Nursing imagination or reality?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Dear all nurses,

I am interested in nursing because it seems like a job full of variety. You're not stuck doing the same one thing over and over again, and you get to interact with different patients who comes and goes. In other words it is not a boring job.

Is that just my imagination of nursing or is this reality for you?

Financial wise, is your nursing job enough to provide for your living cost to live comfortably? Wether you are single or have a family to support.

I'm extremely interested :)

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

It very much depends on the area of nursing that you work in.

Med Surge, ER, Psych, all tend to be quite interesting but also

can be very stressful. ER, many say, is not as glamourous

as what you see on TV.

Some areas are a bit more "routine".. LTC perhaps, though

I guess it can get interesting as well. OR nursing, because

you don't interact with the patients as much as with the

doctor and other staff. Clinics, etc..

Many, many different fields of nursing to explore.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

Yes, melanthio, nursing is full of variety. I've been at it for over 33 years and rarely get bored. However, I ascribe to the premise that only boring people get bored.

I also believe that nursing is a calling. It seems that those who get into nursing for the money, which is good, often complain about how hard it is and that they're not paid enough for the work they do.

The most dedicated, happy nurses are those who entered the field in order to be there for another; to provide a service and are happy and fulfilled as a result of providing that service.

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Nursing is a great field to work in - plenty of opportunities - financially it depends where you work, for what organization, the amount of years you have worked as a nurse, and so on. I worked at a facility where I made more than six figures a year with full-time work. However, there are other things that are important and money alone will not make you happy (though it will guarantee a secure life depending on your spending habits and where you live...).

You need to be very aware that the foundation of nursing is "caring as a profession" and that "caring" in our healthcare system is not easy. There is a lot of potential for conflict - you constantly need to communicate and collaborate and work in a constantly changing system. There is a lot of accountability and responsibility - nowadays a lot of organizations push everything and anything to the primary nurse and expect the nurse to be "perfect" and not to make any mistakes - at the same time they also put more and more tasks on your plate. Punitive work environments are still very common - meaning you make a mistake (even if very minor and not resulting in any harm) or do not work according to standard / policy & Procedure and you will be called into the manager's office and face consequences.

Nursing is stressful - there is no way around it anymore for most nurses. You need to be resilient and you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And you need the desire to work in a caring profession as opposed to the medical profession. This is really important because the nurses who go to undergraduate nursing school with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner ( "medical school is too long and I do not want to actually care for patients ...") do not seem to be able to sustain in the profession.

You need a good amount of common sense as well and the desire to learn - nursing school is tough and you will have to continue to learn in some way for the rest of your work life as nursing is constantly changing....

I love being a nurse and I am one of the nurses who is in graduate school not with the goal of becoming a nurse manager or nurse practitioner. I do not work in bedside care in the traditional way but I have for many years. Some years in critical care, some in acute care telemetry, some in acute dialysis, some in palliative/hospice care. As a young adult I moved several times with my husband and never had problems to find a job. There were jobs I did not like after a while and there were organizations that turned out to be not a good fit for me but in that case I looked for a different job somewhere else. The more experience I have the "easier" it actually is for me to be a nurse. Of course there will be always stress and more tasks than I can finish in my work shift but I am confident and secure in my clinical practice. And I have no self-image problems or perceive myself as "less" because I am not a NP or physician.

If you are in high school considering college for an initial nursing degree -- do not go into much debt that you can't pay back or will have problems paying back just so you can say "I went to xyz school". There is no guarantee you will get a job even if you go to "the highly regarded expensive school that everybody wants to go to". Nobody cares about your school - all that matters is that you pass the NCLEX and have a valid license, that you are a good fit for the job you apply to and that you seem capable. It seems that the average 2 year ADN student ends up with around $ 30,000 in debt but BSN (4 years) students end up with more - I have learned from nurses I worked with that they had as much as $ 100,000 for 4 years. Even $ 80,000 seems not uncommon. A lot of nurses want to go back for their graduate degree and they also want to have a life after they finally graduate from school.... You may need a car if you live rural, you may want to start a family, you may want to travel .... so do not go for the school that will leave you in debt that is difficult to pay back.

