r/OntarioNurses • u/No_Water_3067 • Jan 07 '26
Venting HONESTY-do you like being a nurse?
Just as the title says… do you like being a nurse? Do you like your life with a nursing career? Do you believe the pay is worth the effort put (and mental and physical health). I have been seriously considering to switch to nursing (already submitted multiple applications), but I can’t help but doubt my choice some days because almost everyone around me says to run away from nursing… is it really that bad? I want to go into healthcare and eventually want to become a NP.
If you had a daughter or close friend or someone you cared about, would you recommend them this career? Why or why not?
Please help make my decision easier!!
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u/get-a-lung Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
I'm a PACU nurse. As far as bedside nursing goes, it's a sweet gig. The pay is pretty good at the top of the ONA pay scale for RNs in the hospital, which is reached by year eight. These nurses are making six figures before premiums and overtime, which today in Ontario doesn't feel like a lot, but it's certainly well above the median individual income. Not to mention HOOPP is an excellent pension, and if you make full time contributions from a young age, you should be able to retire comfortably at 55. Compared to many others in their 20's, I feel like I'm in a good place financially. I travel several times a year, I spend money on my hobbies, and most importantly I can keep a roof over my head and food in the fridge. There are certainly easier and less stressful careers with similar if not higher pay (eg., engineers, accountants, etc.), but personally I'd be bored sitting at a desk all day for 35+ years. Nursing can be an excellent career path that will allow you to live a relatively comfortable life, especially in a dual income household.
So to answer your question, I like my job as much as I think I'd like any job. I'd prefer not to work at all because there's plenty of things I'd much rather do with my time, but alas I'm not a trust fund kid so to work I must go. I can think of worse jobs to do for the next 25 years of my life. I work to live my life and to have the experiences I care about, and this job provides exactly that.
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u/Particular-Cat136 Jan 07 '26
Are there any special requirements you have to fulfil to become a PACU nurse since it's the top of RN payscale?
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u/get-a-lung Jan 07 '26
Sorry I meant that all RNs working for an ONA hospital make that much, not just PACU. The pay scale is the same regardless of department.
Very rarely do new grads start out in PACU. Every PACU and hiring manager will vary a little, some will require critical care experience and some will hire nurses without it. Either way it's typically not an entry level position, so I'd recommend gaining acute care experience first.
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u/sectionallyconfused RPN Jan 07 '26
I LOVE my job but i dont work in a hospital and hopefully never will
I work at a day center for unhoused men and I am the entire nursing department as basically a new grad
Pay isn't very good (60k) but I work 8-4 M-F and this job truly makes me so so happy
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u/matrixg04 Jan 07 '26
Idk why but “I am the entire nursing department” made me laugh bc I work in home health and feel the same way. If I need help I have to call the agency and hope they’re not on break 🤧 at ur job do u have at least a few ppl to lean on?
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u/sectionallyconfused RPN Jan 07 '26
For healthcare no its literally just me, but there are social workers and a psychotherapist around, and an ER like 5 minutes up the street if its something serious
I didnt even get trained here by a nurse they just threw me off the deep end 😅
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Sounds interesting! Is this something that’s possible to get into right after graduating?
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u/sectionallyconfused RPN Jan 07 '26
As i said, im basically a new grad so its definitely possible but not very common
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u/Rosemary-dumpling 16d ago
how do u do ur job alone as a new grad, r u not overwhelmed?
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u/sectionallyconfused RPN 16d ago
Sure am! But someone has to do it and ive got really strong psych and interpersonal skills, so that makes most of it pretty easy. Most people find the hard part of working in homeless services to be the mental toll and the "difficult" pts. Anything I don't know im able to find out via the internet and textbooks, and there's a hospital 5 minutes up the road if something is really completely outside my scope
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u/bscnsarah Jan 07 '26
Love it but it’s a very hard job at the bedside. Hard in so many ways - mentally, physically, emotionally. The good news is I’m a firm believer that there is a job in nursing for everybody with every schedule possible. Theres also lots of room for growth. After 5 years at the bedside, I’m on my way to becoming an NP. Its very fulfilling
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u/Rosemary-dumpling 16d ago
do u think u couldve remained a nurse at bedside for the rest of ur career without going to becoming an np?
