Need advice/thoughts from Experienced Nurses...feeling discouraged

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Oct 20, 2009

Sorry you're feeling discouraged, but maybe it's better that you are taking some time to re-think your options. You have some very specific goals & criteria related to your responsibility as a single mother & I think that this is admirable. :yeah: There is a prevailing myth that Nursing is 'sure thing' job-wise... but I think that the current economy has put a stop to it. Nursing is just as vulnerable as any other type of job. Healthcare is a business - no income = fewer workers = fewer jobs.

I really don't think that your personal goals are very compatible with nursing right now. Nursing is NOT flexible until you reach the higher ranks. Bedside nursing activities, including clinical rotations for school, are tightly scheduled. "Late" is never an option; missing a clinical or worked shift is never an option. If you miss too much clinical time or have too many tardies or 'late' marks, you can flunk out even if your grades are top-notch. Nursing school is stressful enough without throwing this into the mix. New nurses begin on the least desirable shifts - usually nights, but this may vary in some cases.

Progressive schools have begun to offer child care on site for students - but this is very rare. Some hospitals also provide onsite child care or have agreements with local providers. I think that these are actually going away due to liabilty issues.

I would recommend that you wait a while until your little one is a bit more independent or you have a good back-up child care arrangement. Nursing will still be there -- and the job market may have eased up a bit by then also.

Smarty Pants · Oct 24, 2009

I disagree, I am not an expierienced nurse, but I have 6 months to go until I graduate (scared as heck BTW) BUT i go to school with a lot of single moms, 90% of my class works full time. Yes we are all starved for free time and sleep, but we also go to school Parttime. I took summer classes to make it go a little faster. I think you can do anything you put your mind to. Do know that you may not have a lot of free time to spend with your child. But then again, if you are just going to school and mabey only working part time you can still have your evenings- or at least your weekends. Yes the scheduling in SCHOOL is not flexible, and yes its going to be a stressful couple of years, but i tell ya, you get used to the stress and you work it out. I did, and i freaked when i started.

I dont know about Nursing Jobs in NY, Im from PA and there are always job postings (even though we are laying off like crazy)

You may get the night shift to start out, but if your working 3 12 hour shifts- your getting 4 days a week to yourself doing whatever you please!!! and even if you want to only work parttime- you would still be getting a pretty darn good paycheck (and Im sure nurses in NY are getting paid way more than this little townn)

You just need to focus on the schooling- and get through that...then worry about the job. Nursing is good money and IS flexible, thats what has been burned into my brain by every teacher i have had so far.

One suggestion would be,(that is if you dont have any hospital experience) would be to shadow a nurse for a day...most schools will set this up BEFORE you agree to start school. SO do that and see if you might like it, if you do-go for it. I would do it while my child was young anyways, because the older they get the harder it would be for you PLus the longer you wait....get my point?

I hope this helped

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Oct 24, 2009

Nursing has employment cycles, this is a down cycle who knows by the time you graduate the cycle may change. Nursing does offer lots of flexibility. If your program has an evening section enroll in that since it is geared for students who have other life commitments.

nickynoodles · Oct 25, 2009

I visisted several NY hospital websites last night to see what jobs are out there for a new grad ADN and well there really arent any! shocking since all you hear in the media is that there is such demand for nurses. Everyone who was hiring RN's was requiring a BSN and/or experience. Im hoping that by the time I graduate (May 2012) that this will change and that maybe I have time on my side right now. I would love to work the night shift so I could maximize my time with my child but that is contigent upon me finding quality childcare for the nights Id be working. Add weekend and some holidays to that and finding childcare becomes that much bigger an issue.

