I would like to first say that I come from a family full of nurses, both sides (so I've seen the fight to show that nursing is a professional field first-hand, 1970's onward).
I also have factory worker relatives, and I have respect for hard working people. I am not trying to diss on someone who works in a factory -- it's difficult and honest work. It's not an easy way to make ends meet.
However, where I live in Ohio, something strange is happening. All the trade schools, community colleges and even some universities are push, push, pushing displaced factory and auto workers into nursing due to (you guessed it) "guaranteed employment, plenty of jobs etc." (yeah, RIGHT!)
There's practically an LPN or RN evening/weekend program on every corner, and all the websites show a guy (God forbid they show a female nurse) who lost his job in the auto plant last week in scrubs, putting up an IV or something like that (you should surf the web and see some for yourselves!). Some of these guys look kind of unkempt or need a shave (sorry, not trying to be mean!).
Of course I am very happy for someone who gets a new career in this terrible recession, and works hard to earn a nursing credential. That deserves recognition and respect. But sometimes I wonder if the profession of nursing, which has fought so hard since the 1970's to be considered a white-collar, professional occupation, is going to suffer a big image hit due to these fly-by-night colleges PUSHING "get your RN, get your LPN, make money" to literally everyone with a pulse and then flooooooding the market.
There are lots of news stories up here in Ohio that contribute to this image of "Anyone can do it! Easy money!" They always interview a guy who barely graduated from high school, got laid off from the factory, uses poor grammar, and now he almost has his RN license.
Again -- that's is wonderful for him, and I respect that. If he can pass the courses and the tests, kudos to him! He deserves his success! But it worries me that this situation is going to make nursing look like a non-professional occupation in the future.
People should not go into anything just for the money, especially nursing. You need to have a passion. There are no sure-fire recession-proof jobs anymore; it really doesn't matter what you choose in college (I know first-hand due to a derailed librarian career that was booming in 2000). So, choose your calling!
I hope I did not offend anyone. I just wonder what will happen in the future. My aunt was the head nurse in a large hospital in Columbus, and she was one of those people who fought like hell to let people know that nursing is a professional medical occupation -- not a glorified bottom-wiping job!
Nurses know as much or MORE than doctors. I worry that people are going to forget this.
I thought the OP made a good point. And as for the "nursing shortage" I want to know what's going to happen when the recession is over? I think the next "shortage" is going to be different because there are more nurses than ever graduating than in past shortages. There are way more nursing programs than in the past. I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was thinking about changing her major to nursing she can be "guaranteed a job with a sign-on bonus" I said wow arent you out of touch:smackingf..LoL
In Ohio, it is "everyone with a pulse". It only takes a hand that works to sign up on the admission papers. There are no pre-req's required for LPN, only a GED/HS and money to pay tuition. At one LPN school, they give the applicants the actual pre-entrance test plus the answers, two hours before they give the actual test ... not a joke.
Be anxious about nothing. Let your soul be at peace because you really have no control as it is God who is in control. We really can not do anything about the nursing degree promotion. Anyone going into nursing for money and not having the heart for it will either flunk right out of school or will not make it very far in their careers. Stop worrying. This is really out of your control. We might actually get some good nurses out of this and improve our health care systems. .
You know, I used to think this way. I used to think that people who had absolutely no business pursuing a career in Nursing would be weeded out b/c they couldn't make it through the program or couldn't pass the boards...BUT THEN I worked in a Nursing Home and witnessed some of the worst atrocities...committed by Nurses! I used to be so optimistic before I worked there but then I was rudely awakened to the way the Real World operates. Nothing happened to the Nurses who stood by and watched patients be verbally and physically abused...even after I alerted management (Ha! How naive could I be?!) and made anonymous calls to the BON. One nurse actually received a promotion and became the DON...and 3 yrs later, she still is.
It's nice and so peaceful to view the world through rose-colored glasses but sometimes those glasses get a little foggy.
