RANT: Fed up with nursing!

[shellebelle212]

Disclaimer, I'm going to go on a rant today, feel free to disagree but this is just how I feel!

I'm a new-grad LVN and I'm seriously thinking about changing my major to something non-nursing related in the healthcare field.

I LOVED nursing school. I graduated top of my class and I learned so much in my 14 month program. I'm IV certified and passed the boards on the first try, too. But honestly, the only reason I did the LVN program was to have an advantage for getting into a BSN program (in California? Pfft, fat chance).

I've been working on my pre-requisites for the bridge program since January and it just hit me the other day...

Do I really want to do this?

I enjoy working with people and I have a passion for helping people as well as health sciences. But it ****** me off and is so discouraging when I actually stop to THINK about the future of nursing in California. (General nurses, I mean. I know that NPs and anesthesia and all that probably have a better outlook). I know it's wrong to just go into a field just for job security, but in this economy that's exactly what I, as well as many others, feel like we have to do!

ANY article you read will tell you nursing is so freaking in demand nationwide. But I read some statistics last night about how there are thousands of nurses in various states, MORE than there are job openings per year, especially here in California. Since I don't plan on leaving the state ever, (all my family is here and I

I just feel like the whole nursing shortage claim is such a farce. At my university (National) there are roughly 630 current nursing/pre-nursing students! (According to NU commons on Facebook). Isn't that ***** ridiculous??? How many nursing programs are there in California, people?! Just do the math! How can there ever be enough jobs here for the amount of graduates being pumped out each year?

Maybe if we move out to a remote city somewhere... My aunt moved to Alaska and she makes a lot of money.

Alternatively, I have another aunt who works as a nurse here and makes 80K+ yearly, she only had her ADN but is now working on BSN. Her hospital pushed her to get a higher degree (they're not paying for it though), so now she's in a full time program and has to work full time also! She said that one you drop down to part time (regardless of how amazing you are or how long you've worked there) it's extremely hard to get back up to full time. Isn't that lovely?

The age of hospitals paying for students to get a nursing degree is GONE. Jobs lined up for nurses before graduation is GONE. Interest in hiring new-grads is GONE. What are we left with? Nurses on the path to becoming a dime a dozen, and continually being overworked and under-appreciated.

If I see one more article listing associate degree RN as being the quick-fix to a hot new career...

I think I'm ready to get off this bandwagon.

[RunBabyRN]

Are you looking to become a clinical lab scientist, then? If you like indirect patient care, it's a good way to go (I assume you're okay with all body fluids!). The only drawback I hear from CLS friends (as I used to be a phlebotomist) is that there's very little room for advancement. You're a CLS or you're the lab manager, the end. Or you can go to school even more and become a pathologist. Just be aware that many lab people are NOT people people! LOL That's why they love the lab! I have NO idea what the market is like right now, but definitely do your research (check the date and reliability of your resources) before launching into this.

Best of luck to you! :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

At the end of the day, if you feel that you are passionate about nursing specifically (not just "helping people" in general), go for it! You'll have to do a lot of self-networking and probably relocating out of a big city to get a decent job then eventually work your way up/get further education for the job you really want. To some people this is nothing - they are so passionate about it they will do whatever it takes. That's probably the way everyone should feel about their profession.. Best of luck to everyone as well.

I strongly agree with this statement. Far too many people go into nursing because they have a general sense of wanting "to help people," -- but with no true passion for nursing. When they find out how tough nursing can be, they don't stick around long.

It's a shame that young people aren't given more help in making career choices these days. So many people make poor choices and end up spending a fortune trying to find a good fit for them. If they had gotten good career counseling in the beginning, they would have been much better off.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

I couldn't agree with you more OP, if we are talking about certain parts of the country. California has no need for new grad nurses. I have friends here (in Kansas) who moved here specifically just to get into a nursing program. And, to eventually get jobs.