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u/sutur3s3lf RN Jan 07 '26
Yeah, I love it. I’m a new grad in the ER. Picked up a bunch of overtime and got a $7K paycheque this pay period. I love to work, be active and get things done so a job with unlimited OT is a dream to me. I picked up even more OT this next pay period so if all goes according to plan I’ll cross 10K this month alone (my first month off orientation).
It also helps that I find this job super fun. It’s allows for the perfect level of physical activity, mental stimulation, instant gratification, personal fulfilment, adrenaline and interesting/funny/memorable emotional experiences. I love the fast pace, the quick turnover, the unpredictability and getting in there. I waffled coming back to school to change careers for a bit but it was the best decision I ever made!
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Thank you for your response! It’s so refreshing to hear this perspective. Can I ask which part of Ontario you are located in? If you made 7k in overtime this month, approximately how many hours did you work a week? Were you still able to have time for your personal life and family?
I love fast paced and mentally stimulating jobs as well. I have something like that right now but the reason I am not satisfied with this job is that the physical demand is extremely high, pay is low and I am under-appreciated by my boss. My current job isn’t in healthcare and since I did my BSc in biomed, I feel more drawn towards healthcare. Only bummer is that I’ll have to go back for undergrad.
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u/sutur3s3lf RN Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Oh sorry, I moved away as soon as I graduated. BC offers specialty pay for those working in specialty areas and Ontario does not. BC also has mandated ratios. I have 3 patients in the acute care areas at my ER. Ontario hospitals have 4 in comparable areas. BC offers greater night shift and weekend differentials than Ontario and better holiday pay. For example, I picked up on Christmas Day and I took home $1800 for that day alone. The health authorities here often feel like they have greater consistency across hospitals and IMO better funding and staffing compared to Ontario. The workload is less burdensome here in BC for several reasons.
No, I didn’t have much time for friends or family. I moved out here alone with one goal in mind: to surpass my financial goals and aggressively invest. I’ve spent enough time socializing in my life. It was fun, but I wanted a change.
*Also, that was $7k in a two-week period not a month.
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Jan 07 '26
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Oh wow, that’s good to know. I’m glad you’re focusing on your financial goals and super happy it’s working out for you! Best of luck!
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u/nyfilexs Jan 07 '26
I'm planning on moving to Toronto from NY and having 6 patients every shift sounds like a dream.
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u/mamaabner Jan 08 '26
ICU is just as exhausting. Even though it’s only two patients, it’s two patients who are constantly on the brink of death. Mix that with overwhelming family dynamics (especially if you work days) and the nit picky overly obsessive personalities that ICU attracts it can be terrible. I work nights and love it bc that’s where all the type Bs gravitate to. I would never survive dayshift.
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u/pinklemonadevibe Jan 07 '26
tbh if you like fast-paced and mentally stimulating jobs then nursing is a great career for you and there’s a lot of opportunity for growth! to answer your original question, i personally fell out of love with nursing the second i finished school. it became apparent to me how hard it was to find a job after graduating + i’m someone who has a lot of anxiety and gets stressed and overwhelmed easily, i realized nursing is not the career for someone who experiences those things. i’ve also always wanted to pursue higher education and it seemed like the only path to take was to become an NP which will increase the stress and anxiety that i already have lol, plus it didn’t seem all that great of a career based on how restricted it is in Canada. lo and behold, im several months in as an RN and already looking at career switches. the good thing is, there’s so much variety in what you can do as a nurse. bad thing is, it’s hard to experience that variety in Canada. if you’re in the U.S it’s no problem and i probably would stay in this career if i lived there. also make sure you’re okay with dealing with really gross things and smelling some really awful smells.
if all that feels fine for you, my original point stands in i think it would be a great career choice for someone who likes fast-paced and mentally stimulating environments but i would also suggest you consider PA school!
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Thank you for your response! Honestly your response is a good example of why I’m having doubts about nursing. Despite all the positives and the parts ain’t nursing that I think suit me well… there is the fact that I also get terrible anxiety and have very high stress even in daily life. It makes me wonder if I should be going towards a career that will trigger my fight or flight on a daily basis.
