[angel337]

Now this person complained about pay and professionalism. What other job, with a two year college degree, can you gaurentee full time employment for as long as you want it and make upwards of $80,000 a year or more. (in the NY metro area). Yea there are some, maybe a few but they are just as thankless and frustrating as nursing can be from time to time.

As for me, without a college degree I got into my industry of choice, printing, because that is what dad did. I worked hard as a blue collar worker, went into management and ultimately sales. 15 years ago I started my own business. I grew through the 90's to 22 employees and made a very nice comfy six figure salary, with new cars (BMW's, Lexus's SUV's) in the driveway, a boat at the marina, and a closet full of the finest shoes my wife could buy. Then came the recession of 2001-2004. I am now down to 12 employees, and while the cars and boat are still there, paying for them is now a pain as opposed to the pleasure they once were. Will things get better? Who knows...
Since my wife has always been a nurse all of her friends tend to be medical types as well. One of the main complaints I always here has more to do with their representation on a management level than with the job requirements themselves. As soon as I get into their conversations and express my business sense to these matters they all tell me I should be a manager at the hosspital... Apparently most Nurse managers, Directors and VP's all came out of nursing and do not have a business sense about them to fight the fight with administrators on thier level. I am hoping to make that my crusade. To combine 30 years of business experience with a nursing degree to help fight the fight that in my opinion needs to be faught to make nursing a better place to be. In the mean time I will be helping people and learning, which this old dog loves to do...

Am I oversimplifying this problem, I think not. I have a positive mental attitude about a new career choice. I am excited as hell about this choice. I love school, (9.33 after 42 credits) and am excited about starting the nursing processes this fall. Why, because I might need a job in a couple of years. I might decide to move north or south or east or west, and as far as a plane can carry me on a tank of fuel I will be employable with a two year college degree. Making double the average income in the USA. How many other professionals can say that????

So for all the bitter folks out there , move on, make room for new people who will try to fill your shoes. But be warned, the grass defiantely isn't any greener on the other side of the fence.

No I will get off my soapbox.

have a great day all, dave[/quote]

dave i think you have the right attitude about your career choice. you have been exposed to the medical field all your life so there won't be too many surprises for you. your business sense will definitely benefit you if you decide to go into healthcare mangement. you are realistic and motivate which are two ingredients essential to survive in healthcare. good luck with all your endeavors.

[CCU NRS]

Originally Posted by mattsmom81

Thank you Tweety for your kind words, I know from your posts I would greatly enjoy working with you...and always look forward to your posts.

For those here who do not know me, yes I am a critical care nurse still working at the bedside...in my 28th year. And I enjoy parts of it, and 99% of my coworkers too. Most nurses are good folks doing their best in difficult times. My career was much more satisfying 20 yrs ago pre DRG, in my then union environment.

But..yes, I still do get satisfaction from my work amidst the trials; which I do try to point out from time to time.

I WILL try to be more careful to present the positives WITH negatives; but students please remember us old grizzled nurses come here for a 'safe place' to vent.

(((HUGS))) to all nurses and 'specially students.

Thank you for clarifying. I had a feeling that you were one of the greats! I have always enjoyeds your posts and you point of view.
Larry

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by mattsmom81

Thank you Tweety for your kind words, I know from your posts I would greatly enjoy working with you...and always look forward to your posts.

From one grizzled old nurse to another I humbly thank you. :hatparty:

[mattsmom81]

Originally Posted by CCU NRS

Thank you for clarifying. I had a feeling that you were one of the greats! I have always enjoyeds your posts and you point of view.
Larry

Right back at ya Larry! We have such a great group here at Allnurses don't we? I feel almost like we are family...and some days I come here to pizz and moan, other days to share my happiness and deepest feelings...and I always get honest responses (even if its a kick in the butt...hehe.)

[studentnurse74]

I have 2 more cents to give: I'm still a young student, but still have a couple of years experience in different medical settings. I agree that everyone has the right to vent, but there are ways to do that, and share the ups and downs, without going way too far off the deep end on the student nursing board.

I agree with one of the other posters about the management. They have experience as nurses, but not much business practice, and are quite capable of turning a place upside down as a new manager.

I agree 100% that it has to do with your attitude, your love for nursing, where you work and who your boss is that matters. Happy studying.

