Any Regrets on becoming a nurse?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2010

I am an RN with an associates degree from a trade school. I started as an LPN/LVN and bridged over to the RN license. From start to finish, this process took about five years because I took yearlong breaks from school to work multiple jobs, etc. I completed an LVN/LPN program in late 2005 and graduated from the RN program earlier this year.

People who are not involved in the medical field are often surprised to find that nursing can be very "clerical." My current job as a night shift bedside nurse is less about helping people and more about being buried in mountains of paperwork. I've got to complete an innumerable amount of forms, take off orders, write telephone and verbal orders, document the care given in redundant places, put charts together, file the previous day's paperwork, and write, write, write. Sadly, the time that I spend performing clerical duties such as filing, charting, dealing with new orders, and writing redundant data greatly outnumbers the time that I spend with patients. Society is litigious, so hospitals and other healthcare facilities require all of this paperwork as a cover-your-behind mechanism.

Families can be verbally abusive on occasion. Patients can be verbally abusive. Doctors can be condescending. Management can sometimes be pushy due to budgetary restraints combined with a lack of understanding of the bedside nurse's day-to-day experiences.

In addition, many nurses have not been able to enjoy the fruits of a so-called "wonderful" career due to the sluggish economy. Many new grad RNs and LPNs are unemployed and have not been able to find their first nursing jobs. Many experienced nurses are also unemployed. If you pursue nursing, go into it with your eyes wide open because an RN license is not a guarantee of full time employment.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2010

Click on the link below to watch this short, sweet, to-the point YouTube news clip that succinctly explains why the nursing job market has dried up in many parts of the U.S.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgydCh2BTYY

PACNWNURSING · Oct 29, 2010

I would not consider nursing there is no promise of work, once you graduate and or licensed you will still have to go into a transition or residency program and the compitetion is very difficult to get into those, your Nursing school GPA will be a hiring factor, passing the NCLEX alone will not be enough. You will also have to do a BSN program, from start to finish with no prereqs done, your looking at a 5 year process.

shoegalRN, RN · Oct 29, 2010

I don't have any regrets on becoming a nurse, but you REALLY need to do alot of research about this field before you jump in head first.

And don't think you'll be spending all this time "helping" your patients, because with a patient ratio of 1:6 on a busy Med-Surg floor, you won't have time to "connect" with them. You will barely have time to pass their meds, let alone sit and hold their hand and listen to their stories.

Research ALL the different fields of nursing, as well as all the nursing schools. Research the pay for your area, how long it's taking new grads to land a nursing job, research the amount of TIME you will spend in nursing school doing endless amount of paperwork and careplans, and research the NCLEX pass rate of ALL nursing schools in your area. Research loan and repayment options, as well as grants and scholarships.

Then go and speak with as many RN's as you can in real life and ask them to give you their HONEST opinion about the nursing field.

Last but not least, volunteer at a hospital to get somewhat of a feel of the field you will be getting into.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

Zookeeper3 · Oct 29, 2010

In Buffalo, way back in 1995, there were no jobs for new nurses. I took a job in geriatric mental health.. the worst of the worst. After a year, and stalking all nursing positions in any hospitals, I landed a job on a PCU. A progressive care unit which was long term vents, multisystem issues and many drips. They were clearing house to weed out the bad in a union facility. So YES!!! The people I was replacing were responsible for training me... I drowned, they let me and celebrated my failures. This was nursing back then and it is as tight now.

I had to read, read, learn, read and read, no one trained me but me. I was allowed to fail at my patients expense to look bad to prove the need for union retention. Patients did suffer although they will deny it.

I lasted 1 year and was looking for a new job for 9 months prior, I interviewed all along the east coast. Hoping for anything in the ICU. It took 6 months and I took the offer and we moved in two weeks notice.

Today is no different, you must be willing to work anywhere, learn and do what ever to succeed. Since then I've managed a CVICU/CCU, did house supervisor and returned where I belong to the bedside. But read back... I payed my dues dearly, MOVED, 700 miles and put in my heart and sole to prove my worth.

If you have this in you, you have a job tomorrow, anyone looking for it to be granted, you're sorely mistaken in this market, and it doesn't change.

Anyone whom has been hired easily, you know this thread isn't about you.

Zookeeper3 · Oct 29, 2010

While I've never regretted choosing nursing to support my family, If I had known then what I knew now, NEVER would I have become a nurse. I would have been a cruise director, a travel channel host, a food expert... an interior design of major corporations for their restaurants and picked out the funny signs and sayings on the wall.

