Aren't You just Incredibly Proud?

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I am a newbie. Like I said in a previous post, I am at the wiggly puppy stage; just about to embark on my schooling as a nurse. I have been drawn to this forum lately and have been reading like a sponge (okay, finishing statistics is boring too...), but the stories I am reading are amazing. Struggles to get in, to find a job, to keep a job, to balance all that life throws at everyone here. I can't help to think how proud (and daunted) I am to join this unique group of individuals. I am humbled to think of what you all have done to make it through and to make it work. I can't wait to get started.

lori, I am not a veteran nurse. I did not go into nursing for the money. I actually like public health. I want nursing students to realize that it is not sunshine and butterflies; there is reality. It is not being negative in stating reality.

I have considered doing something non-nursing. Just as you have stated your opinion, I can state mine.

Who said it was sunshine and butterflies? Doesn't mean those of us at the beginning can't be looking forward to a challenge. There is reality and then there is being rude. And really, my intention of this post was to show admiration of those of you who have been there, done that. That and the fact that I am happy to be joining you.

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Proud? No, not really.

Honored.

Honored that people trust ME in their most vulnerable moments.

Does that mean I think nursing is all rainbows and unicorns? No way. Most days, it's dirty, soul-sucking, back breaking, thankless, demoralizing, and frustrating. Those moments where you feel honored? They're fleeting.

So, when I say to enjoy it while it lasts, I mean it. Being a nursing student was.....well, I'll just say I was bright eyed and bushy tailed back then, too.

Am I going to warn you away from nursing? Nope. I'm not that kind of nurse. I don't tell people what they should and shouldn't do.

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Specializes in CCRN, ED, Unit Manager.
lori, I am not a veteran nurse. I did not go into nursing for the money. I actually like public health. I want nursing students to realize that it is not sunshine and butterflies; there is reality. It is not being negative in stating reality.

I have considered doing something non-nursing. Just as you have stated your opinion, I can state mine.

I think I remember something in psych about presenting reality being therapeutic.

:roflmao:

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So LEAVE, and do something "special". Why did you get into nursing? Certainly the money had something to do with it. Not trying to be testy, but jeez..... if you aren't happy, leave the job. Also, just because YOU are suddenly a part of a profession doesn't mean that the nursing pinnacle has been reached and no one else should bother to strive for it. It bugs the hell out of me how some veteran nurses, or whatever you want to call them, think that the nursing profession is all theirs. It's not. So I don't think the "jealous" comment describes the actions of some of the people in these forums, but honestly, you aren't gatekeepers meant to keep all us new nursing majors out of a career. Yet many of you see yourselves that way. I can't think of a single other profession where I have seen such crabbiness and just snobbishness towards people who are pursuing a nursing degree.

Took the words right out of my mouth!

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lori, no one is saying we aren't happy for you and OP. But, as someone who can write RN after their name (upon getting a job), and those who are actually working as nurses, there is reality. I can't find a job. My area is on a hiring freeze to salvage jobs by re-structuring and moving people within the systems. Jobs are posted, but that doesn't mean they will be filled. The people who have jobs can get stuck with many patients and unsafe ratios.

I think I am well within my right to state my opinion. OP did ask. It is called AllNurses. I am a nurse.

It is so much easier for the students to pass judgment on people holding a license and those trying to get a nursing job when you all are students. I will admit, trying to get a job and having interviews (yes, I am thankful that I at least get interviews) that are fruitless, it does get depressing. I do not think students have any right to pass judgment on people who do hold a nursing license--with or without a job.

I think lori mentioned that she is tired of the negativity on here. I think people can put their experiences. Since the end of nursing school and getting my license, there have been silver linings in the mix, but for the most part it has been more negative. Sorry if I am a "debbie downer", but it has not been positive or sunshine and butterflies for me. I can't give on the job nursing experience and advice; however, I can give my experience of being in a monitoring program and having to look for a job, when I was approved, and not finding anything. I am dropping the very little money I make dealing with keeping my license and have nothing to show for it.

OP, in your original post you mentioned people not getting jobs and working their tail off and they should be proud. To me, that is not proud to be a nurse, that is a reflection on the people themselves, not the profession of being a nurse.

To the nurses, veterans or newbies, I am absolutely sorry that I threw my two cents in about you all needing to be sunshine and butterflies when I was in school.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Even after 35 years......I LOVE being a nurse. I am INCREDIBLY proud that I am a nurse. I think it's wonderful Susan that you are excited to start on this journey.

It isn't all "rainbows and puppy dogs" for it is difficult frustrating, humans are messy. It is stressful and overwhelming......

Being A Nurse Means…

You will never be bored.

You will always be frustrated.

You will be surrounded by challenges,

So much to do and so little time.

You will carry immense responsibility And limited authority.

You will step into people’s lives

And you will make a difference

Some will bless you,

Some will curse you.

You will see people at their worst

And at their best.

You will never cease to be amazed

At people’s capacity for Love, courage, and endurance.

