New Guy here, I'm considering nursing as a profession

Chad_KY_SRNA · Feb 22, 2005

As a CNA and nursing student I feel that nursing is a good career if you can find your niche.

mandykal, ADN, RN · Feb 22, 2005

"Be all you can" but not like me, cuz I didn't join the army, I'm a nursing student, and I'm still goin. You have more to gain then to lose.

KAL

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For all the cons:"What may work for one may not work for all." D.B. LPN Instructor

Nathan_Brody · Feb 23, 2005

Thanks for all the replys y'all. Just to let ya know I'm no wet behind the ears kid..I know how people can be and I know life isn't always pretty but it doesn't deter me from wanting to work in nursing. I have been a barber for a couple years and have dealt with some pretty adverse conditions..plus I volunteered to cut hair at a nursing home when i was in barber school so I kinda know how nursing home patients can be. I do have one more question. I was just looking at the NLCA website & notice that Louisiana is not on the list as being a compact state...does this mean that once licensed in Louisiana that i can't move to another state & work as a nurse? I lived in Frisco, TX for a while & would love to move back out there if possible...plus I'm a duck hunter so it'd be nice to move to an area with good hunting opportunities, hehe.

Rock, LPN, RN · Feb 23, 2005

Hi guys. I am currently working as a barber/stylist in Louisiana but I am very unhappy with my job. I love the people & the atmosphere but I hate being self-employed, the instability of not having a steady paycheck and no benefits, but most of all I am not helping people when i know I have so much more to offer. I have several customers that are doctors and they really love working in healthcare and I know I would be a great nurse. I called the local technical college today and their LPN class begins in June and i am seriously considering joining it. Ideally I would like to work in ER or perhaps cardiology. Would it be wise to start as a LPN and later become an RN? I am still relatively young(29 years old) and would really like to go straight intto an RN program at Louisiana Tech but financially that isn't possible..I was a previous college student there and goofed off so much that my GPA is too low for financial aide, but I can get pell grants at technical college. Also, I live in Louisiana but I am single/no kids so i can relocate anywhere...if I get licensed in Louisiana what would be required to work in an other state? I appreciate any advice y'all could offer and thanks for the great work y'all do. My father had a heart attack & quadruple bypass surgery in October(on my birthday to be exact) and the work done by the nurses & doctors amazed me and inspired me.

Starting as an LPN is a great idea. Work as an LPN for six (6) months, then enter an RN program. It will make you a much more knowledgable nurse, than if you took four (4) semesters in a community college.

Try to locate a program that will allow you to become an LPN first, then return in six (6) months to complete the RN program.. A program that will give you credit for your previous training (LPN).

Good luck !!

Rock :)

ewol · Feb 23, 2005

Well, Nathan. I suppose it is a question we all ask ourselves after a time in nursing. Would we recommend it to someone else?

I can give you a view from england, by a scotsman with 14 years experience. I have managed to be there at the moment a life has been born into this sometimes crazy world.And, i have been there when i life has left.Both i feel privialege to have seen especially since i work in a paediatric setting.

Nursing has allowed me to travel and see places i would never have seen and meet people i never would have met.Spent time in romania as a nurse some years ago working for various charities.

However it also at times takes over your life as due to shift patterns you see less of friends and the stress if not careful can make you cynical.

I guess when i look myself in the mirror i am glad to be doing what i do, but it does come at a personal cost.You just have to decide if you are willing to pay it.

I hope it works out for you.

ewol :)

kwalker5 · Feb 24, 2005

i couldn't have put this better myself!!

Sorry Nathan, I've been an RN for the past 13 years and would not suggest nursing as a profession to my worst enemy. Sure the pay is pretty good but there is a lot more to life than money. First off if you do become a nurse get ready to work in a thankless job. 12 hour non stop shifts, cleaning up feces and urine and everyother body fluid, Few breaks and no lunches are often expected of you. Endless and often redundant paperwork galore is the nursing standard. After just a couple of years in this thankless profession you'll start to look at your fellow human with a complete new set of eyes. You'll come to expect the worst out of people before you ever meet them. You'll stand in line at the supermarket and start to size up people based on their mannerisms. The human race will eventually make you sick to be associated with it. Synical?? Oh yeah I'm synical, people are needy. 12 hour shifts of endless needieness over the years will change your entire perspective on people, society and life in general.

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Feb 24, 2005

Nathan, you ask the question we all ask ourself as men going into nursing? Some of us ask even more questions? Sometimes, we ask ourselves questions about being a man in nursing after being seasoned for so many years. Some of us become enriched by it, some do not. Which ever route you choose first, LPN or RN, is up to you, your financial status at the time, your goals, your dreams. Nursing provides lots of opportunities. From my experience of it for the past 20 years, it has always been so. Yes, we can become burned out and discouraged. Nursing as a field can alter our vision of ourself and others, for better or for worse. We see a lot of sick folks, lots of misery, lots of abuse of the system, and can often feel like a small fish in a big, muddy pond. But hey, we do make a difference...with one person at a time. I wish you the best in what ever you decide. Keep us posted will ya?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2005

You should be able to transfer your license without difficulty. You have to go through the individual state boards. Just because one state isn't in the compact states doesn't mean you can't work in another state. It's just easier to go within those states. Good luck.

Rock, LPN, RN · Feb 24, 2005

It can be a thankless job, but if you want to serve mankind, there is also a pleasant side to nursing. You have to be dedicated to a cause, then you can begin to enjoy the work that is involved.

I am retired after many years (40+) of nursing, and I have many pleasant memories.

I started working for $35.00 per week. If your goal is to make a lot of money, then nursing is not the profession you want to be in.

Good Luck !

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

----moving thread up---

Big_Al · Mar 4, 2005

I'm also considering a becoming an RN. And since we're on the subject of pros and cons...how often do you have to clean up bodily fluids and feces of patients? That one guy made it seem like that's all a nurse does.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2005

Big Al, for floor nurses, ICU nurses, and ER nurses, it's a fact of life, you're going to have to get used to bodily fluids. Some days are better than others, so it's hard to put a figure on how often we have to do it. Also depends on if you have unlicensed personnel to assist.

Of course if you're an ER nurse you can just deliver the patient to the floor dirty and let them clean them up pleading ignorance or "sorry there are ambulances arriving and we have to move this patient stat". (just kidding)