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.

[sandiw50]

It seems to me anybody and anybody can do nursing, doesnt matter if you are really interested or not, not important if you care about people or not, not relevent if you have a passion for nursing or not just come along we will train you and then you can look after our sick, eldery, frail, poor homeless, drug seekers.

Without passion, without caring, sometimes with little comprehension of what that poor sick person in the bed needs.

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 knowlege and can educate. I can make that person feel safe, I can make them laugh even when they dont 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 doesnt 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.

Jesus works through you.!!!

[sandiw50]

Hello and my feelings are exactly the same as yours. I dont think people really understand the depth of what we do and feel. Jesus works through you and that is truly Him shining through. I see it and hopefully through you people will come to know Him if not better than they already do. Keep it up!!!!!

[elprup, BSN, RN]

So frustrating. Nursing is so frustrating as a New Old Grad. And yes, I keep getting older! Lol

[BlackMurse1]

For some strange reason no one is pointing out the fact that as long as the RN regardless of his/her past academic background provides safe and competent care that he/she should be respected and welcome as a nurse. It's pretty stupid to think that people outside the "traditional" route is ruining the profession. Horizontal violence, immature school age bickers, gossip and politics are the true deterioration; NOT the person changing their career. How bout the next time you feel a certain type of way stand up during a meeting and say. I think we should stop acting like douchebags to each other. Maybe that will help give those who are "aggravated" something more tangible and relevant to moan and groan about. The problem is within the occupation. Stop blaming others!

[ixchel]

You know......

I read the first few pages, and then the last page, so please forgive if this has already been said, but.....

If a person is great at what they do, it shouldn't matter their motives. There should not be some almighty committee that deems whether one person's motives are "right". That is wrong on so many levels it is ridiculous. Who decides what motives are right? Motives have absolutely nothing to do with quality of work. It is the person's work ethic that decides quality of work. A person who goes into nursing because they are passionate about it is not guaranteed to be a better nurse than a person who wants the paycheck. I've met people who are very passionate and in love with their occupations but were terrible employees. Passion does not rate the person's skill or compassion.

I think it is a very terrible and nasty attitude indeed to decide that you (general you) are better than someone else because your motives are different, or you view your motives as more pure. It is judgmental and it discounts the validity of those who do feel nursing could be a good fit for them even if they are in it for the money.

As for the resentment toward the people who get into nursing and work as a nurse for only a year or two before going the APN route, that is not the fault of the person who went into nursing. That is the fault of the schools who require it.

All of that aside, we are at a point in our country where the politics of school and career advancement are becoming much more discussed topics. This myth that college is a scam is being tossed around and people are realizing that they can't just grow up and be whatever they want. We were all raised to believe that if we wanted a career badly enough, and if we worked hard enough, that we would be able to do that career for the rest of our lives.... as if the jobs were waiting magically on silver platters that we could proudly rest our expensive diplomas on.

Well, reality has been stepping in. The Occupy Wall Street generation is the first (in my opinion) to fully feel the devastating consequences of that mentality. I know a guy who will tell you all about how college is a scam. What did he major in? Philosophy. *shakes head* Seriously, kids and adults are getting smarter. They're realizing that no, you can't be whatever you want when you grow up. The part of "cowboy" has already been cast, and someone has to play the "indian". It doesn't take a genuis to look at where our nations' jobs will continue to be created, especially as the baby boomers are aging into retirement. If you want job security, if you want a decent paycheck, you pick an industry that will have demand for labor force. If you're lucky, you'll find something you might like. For many people, they're turning to nursing. I think that's a smart idea, and if the person standing next to me in clinicals is there because they know there is money in nursing, I say power to them. They made a smart choice. I wish them nothing but the best, and I hope that they gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to become compassionate and all-around great nurses.

P.S. I'm one of those nurses that will only be an RN long enough to get my APN degree, and I make no apologies for it. I have a family to feed while I'm in graduate school. Those motives do not make me any lower, worse, or less quality-of-character than anyone else here, and you better believe I am going to be an AMAZING care-giver.

P.P.S. Sorry for the rant. This really got under my skin.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

My thread over the years has certainly provoked some wonderful responses, for me the fact that you have all bothered to respond certainly proves to me that you care about your profession, for what ever reason you entered Nursing

I do believe that the advertisements have changed when recruiting potential student nurses over the recent past and people no longer see Nursing as a quick fix to their employment status-I guess because the recession has hit us hard in the medical field.

[DSkelton711]

Well, the thing is, someone's got to replace all these folks that have been in 20+ years. They will not be working much longer. There may be a temporary influx, but things will straigten out. Obviously nursing school's rigid standards (3.5 MINIMUM GPA in my area to actually get into a program in the next year or two) will weed out those not in for the right reasons. It makes me wonder, what were the standards 20+ years ago? I don't think it takes just "heart" you have to be an academic scholar, and I don't think its easy to find both traits in alot of people. Today, NS is no joke, it is an investment of time away from family, small children, and ALOT of money for those of us who have a BA already, or who had a career in another field. How many people are using loans, and living near the poverty line to go back to school, as I am? I wonder who really thinks they are going to make "quick money"? It'd be glorious if it was like that!

26 years ago nursing school wasn't a joke either. It nearly cost me a marriage. We started with 63 students and 27 graduated. All the ones left passed boards first try. I think it takes both "heart" and brains.

[GM2RN]

Referring to the quoted portion in the post above, what gives anyone the right to say what is the "right reason" for going into nursing as long as a person is competent and has a good work ethic? I completely and emphatically agree with the post above by ixchel.