Make sure you also apply to schools that are less expensive or to schools that may give you scholarships/grants and such. It is very competitive - if you have a really great GPA and test scores applying to a school that usually aims to admit less high numbers may get you a better deal. Working and nursing school is really hard. If you can only afford to go to your "desired" school by working 20 hours a week there is something wrong - the more you have to work during the school year - the less likely you are are to be very successful and keep your sanity. The lower price tag may serve you much better. If you belong to a minority that is underrepresented in nursing, it will be easier to get admitted to nursing school and you may have better options of obtaining scholarships and grants than your counterpart with the same GPA and same test scores.

Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Nursing is a great field to work in - plenty of opportunities - financially it depends where you work, for what organization, the amount of years you have worked as a nurse, and so on. I worked at a facility where I made more than six figures a year with full-time work. However, there are other things that are important and money alone will not make you happy (though it will guarantee a secure life depending on your spending habits and where you live...).

You need to be very aware that the foundation of nursing is "caring as a profession" and that "caring" in our healthcare system is not easy. There is a lot of potential for conflict - you constantly need to communicate and collaborate and work in a constantly changing system. There is a lot of accountability and responsibility - nowadays a lot of organizations push everything and anything to the primary nurse and expect the nurse to be "perfect" and not to make any mistakes - at the same time they also put more and more tasks on your plate. Punitive work environments are still very common - meaning you make a mistake (even if very minor and not resulting in any harm) or do not work according to standard / policy & Procedure and you will be called into the manager's office and face consequences.

Nursing is stressful - there is no way around it anymore for most nurses. You need to be resilient and you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And you need the desire to work in a caring profession as opposed to the medical profession. This is really important because the nurses who go to undergraduate nursing school with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner ( "medical school is too long and I do not want to actually care for patients ...") do not seem to be able to sustain in the profession.

You need a good amount of common sense as well and the desire to learn - nursing school is tough and you will have to continue to learn in some way for the rest of your work life as nursing is constantly changing....

I love being a nurse and I am one of the nurses who is in graduate school not with the goal of becoming a nurse manager or nurse practitioner. I do not work in bedside care in the traditional way but I have for many years. Some years in critical care, some in acute care telemetry, some in acute dialysis, some in palliative/hospice care. As a young adult I moved several times with my husband and never had problems to find a job. There were jobs I did not like after a while and there were organizations that turned out to be not a good fit for me but in that case I looked for a different job somewhere else. The more experience I have the "easier" it actually is for me to be a nurse. Of course there will be always stress and more tasks than I can finish in my work shift but I am confident and secure in my clinical practice. And I have no self-image problems or perceive myself as "less" because I am not a NP or physician.

If you are in high school considering college for an initial nursing degree -- do not go into much debt that you can't pay back or will have problems paying back just so you can say "I went to xyz school". There is no guarantee you will get a job even if you go to "the highly regarded expensive school that everybody wants to go to". Nobody cares about your school - all that matters is that you pass the NCLEX and have a valid license, that you are a good fit for the job you apply to and that you seem capable. It seems that the average 2 year ADN student ends up with around $ 30,000 in debt but BSN (4 years) students end up with more - I have learned from nurses I worked with that they had as much as $ 100,000 for 4 years. Even $ 80,000 seems not uncommon. A lot of nurses want to go back for their graduate degree and they also want to have a life after they finally graduate from school.... You may need a car if you live rural, you may want to start a family, you may want to travel .... so do not go for the school that will leave you in debt that is difficult to pay back.

Make sure you also apply to schools that are less expensive or to schools that may give you scholarships/grants and such. It is very competitive - if you have a really great GPA and test scores applying to a school that usually aims to admit less high numbers may get you a better deal. Working and nursing school is really hard. If you can only afford to go to your "desired" school by working 20 hours a week there is something wrong - the more you have to work during the school year - the less likely you are are to be very successful and keep your sanity. The lower price tag may serve you much better. If you belong to a minority that is underrepresented in nursing, it will be easier to get admitted to nursing school and you may have better options of obtaining scholarships and grants than your counterpart with the same GPA and same test scores.