How many weekends would the hospitals typically require of a new grad adn? and how do they determine what holidays you work?

colleennurse, ASN, RN · Oct 29, 2009

I am not sure what part of NY you are from, but I live in Rochester and I know a lot of recent ADN grads that had no problem finding work right out of school. However, you may not get the unit you want right away or the hours. Most of the hospitals around here do every other w/e. Like I said I do not know where you are in NY, but here I would have to say that starting salary would be in in the 40'sk/year. Nursing can be flexible, and I am not trying to be rude/mean, but as a new nurse with no experience yet dont expect to graduate and get straight days, no w/e, no holidays with great pay....if you find that let me know those jobs are usually given to nurses who have many years of experience and well they paid their dues :) Good luck I wish you the best!!!

dscrn · Oct 30, 2009

I would say weekends. holidays are pretty much a given. If you don't really have childcare...wonder how it would be possible to work any shift in the hsp setting. There is flexibility, so ...

jjjoy, LPN · Oct 30, 2009

While it's good to promote nursing as a profession, some of the push can at times be misleading. For example, job flexibility. First off, nursing is usually shift work which means you can't negotiate start and end times. It's generally 12 hour shifts starting at 7a or 7p. Some places (not many acute care hospitals) do offer 8 hours shifts starting at around 7, 3 and midnight. A few places offer even more options which are often crowed over, but one can't count on such options being available to them.

Many nurses have enjoyed working PRN "as needed" where they choose what days that they accept assignments. However, it's rare for a newbie to land this type of job. In boom times, desparate organizations would take anyone with a license, but much of the biggest demand for nurses at any time is for nurses who can do the whole job today, not in 3-6 months. If you don't work PRN, then everyone on your floor has to schedule their shifts around each other, which means that it's rare to get the exact schedule that you want or need.

Even in boom times, most places *prefer* to hire the candidate with experience over one without. Newbies cost more since they may need a good deal of extra support at the beginning, and there's a risk that the newbie won't meet the standards and be let go or will decide they don't like that type of job and quit. In down times, when there are many experienced applying for jobs, there's little reason to make an investment in a newbie.

Finally, health insurance may factor in since the most flexible PRN positions may not offer the kind of comprehensive family insurance that staff nurses usually are offered.

Just thoughts. Let me know if there are other experiences or perspectives.

nickynoodles · Oct 30, 2009

thanks everyone for your input! Im interested in working nights which I hear newbies get anyway so that should work in my favor. Im expecting/hoping to make $60K year minimum to start working FT, either 3 12hr shifts or 5 8 hour shifts. Im in the Putnam/Westchester area in NY so hoping this is possible. As for childcare, I have to work that out, thats my biggest issue.

jjjoy, LPN · Oct 30, 2009

I hope what follows doesn't sound too discouraging! If you want to be a nurse, don't let anything stop you! This is just food for thought since it sounds like wages, flexibility, and job demand are important factors in your decision.

Have you checked on the wages offered at the local facilities in your area? That is, find out as much as you can about actual wages in various local facilities for newbies as well as potential wage increases. Base your decisions on more than general statistics and a few examples of great salaries (and maybe you've already got that info!).

Personally, I was quite surprised to find out the major difference in nursing wages between the next-door community hospital and a local world-class facility that I had much exposure to as a student. A rather rude awakening for me, as I'd come to expect the higher wages offered by the world-class facility... but to avoid having to commute through the worst of the city's traffic (adding an extra hour or two the work day) made the local wages a bit more appealing.

This last year or so, newbies in many areas have been having a hard time landing that first job. Hopefully, it won't be an issue by the time you'd be done. The demand for nurses can vary a lot by geographic area. Check out the employment trends in your area. If the market weren't good in your area when you graduated, would relocating be an option?

Also, don't expect your worklife to settle down once you land the first job out of school. Many newbies find that their RN gets them in the door, but they REALLY start learning to BE a nurse only after starting their first job. There's still a TON more to learn WHILE juggling a zillion new things and several patients' needs, and where one's colleagues may be just as busy as well. I, along with others, felt like vomiting every day before work and fantasizing about a car accident to avoid going in. Of course, not everyone has such a traumatic transition; a lot depends upon one's own strengths and weaknesses, the nursing program and instructors, the hiring facility's supportiveness of new nurses and nurses as a whole, and the supportiveness of one's direct colleagues.