Is it just my idealistic view of what a nurse should be or does this bother other nurses? I have heard several times lately and have read articles of people who are going to nursing school, not because they want to be a nurse but because they want the paycheck and a stable job. My sister in law is one of these people. She said to me, " I really don't want to be a nurse but I figure that I can work as a nurse while I go back to school." I find that mentality very frustrating. I worked very hard to become a nurse. I worked as a nursing assistant before I became a nurse so I could make sure that I knew what I was getting myself into, I shadowed nurses when I was in high school. I really feel that this is what I was put on this earth to do and to hear people talk like this who have absolutely no concept of what they are getting themselves into and who have no respect for the profession just boils my blood. I feel like these people, who have no intention of staying in nursing for an extended period of time just make it harder for the nursing student who actually wants to make a career of nursing because they take up spaces on the wait list for getting into nursing school.
Maybe some of these people will be excellent nurses and will contribute well to the profession but I personally would not want a nurse to take care of me who only got into the field because they wanted a stable paycheck.
Don't you agree that to do well in nursing you have to have some desire to be here in the first place? These are people's health and lives that we are dealing with. This field isn't just about a paycheck!!!
I know I'm probably being naieve and idealistic when I say this but I really feel that nursing is a calling, not a JOB!!! I've been doing this type of work for going on 10 years now and I have felt that way about it from day 1.
What do you think? Does it bother you that people are getting into nursing who have no desire to actually be a nurse? Just wanting to hear other people's perspectives on the issue.
My sister in law is one of these people. She said to me, " I really don't want to be a nurse but I figure that I can work as a nurse while I go back to school." I find that mentality very frustrating.
You could look at it this way...
Maybe once she is in a program she will have a new understanding and higher level of respect for what you do. Most don't realize what is involved in our job until they have stepped into our shoes. Even if it is just for a little while or with just one toe.
I only read about 14 of the 20 pages of posts, so maybe this has been said already. I think it depends on where you are in your life. When I was 19, with no kids, no car payment, and no mortgage, I had the luxury of doing what I did because I was called to do it and didn't make much money at it. As life continues and I have financial responsibilities, I have to be realistic about making enough money to pay the bills. I did go into nursing because it pays much better than my other job. When we had to write a "touchy feely" essay in nursing school about when we first knew we were called to be a nurse, I really struggled. I am a new nurse, and I find that I have compassion out the wazoo, but am still struggling with perfecting the technical aspects of nursing. It is a hard job. I agree with many who have posted that life is complicated, and compassion and caring about your finances are definitely not mutually exclusive. Does anyone else think this has to do with what stage of life you are in?
As I see it, the profession of nursing is not a job, but a lifestyle. Someone with a "paycheck" attitude might do well for a while, but they will burn out as they find themselves faking it more. I know a few nurses that now sell cars or real estate or ...?
On the other hand, the job shapes you as you progress. A nurse is faced with decisions that test and shape their perceptions and beliefs. This very discussion is not the kind of non-productive activity that a for-the-money nurse would be drawn into. You can't be a nurse without facing what's in your heart. The choice then becomes to adapt or leave. Nurses take a bite of the apple; they lose their innocence. A person that does not embrace what we are and what we do will find that the exit door becomes easy to find. But for those of us that stay, we do so knowing that it never gets any easier. There's no real coasting. New ideas pass through the doors at a dizzying rate, and we are constantly balancing the old and the new. If a person does not want to walk that tight wire, they will discover that no amount of money is enough do do a job you have to fake.
But what if someone comes in to nursing because economic security and stability are attractive, and they find that their heart and mind are tested and challenged -- and rewarded --in ways unexpected? In making the good money, they find that the profession pushes them to the point where they accept gladly the changes in attitude they need to make... well, then the profession of nursing has lost nothing, and that person has truly gained the world.
In short, come on in for the money. Leave if you don't like it. Don't do harm along the way.
The true question is not "would you be nurse for free?", but rather, "what else could you imagine yourself being?"
I agree with an earlier reply, being that what matters is what kind of nurse they become. It is true that some that start out in nursing only for the paycheck turn out be become great nurses because they find that they enjoy it. Thru experience, though, I have found those that go into nursing only for a paycheck and job securiy, and continue to keep that thought, quickly leave the field, or quit while in training!
