Getting worried !!!!

U.S.A. California

Published

Hi Everyone,

So, I've just spent the last couple of hours reading threads on this site, and I'm very discouraged. It seems that my impression that most nurses enjoy their jobs is wrong. I know that I'm gonna have to clean up poop sometimes, and that sucks, but there are crappy tasks in any job right? Everyone talks about the pay being horrible, I live in central Cali, & believe that I'll be makin' approx. $60,000 starting. Is that wrong? Cause as far as I know makin' $ 60,000 starting is pretty dang good (especially w/ minimal schooling). There are also a lot of comments about not being able to spend time w/ family, once again I thought workking 3 days a week would allow me time to spend w/ my family. The main things that made me interested in nursing was the schedule and the pay, am I missing something???????

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Specializes in LTC , SDC and MDS certified (3.0).

:lol2: :lol2: I can only speak for myself. Nursing is the best job in the world to hate.

Do not get discouraged, this is where people understand nurses best.

Daily in our career we see alot we can't change. or try hard to change but can't. But that once in a while things go our way and we can make a great difference. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and it can and does get hurt alot, but when we stop caring we should become something else.

You can got to any other web site for any other profession and you will hear alot of complaining as well. my family is what I live for but nursing is what I love

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hi there ~ i've been reading threads on here for months and enjoy reading about various subjects on this site but have to admit this is the first time i've ever responded to a thread ;) i feel compelled for some reason to respond to yours. i can only speak for myself of course. first of all, starting in kindergarten all the way through high school when i was asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?".... i've ALWAYS responded, "i want to be a nurse." nursing is definitely my calling, so to speak. yes, the money is good & the hours are fabulous, but that's not why i chose nursing as my lifelong career. i'm not even sure how to put it into words, but i absolutely LOVE being a nurse, LOVE helping people and can't imagine doing anything else. of course there are times when our job is stressful, whether it's b/c of political/legal issues or simply a challenging shift with a high acuity patient load and/or cleaning up contents coming out of every orifice of our patient that would make most of our family and friends gag just at the thought, but i have to honestly say that i've never left a shift, no matter how stressful, and thought that maybe nursing isn't for me. i've been a nurse for 7 years. i've worked in Med/Surg, Trauma, Ortho/Neuro, Peds, Psych... and have recently found my calling within nursing as an ER nurse in downtown L.A. (I LOVE ER!). if you're not familiar with ER nursing yet... there are PLENTY of shifts that are beyond stressful - whether dealing with comforting family whose loved one has passed after you and your team have tried your hardest to revive them, cleaning up blood/guts/poop/vomit - you name it - or having a high acuity patient load with our 4:1 patient/nurse ratio in our ER. with all that being said... 7 years of nursing in various departments... i've NEVER doubted that nursing is the best choice i could have made, as far as careers go. i have a family, with children, work 3 twelves a week-night shift, and seriously feel like i get a mini-vacation every week as i try to schedule myself for 3 twelves in a row, therefore getting off 4 days straight nearly every week. i spend PLENTY of time with my husband and children. love the hours, love the pay, but most importantly... love coming home knowing that i helped someone that day. i've seen nurses drop out while still in nursing school and nurses that started their career and soon after decided that nursing wasn't for them. it's definitely not for everyone. you have to have a strong stomach, dedication, an open-mind with continuous learning, enjoy working with people, find a way to tolerate dealing with difficult patients and/or families, deal with all of the political/legal aspects that come with working in the medical profession... i could go on and on, but i'm sure you understand. good luck to you. i hope my long response helped you in some way. i guess you won't know until you try, right? once again, after 7 years of dealing with a multitude of stressors as a RN, i still LOVE my job and can't imagine doing anything else :)

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Wow, I'm not the one who originally posted, but I must say your post was VERY encouraging so THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT!

I hear a lot from nurses who seem to be in it just for the money and barely tolerate the "bad stuff" but you have given me hope! I am not a nurse yet, but I think I feel the same way you do, and can't wait to give it a try! Maybe you felt compelled to post this for other people out there, not only the original poster, because I think there are many nurses-to-be that need to hear this type of post once in a while.

Thanks for sharing!

Vicky ;)

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Specializes in CVICU-ICU.

