Stress Mgmt/Time Mgmt---Nurses???

naughtoj

naughtoj

Cathlete
Hi all..

Well, met with the ASU advisor about going for the BSN. We both came to the conclusion that for me it made more sense to go the RN-BSN route, considering I am not sure of nursing. In the end, if I do them seperately it will take about one year extra, but it will end up costing me alot less $$ if I change my mind about nursing....


So........Wednesday I meet with the Clincal Lab advisor at ASU and depending on what I hear there, I expect this to be the end of it. If I decide against CLS, I am going to just jump in to nursing school in July. You'll never know if you don't try, right? And, better do this before I start my family!!!


Anyhoo...some of the major things I see being a problem for me once in nursing school and in being a nurse are stress management and time management. I think I currently have enough people skills and am confident nursing school will hone those. I am looking forward to nursing school teaching me alot about myself and helping me become a more well rounded person emotionally. (keeping fingers crossed).


Specifically, I wonder.....do any of you know of or have experience with any good time/stress mgmt books or programs that I could look into now before school starts?


Nurses........what did you find helped you really get better in these areas? What helps you on the job? I tend to have a "type A" personality and I don't consider myself as someone who deals with acute stress very well (or chronic for that matter). Like working in the ER sounds HORRID to me. I don't like that sort of life or death fight or flight feeling. How can I get used to that and learn how to deal with it more effectively and appropriately???



TIA....
 
regular exercise and regular sleep are excellent stress management outlets. if you are in a BSN program, chances are there will be lectures on stress/ time management.

your line..about not dealing with acute or chronic stress is somewhat concerning, as all clinical nursing jobs include this. the more you are exposed to situations, the more comfortable you get. there is definatly a role transition from student to clinican, but everyone goes through this, so you will be in good company.

i dont know of any books or programs, but i do know that EXPERIENCE itself, and being mentored from a more experienced nurse on the job will greatly foster your development. i wouldnt worry about all this now, but concentrate on your assignments, and get a job as a nursing assistant..invaluable experience!!! one step at a time, the journey is long.
 
Ditto what above poster said. You sort of have a one track mind when you are in nursing school. Get lots of sleep, regular exercise. You will meet lots of great friends. Take it day by day. Don't worry about the type A thing. There are plenty of jobs that are low key. :)

I did the RN-BSN. I am a SAHM now. I just applied for a really cool job that is PRN for only 4-6 hour shifts, helping with admissions, discharges, and other nursing duties. I hope I get it. It's a cake job. I could go in once or twice a week, make a little money, and not have to leave my kids for so long.

Janice, I am not trying to be discouraging in the least bit. But from reading this and previous posts you seem very unsure of the nursing field. I am not trying to be unsupportive, but this is a huge step, and will take a lot of your time. Nursing is a wonderful career, but be sure of it. Like you said, you have to try. If you think this is the job for you, be confident in your choice and give it your all. There are so many areas. You will find something you will enjoy.

Good luck,
Lori
 
Lori...I totally get what you are saying, I am not at all offended. But when the hospitals don't let you shadow due to HIPAA (sp?), how can you be absolutely sure? I have done tons and tons of research. Talked to nurses. Visit nursing forums. I don't know what else to do.


Believe me, it is quite a predicament when you are "stuck" where you are and you cannot figure out where to go. I feel like my life is draining away from me and I feel like a freak for having no real passions in life. Making matters worse, I have debt, which doesn't make me too comfortable about taking out more student loans to get a bachelors. Sometimes I wonder if I can spare the time and money involved in a bachelors degree, but also know that if I stay doing what I am doing now I will never be happy AND I will never make more money.

Pretty much Lori, I thought if I could not figure out for sure, that nursing would actually be the shortest route. 2 years, community college tuition. If I hated it, I would know soon enough and could move on. Go to university and try my hand at something else we got WAY more tuition going on (and more debt). I thought even if I ended up wasting two years of my life on nursing.......well, it is only two years. And the two year education will let me start a family and work maybe only two days a week. I am looking at flexibility as well.


Please don't take offense to this, but I find that other nurses want to do nothing but discourage people from entering nursing. What is going to happen to me when I get older and need medical care if we no longer have enough nurses? I worry with all the negativity there won't be ANYONE to take care of me. I know we want the right people entering the field, but the fact is, we are still going to need nurses, even if some of them are just warm bodies. With the attitude that is out there, it is no wonder many students go running and screaming from the field of nursing. I gotta say, doing all the research I have done and talking to those in the field has not left me too excited about taking the plunge. I think, "what am I getting myself into?". I mean, when the ER nurse tells me that "it is not too late to change your mind" when I tell him I want to be a nurse, isn't that sad? Nurses now are so overworked, but then they discourage those that could possibly help them. ?????

Again, not an attack on nurses, I am just explaining it from the students point of view.


Much of the time they make it seem like you have to be PERFECT to be a nurse. In that case, I guess it may not be for me.
:(
 
I would probably be one of the ones telling you to run as far as you can from nursing. :) I remember telling people I wanted to be a nurse before I went into nursing school, and nurses would tell me no, don't do it. I remember feeling they were just negative, unhappy people. I was naiive and green, and that was a good thing!

Nursing is definitely a great profession. The flexibility is bar none. It is stressful, grueling work though. Unless you go straight to a doctors office or something along those lines.

All and all, you will probably like it. You will always be able to get a job, and a high paying one at that!! I wonder sometimes if I should of done something else with my life, but no job is perfect, and I would probably be complaining about that too! So enjoy, you are going to have a great experience with school!
 