[mattsmom81]

I just noticed this thread is in the Student Forum...I inadvertently pull up the 'posts in the last 24 hrs' and failed to note (til now) I was not in the Nurses' Forum!

So...I apologize for any unintentional diatribes to students that made them uneasy or discouraged them. Perhaps the post from the OP's story was also unintentional and she thought she was in the general forum.

I agree this is not the appropriate place for such venting...silly me... I will make sure and note where I am at before I post from now on...guess I'm a bit confused with the new features here.

[Energizer Bunny]

mattsmom...I don't think you said anything inappropriate and I am a student. I wouldn't worry about it. As I said before, as long as it's not crazy venting stuff in the student forum, I think it is good to read....I like to see both sides and really want to know what I am getting myself into. I also pay close attention to the good posts about nursing.

If any of this didn't make sense, I blame it on the cold medicine and will try to clarify later.....

[minnib]

I an LPN and some of those comments I have felt myself(all the bad stuff!) but guess what?, I LOVE TAKING OF PEOPLE!, sure I get frustrated, we all do and yes all the paperwork sucks and the politics of nursing and the attitudes from PTs and nurses and docs and so on...but when I have a Pt who is full of cancer and does not have much time left on this earth tell me when she finds out I be off the next 3 days that she loves me and how will she get good care now and hugs me...to me that is immeasurable! yeah you gotta get thick skinned and let alot roll off your back and sometimes you need to put people in their place, but believe me we are appreciated by the most important people....our sick pts!, maybe not by all! LOL but most do.
PLEASE LISTEN TO ME>>>> ONLY BECOME A NURSE IF YOU TRULLY CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, HAVE COMPASSION AND NOT FOR THE MONEY.....

It is really a beautiful and wonderful profession if you allow it to touch your soul!

Melinda Lee

"I'd rather have 15 minutes of something wonderful than a lifetime of nothing
special" unsure of original author

[Tony35NYC]

I read the 'post in red' and I'm glad that the poster found her true calling and left the nursing profession. Can you imagine being a sick patient in a hospital with such a bitter, nasty person to take care of you? I'm still just a BSN student, but my feeling is that nursing is still a great career---but its not a career for everyone.

I have a degree in business and worked as a manager for years before deciding to switch to nursing. I used to hear many discouraging stories about nursing just like the one in that post, but since I started my clinicals I haven't seen much of it except from a few nurses who like to gossip, complain about everything, and set themselves up in an adversarial position with management and the MDs. No workplace situation is perfect and there's catty people everywhere. My advice to the poster is that if you're a negative person who sees only the bad in everything around you you're going to have problems, no matter what career you choose. She mistakenly believes that a career in the corporate world is better. My question to her is: better than what? From my experience in the corporate world, the higher up you go the more politics and backstabbing you'll run into, and if you're not willing to play ball with the 'powers that be' you'll never get anywhere. But, as they say, "the grass is always greener..."

[kelnich]

Nursing is what people make of it. If there is one thing I have learned from reading this thread there are some people who love it and some people who hate it. You have to know when you go into nursing that it isn't a piece of cake. Sometimes you end up cleaning up a bunch of poop and you are responsible for a whole lot. You'll have good and you'll have bad.

I just don't think it is right for someone to post on a student nurse message board such a negative comment. Many of us are passionate about nursing and are optomistic about the profession. It is one thing to try and let us know that nursing isn't always going to be rewarding but the manner in which it was delivered was very poor and not very constructive. I have worked many jobs, not in nursing but within the healthcare realm that people have hated but I have loved. It just amazes me how character and outlook can make all the difference regardless of what career you pursue.

So thank you to the nurses that have posted positive comments, and thank you to those who post the not so positive comments as long as they are posted in a manner which we can learn from not one which will disgusts us.

That being said I also know of students that seem to think that they will never have to clean up poop in their career. They have just "fallen" into nursing. It wasn't really their 1st "choice." They seem to think that they will walk out of school into an admin job. Yeah, right. Let me tell you. If you do not like your clinical rotations, not that they are hard, or that you are scared, because that is normal but if you DISLIKE what you are doing in school, it is not going to change in your nursing career. Drop out now. You don't know how many times I have heard "well it will be different when I am an actually nurse." Please...