I agree with Vicki----Ski your post was fabulous. I have never had any career other than nursing so I can't say I have anything to compare it to other than working as a lifeguard and a supermarket clerk while going thru college. I am positive all professions have thier downfalls and if you talk honestly to anyone they will find something that they just don't like about their job. I sometimes think that if I wouldnt have gone into nursing I would have went into law. Im sure that there are many people in other professions that see nurses and think to themselves "I wish I would have become a nurse". I think most people look at nurses, attorneys, doctors, computer careers, real estate agents---etc etc as being a interesting, fun, great job because we only see certain aspects of those chosen careers.

Nursing for the most part suits my life. I also love being a nurse although there are times when I have said I wish I was a (fill in the blank) because I become frustrated with things that are beyound my control. I know I hear alot of people complaining about the pay and I can't comment on anyone elses pay other than mine but my base pay is 35$/hour with full benefits and another 4-5$ hour shift/weekend diff. The schedule is also very friendly because I make several trips a year home to visit my family and I've never really had to use my PTO to do that. Alot of jobs are Mon-Fri 9-5 where as Im able to work my 3 days for one week at the beginning of a week and my 3 days for the next week at the end of the next week to acheive my 72 hours/2 week period and still have 8 days off in a row to allow me to travel without using PTO or worrying about taking vacation time. There really isnt alot of jobs where that option is available.

Nursing also allows us to have overtime available without much hassle which alot of professions dont't offer. I know some people have 2nd jobs to earn more $$$ because they are limited to 40 hours a week at their first job but having a second job is another committment where as having overtime available at one job makes it easier to work extra when I need extra $$ (for my trips back home) but yet not be required to work extra if I desire not to.

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Don't let the posts here get you down, this is where we come to vent and get support. I just had a nasty experience with my last employer but I still love nursing and have no intention of leaving it. I will just move on and do something else, but still in nursing.

How much you make will depend on where you work, location as well as facility, and in some cases even whether or not the facility is union or not. The pay is horrible for what we do, but not compared to other professions. If you look at just the amount of money, we get paid very well. Most of us feel like we're underpaid, though, because of what we do: we literally hold peoples' lives in our hands.

As for family, you will have plenty of time with your family, honest!! Especially if you work 12-hour shifts. Three shifts a week and you're full time.

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I agree. I've done my share of venting on this board but, the fact is: nursing is still a great career. The opportunities and pay only got better while I was in school. If you end up not liking hospital nursing, there's plenty of other specialties you can go into.

My nursing degree is probably the best investment I've ever made.

:typing

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Hi ski ER, i really admire your attitude as a nurse, the things you wrote are so great.i find words of encouragement to this thread. Im gracey 23 year old, and hold an RN license in my home country, like you i believe that nursing is my calling,since kindergarten up to senior highschool, when somebody asked me what i want to be when i grow up, i always answered "to become a nurse" ,during our my senior years and some of universities and colleges conduct carrier guidance in our class,they asked who wants to become a nurse, im the only person in that class raise a hand,nobody in our class wants to pursue the same degree,but im not become discourage..even it will come to the point during my college years,that i have financial difficulty to continue my BSN degree,because here nursing is kind of expensive and my father is the only person who works and provide the needs of the family. im so blessed to find a way to not stop my studies, i become qualified to scholarship program of the nursing school where i was studying they less my tuition fee up to 50%.my aunt also help me to pay the other half,my father gives my allowance for my daily expenses. fare going to school and to hospitals, food,uniforms and books. I graduated last March 2006 and passed the licensure exam Dec 2006,. because of those difficulties i just prove to myself that i really belong to this profession,despite of everything Im still here. I still love NURSING.

like you im not after the money, i chose nursing because here, i can find a fulfilment everytime i can help people.plus i do love nursing because i know that in this kind of career i can still take care my future family very well,my husband and my kids, i still have lot of time to spend with them.by the way im currently working in hospital near my place as an ER nurse too.very challenging experience.

im planning to take NCLEX RN to become qualified to work in US not because i would like to earn lot of money but because i want to be with the most wonderful man in my life and start our own family,but for now we are having some difficulty in finding right process, so i keep on reading threads to find an answer.,,

thank you so much... GOD BLESS

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Hey all,

I'm not a nurse, but really love what you said(Ski ER) .I think alot of people are going into nursing without knowing what it is all about, and find out later what it consist of, and decides to quit during nursing school. Not everyone was born to be a nurse. I believe that the ones who shadows or get some experience as a CNA, and still decides to continue with the dream of becoming a nurse by persuing their nursing education will definitely love what they're doing, will have a lesser chance of giving up.

Many people get into the field because of monetary gain, and not because they love nursing. These are the people that will likely quit Nursing.

God bless nurses like you darling, who are in the profession to help and heal others.

Just my thought.

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