Everyone seems to be turning to nursing. I remember way back when (5 years ago) when nursing was a calling. There were still other jobs a person could do and make a living--like heating and air conditioning. Now nursing is a lifeboat--a recesion-proof job that anyone and everyone is considering.
I see post after post in here of people who have no experience, no particular desire, and no particular aptitude for nursing inquiring about nursing as a job. They need something to pay the bills. I just went to a restaurant tonight, and two of our waiters are starting nursing school.
Let's face it, with the coming depression, nursing wages are attractive. So here's a prediction, please tell me if you agree or disagree:
Nursing boards will start requiring a 4-year degree to sit for the NCLEX.
The Nursing shortage is going to end in about 3 years; in five there will be a glut of nurses and getting a job will be about like getting a job as an NP is now.
Travel agencies will cease to exist and agency nursing will go the way of the way of the dinosaur.
Without unions, hospitals will force nurses to take about 14 patients a shift and will simply fire those who won't do it.
Specializes in ICU,HOME HEALTH, HOSPICE, HEALTH ED.
We don't need martyrs. We need qualified nurses!
Of course you are correct RNsRWe. However, there's a lot of sh-- to put up with in the field. It is a culture which may make one feel they are 'martyrs' or 'called' as to explain why they stay. Yes, it takes some smarts to get through the training and exams. And more learning as we practice. It also takes personal commitment to stick it out when there are poor working conditions: shifts that interfere with family, holidays, weekends and the often over-bearing hierarchy in organizations. Then there is the part about learning to set appropriate boundaries, so burnout isn't so likely. No training on that in Nursing school. And, yes, caring, giving personalities are often drawn to the helping professions so, you see why martyrdom attitude could develop...
Still, it is important to remember that there are countless tried and failed college coursework, in every field of study. Perhaps Nursing is thought to be a degree "most could master", but it has changed dramatically over the years. My mother was a nurse. She like to sit and compare what I do in my nursing career with what she did during her nursing career. She said things like "Oh Honey, you could have gone on to be a doctor with all that...we never did any of that..."
In some countries nursing is still much the same as in mom's day; and nurses are not viewed as professionals, as we are. We do draw nurses from other countries and cultures. It might be interesting to hear how those cultures view their nurses in their countries of origin. But that is another thread for another day...
Perhaps a bit off topic, but I don't see nursing as a "calling". It IS a job. Whether you do that job well, however, is up to you--your abilities and desires to do that job well.
I'm always a bit taken aback by the whole "angels of mercy" thinking---I'm not a nun, nor an angel, and I definitely don't do this because I had some time to kill and felt like helping people. I do this because I'm good at it, and it pays well. Helping people is a nice perk, but not the reason I chose to go into the field.
I hear you, though I do believe nursing is a calling. That is, bedside nursing is a calling. I'm not talking religion here, but few people are cut out to be nurses.
Funny how most any doctor will tell you he/she expects to make alot of money and gain a certain status, and won't tell you he/she chose medicine to "help people"--and yet nurses are expected to have that very viewpoint.
I want both. I want to make as much as I can while helping people. Besides, who says one has to like their particular calling. I think God called me to be a nurse. It took me 4 1/2 years to come to rest with that. Now, I am happy. Then I was on Lexapro.
I think "the wrong reaons" for going into nursing would include thinking it was an easy paycheck, or something 'anybody' could do. It isn't on both counts. But if someone chooses to go into nursing because he needs a good, steady job AND has the ability to do it well, more power to him.
I think the crux of our disagreement (if there is one) would be on what constitutes to "do it well." I believe that term includes having the desire to care for people, given that is what the nursing profession concerns itself with.
I find it surprising how many people ignore all the stats and figures and just take the "there will always be plenty of jobs in nursing" attitude.
Also, I would say that nursing does not always entail enjoying caring for/helping others.
I have cared for some pts whom I cannot stand, and who are awful people to be around. I don't enjoy caring for them at all, but I still do my best for them as part of my personal ethics, and my motivation to always do an excellent job.
For me, nursing is not a calling, but it is something I am compelled to do- for some reason.
I find it surprising how many people ignore all the stats and figures and just take the "there will always be plenty of jobs in nursing" attitude.
Unfortunately, stats and figures can be skewed to say what you want them to say, regardless fo which side of the argument you are trying to make.
I, personally, believe that any healthcare job is fairly secure. Not everyone is cut out to deal with vomit, feces, sputum, urine, gangrenous wounds, blood, guts, whining pts, and a fast-paced,very physical career.
Unfortunately, stats and figures can be skewed to say what you want them to say, regardless fo which side of the argument you are trying to make.
I, personally, believe that any healthcare job is fairly secure. Not everyone is cut out to deal with vomit, feces, sputum, urine, gangrenous wounds, blood, guts, whining pts, and a fast-paced,very physical career.
You must not live where I live!
