Got No Job? Come be an RN ! - Page 20

Register Today!
  1. Sep 26, '10 by
    Hey Katie5...madwife's post is dead on.....she must have hit a nerve....for those of who have a passion for nursing we resent and detest people who think two years is a LONG TIME to work to get a nursing degree to make a quick buck...nursing schools are lowering their standards...you know how I can tell...because these graduates have no clue....they should have better clinical and judgement skills than they have as new nurses or graduates nurses...When I was 5 years old I wanted to be a nurse...I got my BSN...and have been a nurse for twenty plus years...it is my life and passion...too bad you don't seem to feel the same way about this wonderful profession..as for motives...have not met many people in nursing who aren't in the profession for the wrong reasons...so madwife and reserve our rights to call out these people...get over yourself Katie5.
    RN In FL and jtmarcy12 like this.
  2. Sep 27, '10 by
    People don't go into many careers because they "love" it ~ they go into them because it puts bread on the table and a roof over their head, especially divorced women with children who do not want to work one job at McDonald's and another shift at Burger King both with NO benefits If they wish those things to continue then they do their job properly. In nursing, unlike other professions, once you get your degree you have a lot of opportunity to go into many different directions from labor and deliver to surgery, to being an administrator in a SNF I know a nurse anethetist (sp?) who went into it because she likes to have "quiet" patients and she is absolutely wonderful at it and in very high demand with two different hospitals. One of the things will fit what you like to do ~ many like management and working with their staff to build better teamwork and understanding of their positions, many like hands on with patients. They way to get to the part you like is to get the degree. As far as nursing shortages go and people saying they can't find jobs? If there wasn't a shortage they wouldn't be importing nurses from Afrida, Phillipines, etc. there IS a shortage, management has just decided what they want to do with it.
    gonzo1 likes this.
  3. Sep 28, '10 by
    Quote from ittibittinurse
    Hey Katie5...madwife's post is dead on.....she must have hit a nerve....for those of who have a passion for nursing we resent and detest people who think two years is a LONG TIME to work to get a nursing degree to make a quick buck...nursing schools are lowering their standards...you know how I can tell...because these graduates have no clue....they should have better clinical and judgement skills than they have as new nurses or graduates nurses...When I was 5 years old I wanted to be a nurse...I got my BSN...and have been a nurse for twenty plus years...it is my life and passion...too bad you don't seem to feel the same way about this wonderful profession..as for motives...have not met many people in nursing who aren't in the profession for the wrong reasons...so madwife and reserve our rights to call out these people...get over yourself Katie5.

    What are the "wrong reasons?"
  4. Sep 28, '10 by
    I agree that there is a shortage of nurses, but a particular type or attitude of nurse. Hospitals are corporations. They are in business to make a profit. It takes nurses to have a hospital and nursing personnel will be the highest labor cost in the equation of doing business. In my experience, the administration and physicians want nurses who do as they are told and don't question their authority or decisions. If importing nurses who have that attitude is less expensive it is a no-brainer to them. In my opinion, nurses take all the responsibility for patient care and have little or no authority. My input in decision making is sometimes non-existent, although I may have been with that patient all day, or the last 2-3 days or may have a different approach because of some insight I have acquired from length of observation. To me the bottom line is, nurses take most of the responsibility when things go wrong, but have little to no input on solutions. Jobs are hard to come by and people will do what they have to do to eat and take care of their families. I don't fault these people for doing it. My attitude is: they are here and I have to make the best of it. Work always goes better when I am part of a team.
    shesarriot likes this.
  5. Sep 28, '10 by
    Quote from ittibittinurse
    Hey Katie5...madwife's post is dead on.....she must have hit a nerve....for those of who have a passion for nursing we resent and detest people who think two years is a LONG TIME to work to get a nursing degree to make a quick buck...nursing schools are lowering their standards...you know how I can tell...because these graduates have no clue....they should have better clinical and judgement skills than they have as new nurses or graduates nurses...When I was 5 years old I wanted to be a nurse...I got my BSN...and have been a nurse for twenty plus years...it is my life and passion...too bad you don't seem to feel the same way about this wonderful profession..as for motives...have not met many people in nursing who aren't in the profession for the wrong reasons...so madwife and reserve our rights to call out these people...get over yourself Katie5.
    I didn't want to be a nurse when I was five. That's a girl's job! I wanted to be a fireman, or a train engineer.

    I didn't want to be a nurse when I was 25. I dated a nurse, and thought you had to be crazy to do that job. (I may have been correct...)

    I didn't want to be a nurse when I applied for a job at a hospital. I was taking a long shot at getting on with Facilities because I was looking for job security. I got offered a job as an orderly, though, and read the description and went to the interview and thought it might be interesting, and a foot in the door until that facilities job came open.

    A few months later, a facilities job did come open. I looked at the posting. More money. Better hours. Thought long and hard about it, but I kept thinking, I've done that. In the job I had, I was doing things I'd never done, learning every day, and having fun. So I stayed where I was, and after a time felt it was time to advance in my career, and of all the options, nursing looked like the best fit. So I spent a lo-o-o-o-ong two years in nursing school and became an RN.

