4 answers
abigale
Student
Kerrville, Texas
6
Questions
Asked
426 views
what is the biggest challenge in being a nurse?
#healthcare
Login to comment
4 answers
Suzanne Swain Brint
Nursing
169
Answers
Santa Monica, California
Updated
Suzanne’s Answer
Hello Abigale,
This is Sue and I am a retired RN after working over 30 years caring for cancer patients.
For me, the biggest challenge was and still is this:
Delivering safe, accurate, caring and up-to-date care that is provided to the individual person with compassion.
Too often in the field of health care, our patients can become lost in a sea of so many people. Patients can become numbers or just another job to do. It was always my intention of treating each patient with the utmost respect. This can be very hard to do in a busy hospital or clinic. Nurses are tasked with Herculean amounts of work: give the oral medications, check all the settings on the IV machines, make sure all the IV meds are correct and give them correctly, check all the vitals signs.....give chemo and blood products....the list goes on and on. Can you imagine working in an ICU right now during the pandemic? In California, the nurse to patient ratios have been loosened so now many RNs will have to take care of 7 or 8 intubated patients rather than two. It is a bit insane right now. Those nurses will have to deal with patients fighting and sometimes losing their lives. Those nurses will be the last people those patients will ever see and I can only believe that the nurses are delivering expert and loving care.
I hope this provides some insight into your question. As a cancer nurse, I loved my patients and still do. I perform some consulting work, and it is still my intention to treat each individual as the most important person in the world.
Why you might ask? Because, for that person, their life is the most important thing to them.
Best,
Sue RN
This is Sue and I am a retired RN after working over 30 years caring for cancer patients.
For me, the biggest challenge was and still is this:
Delivering safe, accurate, caring and up-to-date care that is provided to the individual person with compassion.
Too often in the field of health care, our patients can become lost in a sea of so many people. Patients can become numbers or just another job to do. It was always my intention of treating each patient with the utmost respect. This can be very hard to do in a busy hospital or clinic. Nurses are tasked with Herculean amounts of work: give the oral medications, check all the settings on the IV machines, make sure all the IV meds are correct and give them correctly, check all the vitals signs.....give chemo and blood products....the list goes on and on. Can you imagine working in an ICU right now during the pandemic? In California, the nurse to patient ratios have been loosened so now many RNs will have to take care of 7 or 8 intubated patients rather than two. It is a bit insane right now. Those nurses will have to deal with patients fighting and sometimes losing their lives. Those nurses will be the last people those patients will ever see and I can only believe that the nurses are delivering expert and loving care.
I hope this provides some insight into your question. As a cancer nurse, I loved my patients and still do. I perform some consulting work, and it is still my intention to treat each individual as the most important person in the world.
Why you might ask? Because, for that person, their life is the most important thing to them.
Best,
Sue RN
Aaron Chun
42
Answers
Honolulu, Hawaii
Updated
Aaron’s Answer
Hi Abigale,
The biggest challenge in being a nurse is graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree needed to become a registered nurse from nursing school. This is the biggest challenge because the education is very rigorous with a lot of assignments that need to be completed with quizzes, exams and readings within the 4 years of nursing school. You have to balance clinical hours that are usually 8 hours where you perform the skills you learned as a nurse in the classroom such as giving injections with a needle and a syringe just like a flu shot and us it in a clinical setting such as a hospital caring for people. In nursing school you conduct community service hours at a site such as being an after school tutor at an elementary, middle or high school. In the end when you graduate it will be worth it. Hope this helps.
-Thank you,
Aaron
The biggest challenge in being a nurse is graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree needed to become a registered nurse from nursing school. This is the biggest challenge because the education is very rigorous with a lot of assignments that need to be completed with quizzes, exams and readings within the 4 years of nursing school. You have to balance clinical hours that are usually 8 hours where you perform the skills you learned as a nurse in the classroom such as giving injections with a needle and a syringe just like a flu shot and us it in a clinical setting such as a hospital caring for people. In nursing school you conduct community service hours at a site such as being an after school tutor at an elementary, middle or high school. In the end when you graduate it will be worth it. Hope this helps.
-Thank you,
Aaron
Jami Huber
nurse
51
Answers
Lindenhurst, Illinois
Updated
Jami’s Answer
I agree nursing school is hard. Nursing can be a stressful career. It is busy and there is a lot to remember. Nurses are always learning and no two patients will be the same. It is physically and mentally exhausting.
Finding a place to work that values their employees and has great management and leadership will make your nursing career more enjoyable.
Finding a place to work that values their employees and has great management and leadership will make your nursing career more enjoyable.
Yu Zhan
Dev lead/Business Analyst
2
Answers
Albany, New York
Updated
Yu’s Answer
Becoming RN is not easy.
You have to go through competitive exams to prove yourself.
Also once you are in a hospital, you will find out what you learned in nursing school does not work for real world. There are real best practices, rules and guidelines you will learn again.
Nurse job in hospital can be very stressful. Nurses are NOT paid enough for such high pressure work. There will be a lot turnover.
Lastly, if you managed to stay as nurse, you have to draw a line between work and life. Yes patient's needs are critical. But your life matters too. You don't want to burn yourself out in order to make very thing right for the patients. You will make moral choices when that time comes.
Nurse is still in great demand, can not be outsourced, you will have job security.
You have to go through competitive exams to prove yourself.
Also once you are in a hospital, you will find out what you learned in nursing school does not work for real world. There are real best practices, rules and guidelines you will learn again.
Nurse job in hospital can be very stressful. Nurses are NOT paid enough for such high pressure work. There will be a lot turnover.
Lastly, if you managed to stay as nurse, you have to draw a line between work and life. Yes patient's needs are critical. But your life matters too. You don't want to burn yourself out in order to make very thing right for the patients. You will make moral choices when that time comes.
Nurse is still in great demand, can not be outsourced, you will have job security.