Would you have gone to nursing school....

Nurses General Nursing

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If you knew your career would take its current path?

I have been working in an SNF for almost 2 years and, I'll admit, if I knew this was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have gone to nursing school. The only job offers I've ever received are from SNFs and home health care, neither of which I had in mind when I signed up for nursing school. But no other opportunities have presented themselves, which makes me wonder if nursing school was worth it, at least for me. Seems like people either have great luck or no luck at all when it comes to job. Anyways, I'm disappointed. What about you? Was nursing school worth it?

Flatline:

I loved your post. You are right opportunities in Nursing rarely present themselves. I beat down the door for every opportunity that was available with my employer. I applied at the VA and even then they weren't really looking to hire new nurses with an associates degree but I kept hounding them and eventually got hired I think in part because I had a bachelors in another field, I promised to enroll in a BSN program and I was a Veteran. I didn't like floor nursing so I took a test to qualify for a critical care course and was one of three nurses (1 per patient care med/surg floor) selected to transfer to critical care. I wanted to go to the ER and knew that the top grad got to pick their assignment so I studied hard in the critical care course and got the assignment I wanted. The VA gives scholarships for grad school with limited funds available so I knew I needed great grades and an early application for a chance to get it. I got a 4.0 in my silly BSN program and turned in my correctly and fully completed application (very important in my bureaucratic world) the minute they started accepting applications for funding and was the only nurse in the hospital that got his DNP paid for. My point is that I'm not Mr. Wonderful Nurse at all as that's far from the truth. In nursing to get anywhere you have to fight and scrape for every inch of advancement. The same holds true for annual pay raises. Every year I fight for a raise in my review with my boss. Nurses that wait for something good to happen are rarely happy. You gotta make it happen in nursing which really is just like every other job I had in business before getting into nursing. Maybe in heaven the meek are rewarded but in the hospital they get a poop sandwich

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I absolutely had to fight and claw my way through.

The RN role was not for me, but at the time, job opportunities in other fields were few and far between. The market was flooded with "college graduates".

I had to support myself.

Nursing itself is ok, but there is so much nonsense and politics that go with it.

NP is much, much better.

Night and day difference.

But it was fight, claw, scratch, and scrape the entire way until a couple of years ago.

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Specializes in ED, OR, Oncology.

I dont regret my path, but if I had it to do over again, I might rather be finishing residency now instead of waiting to hear if I got into NP school. I think I would have liked the medical model of education quite a bit more. I would also be swimming in a sea of debt. Luckily, when I decided I wanted to move to a provider role, there was just no way I could make the math work on med school at my age and circumstance, so it was an easy choice.

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Specializes in Critical care, Trauma.

Definitely, yes. My career has taken a very different path than I had predicted, but I've enjoyed the ride and have learned so much along the way. I look at people that work in other career paths and, sure, there are days where I am envious of their not having to worry about census and "being understaffed" due to call-outs, or whatever....but they also don't make the same impact on others, that we have the privilege to make everyday. Of course everyday isn't a hallmark movie, but knowing that I've decreased someone's burden or impacted the trajectory of their mental or physical health, or even given them a more peaceful death, is something that keeps me coming back each day.

For those that say that they're applying to hospital jobs and not able to get in somewhere, I really recommend seeing if moving to take a job is an option. Maybe it's not the most comfortable option (and, depending upon your family system, might not be even possible) but I know that if I had to choose between feeling unhappy due to stagnation (and feeling like that would never change) vs feeling unhappy because of the stress of uprooting and moving....I know what I would choose.

And I say that because there are vast swaths of the country where it is NOT difficult to get a hospital job, even as a new grad. But it's not going to be in San Diego, CA (as much as I love that city and would run there in a heartbeat if I knew my husband and I wouldn't be living in a box lol). I live in Kansas and the hospitals around here are BEGGING for new grads. There just are not enough nurses to go around and fill each slot. I just interviewed in Knoxville, TN (long story) and was told that my 2 years Med/Surg and 6 months of Critical Care made me an "experienced" hospital nurse, so I got multiple job offers.

I just wish everyone knew that, just because it's hard to get a hospital job in some places, doesn't mean that is a reflection of the next state over, or even the next smaller town down the way.

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Yeah. Nursing is becoming like every other profession in the world. If you want to be fully employed and have an upward trajectory to your career you gotta be willing to go where the opportunities are.

