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So You Want To Be a Nurse When You Grow Up?
Author: Pat Wooten, RN, BSN
You're interested in becoming a nurse. How do you get into the field? First of all, you need to assess your basic interest. Why do you want to get into nursing? Are you getting ready to graduate from high school and always wanted to be a nurse? Do you want to go into nursing, because a relative is in the profession or your family has a tradition of graduating nurses, and it seems like the right thing to do? Nursing seems like a nice secure profession-the pay attracts you? You've always liked helping others and you care a lot? Have you worked in another career field and want a change for various reasons? Does the "nursing shortage" make you feel like you need to be a part of the "gold rush," because you have read and heard about all of the wonderful sign on bonuses? Thorough research still needs to be done, before the decision is made to embark upon a nursing career.
There are many resources which provide information on getting into nursing school, studying for and passing boards, getting into new graduate employment programs, summer exploratory programs, etc. But for traditional nursing work (bedside nursing) in a hospital or long term care facility (traditionally known as a nursing home), it really would do some good if you had a reality TV type experience. Reading books and articles exclusively, won't prepare you for what the profession is like.
During my first nursing clinical rotation, I knew instantly that I didn't like hospital nursing. However, I loved research, collecting data, writing papers, and so forth. Since I had a science background and had worked in various laboratory settings (e.g., a dairy plant testing milk to biotechnology company testing, human sera, a county environmental health lab testing water sample on a mass spectrophotometer, a food plant testing spaghetti sauce), going into nursing research seemed like a natural progression. The rude awakening: No one ever told me about the 5-6 years of med-surg hospital experience needed, before an employer would even look at me. It was not anyone else's responsibility to tell me this. Clearly, the lesson is to do all of your homework.
After graduating from nursing school, I combed the Internet, help wanted ads, journals, and even enlisted a network of friends to be on the lookout for any nurse research employment opportunities. Positions in nursing research were scarce. My diverse science background, along with my Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Rochester, weren't a powerful enough combination to hurry me into the interviewing seat. Hence, I never landed an interviewing spot for any nursing research positions.
There are simple, invaluable, economically efficient ways to thoroughly research nursing as a profession. Of course, nothing can substitute for the actual on the job experience. But you are not there yet, and you want to investigate to see if you want to get there. Here a few suggestions to include on your career research things to do list: (1) utilize the Internet to the fullest, (2) use the services of your ISP (Internet Service Provider) such as AOL, MSN, etc., (2) make contact with potential employers in your area, (3) try volunteering, (4) and find student mentors at your local college and university. Start with an open mind before you use any of these resources.
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