Got No Job? Come be an RN !

[madwife2002]

I am fed up with hearing about people seeing nursing as a quick route to money it is so much more and it offends me that nursing is used as a short cut to being employed. We should have stricter entry rules and by this I mean more screening to make sure the nurses coming into the profession actually want to be a nurse for the right reasons and employment not being one of them.

We all know nursing is a hard profession it takes from your soul sometimes but you know who has the passion because they ride the storms better than the nurses who dont have it.

I have had a passion for nursing most of my life and I am now struggling with some of the harsh realities-but give me a patient any patient and I come alive, I thrive. I forget why I am tired after all my years, I forget why I want a new job, I forget why the management make my life harder each day.

For me nursing is almost like acting I can be somebody else with a patient I can be who they need me to be for that person and their family, I have the ability to calm a tense situation, I can bring trust to the room, I can make that patient feel like they are the most special person in the hospital and that nothing is too much trouble for me. I have knowledge and can educate. I can make that person feel safe, I can make them laugh even when they don't want to, I can be their advocate, their confident, their friend, but also I can persuade them to take the shot, to take the medicine, to go for the test. I can hold their hand and I can be firm. I can predict their mood and can listen to their worries and woes. I can educate their families and friends and I can educate and train their future RN's.

It doesn't matter that outside that room chaos is happening, that 3 other pts need me as much if not more than the patient I am with. They at that moment are the most special important person in my working day.

In 20 years I have had this ability it has shone out of every bone in my body. I have smiled constantly even if my world is falling apart. I have the passion I can make somebodies life better, I know my 'stuff' and I care.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I just found this blog so haven't read all of the comments.

When I was younger (and stupider) I really thought there was no higher calling than being a Registered Nurse. I was proud to be in nursing school, but the reality of nursing and shiftwork put a strain on my young brain (I was too young when I first started & on my relationship then) so I quit.

Years later I thought I was mature etc & wanted to go back to finish my degree. I just HAD to, to prove to myself I could do it. I pondered over this a lot b4 deciding. I talked to a family member who was a nurse, her sisters too, to everyone about it. Everyone - and I do mean everyone - said nursing will be a great career, you will earn good money, you can do extra study, u can get a mortgage and a new car, etc. But doing nursing & being older is very hard. My last 6 week clinical (with no pay at all and shiftwork AND working as well to support myself) very nearly killed me. I was sick for about 2 months afterwards, sicker than I've ever been, and my endometriosis flared up which was awful to say the least.

I think the public have this wonderful vision of nursing, though most don't want to do it. They think we get fantastic money (my own Dr said this to me not long ago), that we all have mortgages, new cars, live in trendy apartments & are all wonderfully caring human beings!

I used to quite often get called a 'bum wiper' - that was how nurses were perceived. I probably would have enjoyed nursing more maybe if I had finished it when I was younger, but who knows? Now, I just feel like I wasted a lot of time and I have no life due to shiftwork. I can't get permanent work at the moment, HATE dayshift more than any other shift (even nightshift is better), my shifts get cancelled, and I am renting. I am in debt up to my eyeballs, can't pay my bills, and have cut down as much as I can. I will have to move AGAIN to try & get permanent work, which I don't know how I will afford as our gov't does nothing, NADA to help out with nursing shortages in the outback. Maybe I will just sell my car.

So I'm glad someone still gets a buzz from nursing. Cos I wish when I was young that someone had sat me down & convinced me not to spend my hard earned savings on a degree that has basically done nothing for me. And now I'm getting bored with the whole nursing thing - a lot of it is just politics and kowtowing to rich patients. All I can see for my future is getting more sore feet, more aches in my joints, and still having no life whilst kowtowing to some of these pathetic, overweight people who need a good kick up the bum, even though I currently work at a pretty good hospital.

I am getting out in the next year and studying something completely different. I'm going to study something I WANT to do, not what I feel I have to do.

I would really strongly recommend to any students reading this that you DO NOT choose nursing as a career. It is NOT guaranteed work, and getting experience is extremely difficult in Oz at least. Choose something else with a wide scope of practice, & try to train for as many different jobs as you can.

Please, please don't do nursing. I really do not think it is all worth it, and it's overrated by many people who aren't even nurses, and by some who are.