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No, I honestly wouldn't. There's a complicated story about how I ended up in nursing, but I had a different dream, but my own fear kept me from pursuing it. Nursing seemed "safer" at the time, so I went with that. I do regret that decision. That being said, I don't hate what I do, I just wish I had possessed the confidence to go for the dream out of the gate. I'm a bit old to go for it now, and I'm pretty settled where I am.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
If you knew your career would take its current path?

I have been working in an SNF for almost 2 years and, I'll admit, if I knew this was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have gone to nursing school. The only job offers I've ever received are from SNFs and home health care, neither of which I had in mind when I signed up for nursing school. But no other opportunities have presented themselves, which makes me wonder if nursing school was worth it, at least for me. Seems like people either have great luck or no luck at all when it comes to job. Anyways, I'm disappointed. What about you? Was nursing school worth it?

Are you gainfully employed? Food on the table, a roof over your head? If so, nursing school was probably worth it, even if you don't like your current job. The thing is, it's far easier to find a job when you already have one, so now's a great time to start looking for your next job. Since you already have income, you can wait for the right job to come along.

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I'm considering nursing school and these comments are rather demoralizing. I wonder if people who went into nursing as a second or third career are happier with their choice.

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Would I do it again? Probably, but there are days when I wish I had done something else. Am I unhappy with my career choice? Some days yes, most days no. The thing with nursing is that you can change paths at nearly any point - you could do MDS, patient education, pharmaceutical sales, work for an insurance company, work in an MD office, home health, LTC, hospital, outpatient surgery, clinic/STATcare, and probably more that I can't think of when tired. So not a terrible choice, just not all roses and puppies.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
If you knew your career would take its current path?

I have been working in an SNF for almost 2 years and, I'll admit, if I knew this was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have gone to nursing school. The only job offers I've ever received are from SNFs and home health care, neither of which I had in mind when I signed up for nursing school. But no other opportunities have presented themselves, which makes me wonder if nursing school was worth it, at least for me. Seems like people either have great luck or no luck at all when it comes to job. Anyways, I'm disappointed. What about you? Was nursing school worth it?

Yes it was definitely worth it! Nursing is my second maybe third career (If you count the year I was a dog catcher). I got my RN (ADN) at a community college and paid cash so I did not incur any debt. The whole program was very reasonable and the school was highly respected. I got a job in my chosen specialty even before I passed my NCLEX. Nursing as a career has been very good to me in spite of some pretty severe ups and downs. I have spent most of my career in acute in-patient psych. I love what I do am well paid and the facility takes pretty good care of it's employees.

I see by your screen name that you have a BSN. This should make you highly marketable even in the competitive nursing job market. Have you considered meeting with a career coach or have a professional look and your resume and do a mock interview. Even if you experience in mostly in SNF you still have marketable skills.

You don't say where you live but if you are in a highly saturated job market have you considered looking outside your immediate area. You are past the point of being a new grad but there are more opportunities in the fly-over states and underserved areas like Indian reservations might be a place to start. I believe the BIA (Borough of Indian Affairs) has a job website.

I would suggest that you sit down and write a plan for where you see yourself one year from now then five years etc. Figure out what you want to do and find out how to get there. Although I am a psych nurse I have really good clinical skills and can start an IV on almost anyone because I moonlight from time to time at an out patient surgery center.

Most of all don't get discouraged - keep trying.

Hppy

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"Seems like people either have great luck or no luck at all when it comes to job. "

You must make your own luck. I found my dream job 30 years in.... market yourself with your hard earned degree.

Best wishes.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

No if I had known what it was like I wouldn't have done it. I've never really enjoyed being a nurse, it's way too stressful and we are overworked and treated like crap! I'm only glad I didn't do it right out of high school because I worked a half a dozen jobs before nursing and only one was bad, all the rest were ok and one was the best job I ever had. Sad to say that at least I can remember when I used to enjoy a job!

Not to say I didn't take pride in being a nurse, I did and took the job very seriously and did my best and I know I've made a difference in people's lives even saved a couple, but it just hasn't been worth the physical and emotional toll on my health. The company that runs my hospital is the devil I swear and I almost walked off the job last night I was so furious at being put in an unsafe situation. I'm just so sick and tired of nursing and wish I could afford to quit and never look back!

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