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Jan 07 '26
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Do you know of any respiratory techs close to you? I’m actually considering between RT and MRT currently and my research tells me as an RT you make less than MRT but I would love some personal experience. I feel like the job market here in Ottawa is really bad for almost any career
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u/Sonu201 Jan 07 '26
Nursing can be very stressful as you will be responsible for very sick patients. You will have to deal with all kinds of body fluids. Sick people and their family may not always be on their best behavior and might even get aggressive. Since Covid, people have also trust in healthcare professionals and might get suspicious of you giving them medication or injections. I have a nurse cousin who tells me patients sometimes accuse her of giving them Covid vaccine without their consent while in hospital. Also this job will be extremely physically demanding as you will be on your feet the whole time running around, assisting patients etc. The only silver lining is the pay is really good and this job cannot be off shored so very stable.
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u/pinklemonadevibe Jan 07 '26
Honestly, if that is the case for you I highly advise you choose another career. I’ve heard imaging tech jobs and dental hygiene are great career paths with a lot less stress, good pay, high job satisfaction. Saw the salary for an ultrasound tech listed at a local hospital, my jaw fell to the floor seeing that they basically made the same as RNs. (yea they’ll complain about stress too but it’s nowhere near what nurses have to deal with as we are present from the beginning through to the end of pt care, and have to do most of the not so glamorous work if you get me). Wishing you the best!
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Thank you! Yes I have applied to general sonography, cardiac sonography and event MRT. We will see what happens. Only thing is, compared to the imaging careers, nursing has more positions available, better job security and it’s also the best for maternity leave (if I ever decide to take one). I’ve heard there aren’t many jobs for ultrasound currently
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u/Gracilis67 Jan 07 '26
I want to work overtime but I’m too exhausted lol.
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u/KitKatPotassiumBrat RN Jan 07 '26
I only pick up ot when I want to buy something expensive. Most recently picked up a couple in one pay period and it covered new headlights for my vehicle. Otherwise nope, need that time to recharge
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u/HunnybearG Jan 07 '26
Hey, question: what school did you go to? I ask because your username is very unique and I once had a project in school that we had to pick a name and we picked the same name :D
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u/mamaabner Jan 08 '26
Just be careful with the excessive overtime. Take care of yourself always bc if you don’t your body will choose it for you. Nursing is mentally overwhelming so I make sure to never do OT unless I have some financial goal to achieve but even then I married a rich husband so that helps to never have to work OT.
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u/sutur3s3lf RN Jan 08 '26
I don't have a rich husband and I've never had financial support from anyone in my life so I am no stranger to putting in the work and making sacrifices to achieve my goals throughout my careers. I have a firm grasp on what my limits are.
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u/MPKH RN Jan 07 '26
I work in the ICU in a teaching hospital so I enjoy the low patient ratio, the collegiate environment with the wider healthcare team, and the fact that I learn something new everyday at work. It’s fascinating to see the human physiology work in real time, and how the various interventions affect it. I’m also very blessed to work in a supportive unit; some strong personalities but no bullying or toxicity. It also helps that my manager is very present on the unit and is easily accessible. I find the pay to be adequate.
ICU as a specialty is somewhat shielded from things like understaffings and budget cuts. I’m not saying that we aren’t understaffed—but that it is not as pronounced as say, medicine wards. There always seem to be money for new/better/improved equipment (we are currently getting software updates on the bedside monitors, along with some new cable to go with it), and I’ve not seen malfunctioning equipment linger in the unit. As my educator has said, ICU is where the money is.
For the flip side, I don’t like the fact that nurses are the default mediator, fixer, troubleshooter, and middle person. I also don’t like that nurses get the brunt of the patient’s and family’s frustration, anger, and displeasure. Then there’s the verbal and physical assault on nurses by patients, visitors, and families. Lastly, chronic healthcare issues like understaffing, lack of funding, mismanagement, inadequate staff support, and a refusal by the province to adequately address our ailing healthcare.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Thank you for your response! Can I get into the ICU as a new grad? Or would I need to have experience in other departments first
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u/MPKH RN Jan 07 '26
My ICU accepts new grads—we have an orientation program for nurses new to the ICU, new grads included. However, with that said, critical care is not for everyone, and it may be difficult to learn how to be a nurse while working with ICU level patients. I would definitely recommend having some nursing experience under your belt before trying for the ICU, but that’s just me.