[irish6363]

These are such incredible words..I do not know who you are, but captured the essence of my feelings. As I read it, I felt goosebumps to hear another person express so perfectly and capture the true meaning of a nurse...

[Ivonne.Avitia]

Music to my ears!

I am new to allnurses.com and I am currently working on my pre-req's to enter a nursing program. And to hear you speak the way you do regarding your career, motivates me! Can't wait to start nursing school- although haven't found a school yet. But i am looking forward to helping people! I love good customer service and I love helping people. Awesome post- and don't loose faith, I'm sure people using nursing as a quick fix offends you, but don't forget their some of us that are good out there!

Greeting from Chicago!

Happy Holidays!

I.Avitia

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

I just found this blog so haven't read all of the comments.

When I was younger (and stupider) I really thought there was no higher calling than being a Registered Nurse. I was proud to be in nursing school, but the reality of nursing and shiftwork put a strain on my young brain (I was too young when I first started & on my relationship then) so I quit.

Years later I thought I was mature etc & wanted to go back to finish my degree. I just HAD to, to prove to myself I could do it. I pondered over this a lot b4 deciding. I talked to a family member who was a nurse, her sisters too, to everyone about it. Everyone - and I do mean everyone - said nursing will be a great career, you will earn good money, you can do extra study, u can get a mortgage and a new car, etc. But doing nursing & being older is very hard. My last 6 week clinical (with no pay at all and shiftwork AND working as well to support myself) very nearly killed me. I was sick for about 2 months afterwards, sicker than I've ever been, and my endometriosis flared up which was awful to say the least.

I think the public have this wonderful vision of nursing, though most don't want to do it. They think we get fantastic money (my own Dr said this to me not long ago), that we all have mortgages, new cars, live in trendy apartments & are all wonderfully caring human beings!

I used to quite often get called a 'bum wiper' - that was how nurses were perceived. I probably would have enjoyed nursing more maybe if I had finished it when I was younger, but who knows? Now, I just feel like I wasted a lot of time and I have no life due to shiftwork. I can't get permanent work at the moment, HATE dayshift more than any other shift (even nightshift is better), my shifts get cancelled, and I am renting. I am in debt up to my eyeballs, can't pay my bills, and have cut down as much as I can. I will have to move AGAIN to try & get permanent work, which I don't know how I will afford as our gov't does nothing, NADA to help out with nursing shortages in the outback. Maybe I will just sell my car.

So I'm glad someone still gets a buzz from nursing. Cos I wish when I was young that someone had sat me down & convinced me not to spend my hard earned savings on a degree that has basically done nothing for me. And now I'm getting bored with the whole nursing thing - a lot of it is just politics and kowtowing to rich patients. All I can see for my future is getting more sore feet, more aches in my joints, and still having no life whilst kowtowing to some of these pathetic, overweight people who need a good kick up the bum, even though I currently work at a pretty good hospital.

I am getting out in the next year and studying something completely different. I'm going to study something I WANT to do, not what I feel I have to do.

I would really strongly recommend to any students reading this that you DO NOT choose nursing as a career. It is NOT guaranteed work, and getting experience is extremely difficult in Oz at least. Choose something else with a wide scope of practice, & try to train for as many different jobs as you can.

Please, please don't do nursing. I really do not think it is all worth it, and it's overrated by many people who aren't even nurses, and by some who are.

When I was first considering nursing school, my nurse friends advised me to go into "computers, or something," instead. Of course, I didn't heed that warning, and now I'm a nurse, and we've gone to computer charting, and I'm spending half my life on those $%%^&**#@! machines.

Nothing in the quoted post is untrue. Every prospective nurse should read it, or one of the many, many posts like it. I don't concur with the closing advice (Please don't do nursing) but I can't deny that it is both a wonderful and a horrible career. All jobs have downsides. That's why they are called work. If it was all fun, all the time, we'd have to pay them to let us do them. But the downsides in nursing can be heart-breaking and soul crushing.

There will be times when nothing you can do is good enough. There will be times we doing good enough means fighting the system, the docs, and even the patient, and when you manage a good outcome in spite of all the forces arrayed against you, no one even notices. There will be times when everything goes exactly as it should, and the patient dies anyway. There will be times when everyone blames you, and times you blame yourself. There will usually be more things that need done than you can do, and someone writing nasty letters because you were slow to fluff their pillow, or didn't do it cheerfully enough.

