Is it hard becoming and being a nurse?

Is becoming a Neonatal nurse hard?

• I am a high school student trying to find a career path to go down. I really enjoy being around babies and I think becoming a neonatal nurse would be the right job for me. I want to ...show more

• Answer:

  Neonatal nursing is very hard work, but so rewarding. You have to ask yourself if you can deal with those sweet babies sometimes dying? It's not always a "happy" job. You have to have a nursing degree, and go from there. You should be really good with math, because you will have to calculate dosages for giving medications to such small babies- one small mess up is a matter of life and death. You have to be able to think under stress and pressure- have common sense as well as the book knowledge. You have to have a spine to be able to work with other seasoned nurses who like to eat there young. You will know nothing when you get out of school (though you think you know it all), you will gain so much more knowledge on the job. You have to be able to work 12 hour shifts, with hardly time for a bathroom break or time to eat. You will have tons of charting and documentation. You will have to deal with families of the babies, moms who are addicted to drugs (and the crack babies you will take care of). There are certainly many rewards as well..... But nursing is not a glamorous job like some people wrongly think. You have to decide for yourself if its worth it. If its worth it to you, you need to really pay attention in school and learn all you can. Then you have to pass your clinicals and your NCLEX to get your license. Best wishes!!