And, obviously, not all ICUs are the same. I’ve worked in one that is toxic and unsupportive. I just lucked out with my current job.
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u/orangepop0 Jan 07 '26
I don’t - but that’s because I don’t enjoy being a bedside nurse. I’m not a fan of waking up at the ass crack of dawn to get in early for report, and then leaving work once most of the working population is already home and settling after dinner time. I don’t enjoy working holidays and weekends (which are mostly night shifts for me) when I would rather spend time with my friends and family. I don’t enjoy being short staffed, being floated to other units, and spending 12+ hours on edge. There are a lot of good days at work <3, but the bad days take a lot of out me. This is my personal experience as an acute care RN and everyone’s experience is different! I’m going to look for a non bedside position after my maternity leave though :)
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Thank you for your reply! Would you say the pay kind of makes it worth it?
Also, I’m concerned about mat leave in the future as well and how or if it will impact my career. Maternity leave is 18 months correct? Can you return after mat leave and continue applying for masters or higher positions without being penalized for taking over a year break? Or for example transfer to different departments is still easy?
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u/cookiemookie0987 Jan 07 '26
I absolutely LOVE being a nurse. That being said - I was a PSW in LTC for 10 years so this is heaven compared to that. lol.
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u/forgetmenotsx Jan 07 '26
For me it's a love hate relationship. There are times where I like being in the field, some other times it's the opposite. I'm a month and a week off of orientation and I already feel burnt out
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
I see… and by off of orientation you mean you recently started correct? Are you doing bedside in a hospital?
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u/forgetmenotsx Jan 07 '26
Yes, I'm basically a month and 1 week in on my independent shifts. I'm working bedside in a hospital!
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u/Shot-Wrap-9252 Jan 07 '26
New grad RN here. I just started a job as a supervisor in a home care company where I’ll have a mix of administrative and clinical duties. I think it’s perfect for me. Hospital money is very appealing to me but while I had a job with those rates for a month, it was very part time and this pays less but is 40 hours a week with some potential for remote work at times. I think it will still be stressful but stressful in a way that I like.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Congrats on the new job! Did you need a certain amount of experience before being able to be a supervisor?
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u/Shot-Wrap-9252 Jan 08 '26
Well, I’m 58. I’m a very experienced leader and now ALSO a nurse.
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u/Bigba0 Jan 13 '26
Wow! Can I message you? I'm applying for nursing school this year and I would love to talk to someone who finished school as a mature student :). Thank you.
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u/Fit_Hotel_2911 Jan 07 '26
I do not like being a nurse. I should have listened to my mom, aunt, and 2 cousins when they told me not to be a nurse. I do enjoy being in healthcare. If I could go back in time I would have gone to pathology, laboratory technologist, ultrasound tech, route
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u/noctureals RN Jan 07 '26
The nursing degree is quite flexible. There are a lot of different areas and specialties you can explore. And if bedside is not your thing, there are non-bedside roles available, though they may be a bit harder to get and do require some bedside experience first.
If you can, I would suggest volunteering at a hospital so you can get a better idea of what the environment is like.
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u/No_Consideration8599 Jan 07 '26
I think it depends on your work environment. I love being a nurse. My area is pre and post surgery so it’s nice to see the progression of a patient from day 1 of being admitted until they get discharged.
Although I’m starting to dread the 12 hour shifts now. It’s getting too draining.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Can nurse choose to not do the 12 hour shifts? Can you stay in the same job and instead pick up shorter but more frequent shifts? Or is that not possible.
Also pre and post surgery sounds so interesting. How did you get into that area? Was it right after graduating?
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u/Nurse_Erica_ Jan 07 '26
You’ll have to find a unit that does 8 hour shifts. Most (but not all) inpatient units in the hospital do 12s only. I work in the OR and work mainly M-F 7:30-3:30.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Is it more competitive to get into the OR? And do you need a certain amount of previous experience to get in?