It seems like if admissions committees were doing their job, people going into nursing only for the money would be screened out. I hear it over and over and over (did I say over??) again- people going into nursing for a stable job in these tough economic times. It is hard not to be wooed into the profession by all the information out there about nursing being one of the few professions with a bright future. Frankly, I think if you go into any line of work- accounting, teaching, carpentry, law, etc. only for the money, you will lose interest and/or burnout. Unfortunately, not many people have jobs where their passion and financial security intersect. My feeling is, someone who is not meant to be a nurse will leave. As long as a person is competent and somewhat compassionate, I have no problem with them going into nursing for the money.
BTW, I guarantee your MD who went into a lucrative subspecialty (neurosurgery, radiology, anesthesiology, etc.) did not go into their line of work for altruistic reasons because if they did, they would have been a family doc. Does this bother you as well??? Does this mean they are any less an MD with skills that help patients???
I have to admit that, a stabe job and a good paycheck was part of the reason that I became a nurse (the other reason being to help people) but, in the same token I also shadowed nurses a made sure I knew what I was getting into and I have since realized (I have been working for 7 years as a nurse) that nursing is a great profession that has limitless opportunities and is about much more than security and money. I don't care how someone got to be a nurse, but I do expect ALL nurses to provide adequate, appropriate and compassionate care regardless. After all they could be in the shoes of the patient someday. I do get irked when I work with people that seem to lack empathy and compassion or have a callous attitude though, but what can you do?
It seems like if admissions committees were doing their job, people going into nursing only for the money would be screened out.
ASSUMING that people going into nursing for the money is wrong. I'm seeing the majority of posts in this thread leaning towards either it's NOT "wrong" or does it really matter as long as they're proficient nurses?
For the record, I'm one of those that played nurse while my sister and cousins played teacher, dancer, etc. I took health occupations I and II in high school and was accepted into Watts after high school (didn't go, but that's another story for another time). Went three quarters of a six quarter program in the early 80s but dropped because DD started having seizures. *Finally* had the opportunity to go back to NS at the ripe old age of 48. Yet I don't profess to be "called" or whatever. It's something I've always wanted to do...I was a top student in my class, performed to the highest standards in clinical, and patients and families love me. But you won't hear me volunteer to do without my pay...I'll gripe with the best of them about being short-staffed...and I don't put up with bullcr*p at work. So which camp am I in??
I'll be the best nurse I can be and leave y'all alone to be the best you can be. Really, does it matter *why* we're nurses??
Yes but they should interview ALL the potential future nursing students for personality traits...just like they they do with a future stewardess candidates.They dont like your smile,you might not be cut of for nursing.
The nursing entrance exam that I took had a personality profile and a learning styles profile. The schools claims that they don't look at either of these as part of admissions. I call BS, but that's for a different thread!
Judging on personality profiles may be borderline discrimination. It may even be illegal as some personalities are influenced by brain chemistry. Many personalities are influenced by mental illnesses.
Should I not be a nurse because I don't always smile? In any case, personality profiles are silly. They can be faked easily. Those that you intend to keep out could easily falsify answers.
I won't argue the fact that employers can hire/not hire based on an interview but I bet they are looking for far more important things. I might not be Type A or a super friendly/excitable/happy go lucky/duh kinda person but that is hardly an indication of my fitness to be a nurse.
I'd take a not so happy competent nurse over a happy go lucky super personality incompetent nurse any day.
Plus, see how fast class action lawsuits hit the moment you try to 'exclude' people with certain personality types.
I am graduated in '07, have been working for a year in advertising, and am thinking about going back to school to pursue nursing as a career. my reasons are two fold: to have a more fulfilling and rewarding career where i'm giving back to the community, and also to have a secure job that pays well. since i plan on sticking with the nursing profession, i don't think it makes a difference whether i wanted to do it since i was in high school or just thought of it now.
however, if someone is doing nursing on a temporary basis.... yes that i disagree with.
rags
265 Posts
You could look at it this way...
Maybe once she is in a program she will have a new understanding and higher level of respect for what you do. Most don't realize what is involved in our job until they have stepped into our shoes. Even if it is just for a little while or with just one toe.
rags