subject: Challenges Faced by People in the Nursing Profession [print this page] Challenges Faced by People in the Nursing Profession
Being a nurse in today's time can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. Those in the nursing profession have many tasks they are responsible for from day to day. They also face many emotionally difficult times. Even so, they continue to practice as nurses because there is always bad and good in anything in life and they learn to take it that way. Challenges faced by those in the nursing profession are typically unknown to most people. Nurses are seen as angels that help people and nothing more. Most people do not even see what goes on behind the curtain.
Challenges of nursing staff are both physical and mental. Physically, the nurse has to be able to lift heavy objects and be on their feet for long periods of time. They may be required at times to move heavy medical equipment, wheelchairs and even patients while caring for them. They also have to walk throughout hospitals sometimes at very long distances between each corridor.
Mentally challenging aspects of the job include dealing with bodily liquids, disabled patients, long hours and even patient death. Part of the nursing job duties include changing bed pans and monitoring patient fluid intake. This means they have to keep track of what the patients are drinking as well as how much urine is being put out. Some nurses are ok with this and others are not. Additionally, some patients are mentally or physically disabled so the nurse faces challenges while trying to communicate or move these type of patients.
Long hours are also another challenge. Nurses have been known to work double shifts sometimes lasting up to 20 hours long due to shortages with staff. These shifts are spent on their feet the entire time with very little breaks in between. Some nurses will even eat and sleep in the hospital in which they work. Besides the mental and physical stress put on these nurses, perhaps one of the hardest aspects of the job is dealing with illness and death. This is typical in a nursing environment due to the many elderly people that are resident patients there.
So while the job of a nurse may seem all fun and glory, there are many challenges that they must overcome while practicing. Once these challenges can be overcome though, the nursing career can be one of many rewards, high pay and opportunities for great advancements in the health care field.
