Whatever happened to going to school to be a nurse?

Nurses General Nursing

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The other day as I sat at work listening to coworkers talking about career paths and what degrees they should pursue I couldn't help but think back to when I was a new nurse 32 years ago. I went to school to be a nurse, as everyone in my class did. The discussions were where do you want to work, not what is your career goal. It seems no one wants to just be a nurse anymore. This is all pushed with the magnet statuses, national push for more and more education and I wonder what is so bad about being a nurse caring for patients year after year. Most young nurses I hear talking are appalled at the thought of your entire nursing career caring for people. I am sure there are some new nurses who just want to take care of patients, but I haven't talked to many. I find this sad.

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

People get marketing degrees with many different career goals. Not everyone majoring in chemistry has the same career goal. Not everybody getting a nursing degree needs to have the same career goal. So what if their goal isnt to be a bedside nurse? If not enough people want to work bedside, then I guess incentives to become a bedside nurse will have to get better.

I guess I don't understand why some people seem to feel that its an offensive thing that many students today might have goals that are other than being a bedside nurse.

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I agree. Administration is several steps removed from direct patient care and I do not look forward to this mandatory push for all BSNs

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...Not everybody getting a nursing degree needs to have the same career goal. So what if their goal isnt to be a bedside nurse? If not enough people want to work bedside, then I guess incentives to become a bedside nurse will have to get better.

I guess I don't understand why some people seem to feel that its an offensive thing that many students today might have goals that are other than being a bedside nurse.

@ Julius Seizure, BSN, RN THANK YOU! You perfectly articulated my sentiments exactly and you're absolutely right :yes::yes::yes:. I don't understand this skewed perspective that there's only ONE way to be a nurse, and unless a nurse is slaving away at the bedside (most often in deplorable conditions... enduring abuse, undervalued and underpaid) they're somehow unfit for the letters (they rightfully earned) after their name. Ridiculous! L-M-Flipping-A-O:roflmao:

Don't expect anyone to put you on a pedestal because you choose one nursing specialty or practice over another. Nobody cares. While nurses respect those who choose to be full-time/exclusively bedside nurses, as we respect all nurses, most nurses do not envy that you... for example, work grueling D/E/N shifts standing on your feet for 12-16hrs. All nursing work is commendable.

I see Nursing's changing scope-of-practice and changing roles/responsibilities within the healthcare system as evolution! I'm glad we can do more, I am glad there are male nurses, I am glad there's diversity, I am glad we're no longer confined to the image of "white capped assistants"... It's called having a choice. If people have options, they're going to choose something that will highlight their talents, allow them to excel and make a meaningful impact.... but I digress.

On a personal note, since leaving bedside full-time and obtaining a non-bedside nursing position I have been so much happier, and my life has improved. As a nurse, for the first time in a long time I am actually treated with dignity, protected from abuse, and paid fairly in my workplace... and I still use my nursing skills everyday, thank you very much! I say to each their own, but would caution other's against being so bold and short-sighted to insinuate that one area/specialty/practice of nursing either bolsters or negates one's title. I might call someone a masochist for choosing something not to my liking... but I'd never say they were lesser-than for choosing to define a career trajectory within the profession that looks different from mine. I commonly hear that accusation from newbie or wannabe nurses or nursing students... until they get a real taste of bedside, all by themselves with their shiny new licenses. The truth is everyone has a unique strength for something, and people should stop trying to foist their beliefs onto others -- recall "reflective practice" from nursing school people?!

Honestly, SHM...

So... to revisit the OP's initial question of "whatever happened to just being a nurse?" my answer is this: some of us simply have different interests. We accepted the fact that there is more than one way to be a nurse and used that to our benefit. Nurses don't have to remain hermetically-sealed into a rigid, personally undesirable, job description.

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My dream was to become a bedside nurse working Med-Surg,but that all changed when the hospitals in my area wanted all Bsn staff.

So i had no choice but to work away from the bedside

My goal is to obtain a Bsn so that I can become a bedside nurse.

Yes,i know,it sounds backwards.

Why do people act like a Bsn and working as a bedside nurse are exclusive?

Most ADN's like me HAVE to get the Bsn to even work at the bedside.

The Op is a great post but I see some posters slipping in anti-Bsn snippets.

This has nothing to do with the topic,but i find it strange how bedside nursing is defined.

