Why You Shouldn’t Become a Nurse: A Jaded Nurse’s Cautionary Tale

If you’ve ever romanticized the idea of becoming a nurse—thanks to glossy TV shows, heartwarming TikToks, or Pinterest boards featuring stethoscopes and sunrises—stop right there. There’s no surprise why articles exist about leaving bedside nursing and the nursing profession all together. Becoming a nurse isn’t a calling; it’s a cautionary tale. Let me, The Jaded Nurse, guide you through the brutally honest reasons why this career might not be the fairy tale you’ve envisioned.

Nursing is not for the weak. Although I am jaded I say that as a warning because I do care how the future of nursing turns out. I've witnessed nurses bully their own and how the toxic side of nursing destroys some nurses. I don't want that for you. I created journals to help nurses process their feelings navigating the highs and extreme lows of nursing. It's good to write it down instead of keeping it inside- for your sanity!

The toxic environments aren’t limited to bullying. If you thought cliques were a highsschool thing, well, they’re alive and thriving in hospitals, too. Nurses versus techs, days versus nights, and everyone versus management. Unfortunately, I've seen my share of nurses gather in circles on the unit just to talk about a new grad or new nurse with experience because they didnt't like them or their "stupid" questions. It's cutthroat - a battlefield of drama, and you’re the unwilling and unarmed soldier dodging shade while trying to do your job.

Sure, caring for patients is rewarding, but no one told you about the family members who think Google makes them honorary doctors. Or the doctors who act like children and throw things when they get mad. Or the coworker(s) who calls out every other shift, leaving you with a patient load large enough to qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.

Dreaming of cozy holidays with family? As a nurse, keep dreaming! Yeah you’ll get time and half, but whatever can go wrong will go wrong while working on a holiday. Looking for Christmas and Thanksgiving off? Well, get in line. Senior nurses get priority. Once I realized how toxic the ICU was I voluntarily worked every Christmas just to avoid starting the new year with my coworkers. And naturally that's when my coworkers were the nicest, because I decided who was geting out of working the dreaded Christmas shift.

Remember when nursing school made you think you’d spend most of your career saving lives and caring for your patients? Reality check: it’s 90% charting, 5% wondering when you’ll eat next, and 5% existential dread. Patient care is mixed in there somewhere.

What work-life balance? You’ll spend your “day off” recovering from your night shift, dodging calls to pick up extra shifts, and trying to remember what sunlight looks like. Your friends will stop inviting you out because you’re always too tired or working. And on the rare occasion you do go, you're talking about work.

If you’re lucky nursing will desensitize you to things you never thought you’d tolerate. Blood? No problem. Poop? Not for me. Suctioning copious amounts of colorful secretions? I’ll pass! But you’ll never forget your first C-Diff patient or that time someone projectile-vomited directly into your scrubs and shoes. So much fun!

Team spirit? More like survival of the fittest. Every shift feels like a solo mission, and you’ll quickly learn to fend for yourself. Sad, but true.

All jokes aside, burnout isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a rite of passage. The emotional and physical toll of nursing can be overwhelming, leaving you wondering why you didn’t just go into business instead.