Changing major to Nursing

You are not alone. I got my bachelors degree in Education and decided to go back to school for nursing. I got into a program and I'm so excited it doesn't matter what my past is. We got to move on.

Engineering then chemistry.

Wish I had gone into nursing a long time.

Yesterday's in the rearview mirror, tomorrow's in the windshield.

Is there any way I can speak with you about your experiences as a nurse without flooding the thread? I really want an experienced nurse's opinion/views on things.

Is there any way I can speak with you about your experiences as a nurse without flooding the thread? I really want an experienced nurse's opinion/views on things.

You OK sharing the questions you sent to me? I'm OK sharing my answers.

Others can benefit. Let me know... I won't share the private discussion without your consent. You will benefit from hearing some other views... Mine are atypical. Let me know if you are OK with sharing.

You are not alone. I switched from wanting to be a Physician Assistant, Computer Engineer, Computer Science, to finally settling on Information Technology and Informatics.

Went back to school several years later to become an RN. I absolutely wished I had gone this route earlier. I would have had more than a decade worth of experience at this point in my career.

Yeah, you can share all of my questions, I don't mind. It'd be nice to help other people contemplating becoming a nurse too

With permission:

To facilitate timely interaction, you can e-mail me at xxx

I will post some answers here but I'm not here frequently enough to permit a back/forth dialog.

1. I've been reading so much about how stressful being a nurse is, how not worth it investing the time and money into becoming a nurse is, and that a lot of nurses want to leave but feel trapped by their degrees. How do you feel about the stress levels of being a nurse? Do you feel it's one of the most stressful jobs out there? And if so, do you feel the stress is manageable?

Well, I'm of the firm opinion that the experience of others doesn't predict that of myself and, as I've posted, I am pleased to have made the jump to nursing.

Why?

Quite simply... I have an excellent job as an ER RN working for a large, unionized hospital where I make over $54/hr, have good benefits, good job security, and a defined-benefit pension. Sure, I like the people I work with and I think most would say I'm an excellent nurse but I am here primarily for the job... it's not my calling, my hobby, my mission or anything of the sort... it is my job.

Trapped: Yep, you're not going to take a degree in nursing and do anything beyond being a nurse *of some sort.* There's the rub, though... once you've got some years under your belt, there are about a billion different ways to be a nurse... bedside (ED, ICU, floor, OR... all very unique), education (nurses or patients), insurance claims, insurance physicals, home health, technical sales, technical instruction, advice, school... and on and on and on.

Stress: I don't find it to be any more stressful than some of my other (engineering) jobs. Yes, lives are on the line and yes, we're busy as sin... but that's really no big deal to me.

Stress comes from not knowing whether you'll be employed next year... and that stress is removed from me in my present position.

2. I've also read a lot about burn out in the nursing field, have you experienced this?

Seen it, yes... experienced it, no. Again, I'm here for the work... it's work, it's not intended to be a pleasure cruise. Some would reply that I've only been a nurse for 5 years so I don't know... but I'm 50 years old and I do know myself... I just don't see burnout on the horizon.

I think it is precisely because it's not my mission but rather my job. As I often say, "I've done worse things for less money."

Some patients touch me and I genuinely care but for the most part, they're just widgets on the assembly line. I do my very, very best for each widget but I'm not at all invested emotionally and I don't really care if they like me or not. That said, most of them do... I get lots and lots of compliments... even from people that I genuinely dislike. Why? Because I don't need to LIKE the widget as a condition of MAKING a good widget.

3. What are the hours/shifts like for you as a bedside nurse? Do you get the 12 hour shifts?

I'm scheduled 3x12 per week... Biweekly, I try to turn 12's into 16's once or twice and pull another 12... OT rocks!! (Remember, I'm here for the money).

I LOVE 12 hour shifts... get in, get done... once I'm going to work, the day's a bust so I may as well stay.

4. How hard was nursing school for you? I'm a shy person and feel like clinicals are going to be hard on me.

Conceptually, nursing school is a breeze... easier than my chemistry program and way, way easier than my engineering program.

So long as you're not pathologically shy, it shouldn't be an issue. Recognize, though, that it's a hands-on-naked-people kind of gig... I see wangs and hoo-hoos every shift... I wipe people's butts... I clean up their puke... you gotta get over it.

5. How do you feel about the job pay? Is it enough for you to sustain a good quality of life? I'm from the midwest (Indiana) so the cost of living is a lot cheaper here compared to the west, keep that in mind.

Yep, the money in the big hospitals is very good. With OT, I pulled down $180,000 in 2013...

6. Do you recommend I try to complete my BSN while I'm working as a RN with my ADN? Or go straight after my ADN for my BSN before working as a RN? I know the BSN is becoming more required in Nursing positions, especially for new grads.

That's a regional thing... that said, my hospital only hires BSN/MSN nurses... *only.* Some of the other local joints haven't followed suit. If ADNs are getting hired locally, go for that. In my opinion, though, options are good and a BSN will present you with more of them.

