When I interviewed this Nurse Practitioner, she told me about a young patient in the oncology ward whose bravery had made her smile, an elderly woman who kept vigil at her husband's bedside as he lay dying, and many other families that have both helped her and been helped by her. This showed me that, while nurses might not be rich financially, and they might be overworked quite often, they are wealthy in many emotional ways that make their professional extremely worthwhile. It is valuable to them, and valuable to others, as well.
The downside to working as a nurse, though, is the nursing shortage that is taking place today, and has been going on for some time. While nurse practitioners are capable of doing more than LPNs and RNs, they still cannot do everything that a doctor can, and they must deal with these restrictions. In addition, they must deal with the shortage of LPNs, RNs, and other Nurse Practitioners, making...
When there are not enough nurses available, the patients do not get the care that they need and deserve. In addition, the nurses are overworked and find that they do not have enough hours in the today to complete their tasks with the care that they would like to use. The nurse that I interviewed said that the hospital had a goal of hiring 5 more nurses by the end of the year, but it is having trouble finding nurses that want to come to work. Either individuals do not get into the nursing profession, or those that do go to bigger cities with bigger hospitals so that they can make as much money as possible in their career. Most nurses (and the one I interviewed was no exception) really do not get paid what they are actually worth. It is very unfortunate, too, because nurses do so much for other people and are often selfless individuals, putting the needs of their patients and families well before their own.