You will experience resounding triumphs

And devastating failures.

You will cry a lot,

You will laugh a lot,

You will know what it is to be human,

And to be humane.

Melodie Chenevert RN

Good Luck on your nursing journey.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
lori, no one is saying we aren't happy for you and OP. But, as someone who can write RN after their name (upon getting a job), and those who are actually working as nurses, there is reality. I can't find a job. My area is on a hiring freeze to salvage jobs by re-structuring and moving people within the systems. Jobs are posted, but that doesn't mean they will be filled. The people who have jobs can get stuck with many patients and unsafe ratios.

I think I am well within my right to state my opinion. OP did ask. It is called AllNurses. I am a nurse.

It is so much easier for the students to pass judgment on people holding a license and those trying to get a nursing job when you all are students. I will admit, trying to get a job and having interviews (yes, I am thankful that I at least get interviews) that are fruitless, it does get depressing. I do not think students have any right to pass judgment on people who do hold a nursing license--with or without a job.

I think lori mentioned that she is tired of the negativity on here. I think people can put their experiences. Since the end of nursing school and getting my license, there have been silver linings in the mix, but for the most part it has been more negative. Sorry if I am a "debbie downer", but it has not been positive or sunshine and butterflies for me. I can't give on the job nursing experience and advice; however, I can give my experience of being in a monitoring program and having to look for a job, when I was approved, and not finding anything. I am dropping the very little money I make dealing with keeping my license and have nothing to show for it.

OP, in your original post you mentioned people not getting jobs and working their tail off and they should be proud. To me, that is not proud to be a nurse, that is a reflection on the people themselves, not the profession of being a nurse.

To the nurses, veterans or newbies, I am absolutely sorry that I threw my two cents in about you all needing to be sunshine and butterflies when I was in school.

.

Nursing has many aspects that, as professionals, we are supposed to keep from the public's eye as a form of political correctness. And this, unfortunately, is one of them. But this IS one of the realities of nursing that the nursing instructors do not tell their students because if the students don't enroll in nursing school, nursing instructors WILL BE amongst the unemployed. I worked on a med/surg unit as an LPN and while I waiting to take the NCLEX-RN, a new employee was hired. As we developed a working relationship, I asked her why was she there working as a floor nurse with an MSN in education. She told me that enrollment was down and the university had to make budget cuts and she was part of the fat that was trimmed and unfortunately for her, she could not find another teaching position. So she had to return to floor nursing. To say I was dumbfounded at her response would be an understatement! She had searched for supervisory positions and teaching positions for a year and a half and when her husband was laid off, she had no choice but to return to the bedside.

Experiences like this will NEVER be told in the classroom. Makes you wonder what explanation the students were given when they asked about where their instructor had gone...

This site is not just for us to vent. I use it as a means to find out the NEGATIVES moreso than the positives because i wanted to know if it was just my facility or this area that has such a clientele as the ones that i see everyday. It helps to diminish the shock value of what actually IS as opposed to what someone actually sold you on. EVERYTHING has its dark side and that includes those people in snow-white uniforms called nurses. (Actually, we wear royal blue and black here.;) It's everywhere but what makes it SOMEWHAT bareable is that I do at least have a paycheck.

I feel for you in that you have sank thousands into your education, believing you would have a job as soon as you completed that first application. In nursing, we have to be honest and ethical. Withholding information about the many facilities who require one year of paid nursing experience in order to get a job is not only unethical, it a form of lying.....in my opinion. Good luck to you!!!

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Lynda, I do not have debt. Mine was free because my mom taught at the school. I actually switched majors three times, nursing being the last obviously. Nursing had nothing to do with the money, I like public health anyway, which is like the lowest paid in nursing. I was like the OP, that is my point. The cutesy, excited type that liked the critical thinking, but I like public health rather than solely working in the hospital. I realized post school and hopping through the hoops with the Board and volunteering with Americorps, volunteering in general post Americorps, and hearing about what medical assistants can do, etc. Nursing anymore is not the Florence Nightingale type nursing. Most of the time, nurses chart a good portion of their time and manage rather than hands on care. I realized after the fact that most of the stuff that I am interested in is not solely nursing skills...lay people can do a lot of that stuff too.

The way nursing is presented in school is not real world. I am lucky I came out debt free, but for me, the little money I make now to keep the license and not do have job and I ask myself when is enough enough. Let it go. It irks me slightly to think I spent almost 2 grand, which is everything I made post school on drugs screens just to keep a license. That is really the only thing that keeps me from getting rid of my license. Thinking how much I spent already in HPMP. I would be out that money and nothing to show for it.

OP, you have to realize that once someone has a license that DQs them for many jobs--CNA, cashier type jobs (due to being overqualified and thinking they will leave if they got a job as a nurse), etc and they are under qualified for others. You can end up stuck. I think being stuck in the middle/rut really made me resent being a nurse and having a license.

In all fairness, OP asked if people were proud to be a nurse. No one was slamming OP and crews choice to be a nurse, but my experience having the license has not been good. Therefore, no, I am not a proud nurse. I have other things in life that made me so much prouder than this. Plus, I do not define myself solely by a profession.

