Nurse: The Nursing Profession

Introduction
When choosing a career in nursing the most important preparation is time spent on introspection. This career has both demanding and rewarding components. A person's desire to be of service to mankind and society need to be paramount. This is not a career for material gain. There is the aspect of job security but if a lucrative profession is desired in the field of health care, then medical school followed by a residency program would be the best course of action.
Once the choice to become a nurse is reached, the next step would be to find a 4 yr college that has a well established nursing program. The goal of the nursing profession for the last 35 yrs has been to raise the standard of education and practice to at least a bachelor's degree with encouragement to obtain post graduate degrees. A bachelor's degree in Nursing would most prepare a nurse for evidence based practice and provide the patients they serve with the best care.

Job Function
I work in labor and delivery. I am the first person a woman meets when she comes to the hospital for any obstetric issues. The nurse in this department sets the tone for the patient's experience. Teaching is a large aspect of this care, informing the patient and her significant other of the moment-to-moment issues that arise during the course of her labor. I most enjoy the fact that I have a captive audience with my patients. They need constant information and reassurance, a guide to help them to delivering their newborns. The other aspect that is such a great joy is being handed the baby at delivery and placing it on the mother's chest. It is a tearful and joyful moment that only the nurse and family can really appreciate. The obstetrician is concentrating on the repair that may need to be done and the delivery of the placenta, whereas the nurse now has a new patient to be caring for and that is the baby! I am also a lactation consultant so I can be influential at the delivery to help the baby begin breastfeeding. The responses from the mothers are always full of awe and wonder.
My profession is frustrating in the fact that there is so little respect from the physicians. It is usually all about them and their time schedule and very little about anyone else including their patients. The majority of them really don't care about anybody but themselves. It bothers me when a patient is glad when her physician is "on call" so will be at her delivery when I know that the physician is actually angry that he or she is "on call". I rarely hear from the physician (when he is not in the patient's room) that they are happy to be at a patient's birth. Lifestyle
It can be a good work lifestyle since it is so flexible. It can be from 4 hr shifts to 8 and 12 hr shifts, any time of the day or night. The downside to working in hospitals is that it is opened 24/7 and 365 days, so there are mandatory weekend and holiday work schedules. Nurses can work in many more places than a hospital and this would eliminate the off shifts and holiday scheduling. Nurses also have greater choices in continuing their education to take on more autonomous roles such as Nurse Practitioner, Midwife and Nurse Anesthetist.
The best personality for nursing is the "pleaser". If you want to make people happy and comfortable then this is a good career. The least likely to find this job fulfilling is someone who is self serving. If it is "all about me" then this will be a painful experience and a fight all the time.

Additional Information
There is no doubt that we need more nurses, but unfortunately there are few people who see this career as appealing with all the options for young professionals. I currently teach nursing students at a university. The majority of these students are planning to go to graduate school directly after receiving their BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) to become Advance Practice Nurses. This is admirable but where does that leave the hospitals in finding staff nurses. I don't agree in lowering the standard to encouraging associate programs( 2 yr schools) but I can't see young professional nurses accepting the salary and schedules of hospitals as a career choice. The nursing profession is in a crisis and crisis situations usually spawn change. It will be interesting to see this profession's evolution in the future.