Nursing is hard. The pay is so-so. Flexible hours mean you get to work Christmas. There actually is more security than in many fields, but the opportunities to lose your job and even your license are myriad.

There are, of course, rewards. If you choose, you can get your week in in three shifts. The pay is better than a lot of jobs. Sometimes you can make a real difference in someone's life. Sometimes you can make a bad time a little better. Once in awhile, you can participate in a miracle. I've said repeatedly that I don't think nursing has to be a holy vocation, but I think you do need to evaluate carefully whether these intangible rewards are important to you, because, as the OP states, if you're just in it for the money, there are better ways to make money.

Oh, and if you're really lucky (like me) you get the privilege of working with people who do a hard job every day (or night) because they love what they do. Which is no small thing. I've said I'm a life-long bachelor because I've always been attracted to strong, intelligent, independent women (who won't put up with my crap), but at work I am surrounded by strong, intelligent, independent women (and a few guys) and when I go home, I can throw my socks on the floor if I want to.

Nursing is (can be) a great career.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Mike I love your posting plus you made me laugh out loud at throwing your socks on the floor!! I hope you do it with attitude

[Bruce_Wayne, ASN, RN]

I haven't read the 23 pages of this discussion, so if this has already been said I apologize.

Nursing schools, and colleges in general, want to attract people to their programs that will eventually fail. It serves two purposes, it gives them more money and it makes their program more prestigious.

That's why they don't weed everybody out all at once, I'm not saying that's even possible, but by stringing people along for a few semesters that's more money in their pockets.

[October97]

I just found this blog too, so haven't read all of it yet, but I would like to give my opinion. I was one of the people who went into this career just for the money in the beginning. I was a single mom and living in a small town with a very small community college and limited options. It was be a nurse or be an automotive mechanic as these were the two programs with openings. I picked nursing because I didn't care at all about cars and at least enjoyed biology and science. I didn't know how I would feel about the actual job of nursing, but the money was good and there was a major nursing shortage when I went into the field so I figured I would be guaranteed employment. Nursing school was not exactly fun, but the more I got into it, the more I actually liked it. Now, it is 10 years later, I am still a RN, working with the pediatric population and have found my niche and still enjoy it, usually. Please don't put people down for going into nursing for any reason. Sometimes even they don't know that this is the career for them until they actually get there.

[PhoenixTech, LPN]

We've seen this before: retraining prostitutes, welfare mothers and anyone else on the edges of society into nursing because it's quick and easy and it doesn't take any real brain power. This is not about having a "calling". I certainly didn't have one. But I didn't see nursing as my last option either, in fact it was my first.

I tried real hard to ignore this and I don't know if anyone has commented on this but, ! This comment has offended me to no end. What was the original training if nursing is retraining???? Are you saying that people who've been through adversity should not be allowed into the nursing profession because they are lazy and stupid? Because let's just face it, when you say, 'people on the edges of society', you are implying that only the cream of the crop of the societal classes are good enough to be nurses and that's classist.

It's outrageous to me that you can combine, 'prostitutes, welfare mothers, edges of society and quick, easy, doesn't take any real brain power', in the same sentence and post it here like you've been privy to all of the aforementioned's social work sessions and have the inside scoop on the motives of the social worker or the afflicted for that matter. Those who were on the fringes of society are very beneficial to the nursing profession and those 'fringe benefits' provide something that according to your logic, has no place in nursing.

Let me expound on this point. Working as a tech in an acute care setting, one day I was providing care for a pt who was malnourished. This pt had been calling for the nurse repeatedly and after I finished my care I reported to the RN the pt's wishes. I watched this nurse reluctantly get up from charting and go into the pt's room. After a few minutes the nurse came out and I gave her an apologetic smile for having interrupted her charting to which she replied, 'I'm sorry, but when you choose to buy crack instead of food, it's nothing I can do for you.', and sat back down to chart.

