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I am currently a nurse at a hospital in the city I live in. I work in all departments, but my favorite area is obstetrics. I have worked in this field for 10 years.
The work that I do varies with the department that I work in. If I am in the emergency department, I may help with gunshot victims or people who have had a heart attack. If I am in the obstetrics department, I help the doctors in the delivery room, and then I help take care of the babies after they are born.
Some people think that when you go into the nursing field, you can have your choice of what area you want to work in. Some areas have a waiting list of people who want to work there, and there are some departments that require you to have a certain amount of experience.
On a scale of one to 10, I would say that my job satisfaction is an eight. I love what I do, but I would like to be on a better schedule. Sometimes I only work on the weekends for 12 hours, and that makes it hard to plan things I want to do with my family.
There are several things that I have seen that move my heart. I have seen babies born to mothers who pass away. There have been patients who have been on the brink of death that have been resuscitated, and there have been the people helped who truly are thankful for the care they receive. I know that I have found my calling. I would not change anything about the area I work in.
I got started in nursing when I was in high school. I received my certification as a nursing assistant, and then I went to college to be a nurse. If I could do things differently, I think that I would have gone on to be a doctor instead of just a nurse.
One of the things that I have learned the hard way about being a nurse is that there is a lot of pain in the world. There are people who need healthcare, but they don't have the insurance to get the help they need. If they can't pay for the services they need, many of the patients are sent home with a prescription they can't afford to get. There are also people who come in the hospital with little left to live for, and they need the encouragement that only a professional can offer.
Working is hard work. If you want to have a great career, you are going to have to put forth the effort instead of just letting someone else do the work for you.
As I was working in the emergency room one evening, there was a man who came in with no clothes on and ranting about not knowing where he was. It was sad to see him like this, but I have never seen anything like it before, and it has been the strangest thing up until this point I have witnessed on the job.
The reason I go to work each day is to make a difference in someone else's life. When I help deliver a baby and see the bond between the mother and child, I know that my job has been done.
Sometimes there are patients you deal with that are hostile and angry. They may be in so much pain that they can't control how they act, but they still drive you to the point of wondering if the job is worth it.
Overall, my job is not that stressful. However, there are some situations where you have to think quickly. When there are people who are having a stroke in front of your eyes, or you see patients who cannot breathe and you don't know if they are going to make it really brings the stress level up. I have to take some time outside and get a deep breath before I continue my job.
I believe I am paid enough for what I do. Right now, I make about $25 an hour. This is more than enough to live the life that I have, and I can support myself and my children. I take about two weeks of vacation during the year. There are times when I have to work on holidays. I don't like this, but the patients need someone to care for them.
To be a nurse, I had to go to school for two years. It was hard to get into the nursing program, but after I completed my basic classes, I could go right into the nursing courses without the extra classwork.
If a friend were interested in being a nurse, I would tell them to be prepared for hard work and hard classes in college. It is not the easy job that many people think it is, but it is one of the most rewarding jobs.
In five years, I would like to be working in one department of the hospital instead of changing areas each week. I would like to work in the obstetrics or pediatrics department.
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