7. Would you recommend I join Nursing because I want to help people? I keep reading that most nurses don't have enough time per patient to actually feel like they make much of a difference in their lives.

You know, I'm not the right guy to ask... remember, I'm a "money" nurse, not a "calling" nurse. That said, most floor nurses in the hospitals have little time to spend with their patients... it's generally very tasky. The ICU folks have more time but a lot of their patients are intubated or diminished.

I'm an ED guy and it really varies. Sometimes I have time to really educate and advocate but often not. Of course, I'm more about saving their butts and keeping 'em alive long enough for someone else to do that stuff. I love the short-term relationships of the ED.

Frankly, I derive more satisfaction from helping out my colleagues and working with residents (docs-in-training) than I do from the vast majority of my widgets.

So... I don't know if that really helps but there you have it.

If you want to keep on with the dialog, e-mail me...

More to follow in the next post...

1. You said you wipe butts and clean up puke, is that a daily thing? I thought CNAs were the ones who deal mostly with that type of patient care.[/Quote]

In the ED it's not a routine thing... but... it happens. How often? Maybe every few shifts. The folks on the floors deal with it more. In our facility, though, our bathroom options are very limited so we end up using bedside commodes which the nurse have to empty.

We don't have CNAs in the ED... most don't. Even on the floors, there generally aren't enough CNAs to relieve the nurses of that role.

2. How much treatment do nurses actually give patients? As far as medical procedures, and not just making sure they're comfortable.[/Quote]

It depends what you want to call treatment. IVs... all the time, urinary catheters, regularly, nasogastric tubes, sometimes... meds... all the time... wound care... regularly

We're nurses, not docs... we're not doing the glamor stuff like intubating or decompressing pneumothoraces.

3. How easy was it for you to land a job as an RN once you graduated? Probably easier than new grads who don't have other job experience, but I keep reading about how new grads can't find jobs. Is it because of the economy or is it just their lack of determination to work hard to find that job?[/Quote]

This is a tough one, with a thousand answers. For me, I landed *a* job right away... but it was pretty lame... it paid terribly, had scant benefits, was >200 miles from my wife and kid, and offered limited experience because of the limited patient base. I was of the mindset that I simply needed *any* job and I was prepared to do almost anything to get it.

I ended up in the right place/right time when someone quit at their tiny ER and, with only a year in, they let me have the job (I wasn't ready at all but I wasn't going to say 'no') I floundered my way through it but (a) worked hard, (b) studied my butt off, and © forged good relationships and managed to. After about 18 months in that ER, I got a part-time job in another small ER... After 2+ ED years, 3+ total... I got my present position which is a very good one.

The problem with new grads is multifaceted. Certainly the economy hasn't helped... it's caused some contraction, but also kept experienced nurses in the workplace longer (me, I'm planning to work until 70)... and created some difficult competition... I was competing for jobs as a 44 year old man with a long, broad, varied, and successful work history - and broadly educated; some of my competitors were 23 year olds who'd never held a job with more responsibility than flipping burgers or ringing up a cash register.

That said, I work with a bunch of young 20-somethings who've made it through school and found excellent work. There's no guarantee but honestly, while there are some top-notch people in nursing, it's just not that difficult to become a nurse and there are a lot of people that I deemed lesser competition.

4. Do you encounter any form of abuse at your job? Verbal, physical, etc. People keep saying on all nurses that there is a lack of respect for nurses, and that other medical professionals get mad at them and holler.[/Quote]

Regularly, unfortunately... but not from docs or nurses (some of the ICU nurses are pretty rude to us ED types but that's a subset... some of them are excellent colleagues, too)... The abuse comes from the patients. I've been hit, kicked, spit on... had people try to bite me, head butt me, and gouge me. I've been called all kinds of foul names. I've been threatened and had my family threatened.

The more serious events are relatively uncommon but among the 100-some nurses in my department, I'd guess it happens at least a few times per week.

5. How willing are your fellow nurses to help you when you get really busy with patients?[/Quote]

Completely... and what goes around comes around... we swim as a team, we sink alone. I work with some really terrific people... docs and nurses. As I think I said before, they provide more satisfaction than do most of my 'widgets.'

That is one of the most informational posts I've ever read here. Honestly. It gets hard to hear about everybody's "calling". Yes, I have a goal with nursing (shortest, cheapest, best paid route to a CDE), but I'm far from "called" to it. I'm in it for a very specific field (which I have two offers in post graduation) and the money. It is refreshing to hear that that is okay. Thank you.

Wow, I would have never guessed patients threaten and try to harm you physically/mentally, it would be assumed that they come to the hospital to get help, not harm those trying to help them.

Yeah, you'd think so.

Of course, keep in mind that some of them are there against their will, too. They're intoxicated or having an acute psychiatric episode and they do not want to be with us.