Here's another...one day while assisting in an ICU transfer, I packed up this pt's valuables and took them downstairs to the safe but because of additional required paperwork, I handed the valuables off to the pt's nurse to complete the process and take them down again once the paperwork was completed. A few days later a couple of nurses were complaining about how difficult this one particular pt was and was surprised to see the ICU transfer back on the floor being the thorn in everyone's shoes. When assisting this pt later on I found out that all the pt wanted was to know where their valuables were. Because one of the complaining nurses was the same one that took the valuables downstairs in the first place I was upset that instead of calling security, they wouldn't just tell the pt where their things were. After I explained where the valuables were and the pt calmed down, I walked out to the nursing station to cheers from the other nurses on being able to handle him while his previous nurse went on and on about how all he wants is medication.

Now, before you say that the nurse provided care for the pt and that's all that matters, I beg to differ. To my understanding of what nursing is, the pt should be treated holistically. When care is given with a disdainful attitude, look or gesture, the pt can feel this and it does absolutely nothing for their self esteem. Yes, self esteem, it's a very real part of who a person/pt is and the 'fringe benefit' nurse knows this more than most, because negative alterations where this is concerned is what sends them to the fringes to begin with.

So the 'fringe benefit' nurse will provide the invaluable, therapeutic sympathy so important to positive pt outcomes, having walked through the murk and mire, survived it and went on to reach back and help another in need of some kindness. Oh, I know, every nurse can empathize with a pt, but the 'fringe benefit' nurse is less likely to look down their noses when encountering their pts and are more likely to take that extra minute to comfort them. They'll also be less likely to ignore their pt's calls out of disdain for the pts personal practices. See how wrong you were in your logic? :)

In most cases, it's because of the adversity faced and overcame that motivates those less than perfect members of our society to become nurses. In those cases, they wind up being at the top of their classes and far from dumb, stupid and lazy. They realize where they've been and how they felt when they were there, they've search themselves to heal and overcome their fractured souls and they invite a higher power in to guide their lives. Having discovered a new life for themselves, they seek to join the ranks of a noble profession because in the end, it is all about the caring. So what you may call a last option, may just be the first option in a new life.

[sunflower350]

You sound like a spectacular person and nurse! I am a student nurse, former business owner, former restaurant manager, Mom, and now working as an assistant at a local hospital; 97% of the nurses are cold, robotic and task driven with little or no emotion toward the person in bed. Most nights I have 9-13 patients; it's a pcu/teli floor. I am the last one done with my vitals, because I physically and emotionally touch each and every patient...I "fall-in-love" every night I work, with every patient...If there comes a time I stop falling in love with my patients and I don't recognize it myself; I have instructed others to please, please tell me, because ladies and gentlemen it is time to find something else to do! This could be me, myself or I in this bed and would I want the kind of care I am giving???

[AZ_LPN_8_26_13]

I put up with a lot of crap where I work, but it's the patients that make it all worthwhile. That's it in a nutshell.

[PhoenixTech, LPN]

You sound like a spectacular person and nurse! I am a student nurse, former business owner, former restaurant manager, Mom, and now working as an assistant at a local hospital; 97% of the nurses are cold, robotic and task driven with little or no emotion toward the person in bed. Most nights I have 9-13 patients; it's a pcu/teli floor. I am the last one done with my vitals, because I physically and emotionally touch each and every patient...I "fall-in-love" every night I work, with every patient...If there comes a time I stop falling in love with my patients and I don't recognize it myself; I have instructed others to please, please tell me, because ladies and gentlemen it is time to find something else to do! This could be me, myself or I in this bed and would I want the kind of care I am giving???

Sunflower I'm not sure but I think you are addressing me and if so thank you. However, I just need to clarify that I'm not a nurse yet, although I'm working on it and when I get there I'll also instruct my co workers to do just as you did.

Nursing is one of the most selfless professions out there and the stress that I see some nurses under is just amazing. Why is it so hard to adequetly staff these places? Is it really a money issue when this profession is about in effect healing the world? That's a topic for another thread but I'm just reflecting on how money dictates so much in this world.

Anyway, if your post wasn't in response to mine, I'd still like to thank you for the extra effort that you give.