Good luck!

And whatever you imagine uncomfortable to be, accept that you have no idea just how uncomfortable it can be starting out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Nursing is a great field to work in - plenty of opportunities - financially it depends where you work, for what organization, the amount of years you have worked as a nurse, and so on. I worked at a facility where I made more than six figures a year with full-time work. However, there are other things that are important and money alone will not make you happy (though it will guarantee a secure life depending on your spending habits and where you live...).

You need to be very aware that the foundation of nursing is "caring as a profession" and that "caring" in our healthcare system is not easy. There is a lot of potential for conflict - you constantly need to communicate and collaborate and work in a constantly changing system. There is a lot of accountability and responsibility - nowadays a lot of organizations push everything and anything to the primary nurse and expect the nurse to be "perfect" and not to make any mistakes - at the same time they also put more and more tasks on your plate. Punitive work environments are still very common - meaning you make a mistake (even if very minor and not resulting in any harm) or do not work according to standard / policy & Procedure and you will be called into the manager's office and face consequences.

Nursing is stressful - there is no way around it anymore for most nurses. You need to be resilient and you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And you need the desire to work in a caring profession as opposed to the medical profession. This is really important because the nurses who go to undergraduate nursing school with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner ( "medical school is too long and I do not want to actually care for patients ...") do not seem to be able to sustain in the profession.

You need a good amount of common sense as well and the desire to learn - nursing school is tough and you will have to continue to learn in some way for the rest of your work life as nursing is constantly changing....

I love being a nurse and I am one of the nurses who is in graduate school not with the goal of becoming a nurse manager or nurse practitioner. I do not work in bedside care in the traditional way but I have for many years. Some years in critical care, some in acute care telemetry, some in acute dialysis, some in palliative/hospice care. As a young adult I moved several times with my husband and never had problems to find a job. There were jobs I did not like after a while and there were organizations that turned out to be not a good fit for me but in that case I looked for a different job somewhere else. The more experience I have the "easier" it actually is for me to be a nurse. Of course there will be always stress and more tasks than I can finish in my work shift but I am confident and secure in my clinical practice. And I have no self-image problems or perceive myself as "less" because I am not a NP or physician.

If you are in high school considering college for an initial nursing degree -- do not go into much debt that you can't pay back or will have problems paying back just so you can say "I went to xyz school". There is no guarantee you will get a job even if you go to "the highly regarded expensive school that everybody wants to go to". Nobody cares about your school - all that matters is that you pass the NCLEX and have a valid license, that you are a good fit for the job you apply to and that you seem capable. It seems that the average 2 year ADN student ends up with around $ 30,000 in debt but BSN (4 years) students end up with more - I have learned from nurses I worked with that they had as much as $ 100,000 for 4 years. Even $ 80,000 seems not uncommon. A lot of nurses want to go back for their graduate degree and they also want to have a life after they finally graduate from school.... You may need a car if you live rural, you may want to start a family, you may want to travel .... so do not go for the school that will leave you in debt that is difficult to pay back.

Make sure you also apply to schools that are less expensive or to schools that may give you scholarships/grants and such. It is very competitive - if you have a really great GPA and test scores applying to a school that usually aims to admit less high numbers may get you a better deal. Working and nursing school is really hard. If you can only afford to go to your "desired" school by working 20 hours a week there is something wrong - the more you have to work during the school year - the less likely you are are to be very successful and keep your sanity. The lower price tag may serve you much better. If you belong to a minority that is underrepresented in nursing, it will be easier to get admitted to nursing school and you may have better options of obtaining scholarships and grants than your counterpart with the same GPA and same test scores.

Good luck!

Hi Nutella, first of all, I love your username.:laugh:

I have a previous degree in Film but I focused too much on completing it rather than pondering if I really want it. But thank you so much on the financial advice. Being in art school before, I didn't take any science subjects that would be prerequisites for nursing school. I assume it's better to take those prerequisites in community college, or anything cheaper than the actual nursing school?

When you said "caring" in our healthcare system is not easy" what did you mean?

