Getting into Nursing Just to Get a JOB!!

[allison_lpn]

I'm a nurse and I've ALWAYS wanted to be a nurse. I decided to be a nurse because I am a nurturer by nature. I absolutely love taking care of people and doing my part to make them feel better when they are feeling their worst.

I am having a problem with the fact that so many people are deciding to get into the medical/health field, just so that they can get a paycheck. This job is one that requires not only talent, but especially heart. It will be interesting to see where the industry goes over the next few years as people get into nursing that don't belong there. I see all the time the media pushing that people go into healthcare, because it is uncrushable. Because no matter what is going on with the economy we still need clinicians. But how qualified are they? And what will happen when the economy bounces back and those people go back to their high paying executive jobs.

I know this is going to have an impact on the ability to get into nursing school as well...because you have that many more people applying, therefore making the waitlists even longer.

:twocents:This is just something I've been thinking about lately!! I'm interested to find out what other people think!!

[Lovely_RN, MSN]

I actually bust out laughing when I read this.

If you dislike your job so much you can always go back to doing something else...I'm tired of people using the same old example of McDonalds,it is like people who come from different countries complaining how US sucks,this is not a jail just like nursing isnt so you are free to get out...

Thanks for the lecture...that's also another great thing about America opinions are like a certain part of the anatomy everyone has one and yours counts for just as much as mine does.

It's amazing how self-righteous some nursing students can be. You're not in nursing for the right reasons (those "right" having been defined by me the nursing student) so you don't deserve to be a nurse and I DO. Whether you think someone should or shouldn't be in nursing is irrelevant because you aren't the gatekeeper of the profession and with NO experience except what you've acquired in clinical you don't really have a good idea of what it takes to make a good nurse.

Trust me for all my trash talk I do my job very thoroughly and the residents never see this side of me. These days I work a bit less and I float and when I see a resident who isn't on the floor I'm currently working they ask Ms. _________ when are you coming to my floor? I have never been disciplined or had a family make a complaint about my work. In addition I have graduated from NS, passed the NCLEX, and fulfilled all of the requirements of my states licensing board. Sorry but when I was filling out my application for my LPN license and just recently my RN license I didn't see any questions about why I was becoming a nurse nor did I see any disclaimers stating that giving the wrong answer would result in a denial of my license. :icon_roll

[nicurn001]

The arguement , that if you don't like something , stop moaning and go is a spurious arguement . Some of the greatest changes in this country have come about by people who did not accept their present circumstances , the best examples of this I can think of are women seeking the ability to vote and African Americans seeking equality . If either of those groups had shut up , this would be a very different country . This is also relevant to people who come from a different country , they have seen how other societies work , they recognise both the good and bad of the USA , one of those good's is freedom of expression , so if they feel they have seen something being done better in other countries they can say so . It does not mean they think America is terrible , or that they should get out ,because maybe their insight could , as it has in the past help this country develop further , remeber after all this is a country of immigrants .

[EastBayCAStudent]

This is getting a little heated, and I just want to point out that we can't generalize about people who say they are "called" to nursing and those who chose it because they thought it was a good career move. There are certainly a million different personalities out there, and good and bad nurses mixed among both groups.

The only difference is that those who say they are "called" to nursing felt at one time or another (maybe when they were very young) that it was the right choice. Those who chose later decided more logically, maybe later in life.

Either way, to get into nursing requires the person is determined enough to commit time and energy toward their education. The education determines if someone is worthy of being entrusted with patient healthcare, not some "feeling." The nurse's behavior after being hired determines if they are worthy of staying a nurse.

One may argue that a person who is enamored with the idea of being a nurse from a young age might be a better nurse, but I don't buy it. Infatuation often dies down in the face of reality.

I'm not saying one group is better than the other, I'm saying we can't generalize.

[Fiona59]

Each to his own,however due to the high stress level,crazy patient acuity,physical demands,disrespect,no-so great pay,other risks it is hard for me to imagine why on earth someone with complete lack of interest,no people skils choose nursing profession,seriously.

I think it would be better to sit behind the desk sipping on coffee and flipping the pgs of victoria secret catalog.

I work with the new grad that you described. Last to arrive for report, first to leave for breaks and at the end of a shift. Rooms are a disaster, patients have complained, co-workers are complaining, but until she fails her exam again, we're stuck with her. We've even found her sitting watching TV in vacant rooms when every call bell is ringing and transfers are arriving on the unit.

Her first degree didn't give her marketable skills, but the high grades got her into nursing school. We mentored her long and hard during her placements with us but noted that she had issues that needed to be addressed in order to pass the course. Well, our manager went on holiday and guess who got hired? Yup she has a pulse and a degree and an interim licence...

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

NewCareer4Me, I think that is the best I have heard anyone put it!

[EastBayCAStudent]

:thankya:

thanks! lol @ this smiley.

[blue note]

This is getting a little heated, and I just want to point out that we can't generalize about people who say they are "called" to nursing and those who chose it because they thought it was a good career move. There are certainly a million different personalities out there, and good and bad nurses mixed among both groups.

Very true. However, I do want to point out that those who go into nursing because it is a good career choice (for a number of reasons, not only or necessarily because they feel the "calling") don't feel the need to question the motives, competence, and even character of other nurses. Like that poster who actually called these nurses "creepy."

Isn't it rather ironic that some of these "called to nursing" nurses think they are more caring but in the same breath, are also self-righteous, presumptuous and even insulting to other "it's a career choice" nurses. Guess that "we're more caring" attitude only applies to patients. :icon_roll

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

If you dislike your job so much you can always go back to doing something else...I'm tired of people using the same old example of McDonalds,it is like people who come from different countries complaining how US sucks,this is not a jail just like nursing isnt so you are free to get out...

Pretty bold statement from someone who is not a nurse and has zero nursing experience.

[EastBayCAStudent]

You know, since I'm not a nurse yet either but I can apply common sense and life experience to this situation. The bottom line is we can't say one nurse is better than another without looking at her individual work ethic and history.

My statements have come primarily from my observations of my husband as a police officer. He doesn't like the criminals he arrests and interviews. He doesn't like the city he works in. He doesn't like the department for not supporting its' officers when it should. He chose the job more out of a career choice than a "calling." Yet he is an awesome cop, a hard worker, well liked in the department, and NEVER gets rough with suspects. His Sgts choose him over other officers for difficult assignments. He does all this with his logical mind. It's all about the choices you make.

It doesn't mean he doesn't have a heart, he loves his fellow officers like brothers, and he still cries when he comes home sometimes when bad things happen. I don't know what that person was talking about with the "bionic" nurses thing. Nonsense.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

are you kidding? i'm sorry but you cant get brain stimulation from working at mcdonalds.

sure you can. you can do your own personal study of whether people are nicer to you if you smile rather than bark at them, you can upgrade your math skills by adding up totals in your head before pressing the "total" key on the register, you can enhance your time sense by trying to anticipate when the timer on the fries will buzz, you can take on extra responsibilities for ordering, etc. you can stimulate your intellect no matter where you work -- it's just more difficult some places than others.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i'm sorry, but i would rather have a confident, smart, capable nurse who was not "called" into nursing to care for myself or my family than some vapid kid who has the idea that nursing is her "calling" but has not a lick of common sense.

schools should admit the most qualified candidates. if that means someone who does not have the grades to get in but has this so-called calling is left out, then so be it.

you've said exactly what i meant, but said it so much better!

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Believe it or not there are Nurses out there who had a 'calling' to come into nursing who are actually fantastic all round nurses with a caring attitude.