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She told me that enrollment was down and the university had to make budget cuts and she was part of the fat that was trimmed and unfortunately for her, she could not find another teaching position. So she had to return to floor nursing. To say I was dumbfounded at her response would be an understatement! She had searched for supervisory positions and teaching positions for a year and a half and when her husband was laid off, she had no choice but to return to the bedside.

Experiences like this will NEVER be told in the classroom. Makes you wonder what explanation the students were given when they asked about where their instructor had gone...

but what makes it SOMEWHAT bareable is that I do at least have a paycheck.

I feel for you in that you have sank thousands into your education, believing you would have a job as soon as you completed that first application. In nursing, we have to be honest and ethical. Withholding information about the many facilities who require one year of paid nursing experience in order to get a job is not only unethical, it a form of lying.....in my opinion. Good luck to you!!!

I realize that good nursing positions are harder than ever to find, but what makes nurses think this only pertains to nursing? MANY college graduates are having difficulty finding jobs...why do you think so many pursue a master's degree right away! I know MANY people with Bachelors and Masters degrees who are working at minimum wage jobs because they can't get jobs in their field and they have giant student loans to repay on top of it. The truth of the matter is that a Bachelors degree is a dime-a-dozen these days and everybody has one so you're not "special" to have even graduated from college anymore.

Thank God we have been actually given special skills as nurses. Not just anyone can do our jobs and I don't even think the workplace problems people complain about on these threads is specific to health care. My husband is an engineer and I hear the same kind of crap going on in his workplace. Granted he doesn't work in a life or death environment, so it's not exactly the same, but trust me the older engineers are not welcoming new grads who think they know it all into the fold with warm, fuzzy open arms. Everyone is worried about losing their jobs these days!

I appreciate the "reality" check, and as someone pointed out that presenting reality is therapeutic, but I also know that "reality" is subjective to some degree and misery loves company. I'm also mature enough to know that there are very few things in life that are what you thought they would be! Marriage comes to mind...haha In fact, I once had a job for 18 years that I literally was on the clock 24/7, worked every single weekend and holiday, was bitten, pooped on and never heard a thank-you. And on top of it all the pay sucked! I'm sure most of you can guess that it's called being a mother. Trust me, that gig wasn't what I imagined at all! ;-/

Not to be disrespectful, but honestly, if being a nurse is so damn miserable then why not get out of the way so those of us who want the jobs can have them?

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Specializes in Rehab, Med-surg, Neuroscience.

I am proud to be a nurse but I am WAY over the excitement of being new. I've been a nurse for two years and I remember that wiggly puppy phase (adorable visual by the way). Enjoy it while it lasts!

Avoid the CURSE of the first job offer... several nurses I was in school with took the first offer they got and ended up in terrible job situations! And I was one of them!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Not to be disrespectful, but honestly, if being a nurse is so damn miserable then why not get out of the way so those of us who want the jobs can have them?
I'll answer this question, although I'm not one of the nurses who is complaining about being miserable, so be cognizant of that as you read my response.

I maintain a simple lifestyle: average house, tiny mortgage, two used cars that are paid for, and virtually no other debt of which I can speak. However, many of the nurses with whom I'm acquainted are in debt up to their eyeballs by way of consumerism. They live in mini mansions with staggering mortgage payments, drive luxury cars with $800+ monthly payments, shop until they drop, and so forth.

Many nurses are supporting adult children who have failed to launch into adulthood. Some female nurses are supporting unemployed or underemployed husbands. Others are paying for their kids' college educations or repaying their own staggering student loan debt, which can exceed $100k.

Cash rules everything around you and I. In other words, the nurse who is miserable isn't realistically going anywhere if (s)he has become accustomed to the income level this profession provides.

My best friend was a social worker and case manager prior to becoming a nurse. She earned less than $30k as a social worker, but now earns $90k as a nurse. Although she dislikes nursing, her lifestyle and personal tastes have crept upward: traveling, luxury cars, designer clothing, hair and nails done weekly, etc. She tells me there's no way she'd take a pay cut to leave nursing.

In addition, it is hard to leave nursing when the last 10+ years of your job history lists nothing but nursing jobs. Hiring managers in non-nursing professions are sometimes leery of hiring former nurses, so just 'getting out of the way' is a simple solution for a complex problem IMHO.

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Specializes in Short Term/Skilled.

OP, you have to realize that once someone has a license that DQs them for many jobs--CNA, cashier type jobs (due to being overqualified and thinking they will leave if they got a job as a nurse)

Sorry to get off topic, OP.

I really don't think CNA's should be compared to cashiers. Yes, its entry-level and indeed when you're a nurse you are over-qualified for both jobs but being a CNA is much harder and takes much more skill than being a cashier.

I just needed to point that out. I understand CNAs are un-licenced, but they are also professionals and not anyone can do it.

Yes, I am a CNA, lol.

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