Figured this was a pretty good place to get advice on nursing!
I'm thinking of going back to school and getting into nursing. I currently do technical writing for a financial software company, and while the company and my colleagues are *tremendous*, working hard so that other people can make lots of money hasn't been very fulfilling.
Nursing appeals because I've always been interested in sciences and was originally a genetics major before switching to liberal arts. I'm a big softie, particularly with kids, and am always happy to put someone else's needs first. Plus, it seems like the daily effort of helping people survive trauma or to simply alleviate their pain would do more to better the world than what I do now. My sister-in-law was a nursing student and I'm reading her textbooks now in the evenings. For fun!
With some experience, it would be cool to somehow tie this in with another passion: Homeland Security and bioterror defense. Maybe a focus on public health nursing or something.
My concern is that my INFP-ness is taking over and my perception of nursing is becoming kind of pie-in-the-sky. I'm fairly introverted, meaning I may freeze up when faced with the forceful personalities of the ER or its belligerent patients. I've got a great memory and recall when given a few minutes to think over an issue, but may be forced to act faster than I'd like, and can have a hard time brushing off unfair criticism or my own mistakes. Plus, I'm 34, a guy, and have two kids and a mortgage.
I'd really like to switch into something that helps people, and more and more the medical field seems like where it should be. The time and money will work themselves out for the right fit. A fast-paced environment that's team-oriented would be great, or a quieter, less stressful one. Does a position exist like that? Just fishing for ideas at this point.
Don't be frightened by the bitter and disenfranchised, my friend. Longtime lurker, 10 year perioperative RN, and first-time poster here. Find a nice & semi-quiet rural facility in the town of your liking, in a state of your liking (might I recommend MN, Iowa, SD, ND, etc.), take your loved one/ones/dogs/cats with you because the cost of living is 1/2 of where you are and you can justify the move (don't forget about requesting relocation money... many of them will pay for it), and get into a specialty of your choice. Take your pick. They will hire you on the spot as long as you don't lick the windows in the personal interview. (PERSONAL INTERVIEW???? WHERE IS THIS FANTASY LAND?) Exercise your back, because you'll need it surrounded by elderly RNs who can't work their way around a simple word document and talk about recipes and holiday decorations/weekly potlucks instead of patient care. They will resent you for your hard work. Work hard anyway. I expect to get a ton of flame e-mail for being a misogynist, blahblahblah, but when it comes down to the dirty work, you'll earn your stripes. Overtime is readily available, and shifts bonuses will be paid. Out of the 5 new-grad male nurses I worked with in 2005, 4 of us are in specialty work and pulling down excellent salaries. One is a CRNA (school paid by the rural hospital on a 2-year agreement of practice upon graduation), one is now a lawyer in nursing advocacy, and I'm a director/consultant/first assist/jack-of-all-trades (left MN for DC immediately after my BSN, landed a director position in the ghetto, padded the resume, lived in Denver, recently back home). The other is quite happy as a night charge on a med-surgical unit and is PICC certified, paid per diem for placement by the facility to the tune of $140.00 per line. Please don't limit your potential by being an ambitious individual in the city. The fourth, you may ask? He's probably posting here, whining about his poor options, lack of opportunities, the effects of healthcare and the economy, the horrible parking, on and on and on, and punches the clock at a big center like a chump while praying for that interim charge nurse position when Carol or Darla has a spinal fusion and can't work for 12 weeks. Again. All for that extra 5 bucks an hour. And a traveler/agency nurse or a personal friend of theirs will get it anyway.
The country is where it's at. Cross-train and volunteer across specialties. Don't know ER? ICU? Cardiac rehab? Dialysis? Chemo?....... Volunteer for shifts. They'll be more than happy to give up their duties and help train you to take call. Do you like surgery? Tell them. You'll end up a PACU nurse on top of it. I even landed a paid job as a death investigator with my county, got paid for training, and learned a lot about forensic nursing. Plus, I had the authority to order the cops around on a scene. Go for it. You won't regret it. And when you're done, you can walk into any urban center and be equipped to do it all. Don't limit yourself with the HR interview, online submission, drone mentality. Go somewhere where they need you. Spend a year of your time. Learn it all, learn it well, and go back to the city and get what you want.
As for your "INFP-ness?" Male nursing will slap the beta right out of you. In a hurry. I used to be the same. Get what you deserve, and give your family what they want. Oh. Happy holidays to you and yours. I wish you the best!
Male nursing student here. I am graduating in may. A couple of things.
Already had an AS BS And MBA.