But I'm 15 years in, I make a good living and when I rarely make a difference, it keeps me whole to show up the next day and each day I pray for that exp. Some days I fall short, Other days I love what I do.

sistasoul · Oct 29, 2010

It took me 3 years of going part time for prerequisite classes and 2 years of full time study for the nursing content. It took me that long because I had a few detours along the way and I had to work 2 jobs while going. Nursing 1, 11 111, AND 1v were only 9 credits and not considered full time but these classes took over my life for 4 semesters. The last 2 years I had to move in with my brother and I worked only 20 hrs a week because of the workload of school. I also lived very frugally and had to deplete my savings. Was it worth it? I think so. I really like being a nurse but it is a very stressful job. There are multiple demands being place on you constantly.

Be prepared because nursing school does not prepare you for the realities of being a nurse. My first year as a nurse I cried many times due to the workload and everything being new. My second year as a nurse is going a lot better and I find myself looking forward to my job. I graduated in 2008 and it took me over a year to find a full time hospital position. I worked for 5 months in LTC with my old peeps basically passing meds. I kept applying to hospitals and fimally got a 16 hour a week position. I worked close to 40 even though it was only slated for 16. Eventually a full time position opened up with benefits. By the time you graduate things may be a lot different in terms of employment for nurses. The baby boomers will be retiring soon. I think some of them would have already retired if they had not lost savings in their retirement accounts due to the economic downturn.

Nursing is definitely a rewarding career and there are a lot of different avenues one can pursue as a nurse. LIke another poster said I would volunteer at a hospital to get the feel of the atmosphere. Better yet, ask to shadow an RN on a medical surgical unit or work as a nursing assistant. I loved being an aide while in school. It was very busy but also a very rewarding job.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2010

How long from start to finish did your schooling take before you actually became an RN?
Do you have any regrets about your career choice?
How difficult was the schooling?

It took 4 years from start to finish. I have an ADN-RN and two classes remaining for the RN-BSN.

I have no regrets. Nursing is incredibly diverse. There are so many options and specialities. I feel good about what I do, and I'm paid very well. It is rewarding. I compare it to the BS/stress level in my former corporate career, and I am satisfied my new nursing career (although codes still destroy me for a couple days after!).

The schooling was not difficult for me academically, but nursing school has this certain mojo where you know if you make one really bad mistake, you can be out and not become a nurse. That fear paralyzed me at the end of nursing school. Try to keep a good relationship with your instructors, and just do your best.

Good luck with what you decide.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2010

I'd also recommend you really research the nursing job market in your area. Don't just ask a couple people and rely on what they tell you, either.

I had to move to get my first RN job. Many new grad nurses are unemployed. If one is not flexible about relocating for their first job, or in a pocket of nursing shortage area, it could be a dangerous decision to go to nursing school.

carluvscats · Oct 29, 2010

If just the talk of you going to school is about to "end your relationship", things might be worse for you than you realize. I don't think there is any point on you trying to "explain to him that nursing is such a great career to get into"; if this is what YOU want, then it should be enough. I understand compromise and all that, but you only get ONE life, and YOU are the one who has to decide how to live it. You made it clear that this is what you want. You don't need us reassuring you. If you need to do more research, ok, I understand needing to figure out the practicalities of your decision. You would probably get a lot of answers if you went to your local colleges, checked out job availability for nurses in your area; scan your newspapers and go down to hospitals, etc.

To answer your questions ~

I have no regrets so far.

The schooling was hard, but doable....if the fiance is going to resent your choice, it will be difficult to please both school and fiance.

I wish you the best in your decision.

pers · Oct 29, 2010

Four years start to finish to get my BSN (straight out of high school). The schooling was challenging but I don't think it was nearly as bad as some say it is. Organic chem was the only really difficult class I had and not all schools require it.

I don't have regrets about the job itself, I actually like my job. I also feel like my school did a really good job at preparing me not only for the work I would be doing but also for the realities of what nursing would be like. There really haven't been a lot of surprises in terms of what I expected and what nursing is. From posts I've seen here, lots of schools don't do that. I would strongly encourage anyone looking at nursing to really research the school you attend because all programs are not equal! Qualifiying you to sit for the NCLEX is important but it shouldn't be all your program provides. Figure out what matters to you in a program and then find one that provides it. I don't care where you go to school, you're paying for an education and you should get your money's worth!

There are things about nursing that frustrate me on a personal level, the biggest being the lack of respect for education (which my school did not prepare me for!). It never ceases to amaze me at work how little education and knowledge are valued and that's an attitude I often see echoed on this site. As someone who was raised to believe the opposite, it's frustrating. I don't want to be a doctor, but I do envy them their knowledge and the attitude towards learning that the doctors I work with exhibit. It's not every nurse by any means, but as a group it seems that the importance of education is undervalued. The arguments usually come down to experience versus education and I find it tiresome as they don't have to be competing values.