The Positive and Negative Things about Being a Registered Nurse

Since I have been an registered nurse for almost a year, I have been able to see the positive and negative things/aspects of being an registered nurse. However, just like with any other job there are positive and negative things associated with them. Here is a little break down of how my first year has been as a registered nurse.

How Has RN Nursing Life Been? A Quick Recap:

First of all, I am still working as a Registered Nurse RN at a local hospital. It has been going really well. I am starting to feel more comfortable with my job, and I feel like I have learned so much about the nursing profession. I also like the people I work with, which is always important. I have of course been working quite a bit (full-time), so that is one reason why I haven’t been blogging quite as  much, but I do hope to get back into more.

I really do enjoy nursing, but make no mistake, it can be very stressful and difficult on some days. I thought I would share some of the ups and downs I have had with nursing after working for several months as an RN now again:

Some Positive Things During Nursing:

I have had some extremely nice patients, which was a great highlight over the past few months. Some of my patients have even been so nice, and that always seems to make your day go by so smoothly. I have had patients who have said very kind words about me to other nurses, and one patient’s wife gave me the cutest stuffed decoration for fall, and I loved it and thought it was so nice and completely unexpected.

Some are really interesting to talk to, and have even known famous people, etc.  I hear some very interesting stories sometimes, so that is always fun.

In addition to the patients, I feel like lots of other things have been very positive like the people I work with. Most people are very nice and funny, and it is great having a feeling of teamwork.

I also LOVE the nursing schedule, which allows me to work full-time without taking up every day of the week. Instead, you can work 3-4 days per week and still be full time (working 12 hour shifts of course). So I really like that schedule, and I would not like it as much if I had to work a 9-5 week job.

Also the nursing care plans are not like they were in nursing school which is a plus. They take a lot less time.

Some of the Negative/Frustrating things of Nursing:

While there have been lots of positives, there have also been some scary/frustrating events as well. One of the negative things is dealing with mean patients. Some are just downright rude! I have even had one almost curse me out, which was a bit frightening.

Sometimes doctors can be a little cranky (or arrogant) if you catch them in a bad mood too, but not all doctors are this way.

Staffing can get short on some days, which seems like it makes everything feel really busy. But I guess that is just how it is. I always am exhausted on those days, and I always love it when we have a large staff.

Another stressful situation I have also had was where the patient was on the brink of death, and I had to act very quickly to call a code or to get them to the proper unit, or proper meds. This was rather stressful, but I have tried to learn to manage the life/death situations better, and I feel like I am a better nurse afterwards. I think it would be very difficult to work on an ICU floor, and I am glad I don’t at this time. But I have worked with a great team of nurses who have helped me out so much, and have really encouraged me and that is great.

Well, that basically recaps my nursing career thus far. I am content with it, and I am glad I am a nurse. I will definitely try to post about it more often in the future. It is very fulfilling, but can also be very difficult at times. All in all, I am happy.

Some Personal Updates

Well my husband and I FINALLY bought our first house together. We are so happy and we absolutely LOVE it. It is a dream come true, and we both feel so happy and so blessed to have been able to get it. It is a 3 bedroom, 3-bath house with a full basement downstairs. My husband and I have been so busy painting, and doing some remodeling work. My husband is a handyman and can fix and do just about anything (lucky me). But we love it and I love decorating and I can’t wait till spring to do some landscaping and flowers (and grow a veggie garden).

I had a great Holiday season as well. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, and my husband and I spent lots of time with family. It was a lot of fun, but was also exhausting and I am glad to have a break for a while from holiday stuff.

I have just finished the complete series of Twilight (by Stephanie Meyer). It was AMAZING. I LOVED those books so so much. I literally couldn’t put them down and read the last 2 in the series within about 5 days. I have seen the movies too thus far, but the books were so much more detailed. I think she is an awesome writer, and I wish she would write another book in the series =).

Well, that about sums up what has happened in the past few months while I haven’t been blogging. I really need to post updates more, and I hope to post at least once a week or more.

Your Nursing Blogger,

Sarah =)