And then there are just the volatile cabezas-de-nalgas... you see 'em on the road all the time cutting people off, flipping the bird, yelling and screaming, tailgating... and occasionally shooting... When these folks don't get *what* they want, *when* they want it... they act out.

1. Do you ever press charges if they lay hands on you? I'm not sure how the hospital/clinic handles that type of occurrence.

Well, it's not really up to me... it's up to the District Attorney... and they're not generally interested unless it was a serious case. That said, we always call the cops and I always insist on them filing a report. We have no mechanism to follow up, though.

There have a been a couple of cases where charges have been brought by the DA and convictions obtained... it's pretty rare, though.

2. With nothing but financial security/stability in mind, would you recommend nursing to potential students? I admire your perspective on nursing, the way you leave it at your job and not let it spill over into your personal life, I hope I'll be able to handle it the same.

Yeah, I would... if you're ready to compete for a limited number of good jobs. That's no different than any other line of work, though.

That said, I'm pushing my kid in the math/science/technology direction... the education and experience is a great prep for nursing so she can always follow dad's footsteps should she choose.

3. During your first year of working, did you feel incompetent and like you were going to make a mistake costing someone their life? It's scary to think about giving a patient the wrong medication or the wrong dosage when you're running behind with tons of other patients to take care of as well.

No. I'm not incompetent and I've never felt that way. I did feel inexperienced and ill-prepared for some situations but part of being competent was recognizing my own limitations. I'd started many new jobs prior to nursing and I know how the first 6 months go... it's a stressful time of every new job... and worse once you're experienced (because they expect more of you).

I don't find it scary for some reason... even now that I have made a serious mistake that *could* easily have cost somebody their life. I am competent, I am careful, I am considerate, I am cautious... and now I'm experienced in that, too. Of course, my engineering days came with some very high-stakes decisions which, if wrong, could've cost somebody their life... I've seen it firsthand... as an engineer and picking up the pieces in the ED.

4. How tough is it to transform your brain into thinking like a nurse does? I mean, I have no medical experience whatsoever, and I'll have to learn dosage calculations, A&P, etc. I've never been great with science, and I have a feeling it's going to get really tough in Nursing School, as far as the course material covering medical procedures go, whenever nurses talk in medical terms I get completely lost.

"Thinking like a nurse..." has always bothered me, as though there's some unique or special thought process that nurses go through... and there's not. Now keep in mind, I had a huge body of professional experience and education before I ever became a nurse so I'm hardly typical. Nursing is about an ongoing consideration of risk (likelihood and severity), optimization, and resource constraints.

Dosage calculations are simple 6th-grade math... ratios, proportions, unit conversions... very simple stuff. Unless you've got a math learning disability, it just shouldn't be an issue.

Nothing in nursing school was that difficult conceptually. I found the challenge to be priamrily one of volume, pace, and stakes. There was a ton of material, it never slowed down (I was in an accelerated program), and if we bombed a class we were disenrolled... and the next cohort was two years behind us...

Medical terminology is primarily a matter of learning Latin and Greek roots and then applying them to pre-existing knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology... unless you're talking about equipment... then it's primarily referred to by the name of the doc who invented it or the company who's making it... and that's a pain.

5. When you first started working as a nurse, did having to do some of the daily job activities bother you like cleaning up after patients, IVs, blood drawing, etc? I don't exactly like needles or blood, but I feel like maybe it's something you can get over with experience.

A little. I used to be very squeamish... seriously, I gagged repeatedly the first time I had to change my baby's diaper... and I got very light-headed and pale ("vagaled") a couple times in nursing school... now... nothing bothers me. I recently was eating a snack in a closed room in which was happening an escharotomy (basically, they use a soldering iron to burn incisions into the patient's skin... room filled with the stench of burning flesh)... At that point, I concluded that I'd 'arrived.'

Needles ain't no thing... we're on the blunt end... so what's the problem?

daetor2012 asked about burnout and it hit me while I was reading my reply...

I would get burned out by being a greeter at Wal*Mart or standing at the grill at McDonalds... I'd be thinking, "this sucks and I'm getting paid jack."

Doing what I'm doing? Nah.

At some point my body won't tolerate the hustle but (a) "use it or lose it" and (b) I'll hope to transition into a less taxing role as I'm less physically tolerant of the rigors... and there are a bunch of roles in my department and associated with it.

daetor2012 asked about burnout and it hit me while I was reading my reply...

I would get burned out by being a greeter at Wal*Mart or standing at the grill at McDonalds... I'd be thinking, "this sucks and I'm getting paid jack."

Doing what I'm doing? Nah.

At some point my body won't tolerate the hustle but (a) "use it or lose it" and (b) I'll hope to transition into a less taxing role as I'm less physically tolerant of the rigors... and there are a bunch of roles in my department and associated with it.

What other areas do you consider less physically taxing? I've heard LTC facilities and clinics aren't as demanding as hospitals.