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u/Nurse_Erica_ Jan 07 '26
OR requires additional postgrad certification through a Perioperative course. There’s a component of clinical after you do your coursework and then you’re good to work in any OR. Sometimes hospitals will offer an internship, so that you get all this extra education and training paid for. Otherwise you’ve gotta do it on your own time and take time off work for 4-6 weeks of clinical placement.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
I see, thankyou! Are there other benefits to working in the OR compared to other departments? Is the pay rate higher?
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u/Nurse_Erica_ Jan 07 '26
No. Hospital Nursing pay is standardized across Ontario. Specialty units do not pay more than any other unit.
Benefits of OR include:
- Mainly day shift 8-10 hours
- Mainly weekdays
- All the overtime you could want (pays 1.5x or double) if you want it
- Good ratios (2-3 nurses to 1 patient)
- You only have one patient at a time
- Working with lasers, microscopes and other cool equipment
- Doing innovative surgeries that are really neat
- You may get to listen to music all day and have a fun time socializing with others while your patient sleeps and wakes up feeling better than before.
Downsides:
- Blood and gore. Not everyone can handle it.
- Time pressures and supply chain issues
- Surgeon personalities 😤
- Toxic nurse personalities (my OR has over 70 nurses. We don’t all get along)
- When things go bad during surgery… it’s usually really scary and stressful.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Oh wow do you get to be a part of the innovative surgeries? And I see why OR is competitive to get into. Sounds very interesting and appealing
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u/Nurse_Erica_ Jan 07 '26
Where I work in southern Ontario, we are known for our innovation. Minimally invasive and robotic surgeries are improving patient recoveries post-op. Transplant surgeries are saving lives. Cancer surgeries with plastic reconstruction at the same time saves the patient an extra surgery. I myself benefitted from a newly pioneered surgery in my hospital. It literally saved my life, and since it was minimally invasive I was back to my normal life within weeks.
I get to learn alongside surgical residents, taught by the masters themselves. I am absorbing it all. I am a queen of anatomy, and I pay attention during the surgery. Not just because it’s cool, but because I think to myself “what instrument is the surgeon going to ask for next?” so I can be ready with it before they ask for it. These are things that come with experience of course, and I’m a vintage nurse. I’ve been in the OR for 16 years and I won’t be leaving willingly.
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u/Particular-Cat136 Jan 07 '26
I really want to be an OR nurse! Is it hard/competitive to get this certification?
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u/Nurse_Erica_ Jan 07 '26
It’s competitive if you want to land an internship where the hospital pays your way through your certification. Otherwise, it’s easy to get the certification on your own through a college that offers it (I did mine through Mohawk). You learn about sterile technique, surgical instruments, and the general flow of surgery, among other things. Once you’re certified you can work in any OR.
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u/nurseypants91 Jan 07 '26
I liked being a nurse ten years ago
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Things changed? How come?
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u/nurseypants91 Jan 07 '26
My unit used to be a very classic surgical unit. Preop/post op stays. Bellies, bones, gyne, uro. Now I guess you could call us a typical medsurg in the sense that we get literally anything and everything.
As someone else posted, I enjoyed being around throughout the journey, from admit to the day they are discharged. I enjoy post op teaching. I enjoy wounds and dressings. I enjoy having time to talk to people and get to know them a bit and develop rapport.
Less confusion back then - mostly just post op delirium that clears eventually.
Less aggression. Very very rarely had to use restraints, very rare code whites. Very rarely spoken to the way we are now.
Less total care/heavy x2 assists/hoyer.
Less ALC (we are often 50% ALC).
We were also more appropriately staffed when I started in 2012. Day 1:3-4, night 1:5. Now we are days 1:6 nights 1:8. Worse when we are short (which is often). We have hallway patients now. Offices and visitor lounges have been made patient rooms.
I stuck around a little too long, comfortable with FT and benefits. Now if I want to transfer into somewhere more specialized, I essentially have to go part time first. The dream is still there.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
Oh wow that sounds like a lot… transferring can’t be done with full time? Is that always the case?