My area is different. I live in the Kansas City area. I have been offered a position, pre graduation, in a hospital, full time, days with tuition reimbursement for my online BSN bridge program that I will be starting. But, both coasts and a lot of other areas have a huge glut of new grads with no chance of getting a hospital job, and maybe, not any job. It's very sad.

[shellebelle212]

I strongly agree with this statement. Far too many people go into nursing because they have a general sense of wanting "to help people," -- but with no true passion for nursing. When they find out how tough nursing can be, they don't stick around long.

It's a shame that young people aren't given more help in making career choices these days. So many people make poor choices and end up spending a fortune trying to find a good fit for them. If they had gotten good career counseling in the beginning, they would have been much better off.

Thanks, I agree with you as well. In my case, I come from a family with so many nurses (both on my mom's and dad's sides) so I was constantly encouraged by everyone to take the same path. I think I did it because I felt that I had something to prove and almost just wanted to just see if I could survive nursing school. I was proud of myself for every test and clinical I passed but I felt trapped at the same time, always unsure if it's what I would really want as a long-term career.

Then of course you get trapped in the whole "just go all the way to NP if you don't like bedside!" Yeah.. not too sure about that. Like you said, too much money is wasted when people don't know what they want! That's not a risk I'm willing to take. Now that I've done more research and talked everything out on here I feel like I can breathe again! I'm at peace with letting this go. No one should let family members or anyone else pressure them to get into nursing or scare them into thinking nursing is the only guarantee for job satisfaction. I guess that would be my top advice to prospective students..

[shellebelle212]

Are you looking to become a clinical lab scientist, then? If you like indirect patient care, it's a good way to go (I assume you're okay with all body fluids!). The only drawback I hear from CLS friends (as I used to be a phlebotomist) is that there's very little room for advancement. You're a CLS or you're the lab manager, the end. Or you can go to school even more and become a pathologist. Just be aware that many lab people are NOT people people! LOL That's why they love the lab! I have NO idea what the market is like right now, but definitely do your research (check the date and reliability of your resources) before launching into this.

Best of luck to you! :)

Yes, the scientist not technician. And to be honest I enjoy do helping people and making an impact in other's lives, but I'd probably rather deal with people in a different situation (sounds a bit shallow, perhaps). What I thought I wanted to do originally was work in the ER. But the more I think about it, the more I'd really rather not have to be the one that explains that their loved one is dying/has died. Or face all of the emotional stress that comes with seeing tragedy face-to-face on a daily basis. And bedside is an absolute NO go for me, never wanted to be a bedside nurse in any sense. Clients that are in and out quickly, like in a clinic or doctors office would've been my other ideal job.

Back to the topic of working with people: don't forget the absolute bullying that is committed against new-grads or other new hires from their co-workers, and lack of respect from entitled doctors! I witnessed this firsthand during clinical rotations, quite demoralizing at times, enough to make some people want to quit, and others just be miserable. How these actions are tolerated and have turned into a commonplace in this day-and-age is completely over my head. It can be a continuous cycle of nurses being overworked and under-appreciated and then taking that out on/transferring it to others, I suppose. All this is BS, doesn't appeal to me at all. My passion is truly in life science and I still want to have a job with the satisfaction of knowing you're contributing to others' lives, while also being treated with respect. I think CLS is a good compromise for me. They work with a close-knit team of other scientists and technicians, sounds good to me :)

And yes, if you get a degree in lab science, you're literally just working in lab science. Not much flexibility there, but granted, nursing is one of the few fields out there that have so many different job titles. But you can definitely specialize in different lab areas - hematology, micro, etc. Plus, the intensive undergrad coursework for CLS is the same as a lot of pre-med and related fields of study, so if you want to go on to pursue a grad or doctoral degree in another field later on, you're already on track to advancing in that way.

