Disappointed

offlabel · Dec 28, 2017

This reminds me of all the threads from nursing students (or would-be nursing students) bemoaning all the people who are going into nursing for the "wrong" reasons, reasons that the poster doesn't consider lofty or pure enough. Guess what? There aren't any "right" or "wrong" reasons. Everyone gets to make choices for her/his own life, for her/his own reasons.

What about the poor patients? Don't they count?

Rnis, BSN, DNP, APRN, NP · Dec 28, 2017

I became an APN on the spur of the moment.....was literally a few months away from starting grad school to be a nurse educator and changed my mind at the urging of a colleague who was also in grad to be an FNP with the idea that being an FNP would be more versatile in terms of the job market when i graduated. Once I started the advanced study and practicums....I fell in the love with role and haven't looked back. I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" motivation as long as you are capable of providing quality care and performing the role you aspire to. My program was tough and there was no "churning" out Nps.

To touch on what op stated, I have seen time and time again that nurses are toughest on fellow nurses. Whether it be the new grad struggling to acclimate to a new floor.... or the new advance practice nurse trying to navigate the complexities of transitioning to a very different role. NP's succeeding and becoming more utilized in the healthcare system is a positive thing for the nursing profession as a whole..... I love that I make better money, have better hours, and am treated better than i was in the bedside nursing role.....I don't think those are bad motivations for directing your career path.

DayDreamin ER CRNP · Dec 29, 2017

Count me as one of the ones that will disappoint you.

I did go to NP school to better myself and my career. I'm also knocking on 50's door and know that, while I love be at the BS, I'm already starting to feel the aches and pains of such physical demands it requires. As an NP in an ER, I can still be somewhat at the BS and do skills but at a more advanced level of care.

I should also be compensated for my advanced practice. Nurses do not make much around here at all but an NP can make a decent living and not worry so much about finances. I also have a child to put through college very soon. I have a decent college fund for her but that doesn't pay the non-school bills for her.

Twelve hours shifts is also more difficult as I've grown older. I can still pull a 12 with the best of 'em but put three 12s in a row and I'm beat down for the next two days. I have to think about my longevity and health and well being now while I can. Years of pulling and rolling 300# patients and pushing them in stretchers takes a toll on the body - even one that is in otherwise excellent condition. When I'm 60, being an NP will be less strenuous on me than working at the BS.

I will agree that there needs to be tougher minimum standards for applying for school. I've seen far too many students go straight through school and don't have the slightest clue how to care for a patient. Any APN student should be at the BS for at least a year before starting any program but schools just see the dollar signs and putting butts in seats.

So, while I may have gone to school for the wrong reasons in your eyes, my reasons make perfect sense to me, my family and my future. I can and have learned more about A&P, patho and pharmacology on my own as an RN. It made me a better RN for my patients and will make me a better NP for my patients and the RNs I work with.

GoodNP · Dec 30, 2017

Motivation is irrelevant. Competence and performance are what matters, imho.

Cococure · Dec 30, 2017

I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" motivation as long as you are capable of providing quality care and performing the role you aspire to.
I 1000% agree! It is not a black and white decision and everyone is entitled to their own internal or external motivations for leaving bedside and advance their career.
To touch on what op stated, I have seen time and time again that nurses are toughest on fellow nurses. Whether it be the new grad struggling to acclimate to a new floor.... or the new advance practice nurse trying to navigate the complexities of transitioning to a very different role.

When will this ever end? Nurses are not always the most supportive group. I don't even mention that I am in school because I will hear "So you want to be an NP also?" "There are too many NP's" "There are no job out there"... Very very few positive comments are made and they are usually from other nurses pursuing an advanced degree. I want to be a NP to further my education and to know more than I do now. Also, having betters hours and pay is a major plus!

just my 2cents

allnurses Guide · Jan 1, 2018

Very very few positive comments are made and they are usually from other nurses pursuing an advanced degree.

Very few positive comments are made and they are usually from other nurses that have no clue about NP education, preparation, or job market.

Oldmahubbard · Jan 27, 2018

I became an NP back in the day when there was no money whatsoever in it. That being said-

I am old enough to remember the first RNs who started to be paid like other professionals, some 3 decades ago. And educators expressing fear at that time that some RN students were "only going into it for the money".

There was a concern that we might be creating a bunch of heartless mercenaries, instead of the compassionate Florence Nightingales of yesteryear.

My RN cohort was mostly in their late 20's, a group of people who generally had attempted to support themselves some other way, and had been disappointed. They were fundamentally in it to make a living.

I haven't kept in contact with all of them, but in general, they have done well.

Motivation, inner spark, passion, thirst for knowledge, however you want to define any of them, are all highly subjective things. We could discuss them all day, and not finish.

A Monday to Friday schedule, no weekends or holidays, with more money is very concrete, and much easier to talk about. And much easier to prove.

I understand that it would be theoretically nice if everyone, in any nursing role, had profoundly held personal and professional values. Unfortunately, those values tend to be quite difficult to articulate, and rather ephemeral.

And impossible to separate out from more mundane motivations.

I am interested in the results of a research study. Such a study would be impossible to do, but let's pretend it is.

APRN subjects would be identified through psychological testing as being primarily the mercenary or "easy schedule" type, or primarily the intrinsic rewards/compassionate provider type.

The study would then follow their careers for 20 years. Various factors would be closely monitored : overall career trajectory, salary, mobility, annual reviews, patient satisfaction surveys, and productivity.

Supervisors and co-workers would be interviewed as well, to obtain a more objective viewpoint. How well is the APRN really doing?

The study would examine any workplace issues, ie written warnings, disciplinary actions, and would encompass anything reported to the BON.

Any legal issues, to include malpractice complaints, or legal issues outside of nursing would be included.

Participants would answer a length questionnaire annually about their work and job satisfaction.

After 2 decades, objective evidence regarding the 2 groups of APRNs would be compared.

While such a study is hypothetical, I think it is extremely unlikely that there would be a statistically significant difference in the 2 groups.

The reason is that people espouse values that they don't really live. Such values are also difficult to observe in practice.

And the immediate context of a situation is much more pertinent to behavior than professed values.