Long Term Care and Private Duty are not considered bedside nursing,yet I am literally standing or sitting at the bedside my whole shift.

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I am a bedside nurse in med-surge, and I cannot wait for the day that I will not be treated like a slave. My patient load is at least 6 and I work 12 hour shifts overnight. Everyday I go to work with a good attitude, but I am never as happy as when it is over. We are ALWAYS short staffed, and charge nurses do very little to help, even when you are "drowning." The charting is far too lengthy and redundant and patients treat you like you are their maid or waitress. I often want to tell them I am more concerned with their breathing, heart, etc. than the fact that I put ice in their water when they asked for no ice. Nursing is a thankless job. Patients rarely think you are doing enough for them, even when you are busting YOUR HUMP! We have "frequent fliers" who think the hospital is a spa or a getaway from their life. The system is so incredibly flawed and none of this is ever really talked about in nursing school. If it were, I would have likely changed direction from the start. Am I thinking about my next move? Everyday.

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"To most people, RN stands for refreshments and narcotics -- ever heard of that joke? Well, it's an expectation by most of the public when on the receiving end of our care."

So true...

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What happened to becoming a nurse?

Simple answer - the financially driven healthcare system in which all or most decisions are based on $$$ - which ultimately also led to a dehumanizing treatment of all healthcare professionals and patients.

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"So... to revisit the OP's initial question of "whatever happened to just being a nurse?" my answer is this: some of us simply have different interests. We accepted the fact that there is more than one way to be a nurse and used that to our benefit. Nurses don't have to remain hermetically-sealed into a rigid, personally undesirable, job description."

I could not agree more with you and Julius Seizure. Here I am trying to explain all of the intricacies of why someone would choose one over the other. It really isn't that difficult when you break it down.

Would we ever ask the guy who manages a phone store why he didn't start out climbing telephone poles? No, because even though they work for the same company and work towards the same goal (providing you with phone service) they are different roles that each person may prefer based on their own interests.

Why become an OB nurse instead of a psych nurse? Why work in an office instead of a hospital? Because you want to. It should be that simple. If you work for it and you meet the requirements, who's opinion of what you should do for your career matter more? Someone you hardly know or yourself?

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I'd like to add that the whole notion of "martyring oneself" or (suggesting that others should) in a personally and professionally undesirable clinical experience because of a false notion that it is superior is utter nonsense... Whatever area/specialty you choose as a nurse, you must accept that it is your cross to bear... and your's alone.

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Funny thing, my mom was a nurse by chance. She wanted to be an opera star, and her nun/teacher got lost on the way to take an exam for a math scholarship to university of Michigan. These two sparkling talents became her passion and aided her in the nursing role that ironically her mom saw an ad admission to a diploma program in their local paper. She became a neuro nurse and later a wound care specialist as a civilian nurse at an Army hospital during war time. My mom was exposed to many harmful chemicals and agent orange, learned how to play poker from Vietnam Vets at Letterman Hospital and sang to them all. I hope to continue her passion as I care for my small NICU babies, their families and teach my new grad students till I retire.

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YES!! I'm not even finished with my BSN yet but the highest my dreams of nursing go is to stay bedside. It's what I love. My ex-boyfriend who is finishing his BSN still as well wants to go on for his NP 6 months after graduation and would ask me all the time "why do you want to do floor nursing for your whole career?" It's what I fell in love with.

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Specializes in CVICU, MICU, Burn ICU.

I suspect that the great divide in this conversation exists, in part, because those of us that have some years under our belt (and have literally watched and been a part of the changes in nursing and healthcare) resonate with the idea of the nurse as an expert clinician, care-giver and advocate. These are qualities that have traditionally defined nursing. Personally, I think it's important to build upon that foundation -- not side-step it or avoid it. I know, in these times, that is a controversial statement... but realize it hasn't always been. The ability to "accelerate" beyond bedside nursing to advanced or managerial forms is a relatively new notion. I don't fault anyone for getting into nursing for all the amazing, diverse career opportunities it offers.. in fact I encourage people to look into nursing BECAUSE of that. And yes, I think there are certain core values/qualities that define nursing and I do not want to see them diluted. Though we are all very different in our personalities and practice, at the end of the day... we share the commonality of being "nurses". Traditionally our role at the bedside defined a lot of what that meant. Maybe it doesn't anymore... but maybe discussing how to protect that while still encouraging the profession to evolve is a worthy conversation.

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