pittsburgh pa nursing student

NursiePooh · Jan 7, 2002

Well, I guess my first question to you is....

where are you going to school?? Western PA (PITTSBURGH) right now is a wonderful place to be a nurse. But...i guess my question is, do you know what you are getting yourself into?

I went to CCAC North campus out of high school. I thought it was a perfect setting for me. 2 years, and i'd be a nurse. It was close to home, and i'd be saving tons of money. I was an EMT during my senior year of highschool, so nursing i thought was the logical choice. I did very well, and went directly to the BSN program at Pitt. When i finished I went to work for a large area hospital. From the begining i knew that nursing wasnt for me. I dont know why i didnt pick up on it during clinical, but after about 6 months of nursing, i was really disgusted and frusterated.

My mother is a nurse. She went the ICU route. Now she on the other hand LOVES her job. I guess what i'm trying to get at is that no one can tell you if you are going to like nursing, or if it's a good profession, calling...whatever. Just make sure you like taking crap, cleaning crap and dishing out crap. lol.

I hope i was some help.

-G

rachaelm4 · Jan 8, 2002

Thanks for repling. I'm going to Sewickley school of nursing. I have really no idea what I'm getting myself into. I keep having doubts about doing this. No one has really ever talked to me about what is involved in nursing. They answer my questions very vaguely, and never give their true feelings on the subject. I'm looking for people who are in this field and can tell me what they go through on a daily basis, and what I can expect to have to deal with once I'm finished with school.

TCW · Jan 8, 2002

I think it's good to talk to people to find out what a job will actually be like, but the best thing is to try to get as good a picture of the job for your self. I am a volunteer for a major hosp in Pgh & this has enlightened me a lot. There are still some things that sort of scare me about chosing nursing, but there are things about my current job that I absolutely hate as well.

Although I am not a nurse yet I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have or at least try to point you in the right direction.

Tonya

P_RN, ADN, RN · Jan 8, 2002

1. Is this a good field to go into in this area?

2. Is working in a hospital setting better or worse than home health, etc.?

3. Many of the postings that I have read speak very negatively about this field, and about how nurses are treated. Is this true and is it true that nurses do more paperwork then actually treating and caring for patients?

4. I'm 26 yrs. old, married, and have 2 children. do the hospitals around the pittsburgh area offer hours, and schuedules that will allow me to still be part of their lives, and not be consumed by my career?

5. I have heard of something called per-diem. What is this, and is this something that is offered around here?

6. Is this a career I can look forward to, or should I start looking into another career choice?

NursiePooh · Jan 8, 2002

Well, if I can be of any help, let me know. If I told you my TRUE feelings on nursing, then I'd get alot of hate mail...lol.

It's a very difficult and trying profession. Let's just say that if my daughter or son asked me about nursing, I'd have to steer them away. There are plenty of professions that pay wayyyy better with alot less bull.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 8, 2002

Philly area nurse here .....coordinate Pittsburgh referrals for my homecare agency. WE 'RE CRYING FOR NURSES in PGH area! Have to turn down referrals (bad words) due to lack of staff.

Many staff openings......check the classified ads of Pittsburgh Post Gazette or chek out the Nursing Spectrums website:

http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/classifieds/index.htm

Agree with PRN 's response 100 %...I'm still passsionate after 25 years and working FT as kids now teenagers.

Make sure your school is giving college credits in case you want a degree. Many diploma programs in Phila area have almost enough credits for associates degree. There are several 2 year Community colleges in your area with ASN degrees, even more BSN programs

Link to all PA shools of Nursing:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/nurbd/nurprograms.htm

Most important: WHY nursing?

Sounds like your unsure.....check with local hospitals to see if you can shadow a nurse for part of a day. I could inquire re homecare visit if interested. Also call all the hospitals, check with area schools of nursing to see if any facilities sponsoring students in exchange for work commitment.

I'm very concerned re this comment:

I keep having doubts about doing this. No one has really ever talked to me about what is involved in nursing. They answer my questions very vaguely, and never give their true feelings on the subject.

Please call other schools of nursing and check them out before committment.

Heres some sites for you to visit that discuss what the nursing profession is like today:

http://www.tobeanurse.com

http://nursing.about.com/cs/aboutnursing/

Home health nursing:

http://www.geocities.com/vnarn_nj/

Email if more info needed.

kaycee · Jan 8, 2002

1. Yes this is a good field to get into in this area. There are lots of different types of hospitals, trauma centers, and smaller community hospitals all around.

2. Hospital nursing is a good base for getting experience for other nursing jobs. As PRN said Home Health is not good for a new grad they usually want experience.

3. We vent here but you'll notice that we are all still in it. Ive been doing this for almost 27yrs and I have gripes but I wouldn't have done it this long if If didn't like it. Paper work is a large part of nursing unfortunately, but there is plenty of pt. care. You just learn from experience how to mange to do them both in a time efficient manner.

4. Nursing cuts in

to a great deal of family time but it is probably one of the most flexable professions out there. You can work as little or as much as you want, especially now with the shortage.

5. Perdium is a part time position offered in most hospitals in the PGH area. You usually pick which days you are available and they fill you in. Perdium often is a higher pay because you get no benefits, vacation or holiday time. It's also something you usually do after you get some experience. I think it would be be hard for a new grad who is learning to work perdium. You don't really work enough to learn.

6. It's hard but very rewarding. If you want to help people and feel you've made a difference in people's lives then it may be what you're looking for.

Sewickley Valley Hosp school of nursing is very good. They offer alot of clinical. At least they did when I was there. I graduated from there in 1975 so I'm sure some things have changed but it has a great reputation. Feel free to send me a private message if I can help you in any way.

Lynne