Lori,

I DO appreciate your honesty. I do not dismiss what other nurses say because I am intelligent to know that they are saying this for a reason. That is what scares me. I think that is why they say unless you have a true passion or "calling" for nursing, that you will end up hating it. And that scares me. Pretty much everything scares me lately.:)


Because I am constantly on the quest for more information, what would you do instead, if you could change it? Would you still work in the healthcare field? Have you seen any other positions in the hospital that pay almost equally as well and seem to be more of a "cake" job? Which hospital position would you say is the lowest stress (technical position, not the toilet cleaner):)


Inquiring minds want to know.........
 
Hi Janice,

I just felt like I had to add to your post because I am in EXACTLY the same position you are right now. And I've been having much of the same mental dialogue about going into the Nursing profession. I was reading your post and thinking I could have written the same thing. It's uncanny how alike our thoughts and experiences are in pursuing this profession and determining if it's right for us. I don't post often on this subject because it would just be redundant as you seem to always ask or discuss what's on my mind.

I have had much of the same experience with nurses telling me to run away. On the other hand, my sister in law is a nurse and she is so encouraging of me to become a nurse, telling me how great I'll be. Some days I'll be on a high, feeling great about the idea of going to school and finally having a profession, and I can't wait to get started. Then on another day it will be all negative and I get scared and think "there's no way I can do this." It's like an emotional rollercoaster sometimes. I wonder if it is fear of the unknown, or are we putting too much stock into what other people say? But like you said, how else are we supposed to find out what it's really like?

And then I think, ok, so if I don't go to nursing school, what will I do? What will my profession be? I'm a sort of a jack of all trades so to speak. I have a bacholor's degree in psych and have had so many different jobs because my husband is in the military and we are always moving. Not much chance at a career when you move every two years. So now we're settled and not going anywhere and I can pursue a career. The thought of sitting at a desk all day kills me. I've done that so much that I feel like it drains the life from me (to use your words). I'm just trying to say that if I don't go to nursing school I don't know what else I would do. I don't have extreme passions either to direct me. All of my interests though, point me in the nursing profession. It may not be perfect, but no job is. I guess I have to find what's MOST important for me to have in my chosen career and see which professions fit that bill. No job will have everything. And every job will have things about it you hate. I guess now we're just trying to sort through what the profession is really like, so we can make these decisions.

Janice, good luck in your decision. Maybe we'll both be nurses in a couple of years and look back on this a see it as a great learning experience!

Sorry for rambling...

:D Nicole
 
Hey Nicole,

Your post is very comforting to me. Most of the time I feel like some superfreak who just overthinks everything!:(



I am 29 years old and want to GROW UP. I feel like I am still stuck in the two years after high school! I have an AA degree, which is why I am somewhat reluctant to get an ASN Or ADN. Part of me really wants a bachelors, the other part just wants a better paying job and NO DEBT.

I think, Ok, could I handle nursing if I only work 2 shifts per week? I know it might be wrong to think that way, but I do.


I say, if everything in you is pointing you to nursing then you should go for it. My pointer is more towards Lab Science, but I don't know why. Maybe it because people intimidate me. I always feel "different". But I don't how much of that is my "core" personality or how much of that is from being raised in a dysfunctional alcoholic family. That is why I say I don't know if I give myself much credit.


I don't have a dying need to help people. I think I care about people and want to help them if they are suffering, but I do sometimes feel like they have caused their own disease and can be unsympathetic.

If you don't mind, I would love to talk to you some more. My personal email is [email protected]. Shoot me a line and I'll reply later. Now, it is my last day off and I am off to see the Clincial Lab Advisor at ASU.
 
I work in an ICU in Ontario Canada. I've been nursing for twenty years and I can't think of anything else I would rather do. The only thing I wish someone told me about would be the shift work. I work 2 weeks of day shifts and 2 weeks of night shift alternating. My shifts are 12 hours. I find as you get older it is harder to do the shift work. I recommend going for your BScN and possibly for your Masters if you can do the combined thing. This will then allow you to go into teaching. You will have lows (sometimes very low) and then you will reach a lot of highs in nursing. It is a hard profession but if you have strong work ethics you will do fine.I was a waitress, I sewed jeans at a LEE factory, I was a housekeeper at an old age home (this gave me the bug for nursing), then I became a healthcare aide. I have never stopped going to school as this is a requirement for our profession.
As for stress management, I exercise/exercise/exercise and play sports.
I hope you choose nursing(like you said we need nurses I like time off not overtime)
Sharon
edited to say I was boxed in the ear yesterday at work for asking an old fellow if he was having pain. I'm laughing at it now but it sure hurt then!
 
I was opposite of Lori. When I was still unsure of what career I wanted, taking endless science classes, my DH suggested nursing? Do you know I cocked one eyebrow up and snootily replied "you have got to be kidding? I'm not about to be a freakin' maid."

That was 5 years ago, and now I love my degree. I actually use all the knowledge I learned in college & apply it to the care & safety of the people that come into life. And I was NOT a people person before just dying to help every soul that needed my help.

Nursing has many areas you can go into, even research, so that may be an option for the lab lover in you. The funny thing is, all the nurses that I have talked to have managed to find their niche or their favorite area.

Don't get me wrong. It is still a job, not a hobby, but that's why you clock in & out.

Marla
 
Marla and Sharon....

Thank you so much for some encouraging words. I can't tell you how much I need to hear them right now!! Your post especially, Marla! Gives me hope.


Thank you all!
 
Janice,
Just as Marla said it's a job. No job is perfect. My sister is a school teacher and she has her moments of whining about it. So, it's a matter of finding your niche as Marla said. The possibilities are endless. It's a wonderful job to raise a family.

Good luck and have a wonderful time in school!

Lori
 
Thank you Lori and thank you for all the advice...



Does this mean you will be sympathetic when I come back in July whining about nursing school????


Or will you say...........I TOLD YOU SO!!!

:)
 
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