1st take the CNA and if possible work in the field. It wont really tell you much about being a nurse but you can learn what kind of nurse you dont want to be.
2nd Obamacare will have an effect on healthcare in general just like anything else would ao I wont adress the idioctic comments made about it earlier.
3 I have found out that nursing is not what I thought was. You have to figure that out for yourself. I have been pleasantly surprised.
4 Not worried about a job. Basically talked with a few people and unofficially have been asked to apply so I can get interviewed. I am in Western NC.
I chose to got this route originally because it made sense logically but have since grown to really like what I have expirenced so far.
Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.
Damn...I just got a flat tire...thanks Obamacare! Stop blaming everything on Obamacare, you seem to be watching too much Fox news.
The economy tanked in 2008 thanks to those with 500 credit scores buying homes they couldn’t afford. So, unemployment goes up. Historically, what happens when our county goes into a recession? Enrollment increases as local colleges and universities. Why? People begin searching for a career that they “think” is secure. How long have people been talking about a nursing shortage (that really doesn’t exist)? So, what do people do? They start signing up for nursing programs. Because of the demand for nursing programs increased, private schools got in on the craze. So, today, we have more supply than the demand.
Since 2008, I can’t tell you the number of hiring freezes and lay-offs that have occurred. Back then, people didn’t have Obamacare to blame. Rather, they simply blamed the president for his inability to turn a nation around over night when it took Bush four years to destroy it. HE is the one who passed laws that allowed the loose credit requirements for lenders!
Furthermore, the whole Magnet status has caused an increase demand for BSN prepared nurses. Some facilities may hire ASN nurses, but require them to complete their BSN's by a certain time frame.
If you REALLY have nursing as a passion, do it. You may make less, you may work more. It doesn't matter if it's your passion, because you won't be 'working'.
Now. For reality. If it is not 100% what you will absolutely love, even if it means less pay and more work, then you need to seriously consider this.
Obamacare has made it so that new grads are jobless or working mutiple part-time jobs.
Obamacare has made it so that at hospitals where you would have had 4 patients during the day and 5 at night, you now have 6+ during the day, 7+ at night.
Obamacare has made it that once you were guaranteed 40 hours a week. Now you go home when there is 'too much staff', and you use your vacation time to fill in your off hours.
Obamacare has made it so that hospitals nationally are overworked, understaffed.
Obamacare means that ultimately, the nurse pays for it all. More work. Less staff. Job uncertainty. Thus, if you come on over, be prepared, and if it is your life's passion, none of the above will matter.
I looked for an RN job for 2 years after graduating with a 4.0, top of my class, and a previous degree, also with a 4.0. I now volunteer as an RN and work at a large health system in IT. I hear on every floor the dissatisfied RNs who are getting sent home, who don't have CNAs, etc. Thus, I re-itereate, if it is your passion, none of the above will matter, but be prepared for reality.
Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.
I agree! Don't head to the larger cities for the jobs. Rural nursing is in high demand. Many prefer not to move or commute to work at a regional hospital. So, there typically are open positions.
Don't be frightened by the bitter and disenfranchised, my friend. Longtime lurker, 10 year perioperative RN, and first-time poster here. Find a nice & semi-quiet rural facility in the town of your liking, in a state of your liking (might I recommend MN, Iowa, SD, ND, etc.), take your loved one/ones/dogs/cats with you because the cost of living is 1/2 of where you are and you can justify the move (don't forget about requesting relocation money... many of them will pay for it), and get into a specialty of your choice. Take your pick. They will hire you on the spot as long as you don't lick the windows in the personal interview. (PERSONAL INTERVIEW???? WHERE IS THIS FANTASY LAND?) Exercise your back, because you'll need it surrounded by elderly RNs who can't work their way around a simple word document and talk about recipes and holiday decorations/weekly potlucks instead of patient care. They will resent you for your hard work. Work hard anyway. I expect to get a ton of flame e-mail for being a misogynist, blahblahblah, but when it comes down to the dirty work, you'll earn your stripes. Overtime is readily available, and shifts bonuses will be paid. Out of the 5 new-grad male nurses I worked with in 2005, 4 of us are in specialty work and pulling down excellent salaries. One is a CRNA (school paid by the rural hospital on a 2-year agreement of practice upon graduation), one is now a lawyer in nursing advocacy, and I'm a director/consultant/first assist/jack-of-all-trades (left MN for DC immediately after my BSN, landed a director position in the ghetto, padded the resume, lived in Denver, recently back home). The other is quite happy as a night charge on a med-surgical unit and is PICC certified, paid per diem for placement by the facility to the tune of $140.00 per line. Please don't limit your potential by being an ambitious individual in the city. The fourth, you may ask? He's probably posting here, whining about his poor options, lack of opportunities, the effects of healthcare and the economy, the horrible parking, on and on and on, and punches the clock at a big center like a chump while praying for that interim charge nurse position when Carol or Darla has a spinal fusion and can't work for 12 weeks. Again. All for that extra 5 bucks an hour. And a traveler/agency nurse or a personal friend of theirs will get it anyway.