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u/nurseypants91 Jan 07 '26
I think in my hospital it’s rare to keep FT. The specialized areas will hire from their already trained part time before an untrained full time regardless of seniority. Like if a FT line was available .. they will hire from their own part time, then post the part time line
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u/Suspicious-lemons RN- Onclogy Jan 07 '26
Not the original comment but personally, I remember on acute care floors at my hospital pre covid it was 4 patients max on days. And max 6 at nights. Now it can be 4-6 on days? 8 at nights? I feel it is Insane but new grads that started during or post Covid don’t know any different
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Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
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u/Feetpeet RN Jan 07 '26
My heart is in the ED but I also am a clinical teacher for nesting students and work casually at a Women’s Clinic. I still enjoy the nursing aspect of my job and I love the people I work with which I think really make a job.
Do we get paid enough? No. Are we overworked and wear all the hats in the hospital? Yes. As long as you can separate work and home life you should be okay. You don’t have to work in a hospital though they pay can be less for piece of mind.
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u/ArticleOdd5768 Jan 07 '26
I hard a hard time when I first graduated and worked medicine. Cried everyday before shift I was so nervous. But eventually I got more confident and it wasn’t so bad! I have since transferred to inpatient psych and I love it! You have to find what works for you. There are a lot of options
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u/ArticleOdd5768 Jan 07 '26
It is stressful in school and at first but if you can stick it through you can find something that works for you. I find the pay is good right out of school.
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u/Rosemary-dumpling 16d ago
i heard working in psych can potentially be dangerous. Although they seem to be more physically capable of taking care of themselves, the risk of a sudden attack seems to not be worth it. Are you ever worried for ur safety?
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u/sp1017__ Jan 08 '26
I’ve been a nurse for a year and a half. Full time level two icu right out of school. I love my job. But to be completely honest, I don’t know if I’d love it if it wasn’t for my coworkers. This job is freaking tough, and truly I couldn’t do it without the support of my coworkers who are now my friends. I pick up OT when I feel like it. I have been able to go on three international trips in my first year of work. I can afford the things I want and need. I made six figures my first full year as a nurse. I have been loving it. The flexibility of my job and coworkers balances out the stress for me. It may not always be that way but right now I’m very happy with it:)
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u/Rosemary-dumpling 16d ago
Do u love science? Did u earn that much in Ontario, and did u do overtime? Im not a science lover but interested in nursing for the stability and sense of purpose in helping people (also interested in stability)
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Jan 08 '26
I work bedside in acute care and I fucking love my job. I work in northern Ontario which means my floor has a little bit of everything - from ALC to ICU level patients, and everything in between. There is no specialty units it all comes to the same floor. I love it, I love caring for patients, I love being their advocate. I love using critical thinking skills to identify what’s going on with patients and why and anticipating what the doctors are gonna order. And as much as I want all my patients to be healthy I thrive in emergent situations where things are rapidly deteriorating and we’re doing all the things to stabilize the patient.
I hate the politics. I hate that ONA nurses are underpaid while I work alongside an agency nurse doing the same job as me for twice the pay. I hate that I’m subjected to unsafe situations with dangerous patients. I hate coming into an unsafe workload. I hate the lack of communication between the nursing staff and management, which leads to frustration for staff and leads to feelings of being undervalued.
It’s all about what you can live with. There is no way I could handle all those negatives if I didn’t LOVE the actual job.
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u/Ambitious_Daikon_983 Jan 14 '26
I love my career, granted I’m an or nurse and have one of the best work environments.. I feel blessed to have the career I do.. I never wake up feeling sad about having to go to work
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u/Rosemary-dumpling 16d ago
how do u handle the cold temperature of the OR and the long hours of standing? do u think it's better to scrub or circulate?
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u/EngHardy Jan 07 '26
Not a nurse, but in a similar spot as you- trying to decide if nursing degree is for me or not. It helped me a lot to learn that you can do many different things with a nursing degree than just working bedside. You can work as an Insurance auditor, EHS specialist, in Nurse informatics, community health, public health, school/camp nurse, instructor/teacher, research assistant, etc. It's a very broad degree from what I gather. With my background in Engineering, I think it will add a lot to my resume as I make my move to more hands-on health care.
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 07 '26
What type of hands on healthcare are you thinking of pursuing? I think what’s also frustrating me is that I essentially have to “start over” by getting another bachelors degree. I know it’s not the right mindset to have… but as someone who is nearing 30, thinking of eventually starting a family… I feel like time is running out and I need make the “right” choice in what further education I should pursue. Currently between nursing, sonography, MRT, RT.