Also you mentioned to that "You need to be resilient" and ooh, this one is hard. I'm extremely soft hearted, very-sensitive and easy to get hurt (but that also makes me very thoughtful and caring towards others. Especially in terms of wordings and even the way I joke, because I treat them how I want to be treated). Having drama upsets me extremely much because of my 'people pleaser/don't want any negativity' attitude. But I know things can happen sometimes... misunderstandings, racism, anything. Do you think I am fit to be a nurse if I am like that?

Last question if you don't mind :cat:

"As a young adult I moved several times with my husband and never had problems to find a job. "I'm really interested because I have concerns with moving around. I have a boyfriend of 6 years (we're planning to marry when we have stable jobs that can provide for us). How did you manage to find a job that somehow works for your husbands job as well, and vice versa?

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I'm thinking of becoming a RN nurse and I like interaction with people. Is there any category you recommend? I'm not planning to do BSN because I would like to work asap and provide for myself. I hope there's still enough opportunities with ADN RN degree alone.

I have no trouble with blood (I do have problem with vomit or feces because of the odor...but I guess there's no choice).

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Hi Nutella, first of all, I love your username.:laugh:

I have a previous degree in Film but I focused too much on completing it rather than pondering if I really want it. But thank you so much on the financial advice. Being in art school before, I didn't take any science subjects that would be prerequisites for nursing school. I assume it's better to take those prerequisites in community college, or anything cheaper than the actual nursing school?

When you said "caring" in our healthcare system is not easy" what did you mean?

Also you mentioned to that "You need to be resilient" and ooh, this one is hard. I'm extremely soft hearted, very-sensitive and easy to get hurt (but that also makes me very thoughtful and caring towards others. Especially in terms of wordings and even the way I joke, because I treat them how I want to be treated). Having drama upsets me extremely much because of my 'people pleaser/don't want any negativity' attitude. But I know things can happen sometimes... misunderstandings, racism, anything. Do you think I am fit to be a nurse if I am like that?

Last question if you don't mind :cat:

"As a young adult I moved several times with my husband and never had problems to find a job. "I'm really interested because I have concerns with moving around. I have a boyfriend of 6 years (we're planning to marry when we have stable jobs that can provide for us). How did you manage to find a job that somehow works for your husbands job as well, and vice versa?

The demands of the industry make it hard to be traditionally caring.

Nursing nor most healthcare roles these days are for the tender hearted. Fierce resilience that thrives with constant change and challenge with ability to remain focused on needs of others.

Could you emotionally and mentally handle boot camp? If yes and you are customer service oriented, you're likely well suited.

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Specializes in Med/surg.

It is interesting with alot of variety.

Sometimes things get on my nerves, but for the most part we have a lot of fun. I enjoy the nurses and doctors i work with. I enjoy most of my patients, there are a few who irritate me, but for the most part, i like them and want to help them.

It seems like it runs in phases where it will be more chaotic, there is fighting, we have patients and families who are hateful toward us, and management is threatening to write us up because they found a charge sticker in the trash. Then, we are back to the, "go team! Yay us!" Train of thought, and there is a happy, productive vibe going on.

For the most part, it is good, things are okay, we are doing our thing, and everyone is supportive and has each other's back.

It pays well enough. It pays better than most things. I could probably make more, if i took a management position, or filled in somewhere else as well, but i don't want to, i am no longer a young woman, and no longer have boundless energy. The average household in my depressed part of the country only earns around $40k, and i earn by myself probably $75k plus benefits worth another $15-20k.

In a bigger city, this would not be that much, and definitely on the east or west coast you would need to earn more than that. But around here, things are cheap. I live comfortably and buy whatever i want within reason. We are able to own our vehicles, a harley, a camper, and two houses outright, and i have some money saved for retirement. Of course our vehicles are not fancy or brand new, and our houses are not mansions, except this house we bought a few years ago is pretty cool, it is a big Victorian, and i would like to sell the other house.

We do not live extravagant or fancy lifestyles, by any stretch. My husband likes money more than i do. I really do not care about having alot of money as long as i have enough, and enough to help our kids if they need it.

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