The country is where it's at. Cross-train and volunteer across specialties. Don't know ER? ICU? Cardiac rehab? Dialysis? Chemo?....... Volunteer for shifts. They'll be more than happy to give up their duties and help train you to take call. Do you like surgery? Tell them. You'll end up a PACU nurse on top of it. I even landed a paid job as a death investigator with my county, got paid for training, and learned a lot about forensic nursing. Plus, I had the authority to order the cops around on a scene. Go for it. You won't regret it. And when you're done, you can walk into any urban center and be equipped to do it all. Don't limit yourself with the HR interview, online submission, drone mentality. Go somewhere where they need you. Spend a year of your time. Learn it all, learn it well, and go back to the city and get what you want.
As for your "INFP-ness?" Male nursing will slap the beta right out of you. In a hurry. I used to be the same. Get what you deserve, and give your family what they want. Oh. Happy holidays to you and yours. I wish you the best!
hemostat
1 Post
Don't be frightened by the bitter and disenfranchised, my friend. Longtime lurker, 10 year perioperative RN, and first-time poster here. Find a nice & semi-quiet rural facility in the town of your liking, in a state of your liking (might I recommend MN, Iowa, SD, ND, etc.), take your loved one/ones/dogs/cats with you because the cost of living is 1/2 of where you are and you can justify the move (don't forget about requesting relocation money... many of them will pay for it), and get into a specialty of your choice. Take your pick. They will hire you on the spot as long as you don't lick the windows in the personal interview. (PERSONAL INTERVIEW???? WHERE IS THIS FANTASY LAND?) Exercise your back, because you'll need it surrounded by elderly RNs who can't work their way around a simple word document and talk about recipes and holiday decorations/weekly potlucks instead of patient care. They will resent you for your hard work. Work hard anyway. I expect to get a ton of flame e-mail for being a misogynist, blahblahblah, but when it comes down to the dirty work, you'll earn your stripes. Overtime is readily available, and shifts bonuses will be paid. Out of the 5 new-grad male nurses I worked with in 2005, 4 of us are in specialty work and pulling down excellent salaries. One is a CRNA (school paid by the rural hospital on a 2-year agreement of practice upon graduation), one is now a lawyer in nursing advocacy, and I'm a director/consultant/first assist/jack-of-all-trades (left MN for DC immediately after my BSN, landed a director position in the ghetto, padded the resume, lived in Denver, recently back home). The other is quite happy as a night charge on a med-surgical unit and is PICC certified, paid per diem for placement by the facility to the tune of $140.00 per line. Please don't limit your potential by being an ambitious individual in the city. The fourth, you may ask? He's probably posting here, whining about his poor options, lack of opportunities, the effects of healthcare and the economy, the horrible parking, on and on and on, and punches the clock at a big center like a chump while praying for that interim charge nurse position when Carol or Darla has a spinal fusion and can't work for 12 weeks. Again. All for that extra 5 bucks an hour. And a traveler/agency nurse or a personal friend of theirs will get it anyway.
The country is where it's at. Cross-train and volunteer across specialties. Don't know ER? ICU? Cardiac rehab? Dialysis? Chemo?....... Volunteer for shifts. They'll be more than happy to give up their duties and help train you to take call. Do you like surgery? Tell them. You'll end up a PACU nurse on top of it. I even landed a paid job as a death investigator with my county, got paid for training, and learned a lot about forensic nursing. Plus, I had the authority to order the cops around on a scene. Go for it. You won't regret it. And when you're done, you can walk into any urban center and be equipped to do it all. Don't limit yourself with the HR interview, online submission, drone mentality. Go somewhere where they need you. Spend a year of your time. Learn it all, learn it well, and go back to the city and get what you want.
As for your "INFP-ness?" Male nursing will slap the beta right out of you. In a hurry. I used to be the same. Get what you deserve, and give your family what they want. Oh. Happy holidays to you and yours. I wish you the best!