[jewel53]

In my state of Indiana, it appears the majority of RN openings are for "experienced". With regard to LPNs or LVNs, they have been "phased out" of the majority of hospitals. I never understood why, but I think it has something to do with the emphasis on trying to achieve "MAGNET" hospital status. Personally, I feel all new grad nurses, whether RN or LPN, need the opportunity to learn. No one becomes an "experienced" RN or LPN simply by graduating and passing state boards. Although one may reside within the United States, the economic status of each state varies. I would advise shellebelle212 to think long and hard about all the work she put into obtaining her LVN license and avoid a spontaneous decision to throw it all down the toilet because of a time of discouragement. I am a baby boomer RN myself and anticipate that I will require care from nurses as I age. Nurses - LPNs, LVNs, AD RNs, BSN RNs, Diploma RNs, MSN RNs, NPs we DO need you. PLEASE be there for people like ME!

[ceccia]

do something else. seriously.

it's NOT wrong at all to value job security, or to want to have an easy time finding a job.

it's NOT wrong to not want to leave your home and everything you value and move halfway across the country just for a chance at a job. imho it is INSANE to go to such extremes for a physically exhausting job with mid-level wages.

you say you like the healthcare field? if i were you i'd go for PTA or OTA. It's an associates-level program, so if you do it at a community college there won't be a huge debt. There are cutbacks happening all across the healthcare field right now, and rehab isn't immune to that, but imho it's less severe than the nursing glut. And if you're okay with leaving CA *temporarily* after you graduate, you can bank good money doing temporary travel assignments. One of the effects of the ACA ("obamacare") is that more and more places are using assistants as much as they can to save $, i.e. having as few PTs/OTs as they can get away with and having them do evaluations and discharges, and using assistants for the actual treatment sessions.

[Akewataru]

I see you're looking to going in the lab sciences. I'm a Histotechnologist, and while I work on the Anatomic Pathology side (rather than the Clinical Pathology you'd be working on) of the lab, I went to school initially for Medical Laboratory Science so I have a pretty good idea of goes on in there. The hierarchy is technician, technologist, lead technologist, supervisor (of the various sections), lab manager (of Clinical or Anatomic Pathology), and then lab director (they are over everyone).

Yep, certain personalities flock to the lab, some good and some bad. However that does not mean we are not people persons. You still have to interact and form trusting relationships with your co-workers, superiors and doctors (especially them!). That requires people skills. During the interview process, they'll ask you questions that screen for this. Plus, since you don't work with patients you will only be interacting with the above same people day in day out. You can't escape them. Discord and resentment amongst the department can ruin the work ethic and quality. I saw this first hand at the laboratory of one top ten hospitals in the nation. But I digress...

If you want your day to be at least 75% or more bench work, I wouldn't go higher than a lead tech, although some supervisors are very hands on and still a lot of bench work. Beware, your job as a med tech especially in the Hematology and Clinical Chemistry sections is very automated, meaning once you put the vial into the machine you'll never see it again. You pretty much are doing quality control to make sure the test results are accurate. You will need the theory info you learned in school, but perhaps not the manual tests. It all depends where you go. There are some exceptions; in Microbiology you do streak the culture plates, and the HLA dept.(transplant) consists of very hands on work. If you are a very hands on technical person, you might like Histology which is making stained slides of biopsy/excised tissue specimens. Or if you like looking through the microscope, screening slides you might like Cytology.

As for job prospects, it really depends on what area of the country you are in but in general you will not have a problem finding a job as a Medical Technologist, even as a new grad because unlike nursing (wait for it...) people in general don't know about the professions in the lab. Heck, it's hard to explain what I do to people when they ask what do you do for a living without making their eyes glaze over. When you decide what to do, try to get your first job in a hospital, a teaching hospital if possible. It is far more valuable TRUST ME! Reference labs by reputation get you into a slump that hospitals labs seem to think you can't break. Don't know whether it's true, but I do know that it is harder to go from a reference lab to a hospital than the other way around. I assume it's the same with nursing going from a doctor's office to acute care.