyone, but for those who do it - it is rewarding.
