[handyrn]

Good discussion here. I used to think I was special because I wanted to be a nurse. I was a caregiver, it was my CHOICE to be a nurse. Had nothing to do with money, status, etc. I wanted to be a nurse. That used to mean something. Now I feel as if I am just another nobody. Because of the so-called nursing shortage, everybody is being encouraged to go into nursing school around here. So now we are pumping out tons of nurses that never aspired to be nurses and are in it because it pays well, there will always be a need, there is a shortage, etc. The compassion isn't there, the nurturing personality isn't there. And then what? We who aspired to be nurses become lumped into this same group of those who didn't aspire to become nurses but did it anyway. And when the s*** hits the fan because someone is not treated right in a hosp or other facility we all get looked down upon because "healthcare providers just aren't what they used to be and you gotta watch out for yourself so you don't get mistreated by them." Am I a little bitter? Yep. I take pride in the care I provide, and when I have to be lumped in with people who do not care, and I become just another "dumb nurse" it ****** me off. So, yes, I do think that nursing has become a fall back career for people and I do think it has become a career that is a "sure thing" for people. And I also think it sucks!

[CandyGyrl]

Thanks for your honesty Handyrn. I'm sure that you came into this field with the right intentions but too many individuals going through nursing just doesn't have their heart in it. It's like you said... a sure thing. I would love to {once I become an RN} stay and provide patient bedside care but it's become something altogether different. Floor nursing at this point has decidedly become a stepping stone for me into an advanced specialty.

[MySimplePlan]

I agree with what Katie said. Candy, did you know the attrition rate in your nursing class will be about 40%? I didn't believe it when our dean told us that in orientation 2 years ago, but by God, that's what it ended up being. I think that's people getting into it and finding out what nursing really entails, and not having the heart or the tenacity to finish it out. You really have to want it, and when students see the yuck that Katie just described, the effort sort of wanes, among other things. Perhaps these students are the 'fallback" students, I don't know.

Schools are tightening up their entrance requirements every single year to make sure the ones that get in are going to stay in. It's too much money wasted all around to have nursing students flunk out when they find they don't like it/can't make it, or find that it's just not for them.

It's an interesting dynamic. You'll see. (Sudden thought: you're in the hospital program...that's a lot different that the campus one. Can you ask the attrition rate of that program when you start tomorrow? I think you'll be in the third cohort, so the program is still new, but it would be interesting to how much the last two graduating classes shrunk.)

[Michigan RN]

Originally Posted by MySimplePlan

I agree with what Katie said. Candy, did you know the attrition rate in your nursing class will be about 40%? I didn't believe it when our dean told us that in orientation 2 years ago, but by God, that's what it ended up being. I think that's people getting into it and finding out what nursing really entails, and not having the heart or the tenacity to finish it out. You really have to want it, and when students see the yuck that Katie just described, the effort sort of wanes, among other things. Perhaps these students are the 'fallback" students, I don't know.

Schools are tightening up their entrance requirements every single year to make sure the ones that get in are going to stay in. It's too much money wasted all around to have nursing students flunk out when they find they don't like it/can't make it, or find that it's just not for them.

It's an interesting dynamic. You'll see. (Sudden thought: you're in the hospital program...that's a lot different that the campus one. Can you ask the attrition rate of that program when you start tomorrow? I think you'll be in the third cohort, so the program is still new, but it would be interesting to how much the last two graduating classes shrunk.)

I didn't think the attrition rate was that high. I honestly haven't seen anyone that I've graduated with for the past two years. HFCC actually tightened their admission requirements after I graduated. I know that half way through the first semester about half that class dropped out. Nursing school is tough. It's hard to juggle outside responsibilities and nursing school at the same time especially if you have a family and kids. My friend has three kids, worked fulltime on the weekends and somehow made it through nursing school.

[gemberly]

Originally Posted by Kati2005

I don't feel that nursing is mediocre. And not everyone CAN do it. It takes a special person to have to deal with bacteria-infected bodily fluids, open wounds, crazy family members, etc., to do the job that we do. I know people who wasted 4 years of school to get their BSN and have left nursing because they thought that they could handle it but realized that they couldn't. It just depends on the individual. Some people like being at bedside, others get their BSN and move on towards their MSN, not that there is anything wrong with that.

For me, I love nursing. I like being at the bedside, but I know that I will not be doing this forever. I'm already going back for my BSN and as soon as I finish that, I'm applying at Wayne State or Madonna University for my MSN.

I don't think she was saying that nursing was mediocre. I thought she meant that it felt like people just decide on a whim to get into nursing, and it makes it seem (to ourselves perhaps, or outsiders, who don't realise what work it is) that it is easy.

Or something more like that.

[Michigan RN]

Originally Posted by gemberly

I don't think she was saying that nursing was mediocre. I thought she meant that it felt like people just decide on a whim to get into nursing, and it makes it seem (to ourselves perhaps, or outsiders, who don't realise what work it is) that it is easy.

Or something more like that.

No I was just saying I don't think its mediocre. I wasn't trying to imply thats what she said. People do go into nursing on a whim. Sometimes I think people look at the nursing field and say "good field, good money, never without a job"...then they start school to find out its harder than they actually thought. I don't think they(outsiders) realize the phyiscal and mental strains that we actually are subjected to.