    I don't know that God called me to be a nurse, but I thank Him for putting this opportunity in front of me. I'm sure not God's gift to nursing, but I try to do a good job and treat my patients the way I'd want to be treated. I don't really disagree with madwife. I've seen a few new nurses who've just clocked in and gone through the motions. Hell, if I'm honest, I've had an occassional shift where I've been one of those nurses. And I've seen a few who put their hearts and souls into the work, but just didn't have the skills. And I've had a taste of what that's like a time or two,(or ten) as well.

    But I don't really disagree with Katie5 and others who say nursing doesn't have to be a holy vocation or a lifelong dream, either--except that I don't see madwife as a martyr figure, but a caring, experienced nurse. I don't so much think it matters what motivation it takes to become a caring, experienced nurse. If taking pride in yourself as a professional gets you there, great. If you believe you're doing the Lord's work, great. If it's just your work ethic to do your best at any job you take, I can't see what's wrong with that, either. But if you're just going to beat in your time to collect a check, there are easier ways to go about it.

    Patients need nurses with dedication and skill. Nurses need coworkers with those same qualities. I suspect madwife would agree with me that of the two, dedication might be the more essential, because if you have that, you'll learn the skill. I've also seen a few nurses with mad skills who definitely don't wear their hearts on their sleeves, but I kinda have to believe they're dedicated in their own way. Frankly, there's a place on my floor for any of these types, although if you're dedicated and lack skills, you'll need to learn them quickly or we'll be sorry to see you go. But if you don't want to be there, or think the world owes you a living, or think any part of our job is beneath you, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
    shesarriot, gonzo1, madwife2002, and 1 other like this.
  6. Sep 28, '10 by
    I know what you are saying completely!I had one of my best friends who considered going into nursing because she just wanted access to an "easy" job.So I let her borrow some of my LPN books (I am in the middle of obtaining my RN, have 1/2 semester left to go!) to read over and get the feel of what nursing is like.She gave me the book back and decided to take a different route.I can't say I am surprised.Nursing isn't for people who just want to make fast money.It is a job that requires you to care for others and practice those skills.It isn't all about the money(even though some nurses that's really all they are there for).I truly enjoy teaching people and I love educating others on their health.I love every aspect of nursing, not just the pay check.And that's what we need!NURSES WHO CARE!!!!
  7. Sep 28, '10 by
    I am in a earn as you learn program in Florida, and I do say the exams TOUGH!! This is my second try at my last semester, I don't think I am going to make it. I was told that if I don't make it, I will not be able to apply again. I have to disagree Nursing is not for everybody. All my life this all I ever wanted to do, but my dream is soon to fade, I think. I really,really tried........
    Last edit by TheCommuter on Sep 29, '10
  8. Sep 28, '10 by
    All I ever wanted to do was become a nurse, but to really be sure I started out as a CNA, then to Patient Care Tech. I am currently in school for Nursing (associate). I'm in my last semester (for the 2nd time, I passed the final exam, but my overall average was not enough I missed by 3 points, so here I am again. So as you can see I am not in this for the money. I don't I will be able to get it this time as well, so my dream I believe will soon fade. EVERYONE IS NOT THE SAME, SOME TRULY LOVE THEIR JOBS AS NURSES................
    RN In FL likes this.
  9. Sep 29, '10 by
    If money doesn't matter, would you work for minimum wage?

    Is the expertise, schooling, and ability to save someone's life not to be fully compensated?

    I worry when I see these threads, I don't make nearly what I am worth. The input, surely does not equal the output on my behalf and I truly believe by encouraging this "calling idea" rather than "profession" idea we as a group are shot in the foot with the general public, administrations and the healthcare industry in general!


    M
    GM2RN likes this.
  10. Sep 29, '10 by
    Quote from eriksoln
    I have to respectfully disagree.

    Being employed and making a living for yourself is in and of itself more than a lot of people are willing to do. Someone who decides welfare and public support is not the route they want and see's nursing as a way to make a living shouldn't be chastised for not feeling like they had some "calling from above".

    Lots of people in every profession are in it simply for the check. They go to work, do what they have to do, make a living and get on with life. I don't understand the constant insistence that nursing should somehow not allow this individual in. People of this nature are vital to nursing's survival. We are packed with the "higher calling" types, and in my experience, they are the ones who burn out, not the one's who just see nursing as a job. The one's who simply see themselves as punching in and out tend to keep their cool while the "higher calling" nurses are getting their panties in a bunch over issues that are none of their business.

    I see it on my current unit. The "God speaks through me" types get all worked up when staffing and the budget are cut, spend all day in a tissy fit over being told they have to do things differently, and completely lose any pt. focus because they are preoccupied with preaching about how "REAL pt. care is being threatened". Meanwhile, the less emotionally invested ones go about their business as usual and give about the same level of care despite the staffing ratios not being as good.

    Besides, you can't mandate "caring". If you tried, people would just lie and do things the way the planned to anyway.


    Easy buck ??? Well let them find out on their own , then come back and tell us ?????