recruiting future nurses

Genista, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2003

I appreciate your willingness to help, but as an actual nurse I have a different perspective on why we have a shortage.Please let me shed light on why we are in "this horrible situation."

Your post makes me feel I must comment to this.The real cause of the shortage is generally misunderstood by the general public. So, first my rant, then I will gladly answer your questions...

To me, trying to fill the nursing shortage by recruiting new staff is like trying to fill a bucket of water made from a sieve. There are some big problems in healthcare, and the environment nurses are having to work in. We are fed up, and leaving in droves.

Nursing today is often unsafe, unfair, and undesirable. The fact that nurses are worked to the bone with inadequate staff, can't take their breaks, work overtime, holidays, and odd hours, and often don't get fair pay...well, it's just not right.We are mandated to overtime in some states, mandated to fill other shifts at the drop of a hat, and expected to come in on our days off to fill in the gaps. The legal paperwork alone is enough to send one back to school for a new career. Add to that the fact that we face life threatening, complex & emotionally charged scenarios daily.

You said you are not a nurse, so you probably wouldn't know the REAL reason there is a shortage isn't for lack of nurses...it's really for lack of nurses willing to work in the present conditions of health care. So, please try and remember those of us who were used up & burned out by this nurse eating profession called healthcare.Until better working conditions are met, nurses will continue to leave the field.

That being said, I will gladly help with your questions...

When did you first decide you wanted to be a nurse? (Or what age should we target our programming?)

I was 22-23 when I first decided I wanted to become an RN

Why a nurse and not some other health care career?

The variety it offered (different specialties) and broad range of skills and knowledge

How would you "sell" your job?

Flexible hours, fair pay (in my state, due to the shortage I can work any shift I want pretty much, and the pay is not bad)

Meaningful work

What is the best part of your day?

Advocating for patients

Supporting patients & family

Collaborating with other healthcare professionals

Brainstorming & figuring out solutions to potential or real problems

What is one thing about nursing that the rest of us might find surprising?

There is a lot of critical thinking going on in nurses' heads. We are monitoring physical assessments, labs, tests, planning for discharge needs, questioning medications and reactions, etc.

Nurses are with the patient 24 hours a day- and we are the ones who often first note the subtle changes in a patient's status.Being a nurse is a huge responsibility- not just physical tasks.

As a nurse how would you like to share the positive parts of your job?

interesting

rewarding at times

variety

flexibilty

challenging

decent pay (in CA anyway)

Anything else you would like to share?

It would be nice if you had descriptions of what the different settings & specialties are, all the areas nurses work: acute care specialties like med/surg, OB, ICU, OR, Oncology, Ortho, Neuro, tele,Peds; clinics, homecare, nurse managers, dialysis, hospice, school nurse,nurse educators, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse practicioners.It's a career that offers variety & many opportunities.It's career that can be built upon.

Good luck!

Bonnie J-Lowe · Mar 4, 2003

I decided to become a nurse at the age of 5 or 6 years.My story-"A CAREER CHOICE MADE EASY THE HARD WAY' can be found on http://www.tidespoint.com, click Nfld.stories, when the topics appear most of them are mine but scroll down to this title and that will tell you the story. I loved Nursing ,worked in many areas, mostly the OR and palliative care. I retired and returned to Newfoundland at the age of 51-totally burnt out-toast- so to speak, and I still could not let it go.It took a good year for me to figure out that to live, and to have health, I had to let go. Nursing almost killed me and many times saved my life. when my children were young it gave me the flexibility to work the hours I wanted. In the Operating Room I worked for ten or twelve years until we had a nurse from hell arrive there and my life turned upside down. I cried more tears in 1994 than I ever did in my whole life before that. Finally I transferred to Cardiac Care, back working with the old team I had worked with years before that. And they turned my life and my health around. They are fabulous women and we became a strong team, my RN Team mate was named Joy, so we jokingly called ourselves "Comfort and Joy" and we had two fantastic LPNs helping us. But the days were 15 hours long, no support from management, I was told one day that I laughed too much!!!Imagine! And of course being a Newfoundlander in Nova Scotia, they expected to have a laugh when I was around, never planned just is part of our culture. So, not to laugh, I refused to sign the evaluation. Shortly after that the head nurse took health leave and was treated for depression and never came back to my unit. I don't know if I am the one who caused it or not, I don't think so. She had been under tremendous pressure for a long time. The pay is no great deal in the Maritimes of Canada, my friend Joy has been off with illness after illness since I left 2 years ago-she came to visit me in Newfoundland, along with our LPNs-last summer and my husband took us in our boat to see the gigantic iceberg in the bay. When we rounded the headland and Joy saw the berg, she started to cry, and cried for hours. That is the stress that girl is facing. She now says the iceberg saved her life by enabling her to let it out, knowing she was with friends and could cry it out.

No I would not help recruit nurses, but I love Nursing and always will.

Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe,RN.Ret'd.

consideringRN · Oct 14, 2003

It would be nice if you had descriptions of what the different settings & specialties are, all the areas nurses work: acute care specialties like med/surg, OB, ICU, OR, Oncology, Ortho, Neuro, tele,Peds; clinics, homecare, nurse managers, dialysis, hospice, school nurse,nurse educators, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse practicioners.

I am currently researching nursing programs and plan to go back to school for nursing. Probably the biggest reason I never considered nursing earlier was that I was unaware of all the various opportunties, diverse specialites, and work settings. As said in the previous post, "It's a career that offers variety & many opportunities.It's career that can be built upon. This is very attractive to me and something I never realized before.

live4today, RN · Oct 14, 2003

Originally posted by LAKF
.......................................................................................

When did you first decide you wanted to be a nurse? (Or what age should we target our programming?)

Why a nurse and not some other health care career?

How would you "sell" your job?

What is the best part of your day?

What is one thing about nursing that the rest of us might find surprising?

As a nurse how would you like to share the positive parts of your job?

Anything else you would like to share?

Ummmm...since you have SEVEN questions........I have SEVEN responses to those questions which are:

:chuckle :roll :chuckle :roll :chuckle :roll SHUT MY MOUTH!

After I'm done laughing at the possiblities of the answers I could provide you for your survey, I may return tomorrow sometime and offer my professional answers.

Not laughing at you........laughing at the possiblities of the answers to those questions. :