Is nursing for me???

[XcrMat]

So I've been on the fence about a number of things. I've recently graduated from a BSN program and I'm wondering if nursing is really what I want to do long term. My issues with nursing sort of center around nursing's image and general lack of professional esteem, especially being a male nurse. I cant stand being seen as inferior to physicians, or handmaidens. I think nursing is still a long ways away from gaining the prestige and recognition it deserves. In my personal opinion, that would take doing away with LPNs, ADN nurses, and possibly making an MSN the entry degree for nurses.

I kind of bounce around from different ideas of what I should do. I do realize it will be necessary and most beneficial to practice as a staff nurse for at least a year or 2. I'm thinking of getting an MSN/MBA online from Grand Canyon University or perhaps taking my LSAT and going to law school. Not sure yet...

I'm wondering if anyone is in a similar situation or has ventured into either law or administration after nursing school and can provide insight... Thanks :)

[angels9202]

I'm doing nursing for 21 years now, and I still love doing it, when I graduated, I had that feelings too, confused and asking myself what do I really wanna do? but it didn't last long, to realize that I'm on the right path. advancing your degree is part of being a nurse, I don't have anything against it, well in fact, I wanna pursue it, not to do paper works but to enhance my skills and to help the administration how to make our working environment better, that everyone of us will say, this is the best ever job in the whole wide world. Money wise its ok, if you wanna get rich, find something else, because this is the job that requires to have a heart, compassion, mind boggling, decision making, and save the lives of others, it requires us to mingle to different kinds of people in their baddest time of life, either they have infected sore or dying. so how are you gonna like it?

[angels9202]

pray for for it.

[XcrMat]

You've clearly either not read all my posts or misunderstood them...

[SubSippi]

For what it's worth, OP, I'd be thrilled if I have a daughter and she marries a nurse!

[DadStudentPerhaps]

I believe the RNs are the foundation and back bone to any hospital. Great Nurses choose to be a Nurse because they are natural born care givers. Hospitals may be moving in the direction of hiring BSNs for status reasons, but a good Nurse can be a LPN, LVN, ADN, or a BSN. I promise you having the MSN may look good hanging on a wall, and there is absolutely nothing wrong in advancing ones education, but quality caregivers come by it naturally irregardless of how many years they spent in school. My wife is now back in school, after 27 years on the floor as a ADN, working on her MSN. However, her ultimate goal is to become a NP. There is nothing wrong in wanting to update ones career but she would be quick to tell you that the education she is getting now to reach her MSN fails in comparison to the education she received working on the floor for 27 years. Someone pointed this out already, but in almost every industry, you have people who are the backbone labor, and you have the "ladder climbers" who are only interested in reaching as high a title as they possibly can. Many of these folks get so distracted with reaching the next rung on the ladder, they miss out on a great hands on education at their current position. In essence, once they reach that PCC, Supervisor, or MD position, they don't fully understand the role of the Nurses that are now in their org code.

[MARYRN2009]

I agree that nursing does not have the prestiege it derserves; I believe we do a wonderful job but we dont get the recognition. I think we only get called for the mistakes that we do. I dont think nursing schools give you an accurate picture of what nursing is really about and I think is very deceivefull. Any way I think you should consider another career

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

As for the BSN vs ADN argument - would you believe my ADN coworker just got a state clinic job for which there were several BSN applicants. she said they picked her because they wanted someone who would stay in the job as they didn't want to retrain anyone and they felt all the other applicants were interested only because they working on their NP degree.

[MrsStudentNurse]

I mean I can assume its probably harder as a male nurse because there are more females overall but work hard and get past that first rung like everyone else who's just starting. From there, you have more options including masters, np, administration. I think you'll gain more respect that way than completely switching fields.

[Technicolourhobo]

I'm sorry, but two plus two is four, not more than 4. Adn is two, and to complete a BSN is two as well.

[hope3456, ASN, RN]

It takes alot of students longer to complete nursing school, ADN or BSN, due to the # of prerequisites.