Lots of unemployed nurses and nurses who commute several hours a day to other areas to work, low wages, poor working conditions. I also know several nurses who work two or three part-time jobs with no bennies, because that's all they can find.
That may be true, but there are lots of people that can't handle it. My husband vomits if he has to see that stuff. I have to be very careful about what I discuss with him regarding school/clinical experiences.
As far as the shortage, around here, there are about 10 nursing schools in the area, and I still see tons of job listings for CNAs, LPNs, and RNs. There are 5 major hospitals in my town, not to mention ambulatory and emergent care centers in the smaller surrounding towns, with 2 more opening in the next 2 years.
So I guess location matters. I don't think I'll have trouble finding a job. Sounds like maybe you live in an area with fewer health care centers?
There are three hospitals, and three nursing schools here. There has been a surplus of nurses as long as anyone can remember. Mass, and NJ seem to have a nursing glut, as well.
(My mother was a nurse. She like to sit and compare what I do in my nursing career with what she did during her nursing career. She said things like "Oh Honey, you could have gone on to be a doctor with all that...we never did any of that..." )
No, we never did ANY of that because they had not invented ANY of the processes then. I did not have training on kidney dialysis, nor was the concept mentioned, yet I was able many years later to work with a dialysis patient in his home and learn the technique/ process and be successful--goes back to flexability and a devotion to life long learning. Rehab3
Nothing is going to produce entire industries like the internet did.
I disagree. I think there is a great opportunity for us to create a whole new advancement that could bring us back up again. I think alternative energy is where the future is. Getting off of foreign oil and creating new technologies in solar, wind, or water to create the energy that powers our homes, cars, everything. Think about the jobs that could be created in this whole new industry. This would be way bigger than the internet. You say there is "nothing that we need or want". This is something we need and want; To get off of foriegn oil (or oil all together), help the environment, create jobs, make money, stimulate the economy........
I can't remember the details but I do remember reading one of those trivia books which stated that the head of the Patents office resigned stating that everything important had already been invented. This didn't happen recently, it was the 1880's.
We don't know what technologies or new industries are over the horizon, we can just hang on and enjoy the ride as best we can.
I disagree. I think there is a great opportunity for us to create a whole new advancement that could bring us back up again. I think alternative energy is where the future is. Getting off of foreign oil and creating new technologies in solar, wind, or water to create the energy that powers our homes, cars, everything. Think about the jobs that could be created in this whole new industry. This would be way bigger than the internet. You say there is "nothing that we need or want". This is something we need and want; To get off of foriegn oil (or oil all together), help the environment, create jobs, make money, stimulate the economy........
Alternative energy? You must be joking. I have a 2005 F-250 crew cab diesel fully loaded. I pull my RV with it, and anything else I want to pull. With nothing in the bed and no RV. I can hit the gas pedal and after ten minutes or so (a joke all diesel owners will understand) I can accelerate past just about any car on the freeway. It's extremely powerful. And while I understand that trains are actually powered by electric motors, they have to have really big diesel engines to run the generators to make the electricity to run the electric motors. Green will never be an industry. At least not until they outlaw oil.
Of course I'm being deliberately flippant, but my point is that in order to end the economic conditions the market has to produce a product that people must have--or think they must have. I get a gallon of deisel for 2.59. Why would I ever by an electric car?
By the way, my main mode of transport to and from work is a motorcycle that gets 50 miles to the gallon. I love it way more than my truck.
Lesson: make an electric car that can go 400 miles on a charge at 90 miles an hour and hit speeds of 130 miles an hour. Make one that can go 200 miles on a charge and pull a 7000 pound trailer at 70 miles an hour, and make that charge take a mere 15 minutes. Then make the first one sell for 10,000 dollars. Then and only then, will green make the market.
finn11707
141 Posts
Of course you are correct RNsRWe. However, there's a lot of sh-- to put up with in the field. It is a culture which may make one feel they are 'martyrs' or 'called' as to explain why they stay. Yes, it takes some smarts to get through the training and exams. And more learning as we practice. It also takes personal commitment to stick it out when there are poor working conditions: shifts that interfere with family, holidays, weekends and the often over-bearing hierarchy in organizations. Then there is the part about learning to set appropriate boundaries, so burnout isn't so likely. No training on that in Nursing school. And, yes, caring, giving personalities are often drawn to the helping professions so, you see why martyrdom attitude could develop...
Still, it is important to remember that there are countless tried and failed college coursework, in every field of study. Perhaps Nursing is thought to be a degree "most could master", but it has changed dramatically over the years. My mother was a nurse. She like to sit and compare what I do in my nursing career with what she did during her nursing career. She said things like "Oh Honey, you could have gone on to be a doctor with all that...we never did any of that..."
In some countries nursing is still much the same as in mom's day; and nurses are not viewed as professionals, as we are. We do draw nurses from other countries and cultures. It might be interesting to hear how those cultures view their nurses in their countries of origin. But that is another thread for another day...