What Are The Issues That Nurses Face?

There are many excellent reasons to enter the nursing profession and to stay there for as long as you want or need to. It’s a secure job, it’s rewarding, there is plenty of growth allowed and even expected, and if you want to help people, it will give you that opportunity every single day.

However, it’s important to understand that not everything about nursing is positive. Although the majority of your time will be spent doing things and being with people you like, there is always the chance that you’ll have a bad day, and it’s important to be aware that this can happen, and the reasons why it might before you begin. In this way, you can ready yourself for whatever is coming your way and ensure that your nursing career isn’t derailed due to the standard issues that most, if not all, nurses face. Read on to find out more and to get a better overall picture of what nursing is really like.

Long Hours

There are some jobs that require you to be at your desk – possibly even working from home – at nine in the morning and then leave it at five in the afternoon (or similar hours), and you don’t have to think about it at any other time. You can walk away and have a good work-life balance.

Nursing is different. Although it is still possible to have a good work-life balance due to having multiple days off, often in the week, for example, the fact is that when you are working, the hours will be much longer than if you had a different kind of job such as in an office or in retail. Most nursing shifts are around twelve hours, although this will differ depending on what kind of healthcare institute you’re working in and what department you’re in. However, on average, you’ll be working for twelve hours a day, which obviously gives you a lot less time at home, especially if you have a long commute to deal with as well.

You should also be aware of shiftwork when you’re a nurse. Patients will be sick twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including Christmas and other holidays. This means that nurses are needed at all of these times, and therefore you’ll often be working shifts. For some, this is a problem, and that’s why it’s important to be aware of this from the start. Others, however, love shiftwork as it gives them more time to do what they want to do outside of work, including hobbies and spending time with family and friends. So, although long hours and shift work are potentially problematic, they don’t have to be.

Lots To Learn

Nursing is not an easy profession to be in. You’ll need to gain a lot of knowledge and experience, and not only is it hard mentally, but it’s physically demanding too. Those long hours we spoke of earlier are often spent standing or moving around, and breaks, although important, may be cut short of postponed indefinitely when patients need help.

On top of this, there will be a lot to learn in terms of wherever you are working. Each different hospital, clinic, or other workplace will have its own set of rules, and if you are working there, you will need to follow those rules to the letter. A healthcare setting can’t afford to have any nurses who are unable to do their jobs unsupervised, and following the rules is proof that you can do what your employers need you to do.

The good side of this need is that if you can do your job well and can think for yourself, stay calm under pressure, and follow the rules of wherever it is you work, you’ll be able to guarantee a job for as long as you want one. There is great job security in nursing because there is a nursing shortage, meaning that when a healthcare institute finds a good nurse, they won’t want to let them go. So, if you’re looking for a job you can rely on and even grow in, nursing is ideal. It is even possible to return to school once you have achieved your RN qualification to work towards additional qualifications such as DNP FNP programs that will allow you to reach your full potential.

Increased Pressure

Not everyone thrives under pressure. In fact, it takes a very special kind of personality to remain calm when there is chaos all around. If you’re not able to work in such high pressured situations, and if stress and having to think on your feet is something that could cause you issues and even exacerbate mental health concerns, then you won’t enjoy nursing. It’s important to know this before you start. However, if you want a job that allows you to help as many people as possible, there are others you can choose that come with much less pressure, so don’t despair.

It is possible to learn to deal with the pressures that nursing brings with it as a career, but do you want to learn this? If you do, then there is no problem, but if you think it would be a problem, studying to be a nurse would be costly and time-consuming with nothing to show for it at the end. So, think carefully about how much pressure you can work under and whether this is something you want to do every day. It’s best to decide early on whether this is the right thing for you to do.

Occupational Hazards

It might seem as though nursing is a perfectly safe occupation. What could possibly harm you when you’re dealing with patients? In reality, there are many things that could harm you, and these are the occupational hazards you need to be aware of when you are thinking of becoming a nurse.

These issues include:

• Illness
• Disease
• Burnout
• Dehydration
• Back injuries (from lifting patients)
• Stress

Most of the time, for most people, nursing is a safe career to choose, but it’s worth simply being aware that there are some occupational hazards that could be problematic since they are things that most people will never have to come into contact with or even think about.

Nursing has many positives, and they will certainly outweigh the few negatives that exist. As long as you do all your research, if you choose to become a nurse, then you should have a long and happy career.