FTR I don't take offense to the OP. I just disagree with it. I happen to think that some of those "fly by night" places may turn out more than a few good, albeit scruffy, RNs. Will they turn out some possible not so great ones? Sure. But so will the top notch college programs. The only difference may be that the top notch program may turn out a 20-something year old RN who can afford a super nice suit to their interview and the 'lesser' program may turn out a 40 something year old RN with 3 kids and a husband (or wife) who got laid off who picks their suit up at Goodwill.
Is it a shame that these places may be selling jobs that don't exist? Yeah. But that wasn't the entire point of the OP either. And really, have you looked at other job markets? Because around here an RN is probably more likely to get a job than someone in say, construction. For example, I just landed a second med/surg job. My hospital hired 6 new grads last year and another 4 this year. Now my husband, who worked over 14 years in construction with the same company, has been out of work since October of 2008 and can't even get a job at McDonalds. If he could stand the sight of blood you better believe I'd tell him to go to NS myself.
Good afternoon, I am not too sure I understand you correctly. To become an RN, even at the associate level, it requires a profound understanding of the human body and it's functions. So someone who obtains their license by passing the NCLEX deserves to be a nurse, no matter what their history is. Nursing is a profession that NEEDS persons from all walks of life. As a nurse you will encounter many different people from many different cultures,economic status and beliefs. We need that same diversity with our nursing staff. I can understand that you do not want someone who is not interested as much in caring for the patient as they are interested in getting a "fat check", I too feel that nursing is one area that caring should be #1. But there will always be people that do not care they way they should, but I am sure with enough time in the profession they may start looking for another job..and not in nursing. Try to be more "open" about these individuals you may be surprized and come to find out that some will make great nurses.
THANK YOU!!! I totally agree with everything you said- I also worry about the inegrity of the profession remaining intact- Regardless of where a person comes from, NOT EVERYONE IS CUT OUT TO BE A NURSE, DANGIT!
I am sick to death of everyone who is having trouble with their current profession seeing nursing as a "catch-all" for them to go on for steady employment
And this is probably inviting flaming or hate towards me, but I'm gonna say it:
I want people in this profession who are inventive, creative people who in addition to being able to pass NCLEX will be trying to find ways to advance the profession of nursing by trying ways to make nursing more autonomous through independent nursing intervention actions
"But it worries me that this situation is going to make nursing look like a non-professional occupation in the future."
While it may be true that there are a ton of these "fly-by-night" schools pushing for NS, I know for a fact that no hospital will even entertain the idea of hiring these individuals, at least where I live. With all the hiring freezes and the competitive nature of the nursing market, students who graduate from such programs are at a major disadvantage when it comes time to apply for a job. It is really naive to think that just because you graduated from NS, you're going to have a job waiting for you. It is VERY competitive out there and just like any other job you have to separate yourself from the crowd. You must be willing to put in your time to develop working relationships and perhaps take on "lesser" roles to earn your stripes. As one recruiter at a local hospital told me, this is the first year that they have hired in-house only.
I stoped at the gas station the other day and the lady behind the counter was asking me questions about nursing and cena. She wanted to know what the difference was between nurses and cenas, how hard it was to become either of these professions. I explained the differences and that it depended on the program or school she choose to attend. Then she stated, "I want to get another job but I don't want a hard one." I said that this isn't the career for her then. She was like, but you just said that becoming a cena wasn't that hard. Becoming a cena is not that hard I believe, but being a cena is very hard both physically and emotionally.
I don't know about other places, but here at Michigan Works, they have a list of professions for ppl to look at and what the starting pay is. I know that here in my area the starting pay for cenas is around $10/hr and LPN is around $15/hr, alot of ppl pick cena/nursing work for that pay.
There will always be ppl in it for the pay, but I like to think that those of us who really care for our residents (even the grumpy ones ) and for our profession out numbers those who are in it for the money.
) and for our profession out numbers those who are in it for the money.
hopefulabby
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