Linda Brandt RN
Operating Room RN
5 yrs.
I worked in a dermatology office and a hair transplant office.
I love taking out or putting things in patients.

I have been a nurse for 14+ years. I have worked all of it in the ER. I am also a paid firefighter and do volunteer rescue and first responder calls.

Nursing is simply a job for me now. It has been great to help raise two kids. When I began I really got an adrenaline buzz. I used to love being an EMT. I would love the phone ringing and not knowing what we had now the ER is so damn full of 1-800- I dont have insurance I have barely time to pee. We still have the emergencies but there is little time for rest in between. Firefighting for me is a little different; when I put the air tank on I am in my zone and I love the feeling.

The turn over rate among nurses is high in the ER. I am not sure why. I havent worked another area but it is an easy place to work. I am not a rocket scientist but I got some common sense and thats what it takes. I have seen a helluva lot of trauma in my life but I have also seen just as many miracles and happy moments. It balances out. I tend to think thats the way life is supposed to be any how.

The nursing climate is changing. The economy is the pits and with all the ads in the newspapers; many are flocking to nursing with out any idea of what it entails. You can have a 3.99 with a 4-yr. degree and if you cant care about the opposite sex, race or religious differences in your patients you will crash and it will show. If you cant treat a prisoner in handcuffs with the same passion as a pastor; try another field. You dont have to agree with the reason they got to the ER but you do have to treat with the same care.

My bet is once the economy cleans its act up. Lots of nurses that were in this field for the wrong reasons will quit for more lucrative lines of work.
My wife is a nurse and like me; when we do get time off together, we both leave our jobs at work. We have a family. My hobbies are the gym, the gym and the gym. And my wife spends time there with me also. We have two kids; our daughter may enter nursing and our son may join a terrorist group he hasnt decided yet. Both kids do well in school which is a help to us parents.

If I had it to do over again; I would still be in nursing and still be a firefighter. I would still marry my same sexy wife. I would not have joined the military at age 17 though and eventually become a Navy Seal. Im proud of it but it took a physical toll on me I cant get back.

Hope the above helped. Just remember the career of nursing isnt about you; its about others.

sheena21pink..survey
can you use this same post in a survey you posted sevral days earlier. i hope so if you cant i will try to do it again in different format if you want.