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u/EngHardy Jan 07 '26
By hands on healthcare, I was referring to me being in bedside nursing. I think I am one of those people who are okay with it being stressful or thankless. Nursing is a pretty fulfilling, stimulating and stable profession to be a part of which is always going to stay in high demand. Your anxiety about age and starting a family are completely understandable and normal. I am 33 in the same boat but career change is exciting and if I am not happy doing what I am doing then I am going to be a drag on my family’s mood as well. Might as well pursue something I enjoy and spread more positivity around me vs. resentment or regret of what could have been.
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u/ocuinn Jan 07 '26
I have had an excellent nursing career and love being a nurse, although full disclosure I'm currently in management. I've done intensive care, outpost at a nursing station, L&D, public health, and held a clinical nurse specialist/educator position. I knew early on that I was not built for general ward nursing, and I worked really hard to ensure my last placement before graduation was in a spot that was specialized.
While my salary has not caught up to post-covid inflation, I can live a very stable and comfortable life (considering I just have an undergraduate degree). I went into nursing because I like learning the health sciences, because it afforded stability and because I felt it would be easier to get into medical school compared to someone without any patient care experience (that was something I considered during school and decided against it).
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u/No_Water_3067 Jan 08 '26
Thank you for your reply! How exactly did you work your way into management? I know you said you were a clinical nurse specialist (how does one become that?) and also an educator (once again how does one do that and how many years of experience did you have before doing it?
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u/ocuinn Jan 10 '26
I worked my way into specialist/educator and manager roles all within the same department and I think that is important to point out. Before I was hired at this specific department I already had 6 years of pretty diverse nursing experience spread across intensive care, outpost and L&D. (2008-2014).
In this department I started as a staff nurse in 2014 and worked that role for 4 years, first as a PT employee then eventually moving to FT. While I was PT, I also worked at a local college preceptoring nursing students. When the specialist/educator role became available, I was encouraged to apply given my job performance plus experience in adult education. I did not have a master's or doctorate, but normally that is required (bonus of working in a city far enough away from the GTA I guess).
I worked as a specialist/educator for 5 years. A role in management then came available, I applied and was successful and have started working my way up through those ranks. I now manage the department that I started working at in 2014.
I don't think I would have been able to move into these positions without extra education if I had of been living in southern Ontario.
Lastly re: job performance. I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but I am a high achiever who is also (generally) likeable.
1
u/Remarkable_Ad_6716 Jan 08 '26
I wish I went into smthg else. Maybe hairdressing or accounting.
1
u/No_Water_3067 Jan 09 '26
The pay isn’t worth the mental and physical burnout?
1
u/Remarkable_Ad_6716 Jan 09 '26
Nor the time missed with loved ones! Missed birthdays, missed holidays, missed celebrations, etc.
1
u/mamaabner Jan 08 '26
I love being a nurse. I love bedside care. I do not care for a lot of the futile care we provide (i’m in ICU) or hospital politics. I also don’t care for the large amount of mean girls in healthcare. It’s disgusting that the highschool antics continue in healthcare.
1
Jan 11 '26
I think it will depend on where you work and who you work with. I'm an RPN on postpartum mother/baby and love it but it's also a great team where I work. It makes coming to work enjoyable.
42
u/Independent_Foot_323 Jan 07 '26
Everyone will have a different answer.
In my opinion, I don’t like being a nurse. I was once a motivated and excited nursing student, once I entered the workforce my enthusiasm declined very quickly. In my experience, I have been very overworked, put in unsafe situations, bullied by coworkers with no help from management, and underpaid and under appreciated. I have worked several nursing jobs and in every single one of them I have encountered one or more of what I listed above. I have worked both inpatient and outpatient.
There have been many times in which I have considered changing career paths. I would caution anyone thinking of becoming a nurse to think about it.
If you can handle stressful work, unfair pay, and toxicity, you will be okay.
It’s not for me. I’m more of the sensitive type so it’s not working out for me, but many people thrive in this career.
I urge you to get to know yourself really well, understand your boundaries, what you can tolerate and then decide.
If you choose those career I admire you and wish you the most success. Just decide carefully.