[jelly221,RN]

I am frustrated and angry with nursing schools and what they are doing with the admission process. I know people with "pre-existing" BS will not like this, but I don't give a hoot. Your existing BS most of the time has absolutely nothing to do with science or with nursing and many schools are now taking these " so called qualified applicants" over applicants in the admission process. I believe it is not fair to the people that ACTUALLY have the desire to be nurses and are not just looking for a field where there are job openings. I worked with many of the pre existing BS people. And, maybe I don't know all of them, but I knew enough to say this...they were not in the field to be a nurse. They were in it for a paycheck. EX. Is that your call bell going off.. yes...are you going to get it...it can wait...20 mins later...the person still sat at the desk doing absolutely nothing. And I could go and on with examples of Rns just like him. When asked why they were nurses? Because it was a guaranteed job...They don't have the desire and the soul that it takes to be a nurse. And that causes patients to suffer and the hospital staff to suffer. And schools of nursing need to wake up to the fact, just because someone has a BS degree already, it doesn't mean they are the better applicant. You are making a huge mistake by assuming the less educated will be less qualified. A HUGE MISTAKE. The waiting lists are getting longer, some schools no longer have waiting lists because it is fruitless to have them, the list is so long, the number of applicants are growing too quickly. If the government really wants to do something about jobs??? Do something about getting nursing instructors back in the classroom by changing tort reform so instructors don't have to be so wary of lawsuits. Nursing schools need to start making it worth instructors worthwhile to get back in the classroom. Pay them more. We need instructors. There are so many worthwhile nursing students waiting to be educated and many nurses that are already retired or soon to be retired from the baby boom generation...we need to get this problem fixed and soon. And we don't need a glut of business people just looking for a paycheck filling up our nursing schools to make it look like the number of nurses is going up because that kind of quality I don't need or want.

I've been lurking on this thread, reluctant to post my agreement with the OP for fear of getting flamed also. However, THIS post is pretty hard not to take offense to. I am 24 years old, and will be graduating with my ADN in 10 days. I have a B.S. in Music (Vocal Performance), which I received when I was 20. I got THAT degree because I had a full scholarship, didn't really see myself doing anything with music except teaching piano and/or voice a little on the side (which I've been doing since I was 10, anyway).

I knew my senior year of college that I wanted to go into nursing. I had always been interested in medicine, but the intense time and monetary commitment of medical school discouraged me. I volunteered at a hospital after graduating with my BS and while completing pre-reqs for my ADN, and I fell in love with nursing. I KNEW that it was what I wanted to do.

Yes, getting a paycheck will be nice, and my boyfriend will be appreciative after two years of him supporting me (I know I'm SO lucky and very appreciative!). BUT, the reason I'm going into nursing is because I love coming home at the end of the day and knowing that I did everything I could as excellently as I could for my patients, and brought a little humanity to their hospital stay. I'm the kind of nurse that goes home after 12 hours and researches my patient's conditions to expand my knowledge and to know better what to look for next time I care for that patient, or a similar one. I love holding a patient's hand before she goes down for emergency surgery (happened yesterday), or explaining a confused patient's condition and treatment to his daughter. I especially love when my patients thank me for the care I gave them and tell me that I will be an excellent nurse. In fact, the charge nurse on my Preceptorship floor told me yesterday that she thought I was doing a great job and wanted to talk to me about working on the unit.

I've seen PLENTY of those "sit at the desk, not answering call light" nurses who got their ADNs as their first degree 20 years ago. That's not only a gross generalization, but an offensive one. A few of the best students (and nurses, IMHO) in my class already have a degree. Not all of them. However, I do believe that there is something to be said for having a degree and showing that you have the dedication to complete an academic program- especially if you excelled academically in that program. You at least have some semblance of test-taking, study, and writing skills. Again, that is NOT to say that there are not equally bright students who have not yet completed a degree.

My ADN program didn't give me any preference for my Bachelor's, and I waited for 1 1/2 years to start the program. That's just how it happened; I'm not bitter, and I'm happy with how I did things. But in the end, I'm going to be a NURSE (yay!) and be able to touch patient's lives, as well as use my brain to critically think about my patients and how I can best care for them. Comments like "they were not in the field to be a nurse. They were in it for a paycheck." actually make me sad for you, that you've never been able to work with a nurse with a previous Bachelor's like myself or my classmates who truly do love the nursing